April 2014 ■ Journal of Dental Education 575 Dental School Application Timing: Implications for Full Admission Consideration and Improving Diversity of Dental Students Joanna A. Aalboe, R.D.H., M.P.H.; Christine Harper, M.S.; Cynthia S. Beeman, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Becky A. Paaso, M.P.A. Abstract: The national underrepresentation of minorities in dental schools and the dental profession is a signiicant concern. De- spite efforts over previous years, the number of practicing dentists from underrepresented minority (URM) groups has increased very little. Many dental schools have adopted a holistic admissions review process that uses noncognitive factors in an effort to increase diversity. However, application timing also signiicantly impacts the success of candidates. This study examined whether URM students’ applying late in the application cycle contributes to their lower enrollment. This study attempted to ill a void in the dental admissions knowledge base by examining whether the timing of dental school applications in a rolling admissions sys- tem with a set number of interview spots favors those who apply early. De-identiied applications (N=1,673) from one U.S. dental school in 2011 were examined. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that URM applicants were signiicantly more likely to apply later in the admission cycle than non-URM applicants by a factor of 63 percent (p=0.001), increasing the competiveness for fewer remaining spots. These results suggest the need for pre-admission interventions and for future research to understand and address barriers that impact application timing. Ms. Aalboe is Assistant Professor, Center for Oral Health Research, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry; Ms. Harper is Assistant Dean, Ofice of Academic and Student Affairs, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry; Dr. Beeman is Associate Professor of Orthodontics and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Ofice of Academic and Student Affairs, University of Ken- tucky College of Dentistry; and Ms. Paaso is Staff Support Associate II, Ofice of Academic and Student Affairs, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Ms. Joanna A. Aalboe, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, 1117 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536-0489; 859-323-1167; joanna.aalboe@uky.edu. Keywords: dental education, dental school admissions, underrepresented minorities, rolling admissions, holistic admissions Submitted for publication 5/23/13; accepted 11/26/13 T he value of a diverse health professions work- force has been addressed frequently over the past decade, including reports by the Institute of Medicine and the Sullivan Commission. The In- stitute of Medicine reported data documenting racial and ethnic disparities in health care and argued that such disparities could be reduced with the education of a more ethnically diverse population of health care workers. 1 The Sullivan Commission’s report focused on policy changes to address the shortage of underrepresented minority (URM) health care professionals and suggested that increasing their number could help address health disparities among URM groups. 2 The Sullivan report noted that “Afri- can Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians make up more than 25 percent of the U.S. population but only 9 percent of the nation’s nurses, 6 percent of its physicians, and 5 percent of dentists. Similar disparities show up in the faculties of health professional schools.” 2 According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, “underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.” 3 For the purpose of this study, URM is deined as Af- rican American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native, based on information provided in the Sullivan report regarding which minority groups are underrepresented in the health care ields. The importance of diversity to the educational environment is emphasized in the accreditation stan- dards of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The current CODA predoctoral accredita- tion standards include administrative policies and procedures designed to achieve appropriate levels of diversity among dental school students. Standard 4-4, for example, calls on dental schools’ Admis- sions Committees to evaluate strategies to achieve a diverse student body. 4 The U.S. Supreme Court decision Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) afirmed that race is a compelling interest in education and that