Preprofessional Opportunities

Texas A&M University - SPEP Collegiate II Program

Details

Category: Summer
Type: Dental
Location: Dallas Texas
Deadline: Late January

Eligibility

- Have dentistry as their career choice - Be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident (preference will be given to residents of the State of Texas) - Have completed 60 semester hours of college by the end of the Spring Semester, 2020 - Have completed 8 hours of general chemistry, 8 hours of biology, and 8 hours of organic chemistry by the end of the Spring Semester, 2020 - Provide all transcripts from colleges/universities attended - Have a grade point average of 2.75 or higher - Submit an online application, including a one-page essay stating how SPEP Collegiate II will benefit the applicant’s pursuit of dentistry as a career - Submit one letter of recommendation from the applicant’s Pre- Health Advisor (or Advisory Committee) or two letters of recommendation from science professors from courses taken - Complete a phone interview with Program staff - Sign a contract, agreeing to participate in all required Program activities - Be a member of a dentally-underserved population and/or be from a *disadvantaged background. Demonstrate a strong potential of working with underserved populations or in communities with limited access to dental health care. - An *academically disadvantaged individual is one who comes from an environment that has inhibited the individual from obtaining the knowledge, skill and ability to enroll in and graduate from a health professions school. For the purpose of this program, an applicant is considered academically disadvantaged if he or she is or will be a first generation college graduate to earn a baccalaureate degree in his or her family. An applicant is also considered academically disadvantaged if he or she meets at least 4 of the following criteria: - English is not the applicant’s primary language - Overcame or is experiencing extreme hardship - From a single parent family - Non-traditional student (including older age) - Significant employment while attending school - Attended a low-performing high school - Resident of a financially poor school district - Resident of a county designated as underserved by health professionals - Resident of a lowest 10% per capita income county - Other disadvantaged factor(s) identified by the applicant

Description

SPEP Collegiate II is a six-week program which provides college and post-college students an opportunity to:

  • prepare for and successfully take the DAT,
  • strengthen their academic science background,
  • learn more about the field of dental medicine,
  • broaden their interest in biomedical and clinical sciences,
  • learn useful study patterns for professional study,
  • increase their competitiveness for admission to dental school, and
  • enhance their success once admitted to dental school.