Dental School FAQs

Which major should I choose?

While the practice of dentistry is grounded in scientific principles, there are no specific majors you must choose in order to be admitted to a professional program.

However, majoring in a science field helps complete the required classes and prepare you for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Some of the most common such majors at SUNY Cortland include:

• Biomedical Sciences
• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Chemistry
• Psychology

What classes are prerequisites for dental school admissions?

Most dental schools require the following courses:

• Biological Sciences I and II with labs (BIO 201 and BIO 202)
• General Chemistry I and II with labs (CHE 221 and CHE 222)
• Organic Chemistry I and II with labs (CHE 301, CHE 302, and CHE 304)
• Physics I and II with labs (PHY 105 and PHY 106)
• Mathematics - full year of Calculus (MAT 121 and 122) or one semester of Calculus and one semester of Statistics (MAT 201)
• Most require that you take a year of English (CPN 100 and CPN 101)

Some also require the courses below, while others simply suggest them as beneficial:

• Cellular Biology (BIO 210)
• Genetics (BIO 312)
• Microbiology (BIO 304)
• Human Anatomy (BIO 324) and Human Physiology (BIO 514)
• Biochemistry (CHE 451)
• Psychology (PSY 101)
• Sociology (SOC 150)

Most dental schools also note that the following courses can be advantageous:

• Basic business courses. Many dentists end up in private practice.
• Applied art courses. Sculpture (ATS 106) to develop manual dexterity; drawing, painting and ceramics courses also help.
• Foreign Language

* Consult the American Dental Education Association website for additional information on individual schools.

What are other requirements for dental school admissions?

• GPA of 3.4 or higher to be considered a competitive applicant
• Shadowing experience with a dentist
• Score of 18 or higher on each section of the DAT

What are some other tips?

• Outstanding grades and an excellent DAT score are essential, but it is also important that you are a well-rounded student with other interests and activities on your application, both dental-related and otherwise.
  
  
• Increasingly, professional schools value applicants with demonstrated cultural and social competency – namely a recognition of and training in understanding cultural differences, biases and inequities in the profession.
• Taking on leadership roles and participating in activities outside of the classroom demonstrates that you can effectively interact with people, which is necessary for success in dentistry.
  
  
• Some leadership roles that exist at SUNY Cortland: participation in a student organization such as SUNY Cortland Emergency Medical Services; tutor or teaching assistant; supplemental instructor; resident assistant; student justice; or participation on a sports team.

Is there a timeline to make sure I stay on track for dental school?