For many of us, dentistry is our dream career. It’s what we have spent years preparing for. While the application process is meant to provide dental schools with the information they need to determine how amazing you are as an applicant, there is a degree of financial investment that must be taken to get your information to your dream dental school.
The initial application through the American Dental Education Association’s Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS) will cost you $245, which includes the selection of your first-choice dental school. Each additional school you apply to will cost $98. Let’s say you decide to send your application to five different schools — that comes to a total of $637.
While the application itself costs a significant amount, some students recognize that this is their shot to accomplish their goal. This is where some additional costs factor in for those students who want to gain an even greater competitive edge during the application cycle. Listed below are a few services that applicants have been known to use to do so.
Application consultants
DentalGoal: This group of application consultants includes several current and former dental school students and is relatively new. They offer a variety of packages associated with their consulting services, ranging from $49 to $299. Such services include personal statement editing, a constructive critique of your application, detailed professional activities editing, etc.
Inquarta: This service is offered by an admissions expert named Don Osborne who has been helping graduate students gain acceptance into dental school for several years. His services are highly detailed and hands-on. The application services he provides include interview preparation, secondary application assistance, smart school selection, personal statement editing and help obtaining letters of recommendation. His online courses start as low as $7; additional templates and services vary in price.
Personal statement editors
Fiverr: This website is an online “workplace” that gives freelance workers the connections to help you. For predents, this is a great resource if you are looking for someone with an experienced background in writing personal statements. The prices vary pretty drastically, from $5 to more than $200. It all depends on the amount of time you have for turnaround, how much detailed feedback you want and at what level your own writing skills are.
The costs of applying to dental school can become overwhelming, and most predental students aren’t inherently wealthy. This is an investment opportunity and must be thought of as such. Spending the necessary amount to apply to dental school is the beginning of your dream career. A friend once told me, “Everyone says they want to be a doctor or dentist; I don’t believe them until they have spent the hundreds of dollars that it costs to apply.” I agree with that statement.
You’ve put in the work to study and succeed in the classroom and in taking the DAT — now send those applications with confidence.
Participate in Predental Month all October. ASDA will be hosting several webinars throughout the month, including “Predental timeline,” held Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 7–8:30 p.m.
~ Clark Oakey, member, Predental Advisory Committee
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