Accepted students can apply for financial aid and scholarships in the TMCC Financial Aid Office. Additionally, there is information on many other scholarship opportunities that the program faculty distributes each year.

Applications are released mid-January each year. You can attend "Applicants night" or call and request an application be mailed to you. Applications are due in 4 weeks of the release date. Learn more about the admission process.

Depending on GPA, and other criteria for admissions listed in the dental hygiene brochure, admissions points will vary each year for the pool of applicants. Admission points may have a range of 20-30 points between the highest and lowest accepted applicant.

Each year will vary in the number of applications received. It generally ranges between 50 and 70. Upon review of applicants for eligibility, approximately 50% will be eligible to advance to the selection committee.

The program has limited clinic space; therefore class size will range between 12 to 14 students per year.

Programs costs are subject to change, annually. The two-year cost to the student is approximately $10,000 – 11,000. This includes most fees, textbooks, uniforms, and instruments. Miscellaneous costs cannot be estimated.

The selection committee completes their review of eligible applicants, and selects the incoming class in April. The accepted student is notified via registered letter in late April to early May.

Most questions for interested persons can be answered by visiting the information throughout this website and/or meeting with an academic advisor on the Dandini Campus. The program director also holds information sessions each semester.

All course evaluation can be done through Admissions and Records, by meeting with an academic advisor or by using the online Transfer Articulation/Course Equivalency resource to see which classes transfer to TMCC. Please contact these departments for assistance.

All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to applying to the program. Prerequisites that are still in progress are not acceptable and render the application ineligible.

Dental hygiene students take 15-17 units per semester in the first year of the program. It is highly recommended that all general ed coursework be completed prior to application. The second year of the program includes 11-14 units per semester, so a student could take one or two general ed classes if not complete prior to entering dental hygiene. In order to graduate all general ed courses must be completed. However, completed GE courses increase admission points.

Admission points are applied to specific categories for prospective candidates. This information can be found in the program brochure. The points are used to rank eligible applications for admittance. Admission points and procedures are reviewed annually, and subject to change. Prospective applicants are responsible for obtaining the most current information.

DH prerequisites include the science courses which also meet the AS degree requirements. BIO 223, 224, 251 AND CHEM 121 (CHEM 121 will be replaced by CHEM 220)

NOTE: The incoming class for fall 2010 must have COM 113 and CHEM 220 completed. Prerequisites must be current within 5-years. If you have taken a science course more than five years ago, you must enroll in the course again to keep it current for application requirements.

Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 in both science and general education courses that are applicable to the AS degree in dental hygiene. All prerequisite courses must be completed, the DH Accuplacer test must be valid within two years, and the dental office observation must be current within one year of application.

General education courses applicable to the associate of science (AS) degree. Courses required and/or recommended by the program are listed in the course catalog and on the program brochures.

The DH ACCUPLACER test is a reading and writing comprehension assessment of current skills. The test is taken in the TMCC testing center. The fee is $20. Students can take the test more than once if the scores need improvement. ACCUPLACER scores add to the admission points. Scores are valid for two years.