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Dentistry Admissions
School Statistics

WesternU

Admissions Statistics and Requirements for Western Dental School

Background Information

  • Location: Pomona, CA
  • Institution Type: Private
  • Dental Doctoral Degree: Doctor of Dental Medicine
  • Campus Setting: Suburban
  • Mission Statement: “To educate and train highly competent, diverse clinical practitioners to provide complex, integrative, high-quality and evidence-based care for patients, families and communities.”
  • Year Opened: 2009
  • Number of Months to Earn Degree: 45
  • Campus Housing Available: Yes
  • Class Size: 69-74
  • Term Type: Semester

Combined degrees offered:

B.A./B.S.
M.B.A.
M.P.H.
M.S.
Ph.D.
Other Degrees

International Dental Graduate Programs:

Traditional Predoctoral Program for IDGs
Advanced Standing Program for IDGs
No
Yes

Admissions Statistics: (2024 Applicant and Entering Class Data)

  • Mean Age of First-Time, First-Year Enrollees: 25

Acceptance Rates by Location:

Number of Applicants
Number of Enrollees
Enrollment Rate
Overall
2,544
70
2.75%
In-State
1,047
54
5.16%
Out-State
1,381
16
1.16%
International
116
0
0.00%

Class Breakdown by Residency:

Number of Enrollees
Percentage of Incoming Class
In-State
54
77.14%
Out-State
16
22.86%
International
0
0.00%

Academic Averages for Acceptance:

DAT Academic Average
DAT Natural Science
DAT Perceptual Ability
Cumulative GPA
Science GPA
20
19.8
20
3.47
3.38

Range of Academics for Acceptance:

5th Percentile of Enrollees
95th Percentile of Enrollees
DAT Academic Average
17
23
Cumulative GPA
2.88
3.91
Science GPA
2.79
3.93

Prerequisites

Preferred
Strongly Preferred
Required
Baccalaureate is:

Required Coursework:

Required Course
Credits (Semesters/Quarters)
Required Lab
Biology
8/12
General Chemistry
8/12
Organic Chemistry
8/12
Physics
8/12
Composition
6/9
  • Recommended courses include Biochemistry, Genetics, Cell Biology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Calculus 1, Biometrics, Psychology & Conversational Spanish
  • The composition course must be from the English Department or a course which satisfies a writing requirement GE. English as a Second Language (ESL) courses do not apply.

Community College Coursework and Advanced Placement Credit:

Prerequisites
Electives
AP Credit Accepted
Yes: English only
Yes
Community College Coursework Accepted
Yes
Yes

Maximum number of Community College Credit Hours:

  • No limit on the number of community college credit hours, although it is recommended that the majority of your prerequisites be completed at the university level.

Required Shadowing Hours:

  • 30 (any form of dental-related work, either paid or volunteer)
  • Although the minimum is 30 hours, to increase your competitiveness, we recommend 100+ hours

Letters of Recommendation: 

  • Option 1: Undergraduate institution pre-professional committee letter
  • Option 2: Three individual letters (two from science professors, one from a dentist or other professor). Dentist should not be a family member.

Dental Admissions Test Requirements:

Mandatory DAT
Canadian DAT Accepted?
Applicants Evaluated Before Official DAT Submission?
DAT Score Considered
Yes
No
No
Most recent score only

Supplemental Information:

Mandatory Casper
Participation in ADEA AADSAS
Required Supplemental Application
Supplemental Application Fee
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes: $60 for all students

Interview Format

  • You can expect to be interviewed by a team of two, comprised of either faculty, administrators, or clinicians and one student.
  • During the 25-30 minute interview your interviewers will ask a series of general and behavioral-based questions (which require you to draw from personal experience to formulate your answers).

Finances and Application Logistics

Financial Estimations for students entering Fall 2025:

Year
In-State Tuition
Out-State Tuition
Additional Fees
Estimated Living Expenses
D1
$93,437
$93,437
$73,363
$35,859
D2
$93,437
$93,437
$78,778
$35,859
D3
$93,437
$93,437
$77,981
$38,586
D4
$93,437
$93,437
$73,885
$32,157

University Offerings

1. Academic Offerings 

  • Pre-Dental Opportunities
    • Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)
  • Research
    • Research is focused on inflammation and Disease, as well as Oral Manifestations of Adverse Drug Reactions
    • Students can apply for the Summer Research Fellowship Program
    • Annual WesternU Student Technology and Research Symposium allows students to present their work

2. Clinical Experiences

  • Clinical Curriculum Overview
    • D1: Pre-clinical simulation and clinical skill acquisition training
    • D2: Students have their first direct patient care experience during D2 Summer Term.
    • D3-D4: Students spend ~ 32 hrs/week performing direct patient care on campus, at the Dental Center, and the Community-Based Clinic Network
  • Postdoctoral and Residency Programs
    • Post-grad opportunities:
      • VirtualU CE courses
    • Residencies:
      • Advanced Education in General Dentistry (partnered with NYU Langone)
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