Older individuals are accepted into dental school. Age is just a number when it comes to pursuing your dreams and educational goals. Dental schools value diversity in their student body, including a wide range of ages and life experiences. Many older students bring a wealth of professional and personal experience that can enrich their education and the experiences of their classmates. They often have strong motivation, maturity, and a clear sense of purpose, which are highly valued in the dental field. If you're considering applying, it would be helpful to highlight how your life experiences will make you a strong candidate for dental school in your personal statement—despite age. In other words, you must turn your age into an asset, what many dental schools are looking for in their program, maturity, experience, and diversity. This is equally true for applicants to dental school, residency, and advanced placement programs for internationally trained dentists, as well as pre-dental programs. In the following video, an expert discusses the case in depth of a 32-year-old applicant to pre-dental programs:
The requirements for older applicants to dental school are the same as for younger applicants. Like younger applicants, older ones must hold a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a relevant field such as Biology, Public Health, or Health Administration, the three most common master’s level degrees that are most frequently earned in preparation for selection to advanced training in Dentistry. To be considered, applicants of any age must have completed at least ninety credit hours with a high GPA. All applicants must complete specific prerequisite courses, typically including biology, chemistry, physics, and English. These courses must be completed with a minimum grade of "C" and within the past ten years. All applicants must also earn high scores on the DAT, and the scores must be submitted within three years of the application. Applicants need to submit one committee evaluation letter or three individual letters of evaluation, with at least two from science faculty members. One hundred hours of dental shadowing experiences is also recommended. Applications must be submitted through the American Association of Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) by the specified deadline. If you have a degree from outside the U.S. or Canada, you may need to submit a course-by-course evaluation and TOEFL scores.
Older applicants often bring valuable life and professional experiences that can enhance their application. Highlighting these experiences in your personal statement can be a strong advantage, helping to make older applicants particularly attractive to dental program admissions committees. If you completed your degree some time ago, there are still viable paths to applying for dental school. It is important that you complete prerequisite courses within the last few years, if they were taken many years ago you can enhance the likelihood of being selected if those courses are retaken. Most schools prefer these courses to be completed within the last ten years. If you've been out of the academic environment for a while, consider taking some recent coursework, especially in the sciences. This can demonstrate to admissions committees that you are prepared for the rigors of the dental school curriculum. The DAT scores must be recent (within three years). Preparing for and doing well on the DAT can highlight your current academic abilities.
It is important to highlight any relevant professional experience you've gained since completing your degree. This can be a significant advantage in your application, especially if you have experience in healthcare or related fields. It is particularly important for older applicants to obtain strong letters of recommendation from recent professional or academic contacts who can speak to your current abilities and readiness for dental school. Older applicants must use their personal statement to explain their journey, why you are now pursuing dental school, and how your life experiences make you a strong candidate. You should mention any continuing education courses or certifications you've completed since earning your degree. If you're considering specific dental schools, you should consider reaching out to their admissions offices for advice on how to strengthen your application
Biology, Chemistry, and Physics are fundamental, and you need to make sure that these courses that you complete have a lab component. Biochemistry is often required or recommended, as well as Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology. An intensive writing course in English is also widely regarded with favor. It's a promising idea to take some upper-level science courses to demonstrate your academic readiness. Courses like genetics, cell biology, and advanced biochemistry can be beneficial for not only fulfilling prerequisites but also strengthening your application by showing that you can handle rigorous scientific coursework.
The acceptance rates for older applicants to residency programs and for international or foreign-trained dentists can vary significantly based on the specific program and institution. Many residency programs are especially open to older applicants, particularly those who bring valuable professional experience. Programs in primary care specialties, such as family dentistry, often have higher acceptance rates for non-traditional applicants. However, certain competitive specialties may still prefer recent graduates. Many dental residency programs in the U.S. are designed to accommodate international or foreign-trained dentists. These programs often have specific pathways, such as advanced standing programs or residency programs tailored for international dentists. The following video provides a detailed account of an older, non-traditional, American man who decided to become a dentist at the age of thirty-nine, starting with a second bachelor's degree since the first one was in music.
The acceptance rates for international dentist programs are competitive, but they provide a clear route for many foreign-trained dentists to practice in the U.S. Both older applicants and international dentists face unique challenges and opportunities. The key is to find programs that value the specific experiences and qualifications you bring to the table. Applicants need to thoroughly research specific programs that they would especially like to attend, to see what unique qualifications are particularly valued by those programs.
It is important to recognize, however, that, all other things being equal, younger applicants are preferred over older ones. The most key factor that older applicants have going for them is the profound appreciation that academia has for diversity, not just according to race, background, and cultural factors such as religion, but also age. In the same way that dental school and advanced training programs do not want an all-white classroom, preferring at least some representation of people of color, immigrants, and multilingual applicants, they also do not want the classroom to be entirely students under 30 years old. If the older applicant does all they can to explain how they could make valuable contributions to diversity in their personal statement, their chances of being selected are heightened.
Finally, all anyone can do is their best, especially in the quest of what is most important to them in life, particularly professionally. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for many if not most professionally qualified applicants for dental school and residency training. I urge you to consider applying and harnessing the power of a professionally written personal statement to your application, along with impressive letters of recommendation. At DentalPersonalStatement.com we would like to help with both, we are also here to edit your CV to make it as effective as possible. If you fill out our interview form with sufficient information, we will respond with important tips and strategies that could make the crucial difference in your application, especially the personal statement: https://www.dentalpersonalstatement.com/interview
But whether one is selected or not, if you do your absolute best to submit top-notch application materials, then your will have the satisfaction for the balance of your life that you did all you could to achieve your dreams. The importance of this is hard to overestimate. We all have dreams and many fail to achieve them. But those who have done their best to win in an extremely competitive contest often find greater satisfaction than those who do not. If you do not apply, you may always wonder if you might have been selected if you had.
Older, non-traditional Asian/European applicant to dental school with 25 years' experience. This applicant was not selected to an international dentist program at 55 years old, but he was selected for a general dentistry residency and is practicing in the USA.
This page features two distinct personal statements from non-traditional applicants who have successfully transitioned into the field of dentistry. These statements are designed to provide inspiration and insight into how diverse experiences and backgrounds can be leveraged to create compelling narratives for dental school applications:
At DentalPersonalStatement.com, we would be happy to help with your application for advanced training in dentistry. We provide free evaluations of personal statement drafts, writing and editing service for letters of recommendation, and CV editing and enhancement. We wish you the best in a highly competitive area where dedication and perseverance frequently make the crucial difference.
Older Applicants Accepted to Dental School
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