After meeting these basic requirements, students with diverse records and backgrounds apply to dental school and are accepted. A student can select any undergraduate major area, provided that the required pre-dental prerequisites are also completed. In the past, successful dental school applicants have majored in non-science areas as well as the more common life science majors such as physiology, biochemistry, and biological sciences. One's choice of major should be driven by interest. Most students choose to major in science since that ensures that there will be a great deal of overlap between courses required for their majors and those required for dental school.
Some dental schools have additional course requirements.
The Dental Admission Test includes sections in biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, reading comprehension, perceptual ability and quantitative ability. In addition to scores in each section, test takers receive an overall science score and an academic average. Individuals usually spend several months reviewing and preparing for the exam. One should take the DAT at least a year before entering dental school. Thus, most students take the DAT no later than the fall of their last year.