Application Question

[richaja]

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Quick question - do you guys know if dental schools can tell how many schools you've applied to? I'm thinking about applying to 20 next year and want to know if it'll hurt me if the schools I'm applying to know that I'm applying to that many.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[dr.rex]

it wont hurt you application wise but financially it will kil you, do your research and apply to less it is in your best interest then you will be able to focus more on those schools i only applied to 8 interviewed at three and accpeted to 2

 

[Cymbidium]

I ended up applying to several schools. But I applied to schools in the north east first, then I got engaged and my fiance lived in LA, so I added the 5 CA schools to my list too. I don't think it hurts your application.

 

[Streetwolf]

You must not be too confident...

I applied to 9 and honestly that was way too many for me. I should have applied to 6. I didn't really care about 3 of them for sure.

 

[Zanderale6]

Quick question - do you guys know if dental schools can tell how many schools you've applied to? I'm thinking about applying to 20 next year and want to know if it'll hurt me if the schools I'm applying to know that I'm applying to that many.

Any help is appreciated.

I think that, by far, one of the most popular interview questions is ... "Aside from this school, what other schools did you apply to?" As I've had the opportunity to hear this question asked at a few interviews already, I really think it's doubtful that schools know how many or which schools you've applied to.

 

[littlepepe]

I applied to 10 schools for cycle 2006 and I had only one interview. This year, I applied to 9 schools when I submitted my application in May. Then, I added four more schools in Dec since I got two rejections and only one interview invitation by Nov. You know, it costs much more for adding schools after you had already submitted your application. So, plan ahead.

 

[in her drawer]

You must not be too confident...

I applied to 9 and honestly that was way too many for me. I should have applied to 6. I didn't really care about 3 of them for sure.

It doesn't really have anything to do with confidence, at least not for me. I applied to 20 because I wasn't sure how hard it would be to get in without having an in-state public school. Also, keep in mind that the whole process (first getting interviews, then getting accepted) is a crapshoot.

 

[dddsmack]

agree with ihd,

I applied to ~ 20, Why not? It is only a couple hundred bucks more. I am so glad I did too because you never know what schools will lose your app, deny you or just randomly ignore you when you are qualified to attend any dental school. IHD said it best. Applying is a crapshoot, play the odds. You can withdraw afterward if needed, but adding them later is not the way to go.

I attended only the interviews I wanted too, and got accepted to most of those schools. It is hard to be picky when you only have a few offers. Besides, I took the DAT after submitting AADSAS app, so I had no idea what my actual score would be. I was playing it safe, and it worked for me.

The other consideration is if you have a state school. Most have smaller number of apps for residents with more seats for them, so your chances are, in most cases, greater.

If you are from Utah, I would apply to at least 20 because of the wicked competition. You can always tell schools that you have your list narrowed down to three or four schools (that school being number 1) when the question comes up. 😀

 

[waikiki]

Quick question - do you guys know if dental schools can tell how many schools you've applied to? I'm thinking about applying to 20 next year and want to know if it'll hurt me if the schools I'm applying to know that I'm applying to that many.

Any help is appreciated.

I don't think dental schools take time to examine that far, but even if they do, if your stats look OK then that shouldn't hurt you at all. By the way, I was asked "what other schools have you applied to?" by one school.

 

[taqmantim]

Most schools have secondary applications with at least one essay. Be sure you have the time necessary to fully commit to the essay. 10 great applications are far better than 20 half-committed applications.

 

[KOM]

I think that, by far, one of the most popular interview questions is ... "Aside from this school, what other schools did you apply to?" As I've had the opportunity to hear this question asked at a few interviews already, I really think it's doubtful that schools know how many or which schools you've applied to.

Yeah, I had that question a lot too so they must not be privy to that info.

I also applied to quite a few schools (18 I think) and like IHD and dddsmack said, it is most definitely a crap shoot. I was rejected outwright by schools that I originally thought I would have the best shot at and accepted to a few that I wasn't counting on at all.

 

[Ething]

Schools want to hear that you applied to a nice amount of dental schools. It shows that you are serious about going to dental school. Some guys I know applied to med and dental schools and only applied to 1 or 2 dental schools. They picked up right away on the fact that they werent so interested in dentistry. On the other hand, dont apply to so many because it will go deep into your wallet. In the end, you will realize that you only see yourself at a few schools. 6 or 7 schools is a good number. Make sure you would be happy at all those schools. Apply to 2 schools with lower stats just to make sure you get in somewhere. Apply to 1 or 2 schools that will be difficult to get into. The rest, make sure you are at least an avg applicant and hope for the best! But seriously, there is no need to apply to 10 + schools.

 

[I'mFillingFine]

All schools do have access to the number of schools a candidate has applied to. Whether or not they actually have time to look is another thing. Even if they know the answer and ask, it provides a valuable bit of information for how you approach the application process, how confident you are, and is just another question they can ask.

As for the number of schools....if you have done LOTS of research (including residency requirements, air fare tickets, tons of searching on the school's web site) and you still feel that you would WANT to go to 20, apply to 20. Think about it - if there is a school where, if you were invited to an interview, you don't think you'd bother with plane fare or the added stress, it's probably not a school you'd be interested in. More than 20 is a bad idea...I'd say 20 max. And make sure you knock off state schools with strict requirements...that's definitely a waste of money.