Applying super late, is it worth it?

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Hokie06

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Guys would love to hear your opinion on this. A family member just took the DAT and scored AA 21, TS 21, reading 22, perception 22. Nothing lower than 21. The overall GPA is 3.4 with positive trends the last two year of college (No less than 3.6 last 4 semester in college). Is it worth applying now? I noticed that some private schools accept application until 2/1/20. Anyone have success stories they would like to share? Anyone know which schools are worth it and not at this point?
 
Hokie06 said:
Gtell uys would love to hear your opinion on this. A family member just took the DAT and scored AA 21, TS 21, reading 22, perception 22. Nothing lower than 21. The overall GPA is 3.4 with positive trends the last two year of college (No less than 3.6 last 4 semester in college). Is it worth applying now? I noticed that some private schools accept application until 2/1/20. Anyone have success stories they would like to share? Anyone know which schools are worth it and not at this point?
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"asking for a family member"
tell them it's not impossible, but be prepared to apply again next year because their GPA is below matriculant average
they can try applying to the expensive private schools that interview tons of people...
my recommendation would be to prepare for next cycle, especially if your "family member" does not have their PS and LORs in order, especially since it may take a week or two to have transcripts verified...
 
macsak said:
"asking for a family member"
tell them it's not impossible, but be prepared to apply again next year because their GPA is below matriculant average
they can try applying to the expensive private schools that interview tons of people...
my recommendation would be to prepare for next cycle, especially if your "family member" does not have their PS and LORs in order, especially since it may take a week or two to have transcripts verified...
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Appreciate it thanks so much! I’m trying to convince them to just apply this cycle rather than wait 1.5 yrs to start, especially if there is a chance to start this year.
 
Hokie06 said:
Appreciate it thanks so much! I’m trying to convince them to just apply this cycle rather than wait 1.5 yrs to start, especially if there is a chance to start this year.
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I mean its not impossible to get in at this time. But if it were to happen it would most likely be at a private school (non ivy) with $500,000+ price tag. Which is not worth it at all. Their stats are good enough for a shot at some relatively cheaper schools next cycle.
 
Hokie06 said:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s a fair argument, but one could also argue its a loss of 1 year salary ($200k) by pushing to 2021.
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Just take a look at last year’s school threads to see how many schools will be still sending out interviews to applicants, it could take a couple of hours, and should give you a pretty definitive answer to your question, plus you should be able to accurately gauge which schools your relative could possibly apply for if they are looking to get in ASAP.
 
macsak said:
"asking for a family member"
tell them it's not impossible, but be prepared to apply again next year because their GPA is below matriculant average
they can try applying to the expensive private schools that interview tons of people...
my recommendation would be to prepare for next cycle, especially if your "family member" does not have their PS and LORs in order, especially since it may take a week or two to have transcripts verified...
Click to expand...

Lol I detect some sarcasm....

83A8A0D2-7AE6-4ABA-8DF2-B87B78E40B9E.jpeg
 
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If I were you I would just enjoy the extra year I have to better prepare myself mentally and physically for dental school.
 
Without question, i would apply right now. The reward is much higher than the risk. Worst case, you lose out on maybe a grand. Best case, you get accepted this cycle.
 
catchandrelease said:
Without question, i would apply right now. The reward is much higher than the risk. Worst case, you lose out on maybe a grand. Best case, you get accepted this cycle.
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If you have LOR’s and PS ready, sure. I can agree then it would be worth it.
 
princeafrica said:
But if it were to happen it would most likely be at a private school (non ivy) with $500,000+ price tag. Which is not worth it at all.
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Unless op get accepted to his instate schools, every schools regardless of public or private, will cost around that amount without scholarships help
 
catchandrelease said:
Without question, i would apply right now. The reward is much higher than the risk. Worst case, you lose out on maybe a grand. Best case, you get accepted this cycle.
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We’re going to try to get app in ASAP. Thank you everyone for your advice. I also agree that the reward outweighs the risk (maybe a grand and a little stress).
 
Hokie06 said:
We’re going to try to get app in ASAP. Thank you everyone for your advice. I also agree that the reward outweighs the risk (maybe a grand and a little stress).
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Keep in mind that if you don't get in this cycle, you'll preferably need a new PS/secondary answers and slightly different LORs to reapply next cycle.

Personally, I think it's too late and you'll just be throwing money away/making yourself a reapplicant. I don't see how it's worth it to apply so late to likely only get into an insanely expensive private school, but to each their own. GL either way
 
Definitely not worth it.

That tag of being a reapplicant will be a nightmare. You better have done something to improve your application within the year of reapplying, because schools will definitely ask you, weigh the differences, and decide.

It's not just about the potential risk of losing a year of salary or getting into schools of your choice. Some schools, like UPenn, are notorious for rejecting reapplicants without much improvements in the application.

If you had amazing stats, you would have had the chance. With a 21 DAT and 3.4 GPA, you would be lucky if you got into a cheaper school even if you applied the first day of application.
 
Punt me said:
Definitely not worth it.

That tag of being a reapplicant will be a nightmare. You better have done something to improve your application within the year of reapplying, because schools will definitely ask you, weigh the differences, and decide.

It's not just about the potential risk of losing a year of salary or getting into schools of your choice. Some schools, like UPenn, are notorious for rejecting reapplicants without much improvements in the application.

If you had amazing stats, you would have had the chance. With a 21 DAT and 3.4 GPA, you would be lucky if you got into a cheaper school even if you applied the first day of application.
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Next cycle opens in 6 months. You're throwing money away. I believe there is also significant advantage to being looked at first to increase odds, i.e. applying as soon as the cycle opens.
 
Guys, guys, guys,
OP has his decision made in his mind already, and is pretty much looking for confirmation/affirmation that his decision is valid.

Not just OP, but typically, individuals subconsciously have their mind already set on a specific decision/conclusion regardless of peer rationale, and they will still do whatever they wanted in the first place.

It’s kind of like asking gf/bc what they want to eat for dinner and you give them options (which they keep passing on) and then y’all end up eating at wherever the gf/bc wanted in the first place.
Lololol
 
Chocopiezzz said:
Guys, guys, guys,
OP has his decision made in his mind already, and is pretty much looking for confirmation/affirmation that his decision is valid.

Not just OP, but typically, individuals subconsciously have their mind already set on a specific decision/conclusion regardless of peer rationale, and they will still do whatever they wanted in the first place.

It’s kind of like asking gf/bc what they want to eat for dinner and you give them options (which they keep passing on) and then y’all end up eating at wherever the gf/bc wanted in the first place.
Lololol
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You are right! But we should still strive to make OP feel guilty about their poor decision making 🙂
 
catchandrelease said:
Unless op get accepted to his instate schools, every schools regardless of public or private, will cost around that amount without scholarships help
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And that’s why they should wait.

Chocopiezzz said:
Guys, guys, guys,
OP has his decision made in his mind already, and is pretty much looking for confirmation/affirmation that his decision is valid.

Not just OP, but typically, individuals subconsciously have their mind already set on a specific decision/conclusion regardless of peer rationale, and they will still do whatever they wanted in the first place.

It’s kind of like asking gf/bc what they want to eat for dinner and you give them options (which they keep passing on) and then y’all end up eating at wherever the gf/bc wanted in the first place.
Lololol
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Sadly this is what many posts are becoming like
 
Be honest, you just posted this here to validate your choice. You had no intention of not applying this cycle. Majority of people told you it's a waste, yet here we are lmao
 
Thanks everyone for taking the time to express your opinion. Really appreciate it. Like I said, I want what’s best for my family member. Unfortunately I know very little when it comes to pre dental. As you probably noticed from my old post, I am not in dentistry. SDN has been an amazing resource for me throughout my pre medical career so i thought this would be a great place to get thoughts on this. I apologize if I offended anyone, and thank you for correcting me about the annual starting salary.

I agree this person I am speaking of is an average applicant which makes this decision much more complicated.

I expected mixed opinions about this but value the opinion from people on this forum since you all know this much better than me. So I take each and every post seriously and appreciate it.

I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer but I do wish people could be respectful and nonjudgmental rather than jump to conclusion. I’m going to relay what I learned here and have a family discussion and we can go from there.

Thank you guys again, if you would like to share anything else I would appreciate it! And again thanks for taking the time to write out a thoughtful response.
 
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Good luck with everything!

But to reiterate, this is not one of those things where you go "well on one hand... But on the other hand...."

There is no debate. Every one provided the only logical advice.
 
catchandrelease said:
So wait and only apply to his instate options next year? Unless OP is a minority applicant, very unlikely he will be given any scholarships.
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There are still a bunch of schools that they could get in for less than $500,000+. I did not say to apply next year. I know people in my class and other schools (Penn, Michigan, UConn) with similar stats that got really good scholarship and they aren’t minorities. I just think there are more opportunities if they apply next year rather than now when many relatively schools deadlines have passed.
 
Hokie06 said:
Guys would love to hear your opinion on this. A family member just took the DAT and scored AA 21, TS 21, reading 22, perception 22. Nothing lower than 21. The overall GPA is 3.4 with positive trends the last two year of college (No less than 3.6 last 4 semester in college). Is it worth applying now? I noticed that some private schools accept application until 2/1/20. Anyone have success stories they would like to share? Anyone know which schools are worth it and not at this point?
Click to expand...
Tell your family member not to rush through this. Focus and gather a solid application (rec letters, personal statement, organized extracurriculars, shadowing) and apply the next cycle. Schools are weighing the non-numeric stats as much as the DAT and GPA these days.
 
I have similar stats. I applied a school in mid-Dec and got accepted yesterday. Some schools like NYU, Tufts, BU and USC interview until February or March.
 
happy_6523 said:
I have similar stats. I applied a school in mid-Dec and got accepted yesterday. Some schools like NYU, Tufts, BU and USC interview until February or March.
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May I ask you where you got accepted to? I applied late as well, but haven't heard back from anyone yet.
 
If you have good stats, my friends applied in Jan to NYU and got in and some applied in Dec and got in schools like Tufts and NYU and other private schools with large school size might give you a chance.
But if you don't like these schools, or want cheaper schools. I think waiting is better, because they will ask you this ugly question next year: Why you are a re-applicant or what have changed and you better have a good answer!
 
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