Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine: Average DAT, GPA, and How to Get In

Numbers below come from the school's own published materials as of July 2026 (each is linked to its source). Admissions stats shift every cycle — treat these as a snapshot and confirm on the school's official admissions page before you apply.

SIU School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) is a public DMD program in Alton, Illinois. If you're building a target list, here's exactly what SIU has told applicants about its own program, straight from the school's own pages, with nothing rounded or guessed — and where SIU simply doesn't reconcile a figure, we say so plainly instead of picking one for you.

SIU dental school stats at a glance

SIU's average DAT score

Per the school's published class profile, the Class of 2027 entering cohort at SIU SDM averaged a 20.0 Academic Average (AA) on the DAT — and that's on the old 1–30 scale, not the new 200–600 scale most current test-takers see on their score report. The same page also lists an average Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) score of 20.3 and an average Total Science (TS) score of 19.6, both on that same old scale. SIU's academic statistics page doesn't specify the exact cycle it was last refreshed, so treat this as the most recently published figure rather than a guaranteed current-year number.

If you're prepping now, your practice scores are almost certainly reporting on the new scale, which makes a direct comparison to SIU's 20.0 AA useless without converting first. Our DAT score converter translates between the old 1–30 and new 200–600 scales, and our DAT score percentiles guide walks through the ADA's official percentile tables so you can see exactly where any score — new or converted — lands nationally.

SIU's average GPA

Per the same academic statistics page, the Class of 2027 cohort averaged a 3.69 cumulative GPA and a 3.60 BCP (Biology/Chemistry/Physics, i.e. science) GPA. SIU doesn't attach a hard GPA floor to that figure on this page — the school's own materials describe admission as holistic and competitive rather than cutoff-driven, so these numbers reflect who actually enrolled, not a minimum bar you must clear.

Class size and application requirements

SIU SDM's entering class runs 50 students, per the school's published class profile. The school doesn't publish an acceptance rate alongside that figure.

Two requirements worth knowing before you apply, both per SIU's own admission-requirements page: every applicant must take the DAT with no exceptions, and AP credit is not accepted for the required science prerequisites (biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry). The absolute minimum coursework requirement is 90 semester hours (three years) rather than a completed bachelor's degree — though the school notes that having a degree makes an applicant more competitive.

Application deadline

Per SIU's application-process page, AADSAS applications — including your DAT score — must be received by AADSAS no later than November 15 to be considered for the following year's entering class. The same page adds an important practical detail: SIU explicitly recommends taking the DAT by September 15 to be a competitive applicant considered for the first round of interviews. In other words, hitting the November 15 hard deadline with a September test date is cutting it close — the school is telling you, in its own words, to test earlier than the deadline technically requires.

Per the school's own admission-requirements page, interviews are by invitation only and run from September through February, and SIU states plainly that "early application is to the individual's advantage and is strongly encouraged."

Tuition

Per SIU's official "Paying for College" page for the School of Dental Medicine, Fall 2026/Spring 2027 tuition and mandatory fees run $20,418 per semester for U.S. residents (about $40,836 for the academic year on a 12-hour enrollment basis) and $42,141 per semester for international students. Note: a separate official SIUE page (the "estimated expenses" page) lists different annual cost-of-attendance figures — $33,420 for Years 1–2 and $32,134 for Years 3–4 — that appear to be a broader estimated-budget number rather than tuition alone, and it doesn't break out resident versus non-resident costs. We're flagging that discrepancy rather than picking one for you; check the school's tuition page directly for the version that applies to your planning.

FAQ: SIU dental school admissions