December 2016 ■ Journal of Dental Education 1479 Association Report U.S. Dental School Applicants and Enrollees, 2015 Entering Class Tanya Wanchek, PhD, JD; Bryan J. Cook, PhD; Richard W. Valachovic, DMD, MPH Abstract: Every year the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) gathers data on dental school applicants and first-time, first-year enrollees. This report analyzes information collected during the 2014-15 application cycle and on first-time, first-year enrollees entering dental school in the fall of 2015. The data include applicants’ characteristics and academic qualifications and the number and characteristics of the applications received by each dental school. Among the key findings is an upward trend in the number of first-time, first-year enrollees, reaching 5,943 for this class. The number of applicants, 11,789, was still below the most recent high (13,742 in 2007), but a slight increase of 44 since 2014 suggests a possible upturn in applicant numbers. Addi- tionally, GPA and Dental Admission Test (DAT) scores remained high, suggesting that dental schools continued to have a strong applicant pool from which to select. The gender distribution for applicants and enrollees was split nearly equally between men and women. Consistent with past years, White students were more than 50% of enrollees. The number of Latino/Hispanic ap- plicants and first-time, first-year enrollees continued an upward trend, while the number of other underrepresented groups tended to fluctuate without a clear trend. The data in this report provide a comprehensive view of applicants interested in dental school, allowing schools to compare their applicant pools with the overall applicant pool on a national level. Finally, the information on enrollees offers a first look at the future dental workforce. Dr. Wanchek is Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine; Dr. Cook is Senior Vice President for Educational Research and Analysis, American Dental Education Association; and Dr. Valachovic is President and CEO, American Dental Education Association. Direct correspondence to Dr. Bryan J. Cook, American Dental Education Association, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20001; 202-289-7201; cookb@adea.org. Keywords: dental education, dental schools, dental school admissions, applicants, enrollees, gender, race and ethnicity, minority groups, underrepresented minorities, GPA, DAT W hile facilitating the dental school ap- plication process, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) gathers data on applicants, applications, and first-time, first- year enrollees at U.S. dental schools. Information on dental school applicants offers a view of the types of individuals who are interested in attending dental school. The characteristics of the applicants who matriculate present a first look at the future dental workforce. Additional information collected on college major, grade point average (GPA), and Dental Admis- sion Test (DAT) scores provides insight into some of the qualifications sought by dental schools. Further- more, analyzing the differences between applicants and enrollees supplies a partial picture of what makes a successful application. Finally, school-level data offer an opportunity to compare the residency and academic qualifications of applicants and first-time, first-year enrollees at individual schools. Combined, the data allow dental school administrators to view, on a national level, the number and characteristics of students applying to and attending dental school. It also permits health care planners to identify needs when planning educational pipeline programs and to anticipate the background and diversity of the future dental workforce. Methodology and Terminology The data for this report came from ADEA’s Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS ® ), which is the central- ized application service for all U.S. and selected Ca- nadian dental schools. The data are from the 2014-15 application cycle and first-time, first-year enrollees at U.S. dental schools in the fall of 2015. However, data presented in this report go back as far as 1990, allowing analysis of trends over time. This report distinguishes between applicants and applications. The word “applicants” refers to individuals, while “applications” refers to the num-