Overview

Calvin graduates have consistently enjoyed dental school acceptance rates well above the national average. In fact, four-fifths of Calvin graduates are accepted into medical and dental school upon first application. As a pre-dental student at Calvin, you'll have the flexibility to pursue any major as you complete the courses required for dental school. These classes include a range of math, chemistry, biology and physics. You will also meet regularly with the pre-dental faculty advisor to plan your path to dentistry school.

Careers in Pre-Dentistry

As a graduate of this program, you might find work as a:

• Endodontist
• Dental Hygienist
• Orthodontist
• Pediatric Dentist
• More

See job placement rates for Calvin grads.

Student involvement

Volunteer at local hospitals or senior centers; Assist a professor with summer research; spend a semester in one of fourteen countries across the globe.

Course Requirements 2011-12

Pre-Dental

Students planning to apply to medical or dental schools should consult R.Nyhof of the Biology department, faculty advisor for the pre-medical and pre-dental programs. Students should also note the general college core requirements listed under the core curriculum. For basic information regarding timelines, requirements, etc., Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental students should consult the Pre-Med/Dental website, using the A-Z index on Calvin?s home page.

A student may select any major concentration and still meet the entrance requirements for all medical and dental schools. However, nationwide the majority of the applicants to medical and dental schools are science majors.

For those students not majoring in biology, the minimum science requirements for entrance into nearly all medical or dental schools are met by the following:

• Three courses in Biology (which should be selected in consultation with the pre-medical advisor)
• CHEM-103 General Chemistry I
• CHEM-104 General Chemistry II
• CHEM-261 Organic Chemistry I
• CHEM-262 Organic Chemistry II
• CHEM-303 Fundamentals of Biochemistry or CHEM-323 Biochemistry I is required by some schools
• PHYS-221 and PHYS-222 General Physics (or equivalent)
• MATH-132 Calculus for Management, Life, and Social Sciences (recommended)
• MATH-143 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (recommended)
• A two semester calculus sequence, MATH-171 and MATH-172 (previously 161-162), is required by very few schools.

Because of the changes in the Biology department core curriculum, students are strongly encouraged to take BIOL-331 Comparative Animal and Human Physiology or BIOL-206 Human Physiology to better prepare them for MCATs and DATs.

Because a few schools have unique requirements, students should consult with R.Nyhof to determine specific requirements of the schools to which they intend to apply.

Pre-medical and pre-dental students normally take their Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) or Dental Admissions Test (DAT) in the spring of their junior year and should apply for admission to medical or dental schools during the early summer prior to their senior year.

Scholarships

Dollar amounts reflect awards given for the 2010-11 academic year.

Dr. Paul and Mrs. Doris Dirkse Health Care Scholarship

• award amount: $1,900
• junior or senior
• good academic record
• financial need considered; Christian character; motivation; potential for service
• apply through the Calvin Portal

William J. and Glenda Masselink Scholarship

• award amount: $2,500
• junior or senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need required; pursuing pre-dentistry, pre-medicine or physics
• apply through the Calvin Portal

Drs. Richard James and Susan Beving Strikwerda Scholarship

• award amount: $2,000
• junior or senior
• GPA 3.5+
• financial need not required; preference to graduates of Holland Christian HS, David Glasgow Farragut HS, or Montgomery County Public HS
• apply through the Calvin Portal

James and Dolly (Hofman) Strikwerda Family Scholarship

• award amount: $1,900
• junior or senior
• GPA 2.5+
• evidence that the scholarship is needed to help meet educational expenses
• apply through the Calvin Portal

Peter V. Tigchelaar Pre-Medical/Dental Scholarship

• award amount: $2,350
• junior or senior
• GPA 3.5+
• financial need required; involvement in community or extracurricular college activities
• apply through the Calvin Portal

William and Lois Venema Pre-Dental Scholarship

• award amount: $1,950
• junior or senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need required
• apply through the Calvin Portal

Steven M. Zifferblatt Memorial Scholarship

• award amount: $4,700
• senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need not required; pursuing a career in a health care profession
• apply through the Calvin Portal

View all scholarship opportunities

Faculty

Carolyn Anderson Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry cea3@calvin.edu (616) 526-6343 Eric Arnoys Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry earnoys@calvin.edu (616) 526-6051 David Benson Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry deb22@calvin.edu (616) 526-7699 Ronald Blankespoor Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry blan@calvin.edu (616) 526-6174 Randall DeJong Assistant Professor Department of Biology rdejong@calvin.edu (616) 526-7625 Roger DeKock Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry dekock@calvin.edu (616) 526-6344 Herbert Fynewever Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry hrf3@calvin.edu (616) 526-7711 Loren Haarsma Associate Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy lhaarsma@calvin.edu (616) 526-8517 Paul Harper Associate Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy pharper@calvin.edu (616) 526-6408

Rich Nyhof Professor Department of Biology nyhr@calvin.edu (616) 526-6347 Anding Shen Assistant Professor Department of Biology as28@calvin.edu (616) 526-6025 Kumar Sinniah Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry ksinniah@calvin.edu (616) 526-6058 Chad Tatko Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry cdt2@calvin.edu (616) 526-7584 Peter Tigchelaar Professor Department of Biology ptigch@calvin.edu (616) 526-6346 John Ubels Professor Department of Biology jubels@calvin.edu (616) 526-6219 Randy Van Dragt Professor Department of Biology vdra@calvin.edu (616) 526-6497 Douglas Vander Griend Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry dav4@calvin.edu (616) 526-8729 Amy Wilstermann Associate Professor Department of Biology amw26@calvin.edu (616) 526-7620