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Guaranteed Admission Program for Dentistry Requirements

In order to retain membership in the Honors College Guaranteed Admission Program for Dentistry, all Guaranteed Admission students MUST:

  • Graduate with University Honors.
  • Submit honors graduation application by the stated deadline (January 1 for May graduation, July 15 for August graduation and August 15 for December graduation).
  • Complete all prerequisites for admission to the dental school.
  • Obtain advance permission from the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs to take any required courses at an institution other than VCU or in summer session at VCU, including the summer between high school and college.
  • Meet with the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs every semester for academic advising. Students who fail to receive advising prior to the beginning of honors registration will be placed on hold for registration until they secure such advising.
  • Attend all meetings of guaranteed admission students and meet with the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs upon request.
  • Complete the Dental Admissions Test with no component score below 18 by July 1 of the year prior to enrollment in dental school.
  • Complete an application from the American Association of Dental Schools Application Service and submit it by July 15 of the year prior to the year you plan to begin dental school.
  • Engage in professional behavior at all times. Any institutional or legal sanction will result in your dismissal from the Guaranteed Admission Program.
  • Monitor your VCU email daily during your entire undergraduate program, including summer sessions and breaks. If you will be, or anticipate being, without email access for more than seven consecutive days, you must notify the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs of an alternative means of communication and provide the date when you will again have email access.
  • Complete a minimum of 90 hours of approved health care-related experience during each of the four undergraduate years, between July 1 and June 30. Senior year hours are due May 1. We appreciate your early introduction in a dental office is likely to include working at the front desk, however, your healthcare-related experiences should focus on dental shadowing through observing or aiding the dentist in a clinical setting. Students may not earn health care-related hours under the supervision of professionals in their family. If engaged in clinical or benchtop research, the number of hours should remain separate from your chairside shadowing.
  • Complete a minimum of 10 hours each semester in community service, non-health care related.
  • Maintain a 3.5 GPA in prerequisite science courses taken at VCU, including calculus, general biology with lab, general chemistry with lab, organic chemistry with lab, physics with lab and biochemistry. Transfer, AP/IB and repeat course grades are not used when calculating your GPA.
  • Maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA based on all work attempted at VCU at the end of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh semesters at VCU.
  • Complete the following core of courses:
    • BIOL 402 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
    • BIOL 411 Animal Physiology
    • BIOL 310 Genetics
    • BIOL 303 and BIOZ 303L Microbiology and lab
  • At least one of the following:
    • BIOL 524 Endocrinology
    • BIOL 455 Immunology

  • Very occasionally, students majoring in disciplines other than biology may obtain permission from the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs to substitute a course for one of the five courses listed above. Permission must be obtained prior to enrolling in a substitute course.

Your student records are reviewed every semester to determine compliance with the requirements. Any student who fails to complete the requirements will be dismissed from the Guaranteed Admission Program for Dentistry.