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[Tatu78]

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[ncide]

The best thing to do in a time like this is to sabotage your friend any chance you get and make yourself look better on paper. Embrace the spirit of the gunner...

I kid, you're overthinking it. Just get through school and do well.

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

They literally won't care.

Also, most students in the same year take the same pre-reqs at the same time. I had some friends who were literally in all of my classes until my last semester.

 

[nowaysurvey]

There's nothing wrong with helping another pre-dent out, but at the end of the day you need to put yourself first (no need to sabotage your friend though).
Aside from taking the same classes, you should commit to other things that can help you stand out like shadowing and volunteering more or participating in clubs/ECs among other things.
Also, study aggressively for the DAT so while the GPAs may be the same, hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend.

Best of luck~

 

[Tatu78]

The best thing to do in a time like this is to sabotage your friend any chance you get and make yourself look better on paper. Embrace the spirit of the gunner!

I kid, you're overthinking it. Just get through school and do well.

haha, I guess I am, but i guess ive had too many friends apply to too many schools and get waitlisted, so I want my friend & me to stand out from the crowd (together but not lol).

 

[Faefly]

This is basically me and my relative. Same everything!
Except for the gpa. A Slight difference 🙁

Why should they care?
They should actually encourage it. Friends sharing the same dreams and motivating each others.

I hope you both end up in the same school or same city.

I hope the same thing for me and my relative.

 

[Faefly]

There's nothing wrong with helping another pre-dent out, but at the end of the day you need to put yourself first (no need to sabotage your friend though).
Aside from taking the same classes, you should commit to other things that can help you stand out like shadowing and volunteering more or participating in clubs/ECs among other things.
Also, study aggressively for the DAT so while the GPAs may be the same, hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend.

Best of luck~

A true friend would not want to have his scores much higher than his friend, but I guess that's just me. Why people let these things ruin their friendship, at the end of the day, you really get what you worked for, if you both worked hard, then you both should reap the rewards.

 

[Medin2017]

There's nothing wrong with helping another pre-dent out, but at the end of the day you need to put yourself first (no need to sabotage your friend though).
Aside from taking the same classes, you should commit to other things that can help you stand out like shadowing and volunteering more or participating in clubs/ECs among other things.
Also, study aggressively for the DAT so while the GPAs may be the same, hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend.

Best of luck~

Why do you say "hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend"? Even if they were equal it's not like 2 people with solid stats that are the same can't both get into the same school. OP just ignore your friend as a competitor and make good grades and become the best applicant you can be. If you are always thinking you have to "catch up" or looking behind your shoulder, you just add unnecessary stress. You don't need to "stand out" against 1 person. If I was friends with someone on the same path as me, I would recommend dentists to shadow or volunteer with them. There are thousands of applicants no need to think of winning or losing against your own friend.

 

[Faefly]

Why do you say "hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend"? Even if they were equal it's not like 2 people with solid stats that are the same can't both get into the same school. OP just ignore your friend as a competitor and make good grades and become the best applicant you can be. If you are always thinking you have to "catch up" or looking behind your shoulder, you just add unnecessary stress. You don't need to "stand out" against 1 person. If I was friends with someone on the same path as me, I would recommend dentists to shadow or volunteer with them. There are thousands of applicants no need to think of winning or losing against your own friend.

]

Exactly my thoughts. There are literally thousands who are applying each year, the last thing you need to do is to worry about your friend scores and think he might be an obstacle to your success, while he is the only person who is working with you, you should care about working hard and that's it!

I mean I don't know her friend is a good person or not, I am just assuming he/she are good friends.

 

[Tatu78]

This is basically me and my relative. Same everything!
Except for the gpa. A Slight difference 🙁

Why should they care?
They should actually encourage it. Friends sharing the same dreams and motivating each others.

I hope you both end up in the same school or same city.

I hope the same thing for me and my relative.

Thanks so much!! We are on the same boat but the comments are helping me stress less about this very unnecessary thing on my plate right now

 

[Tatu78]

Why do you say "hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend"? Even if they were equal it's not like 2 people with solid stats that are the same can't both get into the same school. OP just ignore your friend as a competitor and make good grades and become the best applicant you can be. If you are always thinking you have to "catch up" or looking behind your shoulder, you just add unnecessary stress. You don't need to "stand out" against 1 person. If I was friends with someone on the same path as me, I would recommend dentists to shadow or volunteer with them. There are thousands of applicants no need to think of winning or losing against your own friend.

That's a good point. I think they were trying to say that if I were too stressed about the sameness, then I can make it up by killing the DAT. either way, gonna buckle down for the exam

 

[Faefly]

Thanks so much!! We are on the same boat but the comments are helping me stress less about this very unnecessary thing on my plate right now

Don't worry too much.
It's better to work with a partner in some classes, just focus on succeeding. Also try to volunteer and do a lot of shadowing when you have extra time, don't do my mistake and postpone that.

 

[Medin2017]

That's a good point. I think they were trying to say that if I were too stressed about the sameness, then I can make it up by killing the DAT. either way, gonna buckle down for the exam

It's not an issue to even consider.

 

[nowaysurvey]

Why do you say "hopefully your DAT could be much better than your friend"? Even if they were equal it's not like 2 people with solid stats that are the same can't both get into the same school. OP just ignore your friend as a competitor and make good grades and become the best applicant you can be. If you are always thinking you have to "catch up" or looking behind your shoulder, you just add unnecessary stress. You don't need to "stand out" against 1 person. If I was friends with someone on the same path as me, I would recommend dentists to shadow or volunteer with them. There are thousands of applicants no need to think of winning or losing against your own friend.

A true friend would not want to have his scores much higher than his friend, but I guess that's just me. Why people let these things ruin their friendship, at the end of the day, you really get what you worked for, if you both worked hard, then you both should reap the rewards.

Hoping that the OP's DAT score will be better this his/her friend is what I hoped for, I didn't ask the OP to do the same.

Anyways, one thing my post emphasized on is trying to be unique. How to do so? Study for the DAT aggressively and kill it, shadow and volunteer (good quality) more, or participate in ECs (again quality>quantity).

I happened to have spoken to a recent graduate who the school has invited her to come back and interview applicants (disclaimer: she isn't on the adcom though). I asked her about a situation where two students have identical stats. Her answer? She still has to pick one (or at the very least "rank" them) so she needs to find out what makes one more unique (background, shadow, volunteering, etc) over the other. Although she doesn't have a final say on who gets in or not, she did tell me that the ADCOM tries to fill a class that is unique and brings about the best of each other. So can both make it in? They could, but to her, probably not. It's either one or the other or none at all. Again, that's her opinion. (This is a particular instance where two very similar applicants are applying to the same school.)

Am I saying that you should not help your friend at all or sabotage him/her? No, not at all. Help each other all you want, but at the end of the day you do you and he/she does what he/she does, it'll work out as that's how life works. I doubt everything will coincidently be similar on the application. Also, being friendly rivals (not necessarily aggressive competitors) will naturally bring out the best of each other. Always working together at the same pace and having the same mindset doesn't let one or the other think outside the box often does it?

I wish getting into dental school is sort of like a marathon where everyone that finishes is technically a winner, but that's not the case here. It's more of a race/competition. Unfortunately, not everyone wins, and if you don't treat it like a competition, you may be out of luck.

 

[Tatu78]

Hoping that the OP's DAT score will be better this his/her friend is what I hoped for, I didn't ask the OP to do the same.

Anyways, one thing my post emphasized on is trying to be unique. How to do so? Study for the DAT aggressively and kill it, shadow and volunteer (good quality) more, or participate in ECs (again quality>quantity).

I happened to have spoken to a recent graduate who the school has invited her to come back and interview applicants (disclaimer: she isn't on the adcom though). I asked her about a situation where two students have identical stats. Her answer? She still has to pick one (or at the very least "rank" them) so she needs to find out what makes one more unique (background, shadow, volunteering, etc) over the other. Although she doesn't have a final say on who gets in or not, she did tell me that the ADCOM tries to fill a class that is unique and brings about the best of each other. So can both make it in? They could, but to her, probably not. It's either one or the other or none at all. Again, that's her opinion. (This is a particular instance where two very similar applicants are applying to the same school.)

Am I saying that you should not help your friend at all or sabotage him/her? No, not at all. Help each other all you want, but at the end of the day you do you and he/she does what he/she does, it'll work out as that's how life works. I doubt everything will coincidently be similar on the application. Also, being friendly rivals (not necessarily aggressive competitors) will naturally bring out the best of each other. Always working together at the same pace and having the same mindset doesn't let one or the other think outside the box often does it?

I wish getting into dental school is sort of like a marathon where everyone that finishes is technically a winner, but that's not the case here. It's more of a race/competition. Unfortunately, not everyone wins, and if you don't treat it like a competition, you may be out of luck.

Thank you to everyone who responded!

 

[gangazi]

Even if you guys have same GPA and DAT score, your experience and interviews will be different. But good luck to both of you!


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[dentalabscessed]

No, you don't need to compete with your friend. Look at it this way. The pre-reqs for dental schools are pretty much the same across the board, meaning that all pre-dents would have fulfilled the same requirements as you, no matter what classes you or your friend take. What differentiates one person from the next is a person's story, commitment to dentistry, and extracurriculars. We're fortunate to be going into a field with a variety of career options; dental schools aren't just looking to train future dentists, they're also looking for future professors, researchers, leaders in health policy, and community outreach directors. What was your "thing" in college? Did you tutor your peers or hold positions as a TA? Did you spend a lot of time in lab? Were you heavily involved in community service? Were you in your pre-dental club's eboard? Help them see where you, specifically, can serve the dental community as a student at their school. This is where you can stand out.

 

[Craig_Sherwood234]

lol...