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Pre-Dental Application

Pre-Dental Application

Guidelines for Applying to Dental School

If you are an OSU student applying to dental school during the current application cycle, you should use the Health Professions Portal to aid you in your dental school application process and to collect your letters of recommendation. Please note that new applications usually open up in June for admission for the fall term of the following year (i.e., applying Summer 2018 is for admission Fall 2019). Completing these steps is an important part of the application process, and benefits you in several ways during the application cycle. If you do not regularly meet with a pre-dental advisor, completing the portal will get you on our radar and initiate a meeting to evaluate your application and assist with your readiness. If you regularly meet with a pre-dental advisor in your major, you should continue to work with them during the application process. In addition, when your letters are uploaded, we review them for internal consistency and cohesiveness. Please note that the pre-dental portal is entirely separate from AADSAS.

Step 1: Creating your Pre-Dental File

Students who are applying to dental schools will create a Pre-Dental file during the year they are applying (typically junior year). Please be sure to open your pre-dental file by June 1.

Steps to open your Pre-Dental file:

  1. To get started, please create an account via the Health Professions Portal. You will "create a new account" using a username and password of your choice (this system is not tied to your ONID account).
  2. Within the portal, please complete the Pre-Dental Information Sheet. You MUST complete this sheet in order to initiate the process of opening your Pre-Dental file. You will be able to log back into your account to make edits to this web form.
  3. After you submit the form, please connect with your Pre-Dental advisor to review your next steps for your dental school application. (Cody Duncan for Biology majors, and the Microbiology advisors for BHS and all other majors).
  4. For any questions regarding the Pre-Dental application process, please email pre-dental.program@oregonstate.edu.
  • Application Seminar: There is an application seminar every winter term. This seminar is the most accurate and current source of information and advice about the application process, obtained directly from the application services. The application seminar will be announced on the pre-dental listserv.
  • Review the Pre-Dental FAQs for other application information

Step 2: Adding Letters of Evaluation

Students who have created a profile within the Health Profession Portal can then use our system to collect letters of evaluation electronically. A Pre-Dental advisor will review the letters. Letters on your behalf can be sent to us any time and we will keep them on file until you apply. Letters should be submitted by June 25 of the year you are applying to dental school.

Go to your Pre-Dental Student Profile in the Health Professions Portal:

  • Letters of Evaluation -
    • Please first confirm with your potential letter writers that they will be able to write you a strong and positive letter of recommendation. Once you have confirmed with them that they are willing to write you a letter, you may add that person as an evaluator. Fill out an "Evaluator Profile" to enter his/her name and contact information. Once added, an email is automatically sent to that letter writer with the guidelines for composing a letter of recommendation (see link below), as well as a link to upload a letter directly to your student profile.
  • Guidelines for Letters of Evaluation above for letter writers
  • Minimum Requirements: Most dental schools require you to have 4 letters of recommendation, two from science faculty and one from a dentist. An additional letter can come from a dentist, science/non-science faculty member, employer or supervisor. It is your responsibility to ensure that the letters submitted on your behalf will be sufficient for the schools you plan to apply to.

Signature Page: Students who go through the OSU system to assist with collecting and submitting letters of recommendation for dental school applications will need to complete a signature page for the Statement of Understanding and Statement of Confidentiality. Students will receive this form when they meet with a coordinating member of the pre-dental committee to review their application status and open pre-dental file.

Step 3: After you submit your dental school applications

Get started by clicking the button below!