Collegiate II Program

All applicants must complete and submit the SPEP Collegiate II online application and all supporting documents by January 31, 2025.

The Collegiate II application

• Create a username and password by clicking “REGISTER”
• Complete the following assigned documents:
  • Statistical Questionnaire
  • Clery Act Compliance
  • SPEP Collegiate II Primary Application
  • Include an essay (max 500 words) stating how SPEP Collegiate II will benefit the applicant's pursuit of dentistry as a career 
  • Submit one letter of recommendation from a predental/pre-health advisory committee OR two letters from science professors who have taught you
  • Submit most current official transcripts from all accredited college/universities attended
  • If you have taken the DAT, we will need a copy of your scores.

• Detailed instructions about supporting documents can be found on the online application.

Note:  If you have previously created an account (reapplying) and have login issues, please log-in by entering the username and password you created.  After login, if you do not see the 2025 SPEP Collegiate II application, click on the drop-down arrow next to your name, click PREFERENCES, click SPACE ENROLLMENT, and click ADMISSIONS-SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY 2025 SPEP COLLEGIATE II. Should you continue to encounter login issues, please contact: jmvillarreal@tamu.edu

• To be eligible for consideration, all individuals must:
  • 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 at least 60 semester hours of college by the end of the Spring Semester 2025
    
  • Have completed at least 8 hours of biology, 8 hours of general chemistry, and 8 hours of organic chemistry (including labs)  by the end of the Spring Semester 2025 
    
  • Provide official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
  • Have a grade point average of at least 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
• An *economically disadvantaged individual is one who comes from a family with an annual income below a level based on low-income thresholds according to family size, published by the U.S. Census Bureau in the Federal Register, and adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index.
  Note: The pre-dental programs offered via Bridge to Dentistry will not accept auditors. Applicants who do not satisfy eligibility requirements, or cannot commit to the program in its entirety, will not be considered.

The curriculum for the Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Program for College Students (SPEP Collegiate II) consists of five core courses designed to augment the students' knowledge base for taking the DAT and to help them prepare for dental school:

• Introduction to the Human Body integrates the biomedical sciences within a problem-based learning environment.
• Pre-Clinical Dentistry demonstrates the application of preclinical courses to dental practice and provides hands-on experiences using dental materials.
• Learning Strategies promotes the effective use of learning techniques and study skills.
• DAT Preparation assists participants in preparing to take the Dental Admissions Test.
• Investigating Dentistry provides students with an opportunity to investigate a dental topic and present the findings.

In addition, the students participate in workshops and activities such as:

• Cultural competence seminar
• Pre-admissions counseling
• Intramural and extramural clinical rotations
• Interacting with dental students, faculty, and administrators.

SPEP Collegiate II participants are responsible for:

• Travel
• Parking Expenses (to, from, and during the Program)
• Immunization fees
• Food

• Stipend to cover the cost of food and other expenses
• Housing accommodations (for participants who reside outside Dallas/Ft.Worth area)
• DAT application fee, if taken within six months of the program's DAT registration deadline
• Clinic and laboratory supplies
• Notebooks and other instructional materials
• Access to college's nurse

Shaneka Marks, DDS
Director, SPEP Collegiate II

Mrs. Janie Villarreal 
Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (214) 828-8385
Fax: (214) 874-4502 
Email: jmvillarreal@tamu.edu 

Texas A&M College of Dentistry
Office of Student Development
3302 Gaston Avenue, Room 365
Dallas, Texas 75246

START DATE: May 19, 2025
END DATE: June 27, 2025

APPLICATION DEADLINE:
January 31, 2025

NOTIFICATION DATE
NO LATER THAN
March 10, 2025

Mrs. Janie Villarreal 
Phone: (214) 828-8385 
Fax: (214) 874-4502 
Email: jmvillarreal@tamu.edu 

Shaneka Marks, DDS
Director, SPEP Collegiate II