Dental School Acceptance Rates in the USA

All applicants should consider the requirements of each dental school as well as their acceptance rate before applying. 

The average acceptance rate for all dental schools in America in 2020 was 7.3%. If you would like to see the acceptance rates of Canadian Dental School click here. The total number of applicants, interview spots, and accepted students each year has been provided by the individual dental schools below.

Another important aspect to consider is the dental school’s policies for out-of-state applicants: Some schools have no preference, some schools a small preference and some strong preference for in-state applicants (see below for more information).

Acceptance Rates for Each Dental School in America:

University	State	Number of Applicants in 2020	Entering Class Size	Acceptance Rate (Percent)
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health	Arizona	2424	77	3.2%
Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health	Missouri	1363	61	4.5%
Boston University	Massachusetts	2293	115	5.0%
Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	2315	75	3.2%
Columbia University	New York	1501	88	5.9%
Creighton University	Nebraska	1989	115	5.8%
Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University	Georgia	852	95	11.2%
East Carolina University	North Carolina	381	52	13.6%
Harvard School	Massachusetts	920	35	3.8%
Herman Ostrow School	California	2346	144	6.1%
Howard University	District of Columbia	961	65	6.8%
Indiana University	Indiana	943	101	10.7%
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	Florida	3330	105	3.2%
Loma Linda University	California	1200	100	8.3%
Louisiana State University	Louisiana	508	75	14.8%
Marquette University	Wisconsin	2437	107	4.4%
Medical University of South Carolina	South Carolina	1212	78	6.4%
Meharry Medical College	Tennessee	2137	62	2.9%
Midwestern University	Arizona	2246	142	6.3%
Midwestern University	Illinois	2346	140	6.0%
New York University	New York	3035	367	12.1%
Nova Southeastern University	Florida	2280	122	5.4%
Oregon Health & Science University	Oregon	938	74	7.9%
Roseman University of Health Sciences	Utah	1719	102	5.9%
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey	New Jersey	1995	95	4.8%
Southern Illinois University	Illinois	632	50	7.9%
Stony Brook University	New York	946	46	4.9%
Texas A&M	Texas	1426	103	7.2%
Temple University	Pennsylvania	2755	141	5.1%
The Ohio State University	Ohio	812	120	14.8%
The University of Iowa	Iowa	865	82	9.5%
New York Medical College	New York	2539	114	4.5%
Tufts University	Massachusetts	3946	209	5.3%
University at Buffalo	New York	1800	95	5.3%
University of Alabama	Alabama	961	61	6.3%
University of California	California	1384	88	6.4%
University of California	California	1357	90	6.6%
University of Colorado	Colorado	2114	80	3.8%
University of Connecticut	Connecticut	1229	50	4.1%
University of Detroit	Michigan	1517	143	9.4%
University of Florida	Florida	1464	93	6.4%
University of Illinois	Illinois	1300	66	5.1%
University of Kentucky	Kentucky	938	65	6.9%
University of Louisville	Kentucky	2045	116	5.7%
University of Maryland	Maryland	1801	133	7.4%
University of Michigan	Michigan	1604	108	6.7%
University of Minnesota	Minnesota	659	105	15.9%
University of Mississippi	Mississippi	193	39	20.2%
University of Missouri	Missouri	719	108	15.0%
University of Nebraska	Nebraska	511	52	10.2%
University of Nevada	Nevada	1603	84	5.2%
University of New England	Maine	822	61	7.4%
University of North Carolina	North Carolina	1211	82	6.8%
University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	746	52	7.0%
University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	1981	136	6.9%
University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	1521	80	5.3%
University of Puerto Rico	Puerto Rico	321	40	12.5%
University of Tennessee	Tennessee	1201	98	8.2%
UT Health San Antonio	Texas	1436	100	7.0%
University of Texas	Texas	1438	104	7.2%
University of the Pacific	California	2076	146	7.0%
University of Utah	Utah	467	50	10.7%
University of Washington	Washington	484	63	13.0%
Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia	2156	94	4.4%
Western University of Health Sciences College	California	2855	70	2.5%
West Virginia University	West Virginia	962	48	5.0%

Dental School Admission Statistics in America: In-State vs. Out-of-State Applicants 

Many dental schools in America explicitly skew their admission process in favour of applicants who reside within the state in which the dental school is located. 

Some of the American dental schools that favour in-state applicants explicitly state the maximum number, out-of-province applicants, that they will accept and the maximum number of international students that they will accept. Take a look at the acceptance rates comparing in-state vs out-of-state to see what universities might be the most appropriate to apply to.

University	State	In-State Acceptance Rate	Out-of-State Acceptance Rate
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health	Arizona	12.50%	2.73%
Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health	Missouri	13.33%	4.01%
Boston University	Massachusetts	26.62%	3.59%
Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	10.84%	2.69%
Columbia University	New York	11.97%	4.93%
Creighton University	Nebraska	19.15%	5.55%
Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University	Georgia	28.48%	1.68%
East Carolina University	North Carolina	15.81%	0.00%
Harvard School	Massachusetts	4.55%	3.73%
Herman Ostrow School	California	9.69%	3.55%
Howard University	District of Columbia	0.00%	6.86%
Indiana University	Indiana	38.82%	5.35%
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	Florida	5.71%	2.60%
Loma Linda University	California	11.64%	5.17%
Louisiana State University	Louisiana	45.31%	4.52%
Marquette University	Wisconsin	31.45%	2.57%
Medical University of South Carolina	South Carolina	43.31%	2.16%
Meharry Medical College	Tennessee	8.18%	2.72%
Midwestern University	Arizona	20.93%	5.35%
Midwestern University	Illinois	13.09%	4.92%
New York University	New York	32.65%	7.88%
Nova Southeastern University	Florida	14.75%	1.52%
Oregon Health & Science University	Oregon	41.76%	4.32%
Roseman University of Health Sciences	Utah	18.02%	5.31%
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey	New Jersey	20.86%	1.97%
Southern Illinois University	Illinois	12.46%	2.86%
Stony Brook University	New York	9.76%	1.78%
Texas A&M	Texas	11.19%	1.46%
Temple University	Pennsylvania	25.00%	3.10%
The Ohio State University	Ohio	41.39%	3.15%
The University of Iowa	Iowa	55.67%	3.78%
New York Medical College	New York	8.56%	3.48%
Tufts University	Massachusetts	16.76%	4.96%
University at Buffalo	New York	14.74%	2.59%
University of Alabama	Alabama	32.26%	2.56%
University of California	California	11.84%	0.81%
University of California	California	8.24%	3.98%
University of Colorado	Colorado	38.94%	1.69%
University of Connecticut	Connecticut	33.33%	1.95%
University of Detroit	Michigan	18.65%	5.51%
University of Florida	Florida	12.58%	1.36%
University of Illinois	Illinois	14.86%	0.36%
University of Kentucky	Kentucky	31.19%	3.70%
University of Louisville	Kentucky	28.70%	4.39%
University of Maryland	Maryland	38.79%	4.16%
University of Michigan	Michigan	20.00%	2.81%
University of Minnesota	Minnesota	41.07%	6.41%
University of Mississippi	Mississippi	31.20%	0.00%
University of Missouri	Missouri	48.76%	7.82%
University of Nebraska	Nebraska	52.46%	4.59%
University of Nevada	Nevada	54.02%	2.35%
University of New England	Maine	14.29%	7.26%
University of North Carolina	North Carolina	21.71%	1.83%
University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	36.52%	1.63%
University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	13.93%	6.50%
University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	16.49%	3.54%
University of Puerto Rico	Puerto Rico	45.24%	0.87%
University of Tennessee	Tennessee	37.65%	3.59%
UT Health San Antonio	Texas	11.43%	0.54%
University of Texas	Texas	11.37%	1.41%
University of the Pacific	California	11.90%	3.18%
University of Utah	Utah	17.89%	8.21%
University of Washington	Washington	37.58%	2.17%
Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia	21.90%	1.79%
Western University of Health Sciences College	California	4.37%	1.56%
West Virginia University	West Virginia	64.15%	1.63%

Dental School Acceptance is much harder as an Out-of-State Applicant!

International Applicant Dental School Acceptance Rates

Acceptance Rates for International Applicants are also different compared to the in-state applicants. Take a look at the acceptance rates for international applicants to see what universities might be the most appropriate to apply to.

University	Number of International Applicants	International Applicants Accepted	Acceptance Rate (Percent)
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health	64	0	0.00%
Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health	17	0	0.00%
Boston University	274	7	2.55%
Case Western Reserve University	255	6	2.35%
Columbia University	127	2	1.57%
Creighton University	104	4	3.85%
Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University	13	0	0.00%
East Carolina University	3	0	0.00%
Harvard School	104	4	3.85%
Herman Ostrow School	223	11	4.93%
Howard University	42	2	4.76%
Indiana University	44	2	4.55%
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	46	0	0.00%
Loma Linda University	100	12	12.00%
Louisiana State University	4	0	0.00%
Marquette University	97	1	1.03%
Medical University of South Carolina	22	0	0.00%
Meharry Medical College	75	0	0.00%
Midwestern University	134	9	6.72%
Midwestern University	138	2	1.45%
New York University	337	46	13.65%
Nova Southeastern University	182	4	2.20%
Oregon Health & Science University	36	1	2.78%
Roseman University of Health Sciences	82	1	1.22%
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey	174	2	1.15%
Southern Illinois University	15	0	0.00%
Stony Brook University	56	4	7.14%
Texas A&M	37	1	2.70%
Temple University	250	10	4.00%
The Ohio State University	28	2	7.14%
The University of Iowa	27	0	0.00%
New York Medical College	126	8	6.35%
Tufts University	264	6	2.27%
University at Buffalo	234	5	2.14%
University of Alabama	18	0	0.00%
University of California	85	2	2.35%
University of California	87	10	11.49%
University of Colorado	45	3	6.67%
University of Connecticut	65	0	0.00%
University of Detroit	241	22	9.13%
University of Florida	6	0	0.00%
University of Illinois	49	0	0.00%
University of Kentucky	19	1	5.26%
University of Louisville	62	1	1.61%
University of Maryland	97	5	5.15%
University of Michigan	110	5	4.55%
University of Minnesota	70	9	12.86%
University of Mississippi	3	0	0.00%
University of Missouri	10	3	30.00%
University of Nebraska	14	0	0.00%
University of Nevada	68	3	4.41%
University of New England	30	2	6.67%
University of North Carolina	35	0	0.00%
University of Oklahoma	19	0	0.00%
University of Pennsylvania	213	12	5.63%
University of Pittsburgh	175	8	4.57%
University of Puerto Rico	7	0	0.00%
University of Tennessee	7	0	0.00%
UT Health San Antonio	31	0	0.00%
University of Texas	25	0	0.00%
University of the Pacific	203	8	3.94%
University of Utah	3	0	0.00%
University of Washington	13	0	0.00%
Virginia Commonwealth University	97	2	2.06%
Western University of Health Sciences College	144	0	0.00%
West Virginia University	49	0	0.00%

Understanding Dental School Requirements in America:

In addition to admission statistics, you should study in detail the dental school requirements before you apply.

If you would like an in-depth analysis of the dental school requirements for a specific dental school in America including average admitted GPA and DAT scores as well as detailed information about the interview, autobiographical sketch, and admissions weighting statistics, the link above is a great source of information.