University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, 1117 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536-0489;.
J Dent Educ. 2014 Apr;78(4):575-9.
The national underrepresentation of minorities in dental schools and the dental profession is a significant concern. Despite 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 significantly 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 fill a void in the dental admissions knowledge base by examining whether the timing of dental school applications in a rolling admissions system with a set number of interview spots favors those who apply early. De-identified applications (N=1,673) from one U.S. dental school in 2011 were examined. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that URM applicants were significantly 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.
少数民族在牙科学院和牙科领域的代表性不足是一个令人关注的问题。尽管近年来做了很多努力，但少数族裔（URM）群体中执业牙医的数量增加非常有限。许多牙科学院采用了整体招生审查流程，在努力增加多样性的同时使用非认知因素。然而，申请时间也会极大地影响申请人的成功率。本研究探讨了 URM 学生在申请周期晚期申请是否会导致他们的入学率降低。本研究试图通过检查在滚动招生系统中，具有固定面试名额的情况下，牙科学校申请的时间是否有利于早期申请者，来填补牙科招生知识基础中的空白。本研究分析了 2011 年美国一所牙科学院的 1673 份非识别申请。二元逻辑回归分析显示，少数民族申请人在招生周期晚期申请的可能性比非少数民族申请人高 63%（p=0.001），这使得剩下的名额竞争更加激烈。这些结果表明，需要进行入学前干预，并进行未来的研究，以了解和解决影响申请时间的障碍。
