1. By: Elly Hosseini
UTPDS Executive

2. About me...
 UTPDS Event Coordinator
 Applied to both Canadian and
American Dental Schools
 University of Pennsylvania School of
Dental Medicine Class of 2015
 Also accepted at Nova Southeastern
University

3. What I want to say...
 Plan B – there are over 60 dental school in the US,
great opportunities
 Lower average acceptance GPA compared to
Canadian schools
 US schools put a lot of emphasis on DAT scores and
extra-curricular activities
 School clubs
 Research
 Volunteering
 Job Shadowing
Downside:
It’s a bit expensive to attend schools in the states but
it’s worth it in the end

4. Preparing Your Application
 Start applying the summer BEFORE graduation
 AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools
Application Service) is a centralized application
center that forwards your application to the
Dental Schools you designate
 Detailed instructions are available – make sure
to read them carefully

5. https://portal.aadsasweb.org/

6.  Have everything prepared for June 1, 2011...
 American schools use roll-in admission
 The earlier you submit your application to
AADSAS, the higher your chance of getting into
a dental school!
 Normally, the last day to submit any
supplemental application is January 1
 Must send in your Fall transcript by February 15

7. •DAT – Canadian vs. American
•Required Course Work & GPA
•Professional Experience
(Extracurricular and Pre-Dental Activities)
•Personal Statement
•Reference Letters

8. DAT
 Admission into U.S. Dental Schools requires
completion of the Dental Admissions Test
 The Dental Aptitude Test (“Canadian DAT”) is
acceptable at most U.S. Dental schools, although
some prefer the “American DAT”
 Canadian vs. American DAT

9. Good DAT Scores…
 Like MCAT, American Schools like to look at your
DAT scores more than your GPA.
 Therefore, take the DAT seriously…
 Try to get 20+ on all sections!
 DAT scores older than 2 years from the time of
the test are not acceptable.
 *** Need to request the scores to be sent from
CDA to every school you are applying to
 If you have written the DAT more than once you
can choose which scores you want to send.

10. Do American Dental Schools
care about your Carving Score?
 Some do (e.g. University of Detroit
Mercy... but they are lenient)
 Some don’t (some applicants still get
in with subpar carving scores)
 Try to do well to keep your options
open!

11. Required Course Work:
 Most schools require:
 1 year Biology
 1 year General/Inorganic Chemistry (with lab)
 1 year Organic Chemistry (with lab)
 1 year Physics (with lab)
 1 year English (Composition or Literature)
 Some schools require additional ½-1 year of :
 Biochemistry
 Microbiology
 Anatomy (lab)

12. Yes… the chem!
 U of T only offers half year general chemistry with
lab(CHM139).
 Can CHM 220 make up for the other half?
 The answer: Yes and No.
 Columbia, NYU, Boston  YES!
 Many other schools  No!
 So you need to contact them directly, and ask for the
exception.
 Otherwise, you need to take CHM217 OR go to UTM
or UTSC to take a chem course.

13. GPA
 AADSAS calculates your overall GPA and your science
GPA, all completed course work is taken into account
 Minimum science GPA of 2.95 for most schools.
 Even the average GPA for Harvard is 3.81, so no stellar
GPA is required. But try to maintain a B or better GPA.
 90% or plus = 4.3
 80%-84% = 3.67
*** When entering grades on AADSAS, under “Credits” for
U of T grades you must indicate 3 for ½ courses and 6
for full year courses (not 0.5 and 1.0)
 Send your official transcript to AADSAS
*** Print the “Transcript Matching form” from AASAS and
ask the registrar to include it with your transcript
 Once you have paid for your application, they will verify
and update your GPA on the AADSAS

14. Professional Experience
 Academic Enrichment Programs
 Description, hours and date
 Awards, Honors, Scholarships (5 max)
 Dentistry Experience (5 max)
 Extracurricular, Volunteer, Community Service (10
max)
 Will need to write how many hours a week and how
many hours in total as well as dates (from-to)
 Research experience (not sure what max is)
 Any sort of research is good!
 Again, hours and dates
 Work experience (5 max)
 Again, hours and dates
 THIS is the bulk of the application

15. Dentistry Experience
 Shadowing dentists
 Volunteering at a dental office
 Working at a dental office
 Being part of “Pre-dental society” or mission
trips
 Anything that illustrates your knowledge on
what you are about to get into counts!

16. Personal Statement
 About a page and half in length
 SHORT IS GOOD!
 Talk about you, why you became interested in
dentistry, what have you done to demonstrate your
interest in this career etc.  Distinguish yourself
from other applicants
 Revise, revise, revise! So, plan ahead… prepare
writing one soon (Professors usually want to see this
before writing a Reference Letter)
 Barron’s DAT book includes sample Personal
Statements
 “40 Essays from Successful Applications to the
Nation's Top Medical Schools” or “Essays that will
get you into Medical School”
 Check out workshops and books available at the
Career Center

17. Letters of Recommendation
 You can only upload 4 letters of recommendation,
but depending on the school you are applying to,
prepare at least 6 of them.
 You enter your referee's e-mail address and
AADSAS will forward them a link
 1-3 from Biology prof. (usually min. of 2 letters),
 1 from Chem/Physics prof. (Tufts)
 1 Arts prof. (Nova),
 1 dentist (multiple schools, needed as a proof for
your shadowing hours, on official office letterhead)
 LOR requirements may change from year to year,
make sure to check the school’s website
 Request these letters well before June 1st

19. Schools that accept Canadian DAT
 Midwestern University (MWA, MWI)
 Loma Linda University (LLU)
 University of the Pacific (UOP)
 University of Southern California (USC)
 University of Connecticut (CONN)
 Howard University (HOW)
 Nova Southeastern University (NSU)
 University of Florida (FLA)
 Southern Illinois University (SIU)
 Indiana University (IU)
 University of Iowa (UI)
 University of Kentucky (UK)
 University of Louisville (UL)
 Louisiana State University (LSU)
 University of Maryland (UMB)
 Boston University School of Medicine (BU)
 Harvard University (HSDM)
 Tufts University (TUF)
 University of Detroit Mercy (UDM)
 The University of Michigan (MICH)

20.  University of Minnesota (UMN)
 University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)
 Creighton University
 University of Nebraska
 University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)
 Columbia University (CUL)
 New York University (NYU)
 University of Buffalo
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 Case School of Dental Medicine (CWR)
 The Ohio State University
 University of Oklahoma
 Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)
 University of Pennsylvania (PENN)
 University of Pittsburgh (PITT)
 Temple University (TEMP)
 Meharry Medical College (MEH)
 Baylor College of Dentistry
 University of Texas Health and Science Center at Houston and
San Antonio
 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
 University of Washington
 West Virginia University
 Marquette University (MQT)

21. However…
 Unfortunately, many schools want your money,
not you.
 Save money by applying to Canadian friendly
schools.
 Overqualified for some schools?
 Which part of Canada are you from?

22. Schools that DO accept Canadians:
 University of Southern California (USC)
 University of Connecticut (CONN)
 Nova Southeastern University (NSU)
 Boston University School of Medicine (BU)
 Howard University (HOW)
 Meharry Medical College (MEH)
 The University of Michigan (MICH)
 Tufts University (TUF)
 University of Detroit Mercy (UDM)
 Columbia University (CUL)
 New York University (NYU)
 Case School of Dental Medicine (CWR)
 University of Pennsylvania (PENN)
 University of Pittsburgh (PITT)
 Temple University (TEMP)

23. Tips on picking schools…
 Check the ADEA guide for stats and requirements,
pick the schools that suit you
 Search threads on Pre-Dental Forum on the Student
Doctor Network (http://forums.studentdoctor.net)
 Can also check http://www.predents.com/ to
compare yourself against applicants from previous
cycles
 After creating an account you can use the “Member
Search” option to check where international/ Canadian
students with similar stats were invited for interviews

24. Stats on Predents.com…

25. Other small tips…
 Request your high school transcripts from your
school board. (UDM and Harvard ask for them at the
time of application)
 Prepare a US Dollars bank account, so you can send
application fees to each schools ASAP.
 Or use your bank to get a lot of bank drafts made
in US Dollars (what I did)
 Don’t send Canadian checks…
 Go to professors’ office hours so they can get to
know you.
 Make a spreadsheet to keep yourself organized
 APPLY EARLY! Even if you write your DAT in Aug,
can still submit in June

26. OK, ready to submit?
Checklist:
 Good personal essay (no spelling mistakes!)
 Official transcript + Transcript Matching Form requested to be
sent to AADSAS.
 Your official DAT score report to every school that you apply
 First 5 scores included in fee
 Each additional school $25
 Money (bank drafts in US dollars)
 You need to send extra fees ranging from $40-$90 to every
school in addition to what you paid on AADSAS
 Some schools ask you to wait until you are contacted
 Follow up with schools to make sure they have processed your
payment correctly
 Check for supplemental application requirements (e.g. UPenn).
 Require essays and such to be sent in addition to AADSAS
application
 Have some 2 x 2 inch photos handy because some schools require
them for the application or for the interview

27. The waiting game…
Starting from August, you will be checking emails and
your mail box every 5 min.

28. Interviews!
 Nova and Case Western start their interviews in
August.
 Most other schools begin in September.
 Peak period is from September to November.
 But interview cycle is supposed to last until end
of February.
 Prepare enough money for traveling!

30. Preparation
 Look at SDN’s interview feedback for some
possible questions.
 http://www.studentdoctor.net/schools/?view=de
ntal
 There are lots of general questions:
E.g. - Tell me about yourself.
- Why dentistry? Why not medicine?
- Your strength, weakness
 Go to the career centre for practice interviews, or
do it amongst friends.

31. Tips for good interviews
 Be prepared to talk about the things you have mentioned
in your Personal Statement, AADSAS Application and
Supplemental Application
 Always ask yourself, “What’s the intention behind this
question? What is the interviewer trying to get at?”
 Prepare something visual
 Some people do this, some don’t
 I didn’t prepare anything for my interview
 It’s a casual conversation, so relax and let the interviewer
get to know you.

32. While interviewing at the
school…
 Get to know the neighborhood. Can you see
yourself living here for the next 4 years?
 The clinics, and the classrooms. Do you get your
own chair? How modern is the clinic?
 The student atmosphere.
 Go to the graduate service office, and get some
booklets.

33. Write a thank you letter!
 Get your interviewer’s name card if possible.
 Mention briefly what you talked about during the
interview.
 Show how much you are interested in their
program.
 Write it as soon as you come back from your
interview!

34. Another waiting game….
Dec 1 will be your day!

35. Accepted? Rejected?
 The earliest date you will know of your acceptance
is Dec 1.
 Well, it takes longer for the mail to arrive, so it’s
actually Dec 5.
 Usually, they give you 45 days to decide. You must
reply back to all of them within 45 days.
 For the school you’ve decided to attend, you must
send a deposit.

36. When you decide
 Look at the curriculum, the facility
 Student life
 What can the school provide for you?
 The COST!
 Dental schools are expensive, and as Canadians
we can’t apply for US federal student loans. (But
we can apply for OSAP)

38. Financial Aid
 OSAP
 Professional school student
loans by RBC
 CanHELP
 Scholarships
 Daddy and Mommy
 When visiting the school for
the interview, they usually have
some information on financial
aid as well!
 There is one thing you
absolutely need!
 Good credit history

39. Licensing Exams
 American Boards Part I
(usually after 2nd year) and
part II (after 4th year) for
practicing in the US
 To practice in Canada you
must write the Canadian
Licensure exam at the end
of your 4th year

40. Last but not least…
 Buy “The Official Guide to
American Dental Schools”
published by ADEA.
 The 2011 issue is now available
online
 The 2010 version is available at
the Career Center
 Useful websites:
 http://forums.studentdoctor.net
 www.predents.com
 Canadian Forum:
http://www.premed101.com

41. Q&A Period