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[Pleurodynia]

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[S_Diamond_DDS]

State of residence? You want to avoid going to these expensive and not necessarily well regarded private schools, unless you have to. And you have the stats to easily make it into more competitive schools- uconn, penn, columbia, Michigan etc. But only consider those that are OOS friendly. Schools like UCLA, take almost exclusively CA residents.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Gpa and Dat are king. They don’t care about club involvement. It looks like you have some high quality and interesting extracurriculars, which will help your app in this area. Some schools like to see research, but few schools will see you as not competitive without having done any.

 

[Startingover123]

Gpa and Dat are king. They don’t care about club involvement. Hopefully you do have some extracurriculars, since they want to see that you are kind of a well rounded student. Some schools like to see research, but few schools will see you as not competitive without having done any.

I have a very similar gpa. Is a 3.4 competitive for Columbia and Penn with an awesome DAT score like the op has?

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I have a very similar gpa. Is a 3.4 competitive for Columbia and Penn with an awesome DAT score like the op has?

I would guess so. A great DAT score can make up for a so-so GPA, and a 25 DAT is top 0.1% of test takers, at least it used to be.

Also, it just occurred to me, OP, that you went to a competitive undergrad college, so realize that schools will give more leeway to you having a lower GPA. For example, if you went to a top tier UC school, like UCLA, a ~3.6 would be seen as 4.0 from a cal state college. And edited above: It looks like you have some high quality and interesting extracurriculars, which will help your app in this area.

 

[Mr. Handsome boy]

I would guess so. A great DAT score can make up for a so-so GPA, and a 25 DAT is top 0.1% of test takers, at least it used to be.

Also, it just occurred to me, OP, that you went to a difficult undergrad college, so realize that schools will give more leeway to you having a lower GPA. For example, if you went to a top tier UC school, like UCLA, a ~3.6 would be seen as 4.0 from a cal state college.

What about a so-so DAT like 21, but a good GPA like 3.85+? Would the good GPA make up for the so-so DAT?

 

[MGA100]

Awesome, I didn't even think about the difficulty of my undergrad.

Thanks so much for your responses. I've added UConn, Michigan, Penn, Columbia, and Pitt to my list.

If you have the money to do so, then apply. Those schools are very GPA centered and, in general, a GPA of 3.7+ is needed for those schools. Pretty much everyone applying to those name seeking universities have your DAT score so that is not likely to outweigh your undergrad gpa. Also, some of these schools like UCONN have combined curriculum with med students and a high GPA has a positive correlation with students doing well in their curriculum. If it were me with your stats, I would not apply to those schools as it gets super expensive with supplimental fees and stuff. Best of luck to you.

 

[Startingover123]

If you have the money to do so, then apply. Those schools are very GPA centered and, in general, a GPA of 3.7+ is needed for those schools. Pretty much everyone applying to those name seeking universities have your DAT score so that is not likely to outweigh your undergrad gpa. Also, some of these schools like UCONN have combined curriculum with med students and a high GPA has a positive correlation with students doing well in their curriculum. If it were me with your stats, I would not apply to those schools as it gets super expensive with supplimental fees and stuff. Best of luck to you.

I have to disagree on Columbia. I’ve seen several people get into Columbia with a 3.4 gpa and high dat score.

 

[axiumgod]

Penn’s average gpa is around 3.75 and DAT is like 22.5, so you’re a fair amount below gpa and a fair amount above DAT. Averages are just averages though, there are matriculates on both ends of the spectrum. I say go for it, you’ll never know if you don’t try.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

What about a so-so DAT like 21, but a good GPA like 3.85+? Would the good GPA make up for the so-so DAT?

A 21 is a good score. It’s the average score of dental school matriculants. So you stand a chance at the competitive schools too, assuming the rest of your app is good.