Apply to safety schools a few months after target schools?

[full]

I was concerned that if I apply to all my schools next week that it might backfire?

For example, if my safety school accepts before and requires me to respond to their acceptance before some of my target schools get back to me?

Please advise

Thanks.

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[EndangeredPasta]

haha.... safety schools...

 

[Cleric7x9]

there really arent any safety schools. dental schools are either hard to get into, or really hard to get into.

but you dont have to go to the school that you get into first, you have months to decide. the only trouble comes when you get waitlisted at a school you really want to go to, and accepted at another school. typically speaking you have to decide by late spring, but that situation would occur regardless of when you submit your applications.

you cannot add more schools later on, its a one shot deal. but there really arent safety schools anyway. just submit.

 

[xtractime]

apply to your "safety" schools and let us know if you get into all of them....let alone even get an interview to all of them. get in first with multiple acceptances, then you can talk about choosing between schools.

 

[LuckiLeigh]

there really arent any safety schools. dental schools are either hard to get into, or really hard to get into.

but you dont have to go to the school that you get into first, you have months to decide. the only trouble comes when you get waitlisted at a school you really want to go to, and accepted at another school. typically speaking you have to decide by late spring, but that situation would occur regardless of when you submit your applications.

you cannot add more schools later on, its a one shot deal. but there really arent safety schools anyway. just submit.

First of all, depending on your stats some schools can be considered safety schools. Secondly, you can add schools later on - it is NOT a "one shot deal".

However, to the op, while your idea is great in theory, you can't even get accepted to any school until Dec 1st so waiting to apply to safety schools is going to make you a very late applicant. Some schools fill up the majority of their class by January.

 

[Stephie3]

"safety schools"...might work on curbing the arrogance before your interviews, if you are lucky to get one of them.

safety schools only exist for people with 4.0 gpas, 27 AA, awesome rec letters, abundant extracurricular activities, and dentistry experience.

safety schools...haha....for every one person case western accepted last year, they rejected like 38 other people.

 

[full]

Here's the situation.

My stats are:
GPA: 3.60
Science:3.61
BCP: 3.74
DAT: AA 21 TS 21 PAT 20
Undegrad: UCLA
CA resident

I was thinking of applying to the following 14 schools next week:

-Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
-University of California, San Francisco
-University of Southern California
-University of California, Los Angeles
-University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
-Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine
-University of Maryland
-New York University
-Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
-University at Buffalo
-Case School of Dental Medicine
-University of Pittsburgh
-University of Pennsylvania
-Marquette University

Then applying to the following 6 schools in October or November just depending on how the 14 schools above respond
-Temple University
-University of Minnesota
-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
-Nova Southeastern University
-Indiana University
-University of Louisville

Suggestions?

 

[4thMolar]

Here's the situation.

My stats are:
GPA: 3.60
Science:3.61
BCP: 3.74
DAT: AA 21 TS 21 PAT 20
Undegrad: UCLA
CA resident

I was thinking of applying to the following 14 schools next week:

-Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
-University of California, San Francisco
-University of Southern California
-University of California, Los Angeles
-University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
-Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine
-University of Maryland
-New York University
-Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
-University at Buffalo
-Case School of Dental Medicine
-University of Pittsburgh
-University of Pennsylvania
-Marquette University

Then applying to the following 6 schools in October or November just depending on how the 14 schools above respond
-Temple University
-University of Minnesota
-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
-Nova Southeastern University
-Indiana University
-University of Louisville

Suggestions?

I would advise you not to wait to add those last 6 schools in October or November. You have very good stats, but applying in Oct/Nov is simply very late and you would just waste money applying to them while having a decreased chance of being accepted there. If you are going to apply, apply to all of them at once. Also, you definitely don't need to apply to 20 schools with your stats. Do some research and cut out any you don't need. For example, Indiana likes in-staters, and your chances getting accepted there out of state for a late application significantly go down.

 

[rewJW]

Suggestions?

You may want to save yourself some money by dropping some of the schools from your "back up" list that prefer in-state students, i.e. UMDNJ, Minnesota. There are probably others on this list but I don't feel like doing your research for you. Check out doc toothache's post which lists # out of state applicants, # which received interviews, and # accepted from a few years back: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=563195

I agree with what others said; apply to ALL schools you are planning to do so at one time. The later your application is put in, the later you will hear back, if at all - it's silly to apply late to schools you are considering to be 'back ups.' Last year the first round of acceptances went out December 1st and MOST schools' first deposit was due January 15th. You should have an idea by then of what schools you're going to hear from, because you'll have heard from most of the ones you are going to by that time IF you apply early.

 

[JJBDDS]

Yeah back-ups don't really exist...When I applied to schools I had them ranked in my head of preference and after an interview at the last school on my list it became top of my list because I loved the school. Also if you are already thinking of back-ups why not just apply to them now? Yes it would cost you a couple hundred more dollars. But really that is nothing in the long run. Also you might really like one of the schools if you interview there and find out more about them. After December I was waitlisted at a couple schools with no acceptances so I applied to a couple more since I was in panic mode, one of them being the one that I later got accepted to (after applying early January). It definitely wasn't a back-up school and I was really upset with myself for not applying there in the first place. But yeah if you are considering your "back-up" schools maybe you should run through the list and decide which ones you would actually be interested in and put in the extra change (compared to the cost of dental school). It may be worth it in the end.

 

[full]

Yeah back-ups don't really exist...When I applied to schools I had them ranked in my head of preference and after an interview at the last school on my list it became top of my list because I loved the school. Also if you are already thinking of back-ups why not just apply to them now? Yes it would cost you a couple hundred more dollars. But really that is nothing in the long run. Also you might really like one of the schools if you interview there and find out more about them. After December I was waitlisted at a couple schools with no acceptances so I applied to a couple more since I was in panic mode, one of them being the one that I later got accepted to (after applying early January). It definitely wasn't a back-up school and I was really upset with myself for not applying there in the first place. But yeah if you are considering your "back-up" schools maybe you should run through the list and decide which ones you would actually be interested in and put in the extra change (compared to the cost of dental school). It may be worth it in the end.

Because if the back-ups contact me for an interview first, then I'll end up spending 1K on plane flights and lodging for schools that I might not even end up going to.

 

[4thMolar]

Because if the back-ups contact me for an interview first, then I'll end up spending 1K on plane flights and lodging for schools that I might not even end up going to.

So does everybody else who go to multiple interviews.

 

[LuckiLeigh]

Because if the back-ups contact me for an interview first, then I'll end up spending 1K on plane flights and lodging for schools that I might not even end up going to.

First of all, with your stats you don't need to apply to so many schools. I wish someone had told me that cuz it would have saved a ton of money. Look at your list of schools and decide where you have the best chances of acceptance based on state preference, GPA, and DAT. Then decide on 8-12 that you are truly interested in attending and if you would want to live there for the next 4 years of your life. Apply to those schools only. In the 8-12 that you apply to have a couple reach schools and a couple schools with lower stats - that should cover your bases and save you money. If for some reason you aren't getting interview offers by October (except for UCLA and UCSF cuz they tend to be later in the cycle) then add a couple private schools that you think you would have a good chance at. Also, you can turn down interviews if you don't want to spend the money and you already have other interviews. I turned down a lot of interviews from back up schools b/c I didn't want to waste their time or mine.

 

[somethinpositiv]

Here's the situation.

My stats are:
GPA: 3.60
Science:3.61
BCP: 3.74
DAT: AA 21 TS 21 PAT 20
Undegrad: UCLA
CA resident

I was thinking of applying to the following 14 schools next week:

-Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
-University of California, San Francisco
-University of Southern California
-University of California, Los Angeles
-University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
-Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine
-University of Maryland
-New York University
-Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
-University at Buffalo
-Case School of Dental Medicine
-University of Pittsburgh
-University of Pennsylvania
-Marquette University

Then applying to the following 6 schools in October or November just depending on how the 14 schools above respond
-Temple University
-University of Minnesota
-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
-Nova Southeastern University
-Indiana University
-University of Louisville

Suggestions?

You're applying to BU and not TUFTS?? 😱 Shame on you! 😛

Your stats are solid. You don't need to apply to more than 8-12 schools like LuckiLeigh suggested, and you should have enough interviews that you won't need to apply to extra schools in November. If I were you, I would apply to these 11 schools:

1. Western University (you're a Cali resident, you can prob drive to the interview 😉)
2. University of California, San Francisco
3. University of Southern California
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
6. University of Maryland
7. New York University
8. Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
9. University at Buffalo
10 University of Pittsburgh
11. University of Pennsylvania

 

[full]

Tufts doesn't accept CC coursework.

As far as the breakdown of my GPA by school. My UCLA GPA is 3.62 and my CC GPA is a little less.

You're applying to BU and not TUFTS?? 😱 Shame on you! 😛

Your stats are solid. You don't need to apply to more than 8-12 schools like LuckiLeigh suggested, and you should have enough interviews that you won't need to apply to extra schools in November. If I were you, I would apply to these 11 schools:

1. Western University (you're a Cali resident, you can prob drive to the interview 😉)
2. University of California, San Francisco
3. University of Southern California
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
6. University of Maryland
7. New York University
8. Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
9. University at Buffalo
10 University of Pittsburgh
11. University of Pennsylvania