Pre-dental

Choosing a Major

  • Pre-dental students must choose a major (pre-dental is not a major).
  • Commonly chosen majors include biology, biochemistry, chemistry, neuroscience.
  • Any major is acceptable, so long as the student completes all pre-dental requirements.
  • Consult the pre-professional health advisor – Francie Renschler.

Recommended Attributes of Dental School Applicants

  1. Competitive GPA of 3.4 or higher, especially in science courses
  2. High score on DAT exam (above a 19)
  3. Strong letters of recommendation from professors and area dentist
  4. Active in volunteer or work experience and leadership in extracurricular activities
  5. Recommended 100 hours of exposure to general practice of dentistry in at least three private practices

Common Pre-requisites for Admission to Dental School

Biology (IU Dental School requires 20 hours)

  • BIOL 107 or BIOL 119 (General Biology or Intro Biology - Molecular Perspectives)
  • BIOL 120 (Introduction to Organismal Diversity)
  • BIOL 331 (Genetics)*
  • BIOL 430 (Microbiology)
  • BIOL/EXSS 112 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I)
  • BIOL/EXSS 113 (Human Anatomy and Physiology II)

Chemistry (IU Dental School requires 12 hours)

  • CHEM 118 (Principles of Chemistry)
  • CHEM 240 (Organic Chemistry I)
  • CHEM 341 (Organic Chemistry II)
  • CHEM 370/371 (Biochemistry & lab)*

*Strongly recommended, but not required.

Physics

  • PHYS 121 (Algebra Physics I)
  • PHYS 122 (Algebra Physics II)

Social Science

  • PSYC 121 (Introduction to Psychology) OR
  • COMM 130 (Introduction to Communication)

Humanities

  • Choose at least 3 credit hours of foreign language, English composition, literature, philosophy, or history

Course requirements for dental schools may vary, please check the website for your school of interest.

AP/Dual Credit

Most dental schools will not accept AP or Dual Credit for science and/or prerequisite courses and may limit the number of AP credit hours accepted.

Admissions Timeline

  • Take the DAT exam in spring or early summer before senior year.
  • Complete application through the WebAdMIT system of AADSAS to dental school accepted June 1 through mid-October.
  • Interviews conducted each fall.

Academic Advising

All pre-dental students must meet with an academic advisor in their major department in addition to meeting with the pre-professional health advisor during time of registration each semester!