Dental school acceptance rates can help you compare program competitiveness, but the rates in this article are calculated using first-time, first-year enrollees divided by total applications. Use the table below to compare acceptance rates, applicant totals, average total GPA, and DAT scores across dental schools. Interpret each rate alongside the dental school requirements, your academic profile, and any in-state preference to assess how competitive the program may be for you.
Disclaimer: Admissions data and policies change frequently. Verify current figures, requirements, and eligibility rules with each dental school’s official admissions office before applying. You are responsible for your own results. BeMo does not endorse or affiliate with any university, college, or test administrator, and vice versa.
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Dental School Acceptance Rates
The dental school acceptance rates below compare applicant totals, calculated acceptance rates, average total GPA, and average DAT Academic Average scores for each program.
Each rate is calculated as:
First-time, first-year enrollees ÷ total applications × 100
In this table, “acceptance rate” refers to the percentage of applications associated with students who ultimately enrolled. It is not an official offer-of-admission rate.
Sources: Applicant totals and calculated rates are based on ADEA’s U.S. Dental School Applicants and Enrollees, 2025 Entering Class workbook. Average total GPA and old–scale DAT Academic Average data are from the 2025–2026 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools and reflect the class entering Fall 2024.
Compare each metric within its stated reporting period because the application data and academic–profile data come from different entering classes. Old DAT scores use the former 1–30 scale, while new DAT scores are approximate ADA equivalents on the 200–600 scale. See our DAT scoring guide for details.
What Dental School Acceptance Rates Mean for Applicants
Acceptance rates are only a starting point. To judge how competitive a dental school may be for you, compare each rate with the school’s GPA and DAT profile, applicant volume, class size, and residency preferences.
Review Acceptance Rates Alongside GPA and DAT Scores
Your GPA and DAT are most useful when viewed against the school’s recent entering-class averages. A published minimum establishes eligibility; the entering-class profile gives a better sense of how competitive your academic record may be.
When available, review score ranges, quartiles, or class–profile distributions rather than relying on a single average. If your scores fall below the recent entering-class profile, check the school’s GPA and DAT ranges, residency policy, and eligibility rules before adding it to your list.
Consider Applicant Volume and Class Size
A low acceptance rate can reflect a large applicant pool, limited capacity, or both. Two schools with similar rates may have very different applicant volumes and class capacities.
Compare total applicants with offers of admission when both figures are available. Do not substitute entering class size for offers, since schools may admit more applicants than they ultimately enroll.
Account for In-State Preference
Overall rates often hide substantial differences between resident and non-resident applicants.
Review the official admissions policy and recent class profile for residency restrictions, in-state enrollment patterns, and separate applicant data where available.
Do not assume the same percentage applies equally to in-state, out-of-state, Canadian, and international applicants.
Why an Acceptance Rate Is Not Your Personal Chance of Admission
A published or calculated rate shows a broad program–level admissions pattern. It does not account for how closely your academics, residency status, and school-specific eligibility align with the program’s recent entering class.
Use the rate to identify programs that merit closer review, not to label any school as a guaranteed admit, an easy option, or out of reach. For a broader comparison that considers more than the headline percentage, see our guide to the easiest dental schools to get into.
Use the four factors in the infographic below to interpret dental school acceptance rates in context.
FAQs
1. Which Dental School Has The Highest Acceptance Rate?
In this 67-program dataset, the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry has the highest calculated acceptance rate at 16.7%. In this article, the rate is calculated by dividing first-time, first-year enrollees by total applications, so it is not an official offer-of-admission rate.
2. What Is the Average Dental School Acceptance Rate?
The unweighted average calculated acceptance rate across the 67 programs in this table is 5.8%. This figure is based on first-time, first-year enrollees divided by total applications for each program, so it should not be interpreted as the average percentage of applicants offered admission.
3. What Are Dental School Acceptance Rates in Canada?
Canadian dental school acceptance rates vary by program, applicant category, and available seats. Do not infer Canadian rates from the U.S. data in this table. Review our guide to dental schools in Canada for program-specific information.
4. How Should Canadian Applicants Interpret U.S. Dental School Acceptance Rates?
An overall U.S. acceptance rate may not reflect citizenship restrictions or how a school evaluates Canadian applicants. Check each program’s eligibility rules and review our list of Canadian-friendly U.S. dental schools before assuming the published rate applies to you.
5. Does a Lower Acceptance Rate Mean a Dental School Is More Highly Ranked?
No, rankings and calculated acceptance rates measure different things. A lower calculated rate may reflect applicant volume, class size, enrollment yield, or greater competition for available seats, but it does not establish program quality or ranking. Review our dental schools rankings guide for a broader comparison.
6. Does a Lower Acceptance Rate Mean a Dental School Is Better?
No. Program quality depends on more than applicant volume or class size. Applicants comparing the best dental schools in the U.S. should evaluate program quality separately from admissions selectivity.
7. How Are Dental School Acceptance Rates Calculated?
A conventional acceptance rate is typically calculated by dividing admitted applicants by the relevant applicant total, such as completed applications, and multiplying by 100. However, the ADEA workbook used for this table reports total applications and first-time, first-year enrollees rather than school-level admitted–applicant counts. Therefore, the rates in this article are calculated as:
First–time, first–year enrollees ÷ total applications × 100
8. What Else Affects My Chances of Dental School Admission?
Acceptance rates, GPA, DAT scores, and residency data describe only part of the admissions process. Schools may also evaluate your personal statement, supplemental responses, experiences, recommendations, and interview performance. Review strong dental school personal statement examples, understand the dental school supplemental application, and practice with realistic dental school interview questions as you prepare.
To your success,
Your friends at BeMo
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9 Comments
tetoapollo • 08/06/2021 12:15
What does the "Success Rate In-State" parameter indicate? Where do you source this data from?
ReplyMax Y. • 10/14/2021 14:24
I’m a student at LECOM SDM. Just wanted to give you an update for the class of 2021. The stats on this site are incorrect. The actual DAT average for our class is a 21 and overall GPA average is a 3.74. I know that having the correct stats would be helpful to a lot of prospective students. I know the stats change every year and can be difficult to keep up with. I hope that this helps!
ReplyMax Y. • 10/14/2021 14:27
I just submitted a comment regarding incorrect stats for LECOM SDM. I wanted to include another stat update for the class of 2021. There were 3500 applications overall and only 105 seats were filled.
ReplyEly • 11/27/2021 06:11
Is the GPA the applicant’s science courses’s GPA or the over all GPA? Do some schools allow entry after 3 years undergraduate? What is the dental school dropout rate before graduation?
Replykilrory • 12/01/2021 06:37
Any idea of chances of admit from being waitlisted at Uconn
ReplyBarbara Harris • 04/10/2022 05:45
Hi All, You show a category of in-state success. It would be more informative to show the percentage of in-state acceptance rate compared to out-state acceptance rate for that school. i.e. what is percent of students out of state? Thanks and great job to BeMo!
ReplyAmy Iskander • 04/26/2022 10:20
Would the school look at the overall DAT test scores for dental program addmition or look at the grades of every subject in the test separetely? Thank you!
ReplyNatalia Martinez • 05/11/2022 17:09
Is there anyway to see the acceptance rate for out of state students.
ReplySilppa • 08/04/2022 02:48
I want to know the universities that give loan options to dds students
Reply