Bryan J. Cook

U.S. Dental School Applicants and Enrollees, 2014 Entering Class.

Over the past two decades, interest in dentistry in the United States has shown a steady period of growth. There were 12,210 individuals who applied to the 2009 entering class of U.S. dental schools. The number of first-time enrollees was 4,871, the highest figure since 1990. Men continue to comprise the majority of applicants and enrollees; however, the percentages of women continue to increase. While the 2009 underrepresented minority applicants comprised 12 percent of both the applicant and first-time enrollee pools, the percentage of underrepresented minority enrollees of underrepresented minority applicants decreased from 2008. Seventy-one percent of enrollees earned a baccalaureate degree in biological science or chemistry/physical science. Regardless of major fields of study, the percent rates of enrollment generally exceeded 32 percent.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2017 Graduating Class

This report summarizes the key findings of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Survey of Dental School Seniors for the graduating class of 2017. The survey covers a wide range of topics related to dental education, including students’ motivation to pursue dentistry, perceived preparation in different subject areas, debt incurred, and career plans. The response rate for the survey was 77.1% and included responses from students at all 65 U.S. dental schools with graduating classes that year. Some of the key findings include a near equal representation of males and females, but a skewed distribution by gender within race/ethnic groups. In general, minority students had a higher ratio of females, while White students had a higher ratio of males. Average educational debt fell slightly at public schools but rose by

Learning to get ahead in a global society: Postsecondary access of people of color in the U.S.

40,000 to

20 Years Beyond the Crossroads: The Path to Interprofessional Education at U.S. Dental Schools

287,405 at private schools. The two most common plans following graduation were to work in the private sector and to continue learning at an advanced dental education program. The majority of students planned at some point in their careers to teach and to work with underserved populations. Comparing the experiences and plans of seniors with different characteristics allows school administrators and policymakers to better understand these future dentists’ motivations and challenges.

Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors: 2016 Graduating Class

Globalization has impacted societies around the world in numerous and varied ways; the impact is economic, political, cultural, and educational. Globalization helped spur a major transformation of the U.S. economy beginning 1980s. The transformation of the U.S. economy began at a time when persons of color were continuing their fight to gain access to the nations colleges and universities. The battle for access to postsecondary education involved legal battles for access to selective public institutions. The battle for access also coincided with a larger struggle among persons of color to overcome unequal primary and secondary education and gain access to colleges and universities of all types. In many ways the legacy of segregation continued to be an obstacle to persons of color.