C o l l eg e o f S ci en ces & H eal t h Pro f es s i on s
Pre -Pro f es s i o n al Pro g rams
P RE -D ENTAL
Updated 8/2015
CONTACT
INFORMATION
ACADEMIC COURSEWORK
R E QU I R E M E N T S A N D R E C O M M E N DAT I O N S
Brittany Wampler
Coordinator,
Pre-Professional
Health Programs
Main Classroom 218
b.wampler@csuohio.edu
Appointments:
216-687-9321
HELPFUL
WEBSITES:

CSU Pre-Professional
Programs:
www.csuohio.edu/
sciences/preprof

American Dental
Association: ada.org

American Dental Education
Association: adea.org

American Dental Education
Association Application
Service: https://
portal.aadsasweb.org

Case Western Reserve
University School of
Dental Medicine:
dental.case.edu

The Ohio State University
College of Dentistry:
www.dent.osu.edu
Course Number
Course Title
Schools that Require
BIO 200/201/202/203
Intro Biology I/II/Labs
CWRU/OSU
CHM 261/262/266/267
General Chemistry I/II/Labs
CWRU/OSU
CHM 331/336/332/337
Organic Chemistry I/II/Labs
CWRU/OSU
BIO 266/267/268/269
OR HSC 457/475 and
422/450
Anatomy/Physiology I/I/Labs
OSU
PHY 231/232 or 221/222
Physics I/II Biomed Apps
CWRU (OSU requires 1 semester)
BIO 306 or CHM 402/403
Biochem/Molecular Bio or
Biochemistry I/II
OSU requires 1 semester Biochemistry
BIO 264/265 or
BIO 416/417
Microbiology
OSU (CWRU recommends)
ENG 101/102
College Writing I/II
CWRU/OSU
Additional Course Recommendations: Please review other school requirements as the average applicant applies to 4-7 dental programs.
The above list is not comprehensive. Each school may have slightly different requirements
and it is the responsibility of the student to take prerequisite courses according to the
schools they plan to apply to.
Dentists solve oral health problems, interact with patients, and the nature of the field provides the
opportunity to open and run a private practice. While there is no required major area of study for PreDentistry, coursework in the sciences is important to success in dental school. Likewise, dentistry is very
much a "people profession" and coursework in psychology and the humanities is also very important to an
aspiring dental professional.
Most pre-dentistry students choose to major in Chemistry or Biology, but you can choose any major and
complete the prerequisites for dental school.
There are only two dental schools in the state of Ohio—Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State
University. You should also look at policies that dental schools have related to AP, online, and accepting
courses taken five or more years ago. When applying to dental school, admissions will consider grades
from all attempts of the courses.
Above are the requirements and recommendations from CWRU and OSU. If you plan to apply for other
programs, it is important to research prerequisites for all schools that you plan to apply to in advance.
If you have questions about specific course requirements, review requirements online and see the
Coordinator for Pre-Professional Health Programs.
ABBREVIATED
TIMELINE
FRESHMAN YEAR




Maintain a strong GPA.
Attend pre-health meetings
on campus to get involved.
Get to know professors in
early biology and chemistry
courses.
Explore careers in dentistry
and develop Plan B options
through extensive
research.
SOPHOMORE
YEAR



Maintain a strong GPA.
Pursue meaningful
experiences through
related activities, including
shadowing experiences.
Develop relationships with
faculty and mentors that
could serve as references.
JUNIOR YEAR





Maintain a strong GPA.
Consider who you will ask
for letters of reference and
schedule meetings to ask
them specifically.
Write your Personal
Statement and have at
least 3 people review it.
Plan a timeline/study
schedule for the DAT and
sign up for a test date
during the spring or
summer.
Familiarize yourself with
AADSAS application site,
instructions, and processes.
SENIOR YEAR




Maintain a strong GPA.
Complete the application
process through AADSAS
and strive to complete the
application at minimum 2
weeks before the first
deadline.
Complete any requests for
secondary applications in a
timely manner.
Prepare for interviews.
A P P LY I N G T O D E N TA L S C H O O L
The application process to dental
school is a rigorous one. There
are only two dental schools in
the state of Ohio—Case Western
Reserve University and The Ohio
State University—and they are
increasingly more competitive.
has its own deadline and all
materials must be submitted by
that time, although almost all
dental schools are on rolling
admission, so the sooner you
submit, the higher chance you
have for success.
The Dental Admission Test (DAT)
is required by both schools. It
measures four areas in a multiple
choice format.
The actual application itself
contains many parts. You should
start as early as possible to give
yourself as much time to
complete the application.




Natural Sciences
Perceptual Ability
Reading Comprehension
Quantitative Reasoning
The application for dental school
opens annually in June and
application deadlines are set by
the institutions. Each institution
Below are the main components
of the application:




Academic Record/
Transcripts
Extracurricular/Work
Experience/Publications
DAT Scores
Personal Statement (4500
character limit)


Letters of Reference
Observation Hours (if
applicable)
Interested schools will invite you
to interview. You will be
expected to discuss your
motivation for dentistry,
personal/professional goals, and
assessment of current health
issues. You are usually provided
with information about the
school’s interviewing process.
You can get help with all areas of
the application —reviewing your
personal statement, GPA
Calculation questions, mock
interviewing—through the
Coordinator for Pre-Professional
Health Programs.
GAINING EXPERIENCE
Student organization
involvement/leadership,
volunteer work, research
experience, job shadowing—
there are so many options when
it comes to creating a wellrounded resume. In addition to
the coursework, dental schools
want to see well-rounded
applicants.
Many dental schools in Ohio and
outside of the state require a
minimum number of hours of
shadowing experience, so it is
important to seek out those
experiences early. You can
shadow one dentist or several.
Hopefully, these experiences will
also yield a letter of
recommendation from the
dentist you shadow.
Students need to be successful in
the classroom while also seeking
out the opportunities they find
PRE-DENTAL STUDENT
O RGANIZAT ION
The purpose of the Pre-Dental
Society is to unite pre-dental
students at Cleveland State
University and ultimately
prepare each member to
successfully matriculate into
dental school. It is our desire to
increase awareness in the field
of dentistry through proactive
community involvement.
Speakers are invited to provide
additional information about
various aspects of their
programs. Students can also
discuss the application process
and learn more from one
another about the field of
dentistry.
There are also opportunities to
get involved within the
leadership of the organization if
interested. Please go to OrgSync
for more information about
meetings, events, and more!
to be most rewarding. There is
no specific recipe for success in
this area and each student needs
to be selective in what they do
to add to their application.
Make sure to plan carefully and
early. Also, think about how the
people you meet through these
experiences could help you as
you apply to dental schools.