Am I competitive?

[crath]

I'm in the process of applying to dental school but I want to know if my application is competitive enough before I apply. I have a 3.85 GPA and have about 70 hours of shadowing two different dentists and around 60 hours of volunteer. Im a tutor on my campus for genetics and ochem... Im involved in extracurricular actives on my campus and I'm also the president of my pre-dental society. I recently took the DAT and got an Overall average of a 20. Biology-23 Ochem-22 Gen chem- 20 RC- 19 PA-16 QR-15. My PA and QR scores are low and I don't know how badly that will affect me... opinions?

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[FeralisExtremum]

Your GPA is great, your DAT is average overall but the QR may be below the cutoff limit of certain schools. Are you applying this current cycle?

 

[crath]

Your GPA is great, your DAT is average overall but the QR may be below the cutoff limit of certain schools. Are you applying this current cycle?

Yes I was planning to apply this cycle but it would be too late to take the DAT again because I took it Monday and would have to wait three months before I take it again which would be past most deadlines. I'm mostly interested in Texas schools which don't have a minimum score requirement. Should I wait a whole year to apply or do you think I stand a good chance this cycle with those scores?

 

[Symphonies]

Yes I was planning to apply this cycle but it would be too late to take the DAT again because I took it Monday and would have to wait three months before I take it again which would be past most deadlines. I'm mostly interested in Texas schools which don't have a minimum score requirement. Should I wait a whole year to apply or do you think I stand a good chance this cycle with those scores?

Are you a texas resident?

 

[crath]

Yes I am a Texas Resident

 

[crath]

Are you a texas resident?

Yes I am a Texas Resident

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Yes I was planning to apply this cycle but it would be too late to take the DAT again because I took it Monday and would have to wait three months before I take it again which would be past most deadlines. I'm mostly interested in Texas schools which don't have a minimum score requirement. Should I wait a whole year to apply or do you think I stand a good chance this cycle with those scores?

Even submitting now you're going to be pretty late (it will be September by the time you get your transcript verified and schools receive your application). You could try taking your chances this cycle anyway, and making the decision on a retake depending on if you get any interviews by early next year. The QR score might hold you back, but the more immediate concern would be the lateness.

 

[crath]

Update: I was accepted into all 3 Texas dental schools on Dec. 1st!

 

[zxc17373]

Update: I was accepted into all 3 Texas dental schools on Dec. 1st!

Congrats

 

[doc toothache]

When it comes to advice, win some lose some.

 

[crath]

When it comes to advice, win some lose some.

Yup. I knew I had a pretty decent application, I was just worried about my DAT scores. I submitted my application in late August, had interviews by October and nobody even said anything to me about my scores during my interviews.

 

[deleted735879]

Did that fact that you had less than 100 hours of shadowing ever come up in an interview?

 

[crath]

Did that fact that you had less than 100 hours of shadowing ever come up in an interview?

No. That didn’t come up either