Apply upcoming cycle and "rush" DAT or wait for next cycle.

[pero]

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So this has been on ongoing dilemma I have been dealing with and I wanted to see if I could get some valuable feedback.

Stats: BCP- 3.7, sGPA- 3.6, oGPA- 3.6
EC's: Tons of quality shadowing, dental related volunteering, and significant research.
LOR: excellent letters.
Background info: Im currently a junior at a UC, primary residence is in CA. I have been studying for the DAT on and off since December but its been a little tough while in school, especially since Im in a quarter system. My original plan was to take the DAT sometime before June, ideally in April/May but I have been having some doubts lately. I am completely done learning the material and have just been practicing lately, using destroyer and bootcamp primarily. Im not particularly happy with how my scores are looking (18s,19s,21s) they've really been all over the place. I will say that I believe that I have been significantly improving since doing destroyer (missing 6-8 out of 30). ANYWAY, i digress.... The big dilemma is this: I feel as though I could do very very well on the DAT given that I have no other responsibilities (school, research etc.). I think that I could probably take the DAT in may and get about a 20 or so but that isnt my concern. My concern is that I personally believe if I had at least 5 weeks in the summer to only do dat studying that i could absolutely kill it and get 22+ (just a personal belief, not trying to sound arrogant) and i think that by trying to study for it while im taking class that i would cheat myself by getting a "good" score when I had the ability to get a "great" score. Now, none of this matters if my concern was just getting into any dental school, but that obviously isnt my goal.

****This is going to sound slightly arrogant and flawed so I ask that you read through completely before answering my question.****

These are my two scenarios
1: Take my chances with the DAT, and apply in June 2016.
2: Study in the summer with no responsibilities and take DAT end of summer, and apply June 2017.

It is my personal opinion that I would be giving myself the best possible chance to get a 22+ if I waited to take the DAT at the end of the summer, thus giving myself the best possible chance of getting into my "dream" schools (upenn, columbia, UCLA, UCSF). I realize that EVEN AFTER WAITING I STILL MAY NOT GET IN. The idea is that I could stomach not getting in when I "gave it my all". I hope this didn't come off as stubborn or stupid. Im not going to lose my **** if I dont end up getting into those schools, my goal is to become a dentist first. I just want to make the most of this opportunity because I feel as though ive invested a lot into my GPA to not take full advantage. I cant decide if im being too critical and making a bigger deal out of things than i need to. what do you all think?

 

[Advance]

If you take the DAT in July you can still apply in the upcoming cycle. That's not late at all.

 

[ElenaDDS]

So this has been on ongoing dilemma I have been dealing with and I wanted to see if I could get some valuable feedback.

Stats: BCP- 3.7, sGPA- 3.6, oGPA- 3.6
EC's: Tons of quality shadowing, dental related volunteering, and significant research.
LOR: excellent letters.
Background info: Im currently a junior at a UC, primary residence is in CA. I have been studying for the DAT on and off since December but its been a little tough while in school, especially since Im in a quarter system. My original plan was to take the DAT sometime before June, ideally in April/May but I have been having some doubts lately. I am completely done learning the material and have just been practicing lately, using destroyer and bootcamp primarily. Im not particularly happy with how my scores are looking (18s,19s,21s) they've really been all over the place. I will say that I believe that I have been significantly improving since doing destroyer (missing 6-8 out of 30). ANYWAY, i digress.... The big dilemma is this: I feel as though I could do very very well on the DAT given that I have no other responsibilities (school, research etc.). I think that I could probably take the DAT in may and get about a 20 or so but that isnt my concern. My concern is that I personally believe if I had at least 5 weeks in the summer to only do dat studying that i could absolutely kill it and get 22+ (just a personal belief, not trying to sound arrogant) and i think that by trying to study for it while im taking class that i would cheat myself by getting a "good" score when I had the ability to get a "great" score. Now, none of this matters if my concern was just getting into any dental school, but that obviously isnt my goal.

****This is going to sound slightly arrogant and flawed so I ask that you read through completely before answering my question.****

These are my two scenarios
1: Take my chances with the DAT, and apply in June 2016.
2: Study in the summer with no responsibilities and take DAT end of summer, and apply June 2017.

It is my personal opinion that I would be giving myself the best possible chance to get a 22+ if I waited to take the DAT at the end of the summer, thus giving myself the best possible chance of getting into my "dream" schools (upenn, columbia, UCLA, UCSF). I realize that EVEN AFTER WAITING I STILL MAY NOT GET IN. The idea is that I could stomach not getting in when I "gave it my all". I hope this didn't come off as stubborn or stupid. Im not going to lose my **** if I dont end up getting into those schools, my goal is to become a dentist first. I just want to make the most of this opportunity because I feel as though ive invested a lot into my GPA to not take full advantage. I cant decide if im being too critical and making a bigger deal out of things than i need to. what do you all think?

So, first of all I think you would get in somewhere even with a mediocre DAT since your GPA is strong. The schools like UCLA and Penn are tougher to get into without a high DAT score. Unfortunately though in dentistry the name of school doesnt even matter but the price tag does matter. Penn is among the most expensive schools you maybe be over 400,000 in debt when you graduate from there. You should really think about that and play around with a calculator to see how much that will put you back in repayments. Also, if you plan on being a specialist you will have to pay for that unlike medical residencies that are paying you.

 

[pero]

Im also willing to accept the idea that i'm being dumb and shouldn't be putting this much importance on where I go lol.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

I'd say take the DAT in late June/early July. Submit your AADSAS early June for 1 school and add more once you get your DAT score back. Study hard and you'll do fine I'm sure.
You're not being dumb in putting importance on where you go (unless you're only looking for "name brand") but it matters where you'll be happy and where is affordable. Also, your dream school now may be very underwhelming if/when you interview, and a school that you applied to as a back up may blow you out of the water. You never know 🙂

 

[Advance]

Im also willing to accept the idea that i'm being dumb and shouldn't be putting this much importance on where I go lol.

Haha it's fine to have a preference as far as schools are concerned. If those are the schools you want to attend then go for it.

 

[pero]

So, first of all I think you would get in somewhere even with a mediocre DAT since your GPA is strong. The schools like UCLA and Penn are tougher to get into without a high DAT score. Unfortunately though in dentistry the name of school doesnt even matter but the price tag does matter. Penn is among the most expensive schools you maybe be over 400,000 in debt when you graduate from there. You should really think about that and play around with a calculator to see how much that will put you back in repayments. Also, if you plan on being a specialist you will have to pay for that unlike medical residencies that are paying you.

Understood. I think that the main reason for my wanting to go to a more prestigious school stems from the fact that Im not sure what I want to do within the field of dentistry (specialize, research, academia, general) but i think that i will figure that out once im in dental school. And when i figure that out, I want to be at a school where I have a greater opportunity of doing something, like specializing.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Understood. I think that the main reason for my wanting to go to a more prestigious school stems from the fact that Im not sure what I want to do within the field of dentistry (specialize, research, academia, general) but i think that i will figure that out once im in dental school. And when i figure that out, I want to be at a school where I have a greater opportunity of doing something, like specializing.

You can do any of that from a well-established school. Certainly does not have to be at an ivy, I promise you.

 

[pero]

You can do any of that from a well-established school. Certainly does not have to be at an ivy, I promise you.

No I know. I didnt mean for it to come across that way. Those aren't the only schools I would want to attend, those are just some of the names that stuck out to me as having programs that gave their students the most opportunities. Im certainly not dead set on only going to those 4 that i mentioned. I just used those as examples for schools with similar caliber/requirements.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

No I know. I didnt mean for it to come across that way. Those aren't the only schools I would want to attend, those are just some of the names that stuck out to me as having programs that gave their students the most opportunities. Im certainly not dead set on only going to those 4 that i mentioned. I just used those as examples for schools with similar caliber/requirements.

I believe you! I think I'm just jaded because so many people here try and justify spending half a million dollars on a school because it has "high specialization rates" and "I really want to be an OMFS". Lol sorry for taking it out on you. Good luck in your application 🙂

 

[ElenaDDS]

I believe you! I think I'm just jaded because so many people here try and justify spending half a million dollars on a school because it has "high specialization rates" and "I really want to be an OMFS". Lol sorry for taking it out on you. Good luck in your application 🙂

I go to UNC. I got into Penn and most people don't even know its an ivy. Both of my parents are dentists and no patient has ever asked them where they went unless they were predents or parents of predents.

I think of dental schools like undergrad... You can go to East Tennessee State and go to Harvard from there or you can go to Northwestern and go to Harvard as well. It doesnt matter where you go to dental school as long as you perform well. However, think of competition at Penn. Those students generally are great test takers and competition for the very top is fierce - go check some threads on it. Being happy and comfortable trumps reputation!

 

[pero]

I go to UNC. I got into Penn and most people don't even know its an ivy. Both of my parents are dentists and no patient has ever asked them where they went unless they were predents or parents of predents.

I think of dental schools like undergrad... You can go to East Tennessee State and go to Harvard from there or you can go to Northwestern and go to Harvard as well. It doesnt matter where you go to dental school as long as you perform well. However, think of competition at Penn. Those students generally are great test takers and competition for the very top is fierce - go check some threads on it. Being happy and comfortable trumps reputation!

I see.... Thank you very much, I really do appreciate the insight.

 

[pero]

So, first of all I think you would get in somewhere even with a mediocre DAT since your GPA is strong. The schools like UCLA and Penn are tougher to get into without a high DAT score. Unfortunately though in dentistry the name of school doesnt even matter but the price tag does matter. Penn is among the most expensive schools you maybe be over 400,000 in debt when you graduate from there. You should really think about that and play around with a calculator to see how much that will put you back in repayments. Also, if you plan on being a specialist you will have to pay for that unlike medical residencies that are paying you.

With that all being said and considered, do you think it would be wise to just apply this cycle?

 

[fogorvostan]

I took the DAT in July and received a few acceptances. Your application is stronger than mine, so I would not be concerned.

 

[taitanrikaaki]

I was in your same predicament. I took my DAT in Septemeber (you should still shoot for June or July) and got a 23AA and 24 TS. Received quite a few interviews and was accepted where I wanted to go. You should be fine taking it in June.

*** and our GPA is the same