26 DAT 3.8 Gpa---no interviews?

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Hopefully this helps: I am applying this cycle (took DAT in July, scores came in early August, apps had already been sent in) and in the intro of my PS, I wrote about my switch from premed to predent (and why I did so). I'm sitting on 4 interviews right now. Unless you spent most of your PS talking about why you don't like premed rather than how much you like predental, then your PS shouldn't be holding you back.
 
Anyone in the same boat or have advice on what to do?

I applied to UCLA, UCSF (rejected already), Columbia, Harvard, Penn, NYU, Pacific, Texas A&M, UIC, and UW

For some background, I am a Cali resident, went to UCLA, was premed but changed to predent last year. I have about 100 hours of dental shadowing and a lot of premed EC's (research, hospital internship, volunteering abroad, etc....)

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.

Sorry OP, but people here aren't giving you the advice you deserve or need to hear.

You have truly amazing stats, but you also applied to brutally hard schools out of state that screen not only amazing academic profiles but screen for substantial commitments in dentistry through research, volunteerism, shadowing, and job employment. You clearly didn't do enough research this cycle to know the razor thin margins that these schools operate on with notoriously small class sizes and the most unique qualities applicants bring: Harvard, Columbia, Penn, UIC, and UWash? Those schools get thousands and thousands of applicants from all over the country for very small matriculating classes, and those matriculants usually have very high numbers combined with an extensive profile committed to dentistry over a number of years. UIC and UWash barely take anyone out of their region. You don't have that second part of the screening process from what you've mentioned, that WOW factor these dental programs (especially Ivy schools) would consider against the field when sifting through your file.

Then, you were crazy enough to apply to Texas dental schools, which if you conducted some basic PI work would realize that Texas is impossible to get into out of state. They have their own application system portal (did you apply to that?) and 99.9% of their matriculants are generated from in-state services of affiliated universities and colleges in Texas. Literally, they only accept 1 or 2 students outside Texas per dental school because they are required to fill a state quota, and usually those acceptances are for ultra-rare diverse applicants who bring a state initiative to the table. Just nuts on your school choices and decisions of where to apply where.

UofP, UCLA, and NYU are toss-ups - your amazing stats may have discouraged NYU and UofP to even bother interviewing you, since by their perception you probably wouldn't ever consider going to them due to their ludicrously high private tuition, while UCLA wasn't overly convinced you were committed to dentistry over other Cali residents with numbers slightly less than you.

I'm shocked that you didn't apply to schools like VCU, Detroit Mercy, UConn, Michigan, UofL, UofK, BU, Tufts, Temple, Nova, Indiana, Rutgers, LECOM, Pittsburgh, and Colorado - all schools which have notably high interview turnouts for out of state applicants and are willing to give applicants a shot no matter any red flags. There are 5 interviews listed above in that list with your profile, guaranteed, excluding a criminal or academic violation record which we are unaware of. Those programs are all great, and sometimes Ivies aren't everything you wanted it to be.

Point blank - apply next year to the schools above, start doing dental volunteering and community outreach now, submit all app materials the day AADSAS opens.
 
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He can still add those schools you mentioned right now!

Pick up some post dec interviews. Also UCLA is just as hard to get into OOS as some of the schools you mentioned.

In regards to NYU, send a letter of intent. Seriously, considering you have them listed, contacting Dr Mejia showing how much interest you have in the school will absolutely help. NYU is one of those schools that like proactive applicants. They are a big school that interviews a ton of applicants.
 
do u mind me asking what made you switch?

I'm aiming for OMFS, so I guess it's not really a switch since I have to go back to medical school. If I change my mind midway through school about surgery, I would rather end up doing dentistry than primary care. Also I enjoy the work and autonomy of dentistry more than medical.
 
Sorry OP, but people here aren't giving you the advice you deserve or need to hear.

You have truly amazing stats, but you also applied to brutally hard schools out of state that screen not only amazing academic profiles but screen for substantial commitments in dentistry through research, volunteerism, shadowing, and job employment. You clearly didn't do enough research this cycle to know the razor thin margins that these schools operate on with notoriously small class sizes and the most unique qualities applicants bring: Harvard, Columbia, Penn, UIC, and UWash? Those schools get thousands and thousands of applicants from all over the country for very small matriculating classes, and those matriculants usually have very high numbers combined with an extensive profile committed to dentistry over a number of years. UIC and UWash barely take anyone out of their region. You don't have that second part of the screening process from what you've mentioned, that WOW factor these dental programs (especially Ivy schools) would consider against the field when sifting through your file.

Then, you were crazy enough to apply to Texas dental schools, which if you conducted some basic PI work would realize that Texas is impossible to get into out of state. They have their own application system portal (did you apply to that?) and 99.9% of their matriculants are generated from in-state services of affiliated universities and colleges in Texas. Literally, they only accept 1 or 2 students outside Texas per dental school because they are required to fill a state quota, and usually those acceptances are for ultra-rare diverse applicants who bring a state initiative to the table. Just nuts on your school choices and decisions of where to apply where.

UofP, UCLA, and NYU are toss-ups - your amazing stats may have discouraged NYU and UofP to even bother interviewing you, since by their perception you probably wouldn't ever consider going to them due to their ludicrously high private tuition, while UCLA wasn't overly convinced you were committed to dentistry over other Cali residents with numbers slightly less than you.

I'm shocked that you didn't apply to schools like VCU, Detroit Mercy, UConn, Michigan, UofL, UofK, BU, Tufts, Temple, Nova, Indiana, Rutgers, LECOM, Pittsburgh, and Colorado - all schools which have notably high interview turnouts for out of state applicants and are willing to give applicants a shot no matter any red flags. There are 5 interviews listed above in that list with your profile, guaranteed, excluding a criminal or academic violation record which we are unaware of. Those programs are all great, and sometimes Ivies aren't everything you wanted it to be.

Point blank - apply next year to the schools above, start doing dental volunteering and community outreach now, submit all app materials the day AADSAS opens.

Thank you for your reply,
I believe the Texas portal is only for Texas residents and yes I knew it was a long shot. I didn't apply to many of the schools you listed because I was told many of them will not bother interviewing me because of my stats ( same reason you said for NYU and UoP). In retrospect I should have added UConn and Mich.

I don't buy into the whole "they don't want me because I was premed thing." I think having given up an acceptance to medical and deciding dentistry is what I really want in a way is its own dedication. If I was applying to both at the same time that's a different story.
 
did you apply to the same dental school whose medical school accepted you?
did you indicate on the application that you were accepted/applied to medical school?
in my opinion, I think your PS could be the problem
No to the first yes to the second. PS is pretty standard, I talked about my transition to dentistry and "why dentistry" rather than "why not medical."
 
You clearly didn't do enough research this cycle to know the razor thin margins that these schools operate on with notoriously small class sizes and the most unique qualities applicants bring: Harvard, Columbia, Penn, UIC, and UWash? Those schools get thousands and thousands of applicants from all over the country for very small matriculating classes, and those matriculants usually have very high numbers combined with an extensive profile committed to dentistry over a number of years.

@Mr.Dr.Strange 's numbers are much higher than the average of any school. There is not a single school, Harvard included, that would reject OP on the basis of his stats. (An aside: might I remind everyone here that around half (possibly more) of any class at any dental school had lower DAT scores and GPA than the published average stats for accepted students? SDNers seem to forget this all the time.) They're never going to say, "due to his weak curriculum vitae/personal statement/LORs, a 26 AA is not high enough to grant him an interview. But if he got a 28 AA, we would." If there is a red flag big enough to not even offer a 26 AA an interview, then there is no way higher numbers could ever make up for whatever is wrong with the rest of his application. Admissions officers aren't purely rational computational robots (that is, once they filter out applicants who fail to meeting minimum quantitative standards); they make decisions based on general impressions, much like the way a college fraternity or sorority judges their pledges.

And yes, some schools get 3,000 applicants, but that speaks little to the size of the pool of qualified applicants. You might be surprised by the number of random people who apply to "big name schools" just for the hell of it. They're not good enough to get into any dental school, let alone these ones. Thus, you're not truly competing against 3,000 people for a seat in the class. Acceptance/matriculation rates are not an accurate way to measure the difficulty of getting into schools.

Furthermore, you don't have to be extremely committed to dentistry over many years to gain acceptance to these particular schools. In fact, these schools want applicants who will thrive in a rigorous medical curriculum, spend free time doing research, pursue a dual degree, etc., and that means you should actually demonstrate a modest openness to careers outside of clinical dentistry. I know this sounds cynical, but the truth is that many people are driven to OMFS and academia because they learned in dental school how much they hate dentistry. The opposite is also often true: people who are absolutely in love with general dentistry would probably hate the stress of performing high-stakes surgeries in a hospital OR or the hands-off nature of being a professor or researcher who rarely treats patients. Don't get me wrong--everyone who applies to dental school needs to demonstrate a passion for dentistry. But these particular, competitive schools aren't just interested in producing general dentists.
 
He can still add those schools you mentioned right now!

Pick up some post dec interviews. Also UCLA is just as hard to get into OOS as some of the schools you mentioned.

In regards to NYU, send a letter of intent. Seriously, considering you have them listed, contacting Dr Mejia showing how much interest you have in the school will absolutely help. NYU is one of those schools that like proactive applicants. They are a big school that interviews a ton of applicants.

Do you have the contact info of this Dr. Mejia you mentioned? I'd like to contact them as well?
 
Do you have the contact info of this Dr. Mejia you mentioned? I'd like to contact them as well?

Shoot NYU an email to their admissions and ask to forward it to her. She is the dean of admissions. Her number is listed on the nyu website but I think it sends you back to a admissions again.
 
Then, you were crazy enough to apply to Texas dental schools, which if you conducted some basic PI work would realize that Texas is impossible to get into out of state. They have their own application system portal (did you apply to that?) and 99.9% of their matriculants are generated from in-state services of affiliated universities and colleges in Texas. Literally, they only accept 1 or 2 students outside Texas per dental school because they are required to fill a state quota, and usually those acceptances are for ultra-rare diverse applicants who bring a state initiative to the table. Just nuts on your school choices and decisions of where to apply where.

Other way around- per TX law, TX dental schools require a minimum of 90% of students to be from in-state. They may have reciprocal arrangements with a few other states, but quota implies that they MUST take out-of-state students, and I don't think they have such a quota.

Good post overall.
 
Other way around- per TX law, TX dental schools require a minimum of 90% of students to be from in-state. They may have reciprocal arrangements with a few other states, but quota implies that they MUST take out-of-state students, and I don't think they have such a quota.

Good post overall.

Just to add to this. Because of this in-state quota, UTHSCSA interviews its OOS applicants at the end of the cycle and they tend to be post-December. I'm not sure how it is for A&M and Houston. My best friend, who is an AZ resident, interviewed at UTHSCSA in December (our cycle) and was accepted later on. So don't lose hope if you are OOS and have a late TX interview.
 
Ambivalence and leaving a bride/groom at the altar are not highly sought after qualities.
 
Any updates on the application/interviews? Any success?

I can guarantee that the transition from medical to dental is so common that it is in no way a negative factor as some of these others have suggested. There is also zero crosstalk between AMCAS and AADAS (?) so applying with a known acceptance to medical school from a previous year or have previously taken the MCAT would not be something that a dental school would know unless you voluntarily gave that information. In either case, it wouldn't make one difference in your application.

The only things that make sense at this point (as others have mentioned) is either: (1) something blatantly and negatively sticks out in your essay and/or (2) you have a bad letter. Figuring out this information takes some serious investigation on your part. This can be circumvented by having others who have experience in reading admission essays read yours and give you feedback on potential issues. As far as the letter goes, this is sensitive information that not all faculty will allow you to access but you can always ask the faculty who wrote the letter to give you honest info regarding content given your current situation of no interviews. Again, not everyone will oblige but you may be able to smoke out the bad apple if anyone you have a hunch on writing something bad will not give you any info and everyone else does and you hear great things from these others. This is of course assuming someone doesn't lie to you. We would all wish that people who write a letters of recommendation would either write a good one or not write one at all but Ive seen people get burned in letters by faculty they thought were in their corner.
 
How do you know your essay is good and your recommendations are great? (By the way, it is ethically questionable to read your recommendations.)

Also, is it possible you broke any rules while taking the DAT? The test company can notify the schools if they think you cheated.

Is it ethically questionable if your recommender lets you read them? I can see how it's ethically questionable to write them but
why is it to read them?
 
Is it ethically questionable if your recommender lets you read them? I can see how it's ethically questionable to write them but
why is it to read them?
I think that by you being allowed to read the letter, the recommender is pressured (ever so slightly) to write something that is not uniquely his or her own thoughts. By waiving your rights to read the letter, it guarantees that the letter is a honest evaluation.

It isn't unethical to read the letter if you don't waive your rights, though.
 
Mate I was in a similar situation to yours (still kind of am). I have 24AA/3.85 and I also go to UCLA. I didn't get any interviews until last week when I called my schools to check on the status of my app, and one of them basically gave me an interview on the spot. At this point, you have nothing to lose by being proactive. Best of luck.
 
Similar case with me I guess, although I was able to receive one interview.

I am Canadian, 3.85 gpa (3.9 bcp), 26 AA, 150+ shadowing, 150+ volunteering, 3.5 years of full-time work at a big IT firm.
I have applied to 10+ private schools (harvard, columbia, upenn, bu, nyu, udm, temple, u of michigan, etc), and all my documents were sent late July and the letters were sent mid August.

Within first week of my application, I received on interview invite from UDM and that was the last offer I got.
Not sure which part of the application I improve if I happen to apply again next year...
 
Similar case with me I guess, although I was able to receive one interview.

I am Canadian, 3.85 gpa (3.9 bcp), 26 AA, 150+ shadowing, 150+ volunteering, 3.5 years of full-time work at a big IT firm.
I have applied to 10+ private schools (harvard, columbia, upenn, bu, nyu, udm, temple, u of michigan, etc), and all my documents were sent late July and the letters were sent mid August.

Within first week of my application, I received on interview invite from UDM and that was the last offer I got.
Not sure which part of the application I improve if I happen to apply again next year...


Hmm I would apply to other private schools and some state schools. Your stats are amazing but the private schools you applied to are (apart from NYU and UDM) are much more selective than most.
 
Similar situation here. 3.9+ and 24+. I'm waiting on many interviews from this pool of schools.
 
Any updates on the application/interviews? Any success?

I can guarantee that the transition from medical to dental is so common that it is in no way a negative factor as some of these others have suggested. There is also zero crosstalk between AMCAS and AADAS (?) so applying with a known acceptance to medical school from a previous year or have previously taken the MCAT would not be something that a dental school would know unless you voluntarily gave that information. In either case, it wouldn't make one difference in your application.

The only things that make sense at this point (as others have mentioned) is either: (1) something blatantly and negatively sticks out in your essay and/or (2) you have a bad letter. Figuring out this information takes some serious investigation on your part. This can be circumvented by having others who have experience in reading admission essays read yours and give you feedback on potential issues. As far as the letter goes, this is sensitive information that not all faculty will allow you to access but you can always ask the faculty who wrote the letter to give you honest info regarding content given your current situation of no interviews. Again, not everyone will oblige but you may be able to smoke out the bad apple if anyone you have a hunch on writing something bad will not give you any info and everyone else does and you hear great things from these others. This is of course assuming someone doesn't lie to you. We would all wish that people who write a letters of recommendation would either write a good one or not write one at all but Ive seen people get burned in letters by faculty they thought were in their corner.
Any updates on the application/interviews? Any success?

I can guarantee that the transition from medical to dental is so common that it is in no way a negative factor as some of these others have suggested. There is also zero crosstalk between AMCAS and AADAS (?) so applying with a known acceptance to medical school from a previous year or have previously taken the MCAT would not be something that a dental school would know unless you voluntarily gave that information. In either case, it wouldn't make one difference in your application.

The only things that make sense at this point (as others have mentioned) is either: (1) something blatantly and negatively sticks out in your essay and/or (2) you have a bad letter. Figuring out this information takes some serious investigation on your part. This can be circumvented by having others who have experience in reading admission essays read yours and give you feedback on potential issues. As far as the letter goes, this is sensitive information that not all faculty will allow you to access but you can always ask the faculty who wrote the letter to give you honest info regarding content given your current situation of no interviews. Again, not everyone will oblige but you may be able to smoke out the bad apple if anyone you have a hunch on writing something bad will not give you any info and everyone else does and you hear great things from these others. This is of course assuming someone doesn't lie to you. We would all wish that people who write a letters of recommendation would either write a good one or not write one at all but Ive seen people get burned in letters by faculty they thought were in their corner.
Hi there. Nothing yet, I had these same writers write me a letter for medical school and they changed it to be geared towards dental. They are very kind teachers who I had a good relationship with.
 
Mid July everything submitted and completed

I don't think you should worry about your app AT ALL. I'm certain that your lack of interviews is mostly due to the fact that your schools are all hard to get into. There is no guarantee with such schools no matter what your stats are. I applied very broadly in SEPTEMBER and already have 4 interviews. My stats are: GPA 3.9+, DAT (AA, TS) 21,22. Funny thing is I only went to one interview and don't intend to go to the other three because that's how I ball. :claps: In all seriousness though, don't worry, even if you don't make it in this year. No matter what your life circumstance is you need to stop worrying, stress kills people in the long run.
 
Hi I have about the same stats as you (26 on dat and 4.0). My application was considered complete in September. I think you maybe need to give it more time. I had two interviews in October. And now I am getting a couple of more.
 
I wouldn't fret too much. I also switched from med to dent, I took the mcat, applied and didn't get into Med school, immediately started shadowing a dentist, got my LoRs changed to dentistry, took the DAT, did well, applied to dental school the following cycle, got interviews at 8/13 schools, and got into 7/8. I don't think your medical school application would affect you that much, if anything, getting in AND then giving it up to go into dentistry would look far better than someone like me who didn't get in and then applied to dental school. I would personally have rather reapplied to medical school though, I thoroughly regret going into dentistry, but that's another story. Give it time, I'm sure you'll get interviews barring you're not holding back anything. Also wouldn't hurt to call the admissions offices and let them know you're still interested. I would strongly advise you to do that. Best of luck!
 
Why are people still glossing over his school choices? You made a horrible decision applying only to Ivies, hard OOS programs with low acceptees, and a Texas school. Apply broadly to 15 OOS-friendly schools next year and you'll get 10 interviews.
 
I wouldn't fret too much. I also switched from med to dent, I took the mcat, applied and didn't get into Med school, immediately started shadowing a dentist, got my LoRs changed to dentistry, took the DAT, did well, applied to dental school the following cycle, got interviews at 8/13 schools, and got into 7/8. I don't think your medical school application would affect you that much, if anything, getting in AND then giving it up to go into dentistry would look far better than someone like me who didn't get in and then applied to dental school. I would personally have rather reapplied to medical school though, I thoroughly regret going into dentistry, but that's another story. Give it time, I'm sure you'll get interviews barring you're not holding back anything. Also wouldn't hurt to call the admissions offices and let them know you're still interested. I would strongly advise you to do that. Best of luck!

Why do u regret going to dentistry?
 
3 were pre- December, 1 is Post- December
I don't understand. Were you given an early acceptance offer? There are so many better outlets if you feel the urge to gamble!

There was only one school that didn't accept me after interview. But I left that interview feeling SO confident. The admissions director didn't ask me any questions...only gave me compliments and told me I was one of the most impressive applicants they saw that year. It was also supposedly the easiest school to get into on my list--an expensive private school with a crappy reputation. And yet, they didn't accept me. My point is that you can't take anything for granted when you apply to dental school.
 
I don't understand. Were you given an early acceptance offer? There are so many better outlets if you feel the urge to gamble!

There was only one school that didn't accept me after interview. But I left that interview feeling SO confident. The admissions director didn't ask me any questions...only gave me compliments and told me I was one of the most impressive applicants they saw that year. It was also supposedly the easiest school to get into on my list--an expensive private school with a crappy reputation. And yet, they didn't accept me. My point is that you can't take anything for granted when you apply to dental school.

I didn't get an early acceptance; my state doesn't have a dental school. The reason is that I now don't want to attend certain schools that I applied to earlier. Its as basic as that lol, pretty pathetic right?
 
I didn't get an early acceptance; my state doesn't have a dental school. The reason is that I now don't want to attend certain schools that I applied to earlier. Its as basic as that lol, pretty pathetic right?
Well I am concerned for you. Yes, schools are different and you may be happier at one school than another. But are you really committed to becoming a dentist if you'd rather not go to dental school at all than go to the three you turned down? I'm actually concerned that you WILL get accepted to the school at which you interviewed, and then after paying for a few semesters of tuition you burn out and get sick of dentistry. Very few people can afford to drop out of dental school...that could be financially catastrophic.

What's going on? Tell us more. Do you have a spouse? Are you unwilling to move to a new city? Is this a financial decision?
 
I am so surprised, but you should have applied to other schools that are not on the top 10
People should always have a back up plan
Always!
Why not apply now? You still might get in another school, what you gonna lose anyway?
Applying to a lower ranking school could get you a full ride or half scholarship, so it's not that bad.
 
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Well I am concerned for you. Yes, schools are different and you may be happier at one school than another. But are you really committed to becoming a dentist if you'd rather not go to dental school at all than go to the three you turned down? I'm actually concerned that you WILL get accepted to the school at which you interviewed, and then after paying for a few semesters of tuition you burn out and get sick of dentistry. Very few people can afford to drop out of dental school...that could be financially catastrophic.

Are you one of those crafty dental students that tries to convince impressionable prospective students to not attend dental school because you don't want to saturate the field? 😍

Also I got another interview today for early January to a school that I like very much and I will attend. :luck:
 
Are you one of those crafty dental students that tries to convince impressionable prospective students to not attend dental school because you don't want to saturate the field? 😍

Also I got another interview today for early January to a school that I like very much and I will attend. :luck:
If this were the case, I think (s)he would want you to only attend one interview rather than as many as possible...
 
No, @The Flossopher is one of the few people on here who makes sense every time they post. He/she definitely doles out good advice.
Thanks, man. I can certainly say the same about you, and you are a more prolific poster than me!

Whatever the case maybe I'm good. To be honest, I felt somewhat insulted being told I might burn out and lose interest in dentistry.
I don't understand how you could find that insulting, but feel free to PM me anyway if you want advice in the future. Surely you can see how I (or an admissions officer) might question your reasons for applying to dental school if you decline interview invitations like that.
 
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