All rejections

[winchetkidJR]

I submitted in mid August and applied to 30 schools, unfortunately I have had all rejections so far, only about 5 left in the running. I'm taking more and more classes to raise my gpa. (3.02 overall and 3.13 science).
These past 3 semesters I have had a 3.8 overall and still no acceptances, nor even interviews yet. My Dat was:
OC 25
GC 20
Bio 21
QR 18
RC 18
PAT 19

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[PDizzle]

Get that GPA up to about 3.3'ish and apply in May/June of next year and you got a real good chance of getting in somewhere. I wouldn't retake the DAT unless you know for a fact that you can do way better(20+ across the board)

Seems like you just got unlucky

 

[drillbit]

How do your ECs look? Just make sure you have some good volunteer/shadowing hours too! It does seem odd thought that u haven't got an interview - i hope u get some this cycle still! Gluck!

 

[Albuterol]

Ahh this worries me. I have similar stats to you, hope u get in!

 

[doc toothache]

The dictum that increasing the number of applications increases one's chances of acceptance was apparently incorrect.

 

[Ranelar]

I also think you got unlucky, or your essay stunk, or your EC's are non-existent. 3.8 for the past 3 semesters is impressive, even if it means (based on your overall GPA) that your first grades were horrible. Just make sure you have a good explanation for it.

I'm actually surprised that 25 schools outright rejected you already.

 

[eldirty]

This is hard for me to believe ... what in your application do you think is holding you back? Did you apply to your state school? If you dont hear anything I would schedule an interview with the dean at your state school and ask for advice on how to strengthen your application.

 

[somethinpositiv]

Late application submission... VERY late... if you're reapplying, send it out May 15th. Also, your personal statement might need some work, get some professionals to edit it. Also, are you sure your letters of recommendation are good? If not, get some new ones.

I don't think it was the low GPA that got you the rejections...

 

[needa20]

there must be something in your application that is a problem. EC's, LOR's, Personal Statement...

It just does not add up (even with the low GPA, that is trending up) that you have been outright rejected from that many schools. You did not apply early, but did not apply too late. Its gotta be something in the App...

Good luck and God bless

 

[chober]

this year looks rough.....I'm scared

 

[DrReo]

Low GPA... How were your letters of recommendation???

 

[DrReo]

Would a school tell you if your LOR is somewhat crummy?

 

[peterngu]

The dictum that increasing the number of applications increases one's chances of acceptance was apparently incorrect.

I feel inclined to disagree. I have a 3.1 oGPA and a 2.99 sGPA, although I had to take 3 extra semesters of post-bacc after undergrad to pull up my GPAs to their current numbers. I applied to 42 schools and was fortunate enough to get several interviews and a few acceptances (although Puerto Rico's rejection took me by surprise). While it's absolutely true that I had no business applying to quite a few of the 42 schools, I feel I got some interviews that my stats should have no business getting. If anything, the OP's wide applicaton is another indication of his/her desire to get into dental school.

To the OP: I don't know what your EC's are (although I was never really asked about my extra-curriculars), but your DATs are much stronger than mine and you applied earlier than I did (my pre-health committee took until September to finish my LoR packet). My academic story is similar to yours, showing a upward trend toward the last few years. My guess is that your personal statement didn't wow the adcoms. With our GPAs, we have to really stand out, and that's where the personal statement comes in handy. Have you called the schools you applied to, to ask about your weaknesses?

 

[chober]

Wow, congratulations peter, I ended up applying to 26 schools interviewed at a few, and rejected from a bunch. I had to spend another 5 years of post-bacc to pull my grades up similar to yours. But you're right, since we come in handicapped we need to make eveyrthing else shine, LoRs, EC and personal statement.

 

[doc toothache]

I feel inclined to disagree. While it's absolutely true that I had no business applying to quite a few of the 42 schools, I feel I got some interviews that my stats should have no business getting. If anything, the OP's wide applicaton is another indication of his/her desire to get into dental school.

While the picture is a little fuzzy on what exactly was brought to the table, it could well be that you were aiming a 12 gauge shotgun with 7.5 shot at a humming bird while he was shooting at mosquitoes. There is no clear line of demarcation between desire and desperation.

 

[dentalmagnet]

how much does it cost to apply to 30 schools? jeeze louise!

 

[cherr1pop]

i heard some schools tell you why they rejected you if you call them... maybe try doing that so you can improve your app for next year if it doesn't work out this cycle..

 

[NuckingFutz]

how much does it cost to apply to 30 schools? jeeze louise!

Well I don't know about 30 schools, but i'll tell you that for me applying to 20 schools set me back over 2k not factoring the cost of the DAT (although including supp and app processing fees) thumbdown

 

[winchetkidJR]

its my gpa some schools said, and my state is ny. buffalo said my gpa was a little low. but ive done 3 semesters already at a 3.8, now im doing another one, but i had 4 lors and also i have decent EC's not much volunteer work but lots of dental. i also had a good essay. i dont know whats up.

 

[winchetkidJR]

I have no idea whats going on with this, does anyone in the past have similar situations, i didn't even apply that late. mailed out mid august. any input would be appreciated.

 

[PWNISHER]

I'm in a similar situation. My gpa is subpar, my DAT is pretty much the avg at every school if not slightly better, my ECs are very high since I'm really involved and I guess that attributes to my lower gpa. I had my stuff submitted the beginning of August as well and I have had no real interest. I'm just waiting for a late interview at a school where many students made their deposits elsewhere and some waitlist slots open up. I'm just worried because secondaries were in and responded from schools back in October and I have not heard anything since. Would it be worthwhile to call the schools that I have not heard anything from to find out if there truly is any updates?