NovocaineNarco
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- Jul 23, 2024
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Hello, first post here!
Date of submission: Late June
Overall GPA: 3.81
Science GPA: 3.80
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.75
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA: 24 // QR: 27 // RC: 30 // Bio: 20 // GenChem: 22 // OChem: 22 // TS: 21 // PAT: 19
State of Residence: California
Undergrad Attended: Top 4 liberal arts college
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes, career changer (completed reputable post-bac and got a 4.0 post-bac GPA)
Shadowing Experience:
~170 hours at a general Medicaid clinic
~15 hours at another general clinic
Volunteering Experience:
~30 (current and ongoing) hours as volunteer dental assistant at free dental clinic
~32 hours teacher’s assistant for underserved 1st grade class
~130 hours teacher’s assistant for underserved 1st - 3rd grade classes
~480 hours disaster services volunteer (responding to emergencies/disasters)
~350 hours tutoring underserved 1st generation high school students
Employment:
~1600 hours in psychiatric research
Research:
~1600 hours in above mentioned psychiatric research
~500 hours researching/authoring senior thesis
~500 hours philosophy research
~850 hours psychology research assistant
~700 hours psychology research assistant for another professor
~250 hours neuroscience research assistant
~160 hours bioengineering research
-3 research presentations (senior thesis, 1 philosophy poster, 1 psychology poster)
Other Extracurriculars:
~30 hours pre-dental club
~200 hours Spanish guitar recitals (solo and trio, cofounder of trio)
~80 hours playing electric guitar in band
~230 hours radio DJ and host
~Drawing flora/fauna and classical works of art
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools?
Yes, attended UOP information session, spoke with admissions director afterward
Relevant Honors or Awards:
-Won $3,600 research grant
-Won $3,000 international research grant
-Won $20,000 scholarship
-Won bioengineering research award for producing top project in program
-Top 25% of class for 2 semesters
-President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award
LOR type and strength:
-1 from OChem I/OChem II professor (strong)
-1 from Bio I professor (strong)
-1 from GenChem I/GenChem II professor (strong)
-All 3 above letters included in committee letter (average to strong)
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
No letter from dentist?
School list:
I’m specifically asking for advice on whether I should retake my DAT for Columbia/Harvard because these 2 schools seem to be the most stat-focused. This is obviously not my entire school list; I’m just wondering if my apps to Columbia/Harvard warrant retaking a DAT or if I shouldn’t bother. I’m a bit concerned about my low(er) TS and PAT scores.
I’ve already submitted to Columbia/Harvard in late June but I have NOT yet told them to hold my application for review. The soonest I can retake the DAT is August 26, but this gives me pause because it would essentially turn my app into a September submission since the DAT takes 3-4 weeks to process (basically forcing me to convert my early submissions into late submissions, but with potentially higher scores).
Is it more advantageous for my apps to Columbia/Harvard if I retake the DAT on August 26 (and get potentially higher scores), or is it better to keep my June-submitted apps with my current score? Specifically, I’m wondering if Columbia is the type of school to accept an applicant like me with a (hopefully after retaking) 25AA or 26AA whose app is “verified” in September, or if there’s a higher chance they’ll take an applicant like me with a 24AA whose app was verified in July.
Thank you!
Date of submission: Late June
Overall GPA: 3.81
Science GPA: 3.80
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.75
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA: 24 // QR: 27 // RC: 30 // Bio: 20 // GenChem: 22 // OChem: 22 // TS: 21 // PAT: 19
State of Residence: California
Undergrad Attended: Top 4 liberal arts college
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes, career changer (completed reputable post-bac and got a 4.0 post-bac GPA)
Shadowing Experience:
~170 hours at a general Medicaid clinic
~15 hours at another general clinic
Volunteering Experience:
~30 (current and ongoing) hours as volunteer dental assistant at free dental clinic
~32 hours teacher’s assistant for underserved 1st grade class
~130 hours teacher’s assistant for underserved 1st - 3rd grade classes
~480 hours disaster services volunteer (responding to emergencies/disasters)
~350 hours tutoring underserved 1st generation high school students
Employment:
~1600 hours in psychiatric research
Research:
~1600 hours in above mentioned psychiatric research
~500 hours researching/authoring senior thesis
~500 hours philosophy research
~850 hours psychology research assistant
~700 hours psychology research assistant for another professor
~250 hours neuroscience research assistant
~160 hours bioengineering research
-3 research presentations (senior thesis, 1 philosophy poster, 1 psychology poster)
Other Extracurriculars:
~30 hours pre-dental club
~200 hours Spanish guitar recitals (solo and trio, cofounder of trio)
~80 hours playing electric guitar in band
~230 hours radio DJ and host
~Drawing flora/fauna and classical works of art
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools?
Yes, attended UOP information session, spoke with admissions director afterward
Relevant Honors or Awards:
-Won $3,600 research grant
-Won $3,000 international research grant
-Won $20,000 scholarship
-Won bioengineering research award for producing top project in program
-Top 25% of class for 2 semesters
-President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award
LOR type and strength:
-1 from OChem I/OChem II professor (strong)
-1 from Bio I professor (strong)
-1 from GenChem I/GenChem II professor (strong)
-All 3 above letters included in committee letter (average to strong)
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
No letter from dentist?
School list:
I’m specifically asking for advice on whether I should retake my DAT for Columbia/Harvard because these 2 schools seem to be the most stat-focused. This is obviously not my entire school list; I’m just wondering if my apps to Columbia/Harvard warrant retaking a DAT or if I shouldn’t bother. I’m a bit concerned about my low(er) TS and PAT scores.
I’ve already submitted to Columbia/Harvard in late June but I have NOT yet told them to hold my application for review. The soonest I can retake the DAT is August 26, but this gives me pause because it would essentially turn my app into a September submission since the DAT takes 3-4 weeks to process (basically forcing me to convert my early submissions into late submissions, but with potentially higher scores).
Is it more advantageous for my apps to Columbia/Harvard if I retake the DAT on August 26 (and get potentially higher scores), or is it better to keep my June-submitted apps with my current score? Specifically, I’m wondering if Columbia is the type of school to accept an applicant like me with a (hopefully after retaking) 25AA or 26AA whose app is “verified” in September, or if there’s a higher chance they’ll take an applicant like me with a 24AA whose app was verified in July.
Thank you!
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