Special information for predental students

The requirements for students applying to dental schools are almost identical with those for applicants to medical school, with a few minor exceptions that we consider here.

Although it is necessary to complete all the required prehealth courses prior to entry into dental school, the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), which needs to be taken approximately one year prior to entry, does not require knowledge of Physics. If you are a student who has some difficulty with the sciences, you can plan your course-work so as to spread your sciences out over all four years of your undergraduate education. Of course, Physics must be taken prior to entry into dental school.

For more information on the DAT (including an overview of the exam, test preparation materials, and registration), go to www.ada.org, which is part of the website of the American Dental Association (ADA). The ADA website also has sections on careers and programs in dentistry.

All CAS applicants to dental schools must apply both through the centralized agency (AADSAS) and directly to the individual dental schools. The on-line location for application is aadsas.adea.org

Most dental schools have almost identical requirements, and these change little from year to year. Nevertheless you should consult the authoritative book on dental school requirements: the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools. This tome will give you a general overview of the dental profession and the admissions process, as well as specific information on each school—for example, admissions requirements, deadlines, expenses and financial aid, and comparisons of applicants and admitted students. To order the book, go to www.adea.org. Other pages on this website—the home of the American Dental Education Association—are also worth looking at. In addition, you should visit the websites of dental schools that interest you.

Detailed instructions for the application process:

Our office electronically submits the NYU Committee Letter to AADSAS.

So, please carefully follow the instructions in the Evaluators Section of the AADSAS application, keeping in mind the following:

(1) Reference type: select "electronic."

(2) For the evaluator's name, please write "Charlene Visconti" BUT further below, where it asks for the evaluator's email, please put in david.mccarthy@nyu.edu. (Postbacc students should put in "Soomie Han" for the name of the evaluator, but david.mccarthy@nyu.edu for the email address.)

(3) Check Yes to indicate that it is a committee letter.

On your AADSAS application, you do NOT need to provide the names of faculty members, dentists, etc. who are writing letters of recommendation for you, and you do NOT need to print out "Letter of Evaluation Matching Forms."

The letters that you are sending to us from professors, etc. are considered additions to the committee letter, and we will send those out to the dental schools for you.