19 DAT 3.5 GPA NON TRAD

[ScalingForLateGame]

Date of submission: 3/21/24
Overall GPA: 3.55
Science GPA: 3.41
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Sorry Couldn't find
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
QR : 19
GC : 17
BIO : 21
OC : 19
RC : 20
PAT : 19

Undergrad Attended: Augusta University
Major: Health Service
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Started College pursuing Dental Hygiene (2 x 2 Program). At the end of my second year, realized Dental Hygiene wasn't me because I would literally only ever pay attention when the Dentist came in to check up patients during shadowing. Realize it was a uphill battle, but decided to change to Dentistry

Shadowing Experience: 110 Dental Shadowing Hours : (also 30 Dental Hygienist Shadow Hours don't know if this matters)
Volunteering Experience: 50 odd sum numbers various food kitchens and animal shelters)
Employment: Managed Family Jewelry Store since I was 16. Maybe have taken 100 odd sum molds and made genuine gold & silver grills for customers.
Research: None
Other Extracurriculars: Student Government : Teaching Committee
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Negative
Relevant Honors or Awards: Nuh Uh
LOR type and strength: One Dentist, Two Science Prof, One Advisor : All Pretty Good
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: Had to retake chem ( ._. ) : but got A in them both times after retake.
School list:
Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!
Dental College of Georgia (instate)
UAB (parents live here)
Tufts
Arizona
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Midwestern University
Southern Illinois
Indiana University
University of Kentucky
University of New England
Missouri
Missouri-Kansas
Mississippi
Creighton
Roseman
West Virginia

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[macsak]

Date of submission: 3/21/24
Overall GPA: 3.55
Science GPA: 3.41
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Sorry Couldn't find
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
QR : 19
GC : 17
BIO : 21
OC : 19
RC : 20
PAT : 19

Undergrad Attended: Augusta University
Major: Health Service
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Started College pursuing Dental Hygiene (2 x 2 Program). At the end of my second year, realized Dental Hygiene wasn't me because I would literally only ever pay attention when the Dentist came in to check up patients during shadowing. Realize it was a uphill battle, but decided to change to Dentistry

Shadowing Experience: 110 Dental Shadowing Hours : (also 30 Dental Hygienist Shadow Hours don't know if this matters)
Volunteering Experience: 50 odd sum numbers various food kitchens and animal shelters)
Employment: Managed Family Jewelry Store since I was 16. Maybe have taken 100 odd sum molds and made genuine gold & silver grills for customers.
Research: None
Other Extracurriculars: Student Government : Teaching Committee
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Negative
Relevant Honors or Awards: Nuh Uh
LOR type and strength: One Dentist, Two Science Prof, One Advisor : All Pretty Good
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: Had to retake chem ( ._. ) : but got A in them both times after retake.
School list:
Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!
Dental College of Georgia (instate)
UAB (parents live here)
Tufts
Arizona
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Midwestern University
Southern Illinois
Indiana University
University of Kentucky
University of New England
Missouri
Missouri-Kansas
Mississippi
Creighton
Roseman
West Virginia

what is your DAT AA and TS?

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

what is your DAT AA and TS?

Sorry blanked on those.
AA : 19
TS : 19

 

[macsak]

Sorry blanked on those.
AA : 19
TS : 19

ok thanks


Arizona- there is no dental school called "arizona"
Midwestern University- there are 2 midwestern university campuses
Missouri- there is no dental school called "missouri"
Missouri-Kansas- do you mean UMKC?

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

ok thanks


Arizona- there is no dental school called "arizona"
Midwestern University- there are 2 midwestern university campuses
Missouri- there is no dental school called "missouri"
Missouri-Kansas- do you mean UMKC?

Corrections

Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health
UMKC
Midwestern University - Illinois Campus

 

[macsak]

Corrections

Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health
UMKC
Midwestern University - Illinois Campus

how did you come up with the list?
how come mw-il, but not mw-az?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Started College pursuing Dental Hygiene (2 x 2 Program). At the end of my second year, realized Dental Hygiene wasn't me because I would literally only ever pay attention when the Dentist came in to check up patients during shadowing.

I don't understand what you mean by this. Explain this lapse in attention. If you aren't interested in what DHs do, why would you want to be a dentist?

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

how did you come up with the list?
how come mw-il, but not mw-az?

So pretty much I went through and picked all the schools that accept students with similar DAT (19-20) and GPA (3-5-3.6ish). I’m aware state schools only accept around 5-10% of oos students. If MW - Az is a school that I should add then I will hundred percent add it. Additionally, idk if this means anything but I took the DAT without completing any organic chemistry course and the second semester of BIO.

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

I don't understand what you mean by this. Explain this lapse in attention. If you aren't interested in what DHs do, why would you want to be a dentist?

Ill try to make this as short as possible. When I began shadowing Dental Hygienists, I would pay attention to their work and would ask a ton of questions about what got them into the field, work-life balance, fulfillment, etc. Ngl some of their answers were depressing which pushed me away from the field. One thing I also noticed is that ultimately they are employees which mean they are clock watchers (people who see how long till lunch or end of shift). Not to say they don’t like their jobs, but it was clear to see they don’t love their job (if that makes any sense). All the Dentist’s I shadowed were practice owners who were invested and cared about their practice. This heavily resonated with me as a person who owns a small business. In conclusion, the two main factors which caused me to change my field is the fact hygienists I shadowed showed lack of enthusiasm towards the practice (they would do their jobs and do them good, but they were there were ready to get out of there) and the sheer dynamic difference between being able to be the owner versus an employee.

 

[macsak]

So pretty much I went through and picked all the schools that accept students with similar DAT (19-20) and GPA (3-5-3.6ish). I’m aware state schools only accept around 5-10% of oos students. If MW - Az is a school that I should add then I will hundred percent add it. Additionally, idk if this means anything but I took the DAT without completing any organic chemistry course and the second semester of BIO.

you need to research mission fit
"similar DAT and GPA" is not mission fit...

 

[macsak]

So pretty much I went through and picked all the schools that accept students with similar DAT (19-20) and GPA (3-5-3.6ish). I’m aware state schools only accept around 5-10% of oos students. If MW - Az is a school that I should add then I will hundred percent add it. Additionally, idk if this means anything but I took the DAT without completing any organic chemistry course and the second semester of BIO.

"state schools only accept around 5-10% of oos students"- true, but they accept a far far smaller percentage of oos students with 19 dats...

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

"state schools only accept around 5-10% of oos students"- true, but they accept a far far smaller percentage of oos students with 19 dats...

Yes this is my exact thought process. If i’m not mistaken, private schools tend to accept oos students with lower stats such as myself much more often than state schools.

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

you need to research mission fit
"similar DAT and GPA" is not mission fit...

I agree. However, before I take the time to research each school’s mission fit ; I would much rather know which schools to cross of my list immediately and then do the research to see which schools I align with to further narrow down the list.

 

[macsak]

I agree. However, before I take the time to research each school’s mission fit ; I would much rather know which schools to cross of my list immediately and then do the research to see which schools I align with to further narrow down the list.

well, you don't have any huge reach schools to take off immediately
but there are too many publics...

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

well, you don't have any huge reach schools to take off immediately
but there are too many publics...

Do you think its worth applying to any the publics? If so which ones do you think are the best choices based on my stats. (also thank you for taking the time to respond)

 

[macsak]

Do you think its worth applying to any the publics? If so which ones do you think are the best choices based on my stats. (also thank you for taking the time to respond)

that's totally up to you
it's your list, not mine...

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

well, you don't have any huge reach schools to take off immediately
but there are too many publics...

what did you mean by "don't have any huge reach schools"

 

[Ryxndek]

what did you mean by "don't have any huge reach schools"

Schools like Harvard, UNC, Columbia, UPenn, UCSF, UMich, etc.

Your GPA is fine, your DAT is below average. Taking the DAT before finishing ochem was a mistake in my opinion as you most likely could have had a better TS score, increasing your AA to maybe a 20+. Regardless, it's still possible to get in with a 19AA, just might be fighting an uphill battle as UGA isn't an easy school to get into.

Your volunteering is very light, I would strongly suggest you try and rack up some hours since 50 is low and a majority of competitive students have 100-150+ if not more. Research isn't an issue for most schools on your list. Your work hours will be good! Easily talk about your fine motor skills and if you interacted with customers, use that to help display communication skills.

As for your school lists,
Southern IL takes very few OOS students, for their CO 2026, out of 376 OOS applications, they admitted 8 students. Swap with Case Western. If you're applying to LECOM, I'd consider NOVA. UTHSC could also be a school to consider instead of UNE as UNE historically takes upper east coast and midwest students and very few Southern students. Mississippi, at least from 2026 Data did not admit any OOS students, so I wouldn't waste your money on their application unless you want to donate to the school. Unless you contact them and they've said things have changed, but I probably wouldn't risk it.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Also, IMO, Roseman is a real stretch. Your academic metrics aren't really on par with the desirable profile especially since you have to show you can handle an accelerated 3-year intense curriculum. It's out of your region (Southern) too.

I don't get West Virginia on your list. Unless you grew up in very rural Georgia, you're taking quite a roll of the dice since I don't think they take a lot of OOS candidates. You have to want to work in WV.

Get your list down to 10-15 schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

When I began shadowing Dental Hygienists, I would pay attention to their work and would ask a ton of questions about what got them into the field, work-life balance, fulfillment, etc. Ngl some of their answers were depressing which pushed me away from the field. One thing I also noticed is that ultimately they are employees which mean they are clock watchers (people who see how long till lunch or end of shift). Not to say they don’t like their jobs, but it was clear to see they don’t love their job (if that makes any sense).

You have worked in your family business, so I suppose working with co-workers who are here to cash a check is shocking. The fact is this is much more the norm than you may realize.

What's just as important: you'll have dental school classmates who will cash it in every day. You may even have co-workers who might not even come into work whether it's because they are sick or because they needed a self-care day. You'll also have peers who will just leave without letting you know, or someone who will take a longer lunch than they should. A lot of people will just let you work hard to cover their contribution or just want to be told what to do, and they'll do the very bare minimum. You may know a lot of students who are like this.

All the Dentist’s I shadowed were practice owners who were invested and cared about their practice. This heavily resonated with me as a person who owns a small business. In conclusion, the two main factors which caused me to change my field is the fact hygienists I shadowed showed lack of enthusiasm towards the practice (they would do their jobs and do them good, but they were there were ready to get out of there) and the sheer dynamic difference between being able to be the owner versus an employee.

How did these dentists hire good dental hygienists or assistants? How did they keep the DA's and DH's excited to work a full day with enthusiasm? This is important... I don't know where you go to school or shadowed, but most of the very successful dentists I know have hygienists and assistants who go above and beyond to make sure patients are cared for. And the dentists they work for take very good care off them.

Your response comes off as very naive. Many faculty I know complain their students are watching the clock, waiting for the lecture or discussion hour to be over. They cash in their efforts to do the bare minimum to get credit for passing the course minimally. I won't go into generation-bashing, but many others will.

 

[ScalingForLateGame]

Schools like Harvard, UNC, Columbia, UPenn, UCSF, UMich, etc.

Your GPA is fine, your DAT is below average. Taking the DAT before finishing ochem was a mistake in my opinion as you most likely could have had a better TS score, increasing your AA to maybe a 20+. Regardless, it's still possible to get in with a 19AA, just might be fighting an uphill battle as UGA isn't an easy school to get into.

Your volunteering is very light, I would strongly suggest you try and rack up some hours since 50 is low and a majority of competitive students have 100-150+ if not more. Research isn't an issue for most schools on your list. Your work hours will be good! Easily talk about your fine motor skills and if you interacted with customers, use that to help display communication skills.

As for your school lists,
Southern IL takes very few OOS students, for their CO 2026, out of 376 OOS applications, they admitted 8 students. Swap with Case Western. If you're applying to LECOM, I'd consider NOVA. UTHSC could also be a school to consider instead of UNE as UNE historically takes upper east coast and midwest students and very few Southern students. Mississippi, at least from 2026 Data did not admit any OOS students, so I wouldn't waste your money on their application unless you want to donate to the school. Unless you contact them and they've said things have changed, but I probably wouldn't risk it.

Thank you for the information, I will definitely make those changes to my list! I plan to retake the DAT very soon and let's say I get a score of 21 along with increasing my volunteering hours. Would you consider me competitive for any of schools listed for this cycle.

 

[Ryxndek]

Thank you for the information, I will definitely make those changes to my list! I plan to retake the DAT very soon and let's say I get a score of 21 along with increasing my volunteering hours. Would you consider me competitive for any of schools listed for this cycle.

With the exception of Mississippi and S. Illinois, you’d be competitive for nova, LECOM, and case western and in target range for UTHSC. You would most like be in target for UNE as well, though geographically you’d be at a disadvantage

 

[PHscale73]

Date of submission: 3/21/24
Overall GPA: 3.55
Science GPA: 3.41
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Sorry Couldn't find
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
QR : 19
GC : 17
BIO : 21
OC : 19
RC : 20
PAT : 19

Undergrad Attended: Augusta University
Major: Health Service
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Started College pursuing Dental Hygiene (2 x 2 Program). At the end of my second year, realized Dental Hygiene wasn't me because I would literally only ever pay attention when the Dentist came in to check up patients during shadowing. Realize it was a uphill battle, but decided to change to Dentistry

Shadowing Experience: 110 Dental Shadowing Hours : (also 30 Dental Hygienist Shadow Hours don't know if this matters)
Volunteering Experience: 50 odd sum numbers various food kitchens and animal shelters)
Employment: Managed Family Jewelry Store since I was 16. Maybe have taken 100 odd sum molds and made genuine gold & silver grills for customers.
Research: None
Other Extracurriculars: Student Government : Teaching Committee
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Negative
Relevant Honors or Awards: Nuh Uh
LOR type and strength: One Dentist, Two Science Prof, One Advisor : All Pretty Good
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: Had to retake chem ( ._. ) : but got A in them both times after retake.
School list:
Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!
Dental College of Georgia (instate)
UAB (parents live here)
Tufts
Arizona
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Midwestern University
Southern Illinois
Indiana University
University of Kentucky
University of New England
Missouri
Missouri-Kansas
Mississippi
Creighton
Roseman
West Virginia

Apply to Lincoln Memorial. It is a newer private school, so you have a greater chance of getting in plus it isn't too far from your parents.