acceptance a possibility?

[dentalguy]

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Hey everyone....I'm new to this site and found it through a friend. Heres my question.....I have already applied to dental schools and sent in my application in mid July. At that point I had applied to ten schools.....since then I have applied to four more because I recently received rejection letters from IU and Ohio State. I just sent my last request for a school to receive my application today. My GPA as of right now is 3.11....with my science GPA at 2.96.....my DAT scores are 16 academic and 15 perceptual with a 17 science average. To be honest I'm getting nervous. I know its only November but what else can I do to maximize my chance of getting an interview. I think if an interview committee would talk to me in person and experience what I have to say and see how motivated I am then I would be much better off. Do you think I have a chance? Some say I do others say I don't. If I retake the DAT and do worse does that hurt me and do I have to send my second test results to all schools? I am also applying for the Navy scholarship. Does anyone think that would be beneficial to state to schools?

dentalguy 🙂

 

[Dr.Smiley-OR]

Alright, I have to be honest with you here, so please see my comments as constructive criticism rather than insulting you. Thanks!
1) Your GPA: is not competitive enough. It is average/below average. You definitely need to improve your science GPA, take more science courses (upper division is better). A competitive GPA is anything 3.5 or above. However, this doesn't mean that people with 3.11 do not have a chance of getting accepted. There were people getting accepted with this GPA, but you might want to improve this GPA to gain more interview invitation and more chances of getting accepted.
2) Your DAT is way too low. The national average for last year was 17, meaning that if you received 17 on ALL sections of the DAT, you are an average applicant. However, this year the average is higher. Most people in this web will tell you that you want at least 18+ on all sections to be competitive. (Please check out the "rejection" threads to see some people with 18+ still get rejected. That will give you a sense of what the admission committe is looking for).
3) Retaking the DAT is a MUST for you. And you have to studied well, learn a good technique to memorize and also understand the material. Give yourself plenty of time to study
4) Adding more schools to your application WILL NOT help you right now, and only waste you your money. If no school (from 10 schools that you originally applied) have send you out an invitation by now, then you should take it as a negative sign. You applied early enough to receive at least 1 or 2 interviews by now. So my suggestion is to not add more schools, or you will go broke soon.
5) In conclusion, you should wait for the next cycle. Try to improve your GPA to atleast 3.3, do well on DAT and get 18+ on all sections, do participate in community services and volunteer in dental clinics, get great letter of recommendation, and apply earlier like you have done so this year, and you will be receiving good news.

I am sure someone up here will tell you that you have a chance, may be because they are being nice and do not want to hurt you, or maybe they know someone who get accepted with your score. BUT in my opinion, your chance is VERY slim. Again, don't take this as an insult but rather my honest opinion to help you. Good luck!!!

 

[Biogirl361]

was there some extenuating circumstance that prevented you from getting better gpa and dat's? if not, it is going to be hard to convince adcoms that you are motivated, even if you were to get an interview. i mean they are going to look at you and say if you are that motivated, why didn't you work harder in school? if you retake the dat and do worse, it will hurt you, and yes your score will be sent to schools. i would still retake it though if i was you because i think there is a lot of room for improvement if you study hard for it. the majority of people do better their second time. i have no idea about the navy scholarship thing. anyways other than retaking the dat and getting 19+ on all sections there is not really much else you can do to improve your chances of interviews this year. you never know though, it is still pretty early and you could still get one, and there are still what 12 schools out there that haven't rejected you, so that is good. if you dont get in this year, retake some of those science classes and bring up your gpa, and get that dat up to around 19, and you could definitly get in next time around.

 

[BeachLuvr]

Just making a correction...schools only get the dental scores if you have them sent from ADA to the schools. However, once you DO send...all attempts will be viewable. But if you want to see how you do, you can take it but not have you scores sent to any schools...gauge how you do. This is what I did just to see if I can do better and it takes the pressure off in case you do worse. You can improve, just takes time

 

[Biogirl361]

but since he has already had the first set sent out, wouldn't the second set automatically go out too? i guess i don't really know for sure about how all that works, i always thought once you released one set of scores, all scores both before and after that would be sent to schools. i don't think you can "hide" a worse set of second dat's from schools.

 

[hockeydentist]

Once you submit your scores or have ADA send them an official transcript, it shows all your attempts along with the score.

Dentalguy

Its not looking good, regardless your gpa is too low and your DAT is way low. Unless you retake the DAT by this november, I suggest contemplating the thought that you would not be getting in this cycle. Sounds ****ty, but I was kind of in your shoes last year. I had a 17 Dat and a 3.1 gpa, not good, but now I increased my gpa and my DAT score way up, I've already got two interviews.

HD

 

[Lilith]

My friend who had similar GPAs as you got around 18AA on her first DAT. She retook it and got a 23AA the second time around. She is currently attending her top choice dental school. So, definitely retake your DAT if it means better chance of acceptance. Good luck!

 

[busupshot83]

Retake your DAT, and shoot for 20s. Also, I would take easy science courses in the meantime. If you get As, both your science and overall GPA will raise. You may have to reapply next cycle, but you can do it.

 

[anya14]

I have never heard of or thought that it was possible (acceptable) to hide unsatisfactory DAT scores. I thought that we were suppose to show all the attempts, just as we showed transcripts with all the good and bad scores. That was the reason I did not retake my DAT (did not want to risk not improving)! Does anyone here know of people who did not show results of every DAT attempt? Is that OK to do?

Thanks

Also, I would not worry too much about getting 18+ or 20+ on every section of the DAT as long as your average is high/respectable.

Good luck

 

[dentalguy]

The fact of the matter is I am extremealy motivated and I have submitted a reason why my GPA is a little low. I started off bad and have been improving it ever since. Its hard to say how bad I want this. I'm sure everyone else has been in my shoes and I understand that. The infosource for me says a couple of my applications are under review. Since this is my first time I'm not real sure if that means anything good. I appreciate everyones honesty. Another factor that I wanted to ask about is extracurriculars such as volunteer work and observation time. Is their any chance they look at this and see that as a positive. I have 585 hours of volunteer work through EMS. I don't know if that will help but I hope to God it does. Ok so now its starting to sound like I'm making excuses so I'm going to stop. Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks to all who replied.

dentalguy

 

[luder98]

Also, I would not worry too much about getting 18+ or 20+ on every section of the DAT as long as your average is high/respectable.

Not with U of the Pacific this year. They want EVERYTHING in 20s.

 

[anya14]

20 is not a cut off however. IMO, if an applicant scored below 20 on a couple of sections, but has higher than UOP averages on other sections, he or she would have an excellent chance for admission (provided that the rest of the application is just as competitive)

I agree though, UOP is very competitive

 

[zimaad]

One question I have is whether this person had/has any sort of advising whatsoever at his/her undergraduate school. Not to be negative, but I think that any prehealth-science advisor or dental school admissions person would have seen the GPA and said the best bet is to do very well on the DAT's. That being said, the applicant should have been in the position to retake the DAT's. Lastly, I'm not at all saying that this person won't get into dental school this year, but just does not have very competitive stats.

I wish you the best of luck!!

 

[dentalguy]

zimaad

I applied to VCU..my application status says its received/under review...do you see this as a positive....In my eyes I'm pretty sure it means nothing but I'm trying to look for some positives here.

dentalguy 🙂

 

[Dr.Smiley-OR]

zimaad

I applied to VCU..my application status says its received/under review...do you see this as a positive....In my eyes I'm pretty sure it means nothing but I'm trying to look for some positives here.

dentalguy 🙂

Sorry to break it down to you but "received/under review" means SQUAT!!! EVERY application will be received/reviewed. The next step after being received/reviewed is the interview. If you get an interview, that means you are at the last step of the application (it does not mean you will get accepted either, but it is the final important step that you must pass thru). If you do not get an interview then that means you are rejected. It is very straightforward.

 

[J2AZ]

the biggest mistake is to take numbers at face value. There is always a story behind them. Adcoms know this and they look for trends. A 2.96 sci can be very competitive if it was once much lower yet brought up do to hard work and dedication. A string of 30 or so units of A's and B's will show the adcom that you care and are now a much more mature student. However, your biggest problem is your DAT. It is not competitive. you want the adcom to say damn this kids GPA is a bit low but his grade trend shows him to have matured and based on his DAT it looks like he has a grasp of the basic sciences. Your DAT tells the adcom that you still do not understand the basic sciences. No school wants to take a risk on a student that may or may not be able to get through year 1. Score higher on your DAT and you will show them that you can handle the work load.

 

[KobeInnocent]

If you are a minority, you can apply to Meharry or Howard where your stats is the average and you will have a good chance of getting in.