Dentistry

Pre-dental advising is available to current ECU students and ECU Alumni through the Center for Pre-Professional Advising.

Current ECU students are assigned a primary advisory who will guide them through their major and course selections. These students will also be assigned a pre-professional advisor as a secondary resource. The pre-professional advisor will help the student determine a timeline for completing the pre-dental prerequisites and preparing for the dental school application process.

Students possessing an undergraduate degree (from ECU or elsewhere) wishing to enroll at ECU to complete the prerequisite courses must first apply to the ECU Graduate School as a Non-Degree Graduate Student. Admission to the university does not guarantee a spot in the prerequisite classes. The student may have to obtain special permission from the department to register for the classes he/she needs. The pre-professional advisor will assist the student in course selection and a timeline for preparation.

Dental School Application Process

You will begin completing the application for dental school 12-14 months before you plan to matriculate. If you plan to attend dental school the fall after graduating from an undergraduate program in the spring, and do so in four years, you will apply during the summer between your junior and senior year, or very early in the fall of your senior year. Each year, the application for dental school opens in mid-May with early June being the first day for submission for admission for the following year. Deadlines vary from school-to-school but fall between December 1st and February 1st (the deadline for applying to the ECU School of Dental Medicine is December 1st).

You will apply through the ADEA (American Dental Education Association) AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Services).  Our office will help you navigate this process.

Apply for ADEA AADSAS

Documents required for application:

  • Transcripts from each community college or university attended
  • Personal Statement
  • DAT (Dental Admissions Test) Scores
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Health Professions Committee Letter (required for all ECU students applying to the ECU School of Dental Medicine)

Dental School Pre-requisites

Below is a list of standard pre-requisites for admission to US Dental Schools. It is recommended that you check with specific schools to see if they require any additional coursework to be eligible for admission.

  • General Biology with labs – BIOL 1100, 1101 or 1150, 1151, & BIOL 1200 & 1201
  • General Chemistry with labs – CHEM 1150, 1151 & CHEM 1160, 1161
  • Organic Chemistry with labs – CHEM 2750, 2753 & CHEM 2760, 2763
  • General Physics with labs – PHYS 1250, 1251 & PHYS 1260, 1261 or PHYS 2350, 1251 & PHYS 2360, 1261
  • College Algebra and a higher-level math – Math 1065 and statistics (Bios 1500, Math 2228, Math 2283), calculus (Math 2121 or 2171), etc
  • Biochemistry (not currently required for ECU, but by many other schools) – Chem 3770 or Biol 4880

Some schools require Anatomy & Physiology (Biol 2130 & 2131, OR Biol 2140 & 2141 AND 2150 & 2151) and Microbiology (Biol 2110 & 2111 or 3220 & 3221).

ECU School of Dental Medicine Class 2026 (entering 2022) Profile

Applications accepted: June 1 – December 1
Applications received: 328
Accepted students: 52
Average Overall GPA: 3.6
Average Science GPA: 3.5
Average DAT: 20.45 (Academic Average), 20.07 (Total Science)

Volunteer-work and shadowing are very important to admission committees

The ECU School of Dental Medicine only accepts North Carolina residents.

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