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Over two decades, interest in dentistry in the United States has shown a steady period of growth. Nearly 12,200 individuals applied to the 2008 entering class of U.S. dental schools, while the number of first-time enrollees was 4,794, the highest figure since 1990. Men continue to comprise the majority of applicants; however, the percentage of women applicants continues to increase. Underrepresented minority appli cants comprised 12 percent of both the applicant and first-time enrollee pools. The largest number of applicants came from states that are among those with the largest populations in the United States: California, New York, Florida, and Texas. Nearly four out of five enrollees earned a baccalaureate degree in biological science, chemistry/ physical sciences, or pre-dentistry. Regardless of major fields of study, the percent rates of enrollment generally exceeded 34 percent. The majority of applicants and enrollees placed in the upper GPA and Dental Admission Test (DAT) percentiles. The average age of 2008 enrollees was twenty-four years.

The number of applicants to dental schools in the United States continues to rise at a double-digit rate, 12 percent from 2005 to 2006 and 14 percent from 2006 to 2007. The number of applicants to the 2006 and 2007 years' entering classes of U.S. dental schools was 12,500 and 13,700, respectively. The number of first-time enrollees (4,600) in 2007 was the highest recorded since 1989. Men continue to comprise the majority of all applicants, 55 percent in 2006 and 53 percent in 2007. However, the percentage of women applicants to each school ranged from a third to more than half. Underrepresented minority (URM) applicants comprised 12 percent of the applicant pools in both 2006 and 2007. For the 2007 entering class, URM enrollees comprised 13 percent of enrollees. As in previous years, in 2007, the largest number of applicants and enrollees came from states that are among the largest in population in the United States: California, Texas, New York, and Florida. Grade point average and DentalAdmission Test scores were the highest in more than a decade. More than three out of four of the 2007 first-time, first-year enrollees earned a baccalaureate degree either in biological/life or physical sciences or in health. Regardless of major field of study, the percent rates of enrollment generally exceeded 30 percent, though there were exceptions (e.g., engineering and education). The majority of enrollees to the 2007 entering classes were twenty-two or twenty-three years of age.