United States
In the United States, at least three years of undergraduate education are required in order to be admitted to a dental school; however, most dental schools require at least a bachelor's degree. There is no mandatory course of study as an undergraduate other than completing the requisite "pre-dental" courses, which generally includes one year of general biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, English, and higher level mathematics such as statistics and calculus. Some dental schools have requirements that go beyond the basic requirements such as psychology, sociology, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology etc. The majority of pre-dental students major in a science but this is not required as some students elect to major in a non-science related field.
In addition to core prerequisites, the Dental Admission Test, a multiple choice standardized exam, is also required for potential dental students. The DAT is usually taken during the spring semester of one's junior year. The vast majority of dental schools requires an interview before admissions can be granted. The interview is designed to evaluate the motivation, character, and personality of the applicant. It is often a crucial step in the admissions process.
For the 2009-2010 application cycle, 11,632 applicants applied for admission to dental schools in the United States. Just 4,067 were eventually accepted. The average dental school applicant entering the school year in 2009 had an overall GPA of 3.54 and a science GPA of 3.46. Additionally, their mean DAT Academic Average (AA) was 19.00 while their DAT Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) score was 19.40.
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