Adding safety schools..if they exist

[pizzaeater039]

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What "safety" schools should I add to my list? I know there isn't really a safety school, but I feel like my entire list is made up of top notch programs that are extremely competitive. Are there any programs that I should add? This is my second time reapplying and I would really hate to apply once again so I'm comfortable with applying to 20+ schools.

I retook my DAT and improved in all sections and went from a 21 to a 24. I have a high GPA as well. Weak points are probably volunteering and possibly letters, a few of which might be the usual templates professors write for everyone. I have good shadowing experience and a ton of work experience.

I'd like to stay in the northeast but I'd be happy in any other metropolitan area as well (eg San Fran, LA)

So far I have UCLA, UCSF, UOP, UConn, Maryland, Boston U, Harvard, Tufts, Rutgers, Columbia, NYU, Stony, Touro, Buffalo, UNC, UPenn, UPitt, Temple, Touro

 

[surfline]

DENTRANK | Official Dental School Rankings

 

[887194]

Off-topic but does pineapple go on pizza? Also, which schools did you apply to in the previous cycle and what have you changed for this cycle?

 

[sobertiger]

DENTRANK | Official Dental School Rankings

Is this a joke?

 

[predent2151]

If you didn’t get in with a high gpa and a 21 DAT you had other things wrong with your app or you interviewed bad. That’s plenty of schools if you fixed your previous problem.

 

[ToofTeef]

Honestly, with your stellar DAT and high GPA (and assuming the rest of your application is up to snuff), I wouldn't worry about adding "safety schools." You 're already planning on applying to 19 schools, that's a lot of money!
Call up the schools you applied to this past cycle and figure out your weakpoint.

 

[Frychicken]

Do "safety" schools automatically accept you if you pay the application fee? Is that how it works?

 

[surfline]

Is this a joke?

I think it paints a pretty nice picture. I don’t completely agree with the rankings (I chose UNC over Penn). But you can just check the DAT scores + GPA, then look into if they’re out of state friendly.. oh, and UVA is supposed to be VCU.

This isn’t rocket science. Sure there’s no guarantees, but some schools are more difficult to get into than others. Idk why everyone starts puffing their chest when someone asks for a few safety schools.

 

[sobertiger]

I think it paints a pretty nice picture. I don’t completely agree with the rankings (I chose UNC over Penn). But you can just check the DAT scores + GPA, then look into if they’re out of state friendly.. oh, and UVA is supposed to be VCU.

This isn’t rocket science. Sure there’s no guarantees, but some schools are more difficult to get into than others. Idk why everyone starts puffing their chest when someone asks for a few safety schools.

Being more difficult to get into doesn't make a school superior. Ranking schools inevitably implies that some schools are superior to the others somehow, regardless of the publisher's intent (whatever that is).

Of course, people who know better disregard these, but as you know, not everyone knows better and some are misled into thinking that there is some hierarchy among dental schools (which there isn't). If the purpose is solely to help people apply to the right schools, why is it necessary to rank schools in this way? It is way too simplistic and misleading. Consider the fact that US News doesn't publish dental school rankings, when they rank pretty much everything else (making a ton of money while doing so). They already tried and failed in spite of their various fancy methodologies.

Sent from my XT1575 using SDN mobile

 

[predent2151]

I had a professor tell me rankings are based solely on the amount of money donated to schools

 

[deleted735879]

I was rejected from all of my "safety schools" w/o interview yet accepted to my top choice...

 

[FanOfCostco]

Off-topic but does pineapple go on pizza? Also, which schools did you apply to in the previous cycle and what have you changed for this cycle?

Hawaiian pizza is bomb. If anyone disagrees you can cash me outside.

 

[doc toothache]

What "safety" schools should I add to my list? I know there isn't really a safety school, but I feel like my entire list is made up of top notch programs that are extremely competitive. Are there any programs that I should add? This is my second time reapplying and I would really hate to apply once again so I'm comfortable with applying to 20+ schools.
I retook my DAT and improved in all sections and went from a 21 to a 24. I have a high GPA as well. Weak points are probably volunteering and possibly letters, a few of which might be the usual templates professors write for everyone. I have good shadowing experience and a ton of work experience.
I'd like to stay in the northeast but I'd be happy in any other metropolitan area as well (eg San Fran, LA)
So far I have UCLA, UCSF, UOP, UConn, Maryland, Boston U, Harvard, Tufts, Rutgers, Columbia, NYU, Stony, Touro, Buffalo, UNC, UPenn, UPitt, Temple, Touro

A 3.2 is considered a "high gpa"?