applying to dental school

[bossman313]

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hello!
My question is: I plan to start my application early this year, and take my DAT in the beginning of August. So by the time I finish my DAT, i will submit my application right away. Do you think applying during august is too late? or will I still have a good chance of getting accepted?

 

[deleted678432]

What is your GPA/ECs? If you don't take your DAT until early august, then everything will probably be confirmed and official late august/early September, which is a little late IMO. A high GPA and DAT with a lot of ECs could maybe offset the lateness of this.

 

[bossman313]

Honestly my GPA isn't that high; i have a 3.2 but I am very active in my community, I do youth work in which we set up programs/activities for the youth in my community, I am also part of the PSY-CHI of my university, I shadow a general dentist, I work as a certified pharm tech (if that helps any). I plan to do really well in my DAT so things could balance out.

 

[Dr.Jack]

Honestly my GPA isn't that high; i have a 3.2 but I am very active in my community, I do youth work in which we set up programs/activities for the youth in my community, I am also part of the PSY-CHI of my university, I shadow a general dentist, I work as a certified pharm tech (if that helps any). I plan to do really well in my DAT so things could balance out.

Everyone plans on doing well on their DAT. You never know how you would score. I recommend begin working on PAT/RC/QR during the spring and grinding out the sciences in the beginning of summer. Taking the DAT in early-mid July would be much better IMO.

 

[deleted678432]

Honestly my GPA isn't that high; i have a 3.2 but I am very active in my community, I do youth work in which we set up programs/activities for the youth in my community, I am also part of the PSY-CHI of my university, I shadow a general dentist, I work as a certified pharm tech (if that helps any). I plan to do really well in my DAT so things could balance out.

Just my two cents, but I'd personally try to take the DAT sooner so you can get your scores in earlier. If this is your only option then go ahead, but if you can move everything back a few months, finish up the DAT in May/June, then apply in June/July, your application will be in a much more favorable place. Your GPA is working against you, so make sure that you kill your DAT!

 

[unc_trhl1040]

I agree with what’s been said. Applying early is a major advantage. Do what you can to move your DAT to May or early June.

 

[predent2151]

hello!
My question is: I plan to start my application early this year, and take my DAT in the beginning of August. So by the time I finish my DAT, i will submit my application right away. Do you think applying during august is too late? or will I still have a good chance of getting accepted?

I agree nobody plans to do bad. I also agree that it would be a good idea to practice RC, PAT, and QR throughout the spring semester. Maybe 1 hour a day and you could become really proficient in all 3. Then come end of the semester in May do 1 month of really hard sciences, and maybe 2 weeks of practice tests, and take the DAT in July. I personally studied from March 1-May 8 ~6 hours a day and got 22AA 23TS. With a low GPA I would definitely shoot for 22+ to have a good shot. Also try to get at least 150 hours shadowing. My interviewers said my 250 hours was a lot.

 

[bossman313]

the thing is the only way to do that would be to like not take any classes this winter semester, i registered for gen chem 2 with lab and 4 psych classes. Idk ill have to think and see.

 

[bossman313]

also im sorry but what do RC, PAT, and QR stand for?

 

[predent2151]

also im sorry but what do RC, PAT, and QR stand for?

RC is reading comp, PAT is perceptual ability, and QR is quantitative reasoning. Have you not taken organic chemistry yet or are you retaking gen chem?

 

[artist2022]

hello!
My question is: I plan to start my application early this year, and take my DAT in the beginning of August. So by the time I finish my DAT, i will submit my application right away. Do you think applying during august is too late? or will I still have a good chance of getting accepted?

SO this is exactly what I did lol. I studied the entire summer after school ended (early-June ish) and then I took my DAT early August, and submitted end of August. Even then, most of my secondaries were finished like mid-Sept lol. It was a bit of a gamble because you don't know how you'll do. But, I did put the effort in and I did do well, and I did get two pre-Dec interviews and one acceptance on Dec 1st 🙂 So there's a success story for you, but really it was due to how I did on the DAT. As was said before, your GPA is pretty low, so tbh I'd say take it earlier but put in the same amount of effort -make time- and submit early enough for you to do a retake (if necessary) in Sept/Oct.

Use this thread to help you get that 22+ score! DAT Breakdown Compilation Thread (future test takers, look here!)

Best of luck 🙂

 

[deleted678432]

SO this is exactly what I did lol. I studied the entire summer after school ended (early-June ish) and then I took my DAT early August, and submitted end of August. Even then, most of my secondaries were finished like mid-Sept lol. It was a bit of a gamble because you don't know how you'll do. But, I did put the effort in and I did do well, and I did get two pre-Dec interviews and one acceptance on Dec 1st 🙂 So there's a success story for you, but really it was due to how I did on the DAT. As was said before, your GPA is pretty low, so tbh I'd say take it earlier but put in the same amount of effort -make time- and submit early enough for you to do a retake (if necessary) in Sept/Oct.

It definitely depends on the applicant, so OP, take this with a grain of salt. Artist got a 26 (IIRC), which definitely offset how late the app was submitted. Your way is doable, but you’d need a very high DAT score if you apply this late


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[predent2151]

It definitely depends on the applicant, so OP, take this with a grain of salt. Artist got a 26 (IIRC), which definitely offset how late the app was submitted. Your way is doable, but you’d need a very high DAT score if you apply this late


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25 but close enough 🙂 good job remembering lol! And I agree 110%, you need to put the effort in as your score depends entirely on you! Doing well helps offset the lateness of the app

I agree. The DAT requires hard work, a bit of natural intelligence, and a bit of luck.

 

[unc_trhl1040]

If you’re just now taking gen chem 2 Next semester, I don’t know if applying next cycle is the best option. I wouldn’t take the DAT until you’ve finished orgo 1/2 in my opinion.

 

[KatawareDoki]

With the courses you're taking right now, I would perhaps take the time to study for the DAT this upcoming summer and apply next cycle so that everything isn't rushed. I don't know if I would have done nearly as well just finishing up GC 2 and trying to test and apply. These are just my opinions, however. Applying takes a lot of time, thought, and resources.. definitely make sure you try and use all that app money wisely and with good preparation.

 

[a_hildy]

I submitted AADSAS on August 7. If I were to do it again though, I would force myself to have the application 100% completed weeks before my DAT. I took the DAT on July 12th and took a while for me to complete my application. Take the DAT early July and have everything ready to submit. I studied from May 12-July 12 for the DAT.

 

[Carlsaganlvr10]

I took my DAT July 31, so basically the same as early August. However, before completing my DAT, I had already submitted my application. All of my recommendations were in interfolio. I could have sent them in June 5, but I opted for a committee letter, which delayed my application by another month. Anyway, had I opted to not do the committee letter, the last piece of my app would have been my DAT score. It took two weeks to process the score and for it to be released to AADSAS. And schools received the scores the day it was submitted. My app would have been complete by mid August, which is still early. One thing I did have going for me was that I had visited all the schools I applied to and remained in contact with the admissions people through the entire process, which helped push my app along.

Basically, I think having a strong DAT is more important than submitting late (within reason). If you can have everything completed such as the app with transcripts, recommendations etc. Before your DAT, and you do well on the DAT, you should be fine. However, as other users have said, if you haven’t taken Orgo 1&2, you should just hold off on applying next cycle. I was nontraditional and had many experiences to draw upon because of it.

 

[bossman313]

So in terms of the classes I have taken:
BIO: molecular bio and Micro
CHEM: orgo 1 and 2, gen chem 1 and currently taking gen chem 2
I am learning anatomy and physiology thru clutchprep which is basically an online version of a class with the chapters of the book with videos and a printout of notes I can use to follow along.