Pre-Dental Talk Episode #9: How to pick a dental school!

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This article accompanies Episode #9 of CrackDAT.com’s Pre-Dental Talk, hosted by Iman. Check out the podcasts here — topics range from information about the dental school application process, to advice for the DAT, to interviews with dental school faculty and students!

Episode #9 is all about choosing a dental school! In this episode, Iman interviews Lauren, a pre-dental student who applied to dental school during the 2020–21 application cycle. Lauren shares her advice for deciding where to apply, and later, for deciding which program is the best fit for you to pursue your dental education. Listen to Episode #9 here or watch the YouTube video linked below, and read on for a summary of Lauren’s advice for making one of the most important and exciting decisions you’ll make — deciding where to attend dental school!

Deciding where to apply

When you’re in the process of deciding where to apply, it can be helpful to have a resource that offers information about all the dental schools in the country. Lauren used a book from ADEA, but you can also use the digital version: the ADEA Dental School Explorer ($25 for a one-year subscription). Having a resource like the Dental School Explorer is a great way to get an initial sense of what all the dental schools have to offer!

For Lauren, the three most important factors when deciding where to apply were location, curriculum and class size (she wanted a smaller class size and a solid foundation in science/medicine), and prerequisites. Remember, although dental school prerequisites are generally standard, they do vary. For example, Lauren knew she wasn’t going to be able to take Anatomy & Physiology, so she eliminated schools with those courses as requirements.

Deciding between schools

Once you receive your acceptances, the factors that were important to you when you were deciding where to apply may change — that’s okay! Lauren said that cost became a much more salient factor once she had her acceptances (it was previously more of an abstract consideration). Going through the interview process and talking to students also changed Lauren’s perspective, since it offered her more insight than just scrolling through each school’s website. She said it gave her a better sense of where she could see herself being the happiest.

To help yourself make your decision, you might consider making a spreadsheet with factors that are important to you —for example, faculty to student ratio, location, class size, cost, clinic/facilities, and grading system. This can be a great way to help you compare schools directly and to reflect on what matters to you in a dental school and which school is likely to be your best fit.

What if you can’t visit?

Remember, during a typical dental school interview cycle, you would have the experience of visiting each dental school you interviewed at firsthand, talking to students face-to-face, and checking out the facilities. During the 2020–21 application cycle, this was completely different: nearly every interview was conducted virtually. What do you do if you’re deciding between schools that you weren’t able to visit?

Lauren didn’t get the chance to visit any dental schools in person. Her advice is, if you think seeing the campus/city/clinic would help you make your decision and you can make a visit happen and, go for it! In Lauren’s case, however, she didn’t think that seeing the location of the schools she was considering was going to give her a lot of clarity.

Even if you can’t visit, there are many ways to get a sense of what each school is like. Watch video tours of the campus and surrounding area, talk to current students, and check out pictures of the clinic and facilities. You can learn a lot about a school, even virtually!

Final thoughts

Choosing a dental school is a very important decision, so it’s normal to feel anxious during the decision-making process. It can also be daunting knowing that there is no one “right” decision — choosing a school is such a personal process. Know that no matter where you end up, you can do well and have a successful career as a dentist. So much of the dental school is about the person (you!), not the school. And be kind to yourself — it is difficult to make a decision with limited information. Lauren said it was her goal to commit to her decision without feeling any regrets and to remind herself that she made the decision she thought was best for herself with the information she had at the time.

Be sure to listen to the full podcast here. Email hi@crackdat.com with questions or with topic suggestions for future episodes, and stay tuned for more Pre-Dental Talks! We at Crack the DAT wish you the best of luck in your application cycle, decision-making process, and beyond!

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