Dental Schools in California (7): DAT Averages, GPA & True Cost

California has 7 dental schools, 2 of them public. Below is every one of them with its published DAT academic average, GPA average, and — the number none of them print on the admissions page — what four years there actually costs once the interest that accrues while you are still in class is counted.

If you are a resident, this page is the most important cost decision you will make. Residency is the single largest lever on the price of a dental degree, and it is decided long before your DAT. What your DAT decides is how many of these doors are open.

Every dental school in California

School	City	Type	Avg DAT (AA)	Avg GPA	True 4-yr cost
California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine	Elk Grove	Private	—	—	$510,733
University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry	San Francisco	Public	23.1	3.78	$540,497
Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine	Pomona	Private	20	3.65	$566,831
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry	Loma Linda	Private	20.9	3.61	$582,877
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC	Los Angeles	Private	21	3.76	$598,825
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry	San Francisco	Private	22	3.6	$638,967
UCLA School of Dentistry	Los Angeles	Public	23	3.87	—

Cost figures are estimates modelled from cost-of-attendance data published circa 2022, assuming the full cost is financed with federal loans and interest accrues in school. With one exception (Michigan) every row in the model is an out-of-state or private figure — so if you are a California resident applying to a public school here, your real number is likely to be meaningfully lower. See the full model and all 64 schools →

The cheapest dental school in California

On the modelled figures, California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine is the lowest four-year cost in California: $510,733 including in-school interest ($404,138 before it), or roughly $597,507 once you project it to today at about 4% a year.

Read that gap carefully. $106,595 of that total is interest — money you never borrowed and never spent, accruing on year-one loans while you sit in year-four clinic. It is the part of the price nobody quotes you, and it is the part that a cheaper seat eliminates outright.

What in-state residency is worth in California

We will not invent a number here. Our model carries exactly one measured in-state row across all 64 schools — the University of Michigan — and there the gap between the in-state and out-of-state price of the identical degree, in the identical building, is $113,721.

That is the honest scale of the residency lever, and it is why the cost column above is a ceiling rather than a quote for California residents at public schools. What it means practically: if you have residency somewhere, a public school in that state is almost always your cheapest path to the same license — and your DAT is what decides whether they take you.

What DAT score do you need for a California dental school?

Published academic averages at California schools run between 20 and 23.1 on the 1–30 scale. The highest of them sits at roughly the 70th percentile of all test takers.

Be careful how you read those numbers: an average is the midpoint of an admitted class. About half of the students admitted scored below it. It is not a cutoff, and clearing it does not mean you are in — committees weigh GPA, experience, interviews and residency alongside it. What a higher score reliably buys you is optionality: more schools whose average you clear, and therefore more chance to choose the cheaper seat instead of taking the only one offered.

Put your own score into the ROI calculator → and see which of these schools open up — and what the next point is worth in dollars.

FAQ

How many dental schools are in California?

California has 7 accredited dental schools, 2 of which are public. They are: California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine, University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, UCLA School of Dentistry.

What is the cheapest dental school in California?

On our modelled figures, California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine has the lowest four-year cost of any dental school in California at roughly $510,733 including the interest that accrues while you are still in school. These are estimates from circa 2022 data, and almost every row is an out-of-state or private figure — in-state residents at a public school will typically pay meaningfully less.

Which California dental school has the lowest DAT average?

Of the California schools that publish one, Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine has the lowest academic average at 20. An average is the midpoint of an admitted class, not a minimum — roughly half of that class scored below it, and meeting it does not imply admission.

Is it easier to get into dental school as a California resident?

At public dental schools, residency is usually a significant advantage in both admission and price. Many public schools reserve most of their seats for residents, and the tuition difference is large: at the one school in our model with both figures (Michigan), in-state costs $113,721 less over four years than out-of-state for the same degree. Check each school's own residency policy, as they vary.

Dental Schools in California