They may be juniors, but Melissa Col—n and Victoria Santiago are already the first Montclair State students to be accepted to University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) under the dental articulation agreement between the two universities.

"They are both industrious young ladies and I'm proud of them," said Marie Washington, director of the Health Careers Program. The eight-year dental articulation agreement was established in 1999.

Col—n, a biology major, and Santiago, a molecular biology major, have been offered acceptance into UMDNJ's dental school for September, one year early, based on their outstanding academic performance: Col—n has been on the Dean's List every semester and Santiago is in the Honors Program.

Santiago accepted the offer, even though she will not receive a bachelor's degree in science. Instead, she will go directly for a D.M.D. Students accepted for early enrollment are not required to finish four-year degrees as long as they complete the prerequisites for their major, Washington explained.

Santiago, who has wanted to be a dentist since she was a child, is eager to start realizing her dream.

"I can't wait," she said. "I have to give up some things to start early, but that's what I need to do."

Col—n, however, is choosing to wait. She will complete her senior year at Montclair State and earn a bachelor's degree. She will begin dental school in 2002. "I've worked hard to have this opportunity, and I'm very excited about it," she said. "But my time at Montclair State has been wonderful, and I'm involved in many activities." Col—n also received one of this year's Presidential Achievement Awards, which includes scholarship money she can use for next semester.

Similar to the requirements of the medical articulation agreement established with UMDNJ in 1994, the dental program requires students to be in the top 10 percent of their class, have a "B" average or better and S.A.T. scores of 1100 or more.

"We've already had 28 students go through the B.S./M.D. program," Washington said. " It will be nice to see the same success for students in the D.M.D. program."

Students can start being considered for the dental program in their senior year of high school. The requirements include strong recommendations from math, science and English teachers; interviews with both the student and parent; and high scores on IOWA placement test that Washington reviews. Students would then be accepted into Health Careers Program at Montclair State and eventually continue on to UMDNJ.

"As an adviser to Health Careers students, I want students to be aware that this requires hard work," Washington said. "It is important to see if they are ready and capable for the commitment."