Case Western Dental School Requirements

The Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine program is one of 66 dental programs in the United States of America. The Case Western requirements are categorized here in the priority of what an applicant must submit to be considered:

Academic

1. Pre-requisite courses
2. Minimum number of years of undergraduate study required
3. GPA

Non-Academic 

1. Dentistry Admission Test (DAT)
2. Dental Shadowing
3. Altus Suite Assessment
4. Letter of References
5. Personal Essay
6. Interview

Case Western Dental School Requirements: Prerequisite Courses

All students applying to Case Western must have completed at least a minimum of 3 academic years of undergraduate study (90 semester hours or 120 quarter hours). They must include the following courses: 

Prerequisite Course	Required	Lab Required	Credits (Semester/Quarter)
Biology	✓	✓	6/10
General Chemistry	✓	✓	6/10
Organic Chemistry	✓	✓	6/10
Physics	✓	✓	6/10
English	✓	X	6/10

Case Western Dental School Requirements: GPA Calculation and Requirements

Minimum Overall GPA to Apply	Average Overall GPA of accepted applicants	Lowest Overall GPA Admitted	Average Science GPA of accepted applicants	Lowest Science GPA Admitted
N/A	3.6	3.09	3.52	2.91

All university courses taken are used in the calculation of the admission GPA.

The Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine will honour Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit courses for 2020 spring, summer and fall terms if that was the school’s only grading option. Letter grades for prerequisite courses are required unless the school did not have this option.

AP credits are accepted provided they appear on the official transcript. Additional upper-level coursework in the subject is strongly recommended. They prefer that the majority of prerequisites be taken at a four-year college or university and not a community college.

Case Western Dental School Requirements: Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) and Shadowing

DAT and Shadowing Overview:

Dental Shadowing Hours	DAT Required	CAD DAT Accepted	DAT Scores Considered
50	✓	✓*	Most Recent Score

50 Hours of Dental Shadowing are strongly recommended but not required. Additionally, shadowing from multiple dentists is recommended.

Case Western DAT Admission Score Statistics:

Mean Academic Average Score	Minimum AA Score Given Admission	Mean Perceptual Ability Test	Minimum PAT Score Given Admission	Mean Total Science	Minimum Total Science Score Given Admission
20.9	18	20.3	16	20.2	17

Dental Aptitude Test: The DAT must be taken within 3 years of the application deadline. All sections including the Survey of Natural Sciences (SNS), Perceptual Ability Test (PAT), Reading Comprehension Test (RCT), and Quantitative Reasoning (QR) will be used by the admission team.

If an applicant has completed the DAT more than once in the 3-year window the most recent score will be used when calculations are made.

Students looking to test their knowledge in preparation for the DAT can click on this link to access our free practice tests for both the Canadian DAT and American DAT. 

Case Western Altus Suite Assessment

All applicants applying to the School of Dental Medicine at Case Western Reserve University are required to complete an online suite of assessments. This is a non-cognitive assessment designed to test interpersonal characteristics, personal values, and priorities. There are two portions of the Altus Suite assessment:

• CASPer Test: a 60-90 minute online situational judgment test (SJT)
• Snapshot: a 10-minute one-way interview with standardized questions

For more information on the Altus, Suite Assessment follow this link.

Case Western Dental School: Letter of References

All applicants to the Case Western Dental School are required to provide letters of reference for admission.

The Admissions Committee highly values and strongly prefers institutional evaluations that comprehensively document the holistic development of an applicant’s pre-professional attributes and values within the context of the applicant’s personal life journey. Such evaluations describe in specific detail the applicant’s many opportunities, contributions, and successes applying classroom knowledge in team-oriented, problem-based, and creative environments whose outcomes successfully address and improve diverse communities served.

If such an evaluation letter is not available, an institutional composite letter or packet of assembled letters should include two letters of evaluation from science faculty who not only have taught the applicant in a lecture or laboratory environment (including a supervisory role in independent research) but also know the applicant as much more than a face in the classroom or a pair of hands in the laboratory.

Additional solicited letters may also include non-science faculty, work supervisors, or clinical mentors who have a valuable professional perspective in your values and potential advocates for our patient community.

AADSAS Personal Essays

The ASDOH will take into account the AADSAS personal essay you submit to the ADEA. Your personal statement is a one-page essay (not to exceed 4,500 characters, including spaces, carriages, numbers, letters, etc.) that gives dental schools a clear picture of who you are and, most importantly, why you want to pursue a career in dentistry. For more information on the personal essay click on the link above.

Case Western Dental School Interview:

Mandatory	By Invitation	Number of Applicants Invited	Entering Class Size
✓	✓	N/A	75

Shortlisted candidates will be required to partake in an interview with the Case Western admissions team. The invitations to interviews are given out on a “first-completed first-considered” process. Therefore it is highly recommended that applicants submit their applications as early as possible. If you are looking for interview practice check out our posts on both MMI Practice Questions and Standard Interview Practice Questions.

Case Western Dental School Offers of Admission Decision:

The Case Western Dental School offers for admission will be based upon a mix of Academic performance, DAT scores, personal essay, shadowing, and faculty letters of recommendation. This will be done in a rolling admissions style.

Requirements for other Dental Schools in America:

If you would like an in-depth analysis of the dental school requirements for other dental schools in the United States of America click on this link.