592 Journal of Dental Education ■ Volume 79, Number 5 Association Report U.S. Dental School Applicants and Enrollees, 2013 Entering Class Eugene L. Anderson, PhD; Lauren Duranleau, MPA; Gwen E. Garrison, PhD; Richard W. Valachovic, DMD, MPH Abstract: This report examines the characteristics of dental school applicants and enrollees using data from the 2012-13 applica- tion cycle of the American Dental Education Association’s Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS SM ). The report presents data on the demographic composition and academic preparation of applicants, irst-time en- rollees, and total irst-year enrollees during the application cycle. The data indicate that the number of applicants showed a small increase from the previous year, and the number of irst-time, irst-year enrollees continues to rise. The number of irst-time, irst-year enrollees in 2013 was 5,769, an increase of 1,535 irst-time, irst-year enrollees over the number in 2000. However, this is still less than the peak in 1978 (6,301). This increase relects both the opening of new dental schools and expansion of existing class sizes at some dental schools. By contrast, the percentage of underrepresented minority applicants and enrollees increased only slightly. The results highlighted in this study have important implications for dental educators, health professions advisors, and members of the broader dental community. Dr. Anderson is Chief Policy Oficer and Managing Vice President, American Dental Education Association; Ms. Duranleau is Research Analyst, American Dental Education Association; Dr. Garrison was Senior Vice President of Educational Research and Analysis, American Dental Education Association at the time of this study; and Dr. Valachovic is President and CEO, American Dental Education Association. Direct correspondence to Dr. Eugene L. Anderson, American Dental Education Association, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20001; 202-289-7201; andersone@adea.org. Keywords: dental education, dental schools, dental students, applicants, enrollees, gender, race and ethnicity, underrepresented minority T he American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has published reports on the char- acteristics of applicants to and enrollees of dental schools since 1976. In these reports, ADEA seeks to improve the understanding of health profes- sions advisors, dental educators, and members of the broader dental community about dental school applicants and enrollees and to chronicle trends for distinct cohorts. This report is based primarily on data collected by ADEA through its Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS SM ), speciically from the 2012-13 application cycle. ADEA AADSAS is the centralized application service for all U.S. and selected Canadian dental schools. This report relects characteristics of individ- uals applying for entry to and enrolling in the classes matriculating in 2013 and updates information since the last U.S. dental school applicants and enrollees report, which was on the 2010-11 and 2011-12 ap- plication cycles and was published in 2013. 1 Tables with data by school and state for the 2013 entering class are provided at www.adea.org/ data. Additional tables and igures as well as reports from previous years are also available at www.adea. org/data. Methodology and Terminology Information about applicants and enrollees for this report come from two sources within the applica- tion process. The irst source is the ADEA application service (ADEA AADSAS), in which all of the 65 U.S. dental schools currently participate to obtain information about prospective applicants during the application cycle. The one dental school that did not participate in ADEA AADSAS in 2012-13 provided ADEA with a roster of its applicants and matriculants that included the same information as that of ADEA AADSAS applicants. This constitutes the second source of applicant and enrollee information, and the two sources combined provide a near-complete dataset on dental school applicants and enrollees. The only limitation to these data is applicants ap- plying directly to the dental schools not using ADEA AADSAS. Since individual applicants may apply to