21AA/ 22TS/ 23 PAT.. Good enough..?

[Dasaniii]

Hi guys, I took my DAT 2 days ago, and I got the following scores:

19 BIO
23 GC
25 OC
18 RC
21 QR
22 TS
23 PAT
21 AA

I am a little disappointed with my score because I was aiming for at least 23+.

How competitive is my score compared to other applicants? I have no idea if my scores are competitive because it seems like every. single. person. on SDN. gets. 23+...

I have a 3.63 oGPA and 3.57 sGPA at a good public university.

And I'm applying to Augusta University, UCSF, UCLA, Columbia, UPenn, UoP, and Boston.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!!

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[Combine33]

Go take a nap!

 

[Charles_Darwin]

Those are good scores, be proud of them

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Congratulations!!!

You should be more than proud of these scores. I know students that will be on cloud nine with these results. You should get interviews with numerous schools with these results and your GPA.

Enjoy the rest of summer, You did it!

Take care..Nancy

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Solid job bro!! You killed me in PAT (hahaha I stink at this). Not everyone on SDN gets 23+ (cough.. i'm in this club now but uhh ignore me. my grades suck). Honestly, I think your scores look nicer than mine because they're a little more well balanced. I'm kinda GC RC QR heavy haha

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Hi guys, I took my DAT 2 days ago, and I got the following scores:

19 BIO
23 GC
25 OC
18 RC
21 QR
22 TS
23 PAT
21 AA

I am a little disappointed with my score because I was aiming for at least 23+.

How competitive is my score compared to other applicants? I have no idea if my scores are competitive because it seems like every. single. person. on SDN. gets. 23+...

I have a 3.63 oGPA and 3.57 sGPA at a good public university.

And I'm applying to Augusta University, UCSF, UCLA, Columbia, UPenn, UoP, and Boston.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!!

You. Are. Fine. BTW, UPenn does like to see RC that's 20+, apparently from their brochure but other than that, solid scores!

 

[Charles_Darwin]

You. Are. Fine. BTW, UPenn does like to see RC that's 20+, apparently from their brochure but other than that, solid scores!

UPenn apparently hates bookworms lol

 

[redhotchiligochu]

UPenn apparently hates bookworms lol

For reals? I thought they like high RC unless if you're being sarcastic or if I'm misinformed like always lol

 

[Charles_Darwin]

For reals? I thought they like high RC unless if you're being sarcastic or if I'm misinformed like always lol

This is awkward, I misread your post. I thought it said UPenn *doesn't* like to see RC 20+. Hence my comment. Oops

 

[Dasaniii]

You. Are. Fine. BTW, UPenn does like to see RC that's 20+, apparently from their brochure but other than that, solid scores!

Thank you! How selective is UPenn? Do you think I still have a chance with these scores?..

 

[Dasaniii]

Congratulations!!!

You should be more than proud of these scores. I know students that will be on cloud nine with these results. You should get interviews with numerous schools with these results and your GPA.

Enjoy the rest of summer, You did it!

Take care..Nancy

Thank you!! Upon thinking about it for days, I decided to retake it next year if I don't get any interview this cycle. I really really want to go to Columbia and I am willing to do anything for it!!! Btw, destroyer was amazing!! It helped a bunch during my studies. Thank you!!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I think you'll get in haha. Apply a bit more broadly if you're that scared!

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Thank you! How selective is UPenn? Do you think I still have a chance with these scores?..

I have higher DAT but lower GPA than you. I still applied there because they offer dual-degree programs and it's the Ivy with the "lowest" GPA requirement lol. Frankly your chances are better than mine and UPenn will not reject you outright because of your scores... how are your EC's?

 

[Dasaniii]

.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Not everyone has a 24 AA lol. But I guess that's the goal for overachievers xD! I somehow feel like there's this exclusive 24 AA club that I just missed out on being a part of LOL!

 

[Dasaniii]

Not everyone has a 24 AA lol. But I guess that's the goal for overachievers xD! I somehow feel like there's this exclusive 24 AA club that I just missed out on being a part of LOL!

True.. I know SDN has a small pool of applicant, but seeing people with 23+ left and right on this site scares me so much. It almost makes me feel like I'm worthless haha. But Columbia does have an average of 23 AA, so that's why I'm kind of discouraged by my score. I think I will retake it next year if I don't get any interview this cycle

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Is this your first time applying this cycle?

Umm.. I think I have a good EC.
Co-founder/co-president of a non-profit organization at my school, historian of another club, photographer @ school magazine & 1 other club.
150 hours of volunteer, 200 hours of shadowing general dentist & prosthodontists (<-- this is what I want to do in the future hahaha), 700 hours of research.

I have decent letters but I don't think they are stellar.

My dream school is actually Columbia.. All of the dentists I shadowed are from Columbia dental and it directly influenced me. They spoke very highly of their school and they take pride in it. I don't think my score is good enough to get an interview though. And I am Asian.. so I will most likely be competing with other Asians that have 24+ AA.

LOL join the club of "over-represented" Asians.... Your EC's sound great, idk much about Columbia but sounds like you'll definitely get interview invites soon.

Edit: I'm a first-time applicant

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I honestly think you have a better chance to get in this cycle than I do. And I say that very sincerely. My crappy gpa the first 2 yrs have ruined any way for me to even make it respectable. I had to fight tooth and nail just to get up to a 3.4 -__-.

 

[Dasaniii]

Do you guys think that my list of schools is a reach?

Augusta University (Georgia), UCSF, UCLA, Columbia, UPenn, Boston, Washington, and Michigan?

I don't think I want to spend too much money on applying because I really really want to go to Columbia even if I have to reapply next cycle. Does this sound dumb to you guys haha...

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

YES YES IT DOES. Don't reapply just for one school bro! So many people would kill for the opportunity to just become a dentist!! Upenn, UCSF, Boston, Mich all sound pretty reasonable based on your stats. It would also look awful if you actually got accepted into dental school and turned it down. Be reasonable bro.

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Do you guys think that my list of schools is a reach?

Augusta University (Georgia), UCSF, UCLA, Columbia, UPenn, Boston, Washington, and Michigan?

I don't think I want to spend too much money on applying because I really really want to go to Columbia even if I have to reapply next cycle. Does this sound dumb to you guys haha...

IMO you can add a few more schools, maybe UoP if you're interested in a 3 year program? Also what's your state residency? Some schools like Michigan and Washington are not very OOS friendly, well at least they prefer in-state over OOS....

 

[Dasaniii]

I honestly think you have a better chance to get in this cycle than I do. And I say that very sincerely. My crappy gpa the first 2 yrs have ruined any way for me to even make it respectable. I had to fight tooth and nail just to get up to a 3.4 -__-.

No worries! My GPA was really bad until the end of first semester of my sophomore year. I even withdrew from 4 classes.. Oh man.. they were really bad... I somehow managed to bring it up to 3.63 with a strong upward trend for the last 1.5 years though. And I know I can bring it up higher if I apply next year.

Your DAT scores are so great though!! I wish I had your scores

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Nah your 25 OC and 23 PAT woop my ass into the next dimension! I have a one year upwards trend lmao! I hope it's enough lol. 3.63 is a solid gpa dude! If you want to really put off a year you could but I don't see a need. You have good grades and a solid DAT

 

[Dasaniii]

IMO you can add a few more schools, maybe UoP if you're interested in a 3 year program? Also what's your state residency? Some schools like Michigan and Washington are not very OOS friendly, well at least they prefer in-state over OOS....

Oh! Maybe I should do some research on that haha. Thank you for reminding me! I added those 2 schools on my list last minute. And I am from Georgia. Honestly, I am not interested in other schools except Columbia, UCSF and Augusta University (Only dental school in Georgia). My goal is to become a prosthodontist, so I want to go to a dental school that has prosthodontics program in order to increase my chance later in the future.

 

[Dasaniii]

Nah your 25 OC and 23 PAT woop my ass into the next dimension! I have a one year upwards trend lmao! I hope it's enough lol. 3.63 is a solid gpa dude! If you want to really put off a year you could but I don't see a need. You have good grades and a solid DAT

27 GC and 25 RC though... Nasty!! I am still going to apply this cycle, but if I don't get lucky enough, I'm gonna retake my DAT for the next cycle haha. I hope it works out. Where are you applying?

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

You might wanna be prost now but don't be too narrow minded my young friend . Honestly I'd be glad to be general but we'll see what happens haha.

Edit: I'm applying to 28 schools (I did this back when I had the 20 AA) LMAO. I am just really scared of my chances lol. I have so many B-s,Bs, B+s and C+s my first 2 years it makes me want to burn my eyes out. I just want to get in first xD

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Oh! Maybe I should do some research on that haha. Thank you for reminding me! I added those 2 schools on my list last minute. And I am from Georgia. Honestly, I am not interested in other schools except Columbia, UCSF and Augusta University (Only dental school in Georgia). My goal is to become a prosthodontist, so I want to go to a dental school that has prosthodontics program in order to increase my chance later in the future.

Dental school is so much more competitive now than it was 10 years ago. I actually talked to a (newly) practicing dentist just yesterday. He had the same exact GPA and DAT as I did but with barely any EC's and he got into UCLA dental school. It'd be great to get into your top 3 choices but the reality is that unless if you have a 3.9 GPA 26 AA and you are not Asian and you have a killer application (amazing personal statement, did dental work in a 3rd world country, URM who overcame gang violence and got a 5.8 GPA 33 AA) it is difficult (but not impossible) to get into a top tier program. Just my unofficial $0.02

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

LOOOOOOL "amazing personal statement, did dental work in a 3rd world country, URM who overcame gang violence and got a 5.8 GPA 33AA" I've got to save that one

 

[Dasaniii]

Dental school is so much more competitive now than it was 10 years ago. I actually talked to a (newly) practicing dentist just yesterday. He had the same exact GPA and DAT as I did but with barely any EC's and he got into UCLA dental school. It'd be great to get into your top 3 choices but the reality is that unless if you have a 3.9 GPA 26 AA and you are not Asian and you have a killer application (amazing personal statement, did dental work in a 3rd world country, URM who overcame gang violence and got a 5.8 GPA 33 AA) it is difficult (but not impossible) to get into a top tier program. Just my unofficial $0.02

True.. You are right haha. That's why I was aiming for at least 23+ AA to have a better chance in my application. Maybe I am being too picky with such an average stat. Sigh.. And Asians compete with other Asians right?

 

[Dasaniii]

You might wanna be prost now but don't be too narrow minded my young friend . Honestly I'd be glad to be general but we'll see what happens haha.

Edit: I'm applying to 28 schools (I did this back when I had the 20 AA) LMAO. I am just really scared of my chances lol. I have so many B-s,Bs, B+s and C+s my first 2 years it makes me want to burn my eyes out. I just want to get in first xD

HOLY you're applying to 28?? You must be bankinn.. Oh yea.. I hated the part in my application where I had to type in my grades.. It made me tear up because I effed up so bad in the beginning haha.

 

[redhotchiligochu]

True.. You are right haha. That's why I was aiming for at least 23+ AA to have a better chance in my application. Maybe I am being too picky with such an average stat. Sigh.. And Asians compete with other Asians right?

I don't want to get TOO political and SDN mods are free to give me a warning or ban (well, hopefully not the latter) and since it's past my bedtime and my inhibition's nonexistent....

I don't think Asians compete with other Asians, although I have to admit that certain Asian ethnic groups are underrepresented. I think the need to compensate for URM's despite Brown v. Board's overturning affirmative action (but with recent news about #beckywiththebadgrades essentially overturning Brown v. Board) makes it around 20-30% harder (unscientific guesstimate) for Asians to compete in the admissions process. I heard it's much worse for MD/DO and one of the reasons (not the main reason BTW) I'm pursuing dentistry and not medicine is that there's much less emphasis on race and more on producing great dental results as opposed to fulfilling a racial quota. In fact, I've omitted that on my AADSAS, so MAYBE they'll get a surprise if they see me in person for an interview haha

Edit: added and clarified some stuff

 

[Dasaniii]

Hey guys, do you guys think 18 in RC is going to look bad?

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I don't think it's too bad. Honestly, it's probably TS that's the most important

 

[Charles_Darwin]

18 RC is (I think) slightly below average, but given the rest of your scores there is no need for a retake at all! Be happy all your studying is over (for now)