Applying late. Need advice :)

[jessieH]

Hi guys,

I know applying late is bad but here is my situation:

I am a full time 2nd year phd student who made a decision to apply to dental school three months ago. So it is not surprising that I scheduled my dat in late August. Now my application is pretty much filled and I am confident to get high score for my dat two weeks later, which means my application will be completed in early September.

I have good GPA (3.7+) and shadowing experience (100 hrs). I think I am just a bit freaking out right now just thinking about the bad(?) idea of applying this late (but I really don't want to waste a year...). Guys, chance me on my application this cycle and how many schools should I apply (I plan for 10 schools, should I add more)? Are there certain schools consider late applicants a bit more than other schools?

Thank you!

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[bc1002]

I think your application timeline isn't a big issue. Last year I took my DAT late September and applied in October. Things worked out for me just fine. If I were adcom, the biggest concern would be giving up graduate school. I think you need to prepare for this question very well.

 

[gsquared]

I was thinking a similar thing--I might add a couple of schools, but my app was completed earlier in the cycle. I'd suggest submitting your application when you feel you are ready; this isn't a process you want to go through twice. I also considered taking a gap year, but, if your DAT is the only thing missing, I'd suggest you submit sooner rather than later (and get a head start on GPA verification).

 

[willwash]

If you just decided 3 months ago you wanted to go to dental school, I'm going to guess your biggest issue is shadowing hours.