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The Complete Application: Back
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The Office of Admissions considers applicants for interviews whose files are complete. A complete application includes the AADSAS application, letter(s) of recommendation, college transcript(s), official DAT scores and the application processing fee. All application materials submitted to the Office of Admissions become property of Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and will not be released to applicants under any circumstances.
1. Letters
of recommendation
All letters must be submitted through AADSAS and must be official with a signature on the back flap of the envelope. Applicants may submit one letter from the school's pre-health professions advisory committee or three letters from senior science professors at the undergraduate school. Although the Admissions Committee prefers letters from science professors, letters from professors in other disciplines, current or former employers and dentists may be acceptable. Letters from relatives and friends cannot substitute for letters from college faculty members.
2. College
transcripts
All transcripts must be official and sent from
the school registrar to AADSAS. Please send transcripts
from all colleges and universities in which you have
taken courses for credit.
3. Official
Dental Admission Test scores
All applicants must take the Dental Admission Test
(DAT). The U.S. version is administered on computers
at Sylvan Learning Centers nationwide throughout the
year. For specific details about requirements, registration,
testing centers and regulations, please visit the DAT
web site. The DAT exam has sections on biology, general
chemistry and organic chemistry. Therefore, it is a
good idea to take these courses prior to taking the
exam. If you want to take the exam a second time, you
must wait 90 days before retaking. It may take a few
weeks for your official scores to reach the Admissions
Office.
4. Application
Fee
HSDM has an application processing fee of $75.*
Checks and money orders must be in U.S. dollars and have the applicant's name, U.S. Social Security number (if applicable) and phone number clearly marked on them. Please make checks payable to Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Cash and credit cards are not accepted. The application fee is non-refundable. Please be sure to retain a copy of your canceled check for your records.
* Applicants under significant financial hardship may request a waiver of the $75 application fee by submitting a letter with an explanation of the request to the Office of Admissions. A letter/form completed by a financial aid officer at the student's school indicating that the student qualifies for significant financial aid is also required. Applicants will not be able to request fee waivers once the fee is paid.
Requirements
for Admission: Back
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The majority of applicants have a bachelor's degree at the time of enrollment at HSDM. At least three years of college study are required for matriculation into HSDM. Students who wish to apply for enrollment after three years of college may do so if their undergraduate school agrees to grant a bachelor's degree after successfully completing the first year of dental school. However, this happens rarely.
Applicants who have been educated in universities outside the United States or Canada are required to complete at least one year of college and all the dental prerequisite courses in the U.S. or Canada.
Listed below are the recommended college courses necessary to ensure adequate preparation for professional school and to meet present legal requirements of state licensing boards. One year or 8 semester hours are required in each of the following subjects:
- Biology - with laboratory
- Inorganic or General Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Physics
- Calculus
- English - preferably composition*
* Applicants in Ontario province, Canada may substitute English in Grade 13 for college freshman English.
Fluency in both written and conversational English is especially important in HSDM's highly interactive curriculum. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English as determined during interview and via the Reading Comprehension score on the Dental Admission Test.
It is also strongly recommended that applicants have at least two or three advanced science courses such as biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, or genetics. Study of the social and behavioral sciences, the arts and humanities, a foreign language, computer science and statistics is also encouraged. (Please note that statistics, college algebra or computer science do not replace the requirement for calculus.)
Advanced
Standing: Back
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HSDM does not have a formal advanced
standing program.
Transfer
students: Back
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HSDM does not accept transfer students.
Deferred
Admission: Back
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HSDM does not offer an option to defer admission. Students who wish to postpone enrollment after receiving an offer of admission must reapply through AADSAS during the subsequent application cycle.
Screening: Back to Top
AADSAS begins sending applications to dental schools in June. The HSDM Screening Committee, a subcommittee of the Admissions Committee, reviews all applications as applications files become complete.
Applicants who are considered academically suitable for admission to the program will be contacted via telephone and invited to interview.
Interview: Back to Top
A personal interview is required for admission and is granted by invitation only. Interviews are considered an essential part of the admissions process and provide potential students the opportunity to flesh out their written applications and to fully articulate their background, experiences, knowledge and interest in dentistry. All interviews take place in person at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Regional or telephone interviews are not conducted.
On the day of the interview, applicants attend a presentation by a member of the Admissions Committee who introduces them to the School and the PBL curriculum. They then meet individually with two members of the Admissions Committee. The Admissions Committee is composed of clinical and basic science faculty, D.M.D. candidates and Advanced Graduate Education candidates. In addition, applicants receive a tour of the School and have lunch with HSDM students.
Interviews are generally held from September through the winter months or until the class is full. Interview dates are determined in the fall. Applicants who interview have the option of staying with a first-year student in Vanderbilt
Hall, the student dormitory. This is a great opportunity to meet and interact with many students informally. There are also inns and hotels nearby. A list will be included in an interview packet which is mailed to all applicants who are invited to interview.
Only when an applicant is selected for an interview, must he or she submit the following items:
- Official high school transcript, if available
- SAT scores, if available (usually
on the high school transcript)
- A Supplemental Application (mailed with interview confirmation letter)
- A 2 x 2 photograph
Please do not submit these items
unless you have a confirmed interview date.
Selection: Back
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The selection of students is based on a total appraisal of the suitability of the candidates for the program at Harvard. Factors such as academic achievement in high school and college, performance on the Dental Admission Test, letters of evaluation and personal qualities are weighed in the decision. Equally important, the Admissions Committee considers the student's motivation to pursue a career in dentistry, familiarity with the dental profession, extracurricular interests and activities, leadership potential and career goals.
HSDM does not discriminate on the
basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, financial
resources, age, residence or disability. Consistent
with Harvard's Affirmative Action Program, women and
underrepresented minorities are encouraged to apply
to the School.
Notification
of Acceptance: Back
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In accordance with an agreement among the dental schools which utilize AADSAS, HSDM does not mail acceptance letters or notify applicants of their acceptance prior to December 1st. The School does not offer all places in the class on December 1st, and acceptances will continue throughout the interview season until the class has been filled, generally in March. Although the admissions process continues until early spring, students who apply early have a better chance of being interviewed than those who apply late in the cycle. HSDM does not require a deposit to hold one's place in the class. However, we do presume that any commitment you make will be honored.
Contact
information: Back
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Write:
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Office of Admissions - DMD Program
188 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
- Call: 617.432.1443
- Fax: 617.432.3881
- Email: hsdm_dmd_admissions@hsdm.harvard.edu
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- Additional Information
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- Clery Act
- Harvard University Police Department Clery Act Report
- The Harvard University Police Department is committed to assisting all members of the Harvard community in providing for their own safety and security. Harvard's annual security report, prepared in compliance with The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the "Clery Act"), is entitled Playing it Safe, and can be found on the HUPD's website at www.hupd.harvard.edu/prevention_handbook.php. Playing it Safe includes information about the HUPD, how to report a crime, HUPD's crime prevention programs, substance abuse, sensitive crimes, and other important information about security and HUPD services on campus. It also contains three years of statistics on reported campus or campus-related crimes. A hard copy of Playing it Safe may be obtained by contacting the Harvard University Police Department at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 6th floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617) 495-1215.
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- Revised May 2008
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