Best Things To Do To Be Accepted To Dental School

[ccecil02]

This is my first post, so I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right spot, I looked over the FAQ and just wanted to see what other board members thought.
I'm a freshman in my undergrad so I'm just really getting started. I'm a psychology major, I was just wondering, besides the obvious things, high GPA and science GPA, high DAT score, what are the other very important maybe overlooked factors that will get someone into dental school?

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[supraman]

Don't make the same mistake myself and a few might have made, do NOT screw up any semesters, you must be solid through your 4 years and you must get familiar with the field of dental medicine at this age. Go shadow and start logging hours, start volunteering, be active, stay on top of your game, and stay on this website. I hope to see you on top.
Start at the "sticky" on the top of the page, it's a fantastic start, search around too. Gluck newbie

 

[predentstud]

get in contact with schools that you are interested in NOW...probably after the whole admissions acceptance months pass but I know all 6 schools I applied to had started my file to their school back when I was in highschool and contacted them that I wanted more info about their school because I was really interested in their program. Another thing that I noticed is that schools have these deadlines of like Nov 1st and Dec 1st and so on...DON"T pay any attention to those because if you want to get in to dental school and be a competitive applicant you need your stuff in NO later than Sept 1st...I got robbed from a school because I got my stuff in Oct.1st b/c I retook my DAT and even though their deadline was Dec.1st they told me they had to reject me because they had already interviewed people and decided for them to fill their spots and they told me that most all of them had lower gpa and DAT than me but because they had their stuff in first they got the spots..don't even get me started on that train...haha I"m a little bitter about that as you can tell! hope any of this helps

 

[klutzy1987]

Research will definmitely help your application. Community service is a huge must also.

 

[sl2obel2ts]

don't leave any space blank on aadsas app

that includes jobs, research and awards

 

[kkikkokka]

good rec letters are important too! so be close with some of the profs that you would like to get letters from good luck!!!!

 

[DrillerC]

Other than good grades, it would be good if you have something that makes you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Whether it is aforementioned research experience, community service, etc. In my case I had an interesting work experience and I got to talk about it at most of my interviews, and I think that helped me.

Oh and take the DAT early, then apply early (mid June and earlier). It will help immensely and save you a lot of stress.

 

[TheBestDoctor]

do whatever it takes to be the best doctor

 

[drtoothy]

Don't make the same mistake myself and a few might have made, do NOT screw up any semesters, you must be solid through your 4 years

Just wanted to add, don't freak out if you DO mess up one semester. Just remember to work even harder the next semester, ROCK THOSE DATs, and get SOLID recommendations. Get involved in tons of activities, both dental and non-dental. I think that's what helped me get into dental school.

GOOD LUCK!