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Hey! I had pretty similar stats (BS in Bio w/ 2 minors, 3.88 overallHi all!
Im a junior in undergrad majoring in Biology (B.S). I have a 3.88 overall GPA, and a 3.9 major in bio gpa. My grade in organic chemistry 1 just posted and I got an A! I have shadowed a general dentist, I have also worked in a completely different dental office as a receptionist and also shadowed there. I also plan on doing volunteering hours this summer because some schools want them. I have also gotten over 2,000 hours working as somewhat of a CNA assistant at Virginia home care services (also was paid there). I've taken microbio, genchem 1 and 2, orgo 1, genetics, ecology, cell bio, the usual stuff. I still need to take orgo 2 and biochem. I have 19 credits left to graduate.
So I just took a Kaplan DAT mock test today and didnt do well obviously.. I havent studied or anything so keep that in mind but I got a 14AA, 14 in organic chem, 13 genchem and 13 bio 17 reading, just overall really horrible so please dont judge me.. I now need to decide if Its possible for me to take the DAT and apply. I would take it in the beginning of August. My mentor who went to UMD said he did kaplan for the DAT and he wants me to do that but thats like 6 years ago and everyone says not to do it...
I really need guidance so... let me know!
and 3.99 science), and I took my DAT in August! I took it 8/9/17 (which was pretty late because the cycle opened in June), and submitted my primary application on 8/24 (again, pretty late). It's definitely possible, but there are two things you need to keep in mind: 1) You have a high GPA, so you need a high DAT (~22+) to show that your school didn't inflate their grades (ie, it took work to get As). Dental schools don't know how hard a school's curriculum was, so the DAT is an equalizer and a way to show dental schools just how well you know your stuff. 2) August is pretty late in the cycle, especially since last year they started with a "soft-open" in May, which allowed more people to submit right in June, and they have that this year too. To be competitive applying that late, I'd say the most success is seen with students that get 24+. So, I wouldn't be averse to taking a gap year and applying next cycle- you'd also be able to get those volunteering hours in because schools do want them. This would also give you time to retake your DAT and apply in June next year should you not do well this August. As for material, browse this DAT summary thread and this compilation thread to read breakdowns of people that have scored well. Good luck!
