Dental Schools in North Carolina (3): DAT Averages, GPA & True Cost

North Carolina has 3 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 North Carolina

School	City	Type	Avg DAT (AA)	Avg GPA	True 4-yr cost
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry	Chapel Hill	Public	22	3.72	$549,354
East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine	Greenville	Public	21.1	3.62	—
High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine	High Point	Private	—	—	—

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

On the modelled figures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry is the lowest four-year cost in North Carolina: $549,354 including in-school interest ($429,848 before it), or roughly $642,689 once you project it to today at about 4% a year.

Read that gap carefully. $119,506 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina dental school?

Published academic averages at North Carolina schools run between 21.1 and 22 on the 1–30 scale. The highest of them sits at roughly the 62th 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 North Carolina?

North Carolina has 3 accredited dental schools, 2 of which are public. They are: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine.

What is the cheapest dental school in North Carolina?

On our modelled figures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry has the lowest four-year cost of any dental school in North Carolina at roughly $549,354 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 North Carolina dental school has the lowest DAT average?

Of the North Carolina schools that publish one, East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine has the lowest academic average at 21.1. 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina