Business Degree and Dental School

[cookderosa]

My son's ultimate goal is to become a dentist (and possibly move on to becoming an orthodontist).
That said, he would like to obtain a bachelor's degree in business (COSC) prior to dental school.
I am wondering how to proceed with consideration to cost and time spent in classes to meet dental school prerequisites. Most dental schools have prerequisites such as English Composition (6 credits, no pass or fail grades, so no testing out) plus 26 or more credits in sciences (biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry etc), many with lab component requirements. Some dental schools require that these be taken at a four year college/university (no community colleges). I would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions because I have been known to overthink things when the logical route is right in front of me. Thanks!

In my opinion, business is an EXCELLENT degree for a potential dentist since most will ultimately own their own practice. (True also for Chiropractors and Vets - unlike MDs and Pharm). Since the sciences will not fit well into a COSC degree plan, my suggestion is to do a post-bac. You can find formal programs with premed/predental/preprofessional health advisory committees that guide the students as well as writing letters of rec and helping them find volunteer spots. Unlike those headed for premed, I love the idea of your predental teen doing his COSC in business, but I do think following up in a formal postbac would be a home run. Of course Harvard has my favorite program https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academ...al-program

I also did some research a while back for my cousin in 2015 - you might find this helpful but I haven't revisited it since then, so might not all be current.

Dental School for FREE

(first posted September 7, 2015)

This is a quick and dirty breakdown- I did some research for a family member, and want to share it with all of you here!

I found 3 paths to get free tuition. All three require a big commitment, and are competitive. All three are zero out of pocket- meaning these are not reimbursement programs.

1) Doing a combined DDS/PhD program.
2) NHSC scholarships for DDS program
3) Military Health Professionals Scholarship for DDS program

1. Combined Program
In a nutshell, doing a combined DDS / PhD program means full tuition plus being paid a stipend for your living expenses. This is a more economical way to go through the DDS program, where you’d have to pay full tuition and wouldn’t receive a stipend; however these are competitive and require research / dissertation in addition to the regular demands of earning the DDS.
I did a Google search “DDS and PhD with stipend” to get a started. I found that the schools offering these programs were public schools, not private, so my list is small-just a few minutes of looking. You can probably search all the public universities to find even more.

University of Minnesota http://dentistry.umn.edu/…/ora…/curricul.../index.htm

University of Connecticut http://sdm.uchc.edu/programs/advanced/t90/dmd_phd.html

University of Michigan http://www.dent.umich.edu/resear…/ohs-ph...hd-program

University of Maryland https://www.dental.umaryland.edu/…/combi...d-program/

University of Washington https://dental.washington.edu/…/graduate...n…/ddsphd/

2. NHSC Scholarship for DDS

She should apply for the National Health Services Corps scholarship. They award 330 of these each year, so it’s competitive. This pays 100% tuition, $1316 per month stipend, all books, clinical supplies, uniforms, etc. are covered. Plus, her undergraduate educational loans *may* be eligible for forgiveness though this program. It requires a 1:1 service commitment. For each year she gets the award, she has to work in a Health Professionals Shortage Area for 1 year.

3. Military Health Professions Scholarship for DDS

These scholarships pay 100% tuition for the DDS and are offered through the Army, Navy, and Air Force. While in dental school of your choice, the student is placed on “inactive” reserve, and upon graduation, will begin their service obligation. You have to already have your bachelor’s degree in and receive acceptance into a dental program before you see the recruiter. They are all about the same. You get a $20,000 sign on bonus, $2,000 per month stipend, textbooks are provided, 100% of DDS tuition is covered, and you are required to provide 4 years of military dental service in exchange for the scholarship.