Minimum course work required for entrance into most dental schools: Updated 08/31/2006

• English 101 – Comp I: Exposition
  
• English 102 – Comp II: Analys & Arg
  
• Physics 151 and 151L - General Physics and lab
  
• Physics 152 and 152L - General Physics and lab
  
• Biology 201 and 201L – Cell Biology with Lab
  
• Biology 202 and 202L – Genetics with Lab
  
• Biology 237 and 227L – Human Anatomy & Physiology with Lab
  
• Biology 238 and 228L – Human Anatomy & Physiology II with Lab
  
• Chemistry 121 – General Chemistry
  
• Chemistry 121L - General Chemistry Lab
  or Chemistry 131L - Principles of Chemistry (honors)
  
• Chemistry 122 – General Chemistry
  
• Chemistry 122L - General Chemistry Lab
  or Chemistry 132L - Principles of Chemistry (honors)
  
• Chemistry 301 and 303L - Organic Chemistry with Lab
  
• Chemistry 302 and 304L - Organic Chemistry with Lab
  
• Biochemistry 423 – Introductory Biochemistry
  

In Addition to completion of core requirements

Recommended courses

Dental schools recommend courses in the following areas: microbiology, histology, psychology, embryology, business, speech communication, nutrition and sculpting .

Majors/Degrees

A student may major in any area, although some schools recommend a Bachelor of Science degree. Most dental schools, with the exception of Baylor College of Dentistry, UCLA School of Dentistry and USC School of Dentistry, do not require a completed degree. These schools rarely waive this requirement. Some dental programs will admit students with fewer than ninety hours if your GPA and DAT scores are above the national averages . Students are advised to acquire a copy of the catalog from the dental school of their choice and refer to specific requirements for that school. Most programs advise completing ninety credit hours before matriculating to dental school.

Application Material Required

Most schools require an AADSAS application (applications are available on-line at http://www.adea.org/AADSAS/, a copy of your transcripts, a minimum of 3 letters of evaluation, Dental School Admission Test Scores (DAT) and an application fee. The application material may be collected in a professional folder at Career Planning and Placement and should be started in the sophomore or beginning of junior year.

GPA and DAT Scores

The approximate undergraduate GPA of students admitted to dental schools is 3.40. The lowest scores on the DAT considered to be competitive by most dental schools are 17 academic average, 17 perceptual ability test and 17 total science.

Personal Qualities

Dental schools expect applicants to be motivated, mature, have integrity, social awareness and ability to communicate and interact with others. Dental schools also stress good health, excellent eyesight, good manners, a pleasing personality, clean personal habits, manual dexterity, and genuine concern for others. Most schools interview all candidates; some programs interview all students who request an interview.

The following is a list of dental schools that are included under the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) contracts program:

The following schools offer student exchange through the WICHE program:

Students interested in the WICHE program or any other loan repayment programs should contact the NM Pre-Dental Academic Advisor. Applications and certification for WICHE must be completed by October 15th, of the year preceding admission.

Students interested in joining the UNM Pre-Dental Society should contact: James Strohschein, DDS, the NM Pre-Dental Academic Advisor at (505) 834-3133, nmpredentaladvisor@yahoo.com or log onto http://hsc.unm.edu/som/predental

The UNM Pre-Dental Office is located on main campus in the Student Union Building, Student Quad (lower level).