anyone here from SC trying to apply for MUSC?

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I'm applying for this upcomming cycle. I heard they interviewed about 150 instate students per year. Is that true? All the best of luck you you guys. Where did you do undergrad at?
 
does anyone have any insight into how good your chances are if you apply early and are instate with average GPA's?I have yet to take the DAT.
 
i'm glad that i'm not the only person still waiting for MUSC to give me a call to offer me that interview.... well i am not quite sure what kind of GPA or DAT score MUSC is looking for... since i heard it varies but my GPA is around 3.04 my DAT score is AA/TS/PAT 17/18/16 graduated from USC what about you guys???
 
Dental Girl, I'm in the same boat as you...still waiting to hear back for an interview. I applied last year and interviewed and was told the average GPA was around 3.5 or so and the DATs were around 20/20/19 or something similar. It's rediculous how tough getting into school is becoming. You still in Columbia or here in Charleston?
 
about 150 in-state students apply... they interview a little over half of that. The interviews are about every 2 weeks with 12 applicants at each one.
 
Hey Bluedeluxe well i guess both of us are in the same situation... except ur DAT is way higher!!! so u prob have better chance than i do! I just don't understand why is it sooo hard to get into MUSC???? This is my first time applying to MUSC and wasn't expecting it to be this HARDCORE! sigh.... well do u think if it will increase my chances since I worked at a dental lab as a lab technician for 4 months and now I will be working as a dental assistant after the christmas holiday???? I know my stats are not too good so i am trying to balance it out w/ dentistry experience....
 
all you people who have applied to MUSC. What are some things that you wish you did differently before you applied or while you applied at MUSC? Does it help if you volunteer at their free clinic? Or if you did research for 2 years at MUSC? thanks for you help
 
I applied to MUSC last year and was not accepted. I graduated from USC with a 3.6 overall and 3.6 science GPA (biology major). My DAT scores were 20AA/21TS/18PAT. When I spoke to MUSC, they told me that they are looking for 19's in all of the DAT sections. If you have below a 19 in any of the sections you should hav 20+ in the others to rectify the situation. They are also looking for GPAs around 3.6. If I had to do it all over again I would have shadowed more (this was the weak point in my application). They are looking for 100s of hours of shadowing. Also it is important to remain calm during the interview. I am currently in a masters of biomedical sciences program at the USC School of Medicine and have been shadowing tons. I am planning on reapplying for next years cycle. As far as interviews go, they generally interview around a hundred or so students and accept approximately 55 (50 instate and 5 out of state). Also, I feel that research is good to do and can only strengthen your application (I did 1 year of undergraduate research) but is not required by any means.
 
I did research at USC SOM for 2 years too. It was in cardiac stem cell research but I hope that looks ok. I've only shadowed for 20 hours so far but I plan on shadowing a heck of a lot more in the comming months. Its hard to shadow when you work full time. my science GPA is a 3.3. My overall is 3.58 is this too low for MUSC?I dont know if I should do a post bacc degree or not. I dont wanna waste time if I dont need it.
 
facepie said:
I did research at USC SOM for 2 years too. It was in cardiac stem cell research but I hope that looks ok. I've only shadowed for 20 hours so far but I plan on shadowing a heck of a lot more in the comming months. Its hard to shadow when you work full time. my science GPA is a 3.3. My overall is 3.58 is this too low for MUSC?I dont know if I should do a post bacc degree or not. I dont wanna waste time if I dont need it.
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Your science GPA is a little low, but if you do well on the DAT (esp. the science sections) you should be okay. I would make sure to do as much shadowing as possible. A post bacc degree or masters degree might not be a bad idea. If you are not accepted I would go this route and then re-apply.
 
I'm waiting to hear back from MUSC also. I interviewed 10/12 and am a SC resident. My overall and science GPAs are about 3.3 and my Dat scores were 19 science, 19 academic, and 22 perceptual. Both of my chems were 18 and bio was 20. My reading comp was great at 25, but my quant was only 16--it's been a while for a lot of that math! I have been the lab tech at a physician's office for the past year and have only been able to get in about 30-40 shadowing hours. I've also heard that they want 100s of hours, but it's just not possible for everyone to do that, so there has to be other things they look at. For those waiting for interview, be patient, they interview through February, and when you do get one, don't worry. It is the most laid back interview I have been to. Good luck to all of you! Check out predents.com also. You can see what other applicants you are up against for these 50 or so spots!
 
Good stuff from everyone. USCBIO....did you decide not to apply this year?

I've been shadowing a lot of dentists this time around because I was told by jill that is what the committee was concerned about from my interview last year. I've done everything they have asked and I still haven't heard back from them. This makes me think it really is all about GPA and DAT, at least for the interview stage.

Has anyone here volunteered at the free dental clenic they have at ECCO? I volunteer there and was told that unless you have a license or are already in dental school you cannot volunteer in the dental program ECCO has there. I've assisted other dentists before, worked in a few labs, and feel like I should be able to help in a free clenic just as much as a first semester dental student. If anyone has worked there without the said requirements, let me know so I can get involved!
 
what is ECCO? I've found it really hard to volunteer in dentistry. Although if you live in columbia there is a DHEC oral health division which I volunteer with educating children on oral health. I think that along with loads of shadowing should suffice.
 
I decided not to apply for this cycle because I wanted to give myself time to really improve my application. Bluesdeluxe did you apply to multiple schools this cycle. It seems like with your stats that you would be able to get accepted somewhere. If you feel that your GPA is holding you down, you might want to consider a masters program.


bluesdeluxe said:
Good stuff from everyone. USCBIO....did you decide not to apply this year?

I've been shadowing a lot of dentists this time around because I was told by jill that is what the committee was concerned about from my interview last year. I've done everything they have asked and I still haven't heard back from them. This makes me think it really is all about GPA and DAT, at least for the interview stage.

Has anyone here volunteered at the free dental clenic they have at ECCO? I volunteer there and was told that unless you have a license or are already in dental school you cannot volunteer in the dental program ECCO has there. I've assisted other dentists before, worked in a few labs, and feel like I should be able to help in a free clenic just as much as a first semester dental student. If anyone has worked there without the said requirements, let me know so I can get involved!
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yeah I've applied to other schools this year. Got rejected from ATSU but heard they have rejected applicants with amazing scores because they are heavily concerned with volunteer and community service hours. Seems strange to me but whatever, I don't want to move from the beach to the desert anyways. I haven't heard from the other schools I'm interested in like NOVA or West Virginia. I have started on my Masters and have a 4.0 at the moment but having to hold a fulltime job makes it hard to get classes done so it's a slow process.

ECCO stands for East Cooper Community Outreach. East Cooper refers to the area surrounding Mount Pleasant which is across the bridge from Charleston. They have a dental program affiliated with MUSC but apparently you have to either be a dental student at MUSC, have a DMD degree, or other dental certification to work there. Kinda strange since my dad who is a dentist has let me assist him plenty of times and doctors I've shadowed have let me do minimal things in their offices too. I guess with OSHA and HEPA everyone has to watch their backs now; what a shame.
 
im from sc and have heard from musc. my gpa and dat were nothing out of this world but i think interview means alot too. good luck to you all!
 
facepie said:
does anyone have any insight into how good your chances are if you apply early and are instate with average GPA's?I have yet to take the DAT.
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I applied early in the cycle and was interviewed early as well. However, people who were interviewed way after me (as in mid december) have heard back and I haven't. MUSC has changed many things this year and it is hard to tell what they exactly look for. If you don't believe in luck...start believing in it now!!!
 
smile101- they are sending out acceptances slower this year... so don't start to fret too much! I interviewed first day... and I'm still waiting. I have always heard they score heavily on shadowing- my one flaw. (long story short-I work full time (not by choice) and dentists don't do weekends)

edit- oh and I was told by someone with the numbers that this is an EXTREMELY competitive year
 
i am pretty sure they are sending more letters out around mid january, so keep your hopes up! and as far as shadowing/interning i do believe they look highly on those hours. in my interview i was asked multiple times about the hours and experiences i had. good luck!
 
tigertooth08 said:
smile101- they are sending out acceptances slower this year... so don't start to fret too much! I interviewed first day... and I'm still waiting. I have always heard they score heavily on shadowing- my one flaw. (long story short-I work full time (not by choice) and dentists don't do weekends)

edit- oh and I was told by someone with the numbers that this is an EXTREMELY competitive year
Click to expand...


I believe so...but i am talking about someone with lower GPA and DAT scores than mine...but again its not just about DAT and GPA; community service, leadership (not so much in my case), and shadowing (abour 120 hrs) play a huge role as well
 
Hey Crownprep if u dont' mind me asking what is ur GPA and Dat score?
 
awww crownprep... you must've been one of my close competitors that snatched the spot above me! Congrats though!

(I'm 19AA, 20 PAT, 3.56 GPA)
 
Has anyone not heard about an interview yet?
 
I still haven't heard back for an interview. I interviewed last year with a weaker application. I think they've already interviewed the ones they are going to ultimately accept. On to next year I guess
 
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