Chance me please (pre-med to pre-dental)

[autumn0408]

Date of submission: First week of June
Overall GPA: 3.6
Science GPA: 3.5
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.4
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA 25 | TS 25 | BIO 26 | GC 22 | OC 26 | PAT 23 | RC 24 | QR 26
State of Residence: CA

Undergrad Attended: UC Berkeley
Major: Integrative Biology
Minor: n/a
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No- but I'm changing from pre-med to pre-dental

Shadowing Experience: 100 hours general, 20 hours oral surgery, 20 hours ortho
Volunteering Experience:

• Global volunteering in Guinea: 100 hours
• ER volunteer: 300 hours
• Volunteer in the transplant unit (different hospital): 100 hours
• Volunteer in a homeless shelter: 50 hours
• Student volunteer in a physical therapy program at Berkeley: 120 hours

Employment:

• Dental Assistant (currently): ~700 hours
• Math & science tutor: 2000 hours

Research: Undergraduate Research Assistant, finished an individual project, expecting to be published soon, acknowledged in one of my postdoc's papers

Other Extracurriculars:

• Undergraduate Student Instructor (Anatomy lab): 110 hours
• Undergraduate Student Instructor (Biology lab): 150 hours
• various health-related clubs: 600 hours

Relevant Honors or Awards: Various city, state, presidential awards

LOR type and strength: 2 science professors, 1 general dentist I'm assisting

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere: I applied to medical schools last year, but I didn't get into any of them. I changed my path in the winter after taking time off from all the submission to medical school in the summer. I know some dental schools do not like previous pre-med students applying to dental schools, so I want to know if I have a good chance of getting into a dental school.

School list:

• USC
• UCSF
• UCLA
• UOP
• Western

All CA schools except Loma Linda for now. I want to know which schools do not accept pre-med students so that I don't need to apply there and which schools I have a good chance.

Also, a side question: I was not going to write anything about me being a pre-med than changing the path to dentistry in my personal statement. Is that reasonable? Of course, I will answer questions about it during my interview if I'm invited.

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[Punished Angeleno]

Great numbers and experiences. You're good to go. I'd apply to a few more just to play it safe but I think you've got a good chance at landing an interview at all five programs.

You being pre-med once upon a time doesn't matter. Many applicants have gotten into dental school after applying successfully/unsuccessfully to medical school. Just focus on writing an honest personal statement explaining why you chose dentistry. Touching on your pre-med experience is totally up to you. I personally would. They're not going to use it against you if you've got a legitimate reason for making the switch.

Good luck!

 

[REACHOn]

Great stats... Stats that would make many question if they have the stats to apply to dental school You could always apply to more as that will only increase your chances. If it were me, I'd go for 8 schools but your list is fine too. It seems like you're using location as your primary factor with your choices since the schools do not share much in common aside from location. Schools do not like pre-med students because a few of them go into dentistry without knowing what dentistry entails. They just say I didn't get into medical school, so I chose dentistry.... If you're not one of those people then you're good. Be prepared to talk about why you like dentistry specifically. The 700+ hours as a dental assistant should help.

Some of my opinion on the schools you have listed: (Lived half my life in NorCal and the other half in SoCal and I was fortunate enough to visit all the CA dent schools oh and I will include some beneficial program that I was able to attend for any pre-dents reading):
USC: One of the most expensive school. PBL (peer based learning system. NOT your normal didactic/lecture course), have a good patient pool, they have a dental explorers program in the summer you can look into.
UCSF: More focused on research over clinical, They have program call Inside UCSF where they pay for basically everything and allow you to socialize and get to know the school a bit better.
UCLA: One of the cheaper schools, favorable for students who want to specialize. Their acceptance GPA and DAT scores are among the highest. They have a program call: UCLA Basic Dental Principles, which consists of a lecture and lab section and they basically get your feet wet in dental education and lab.
UOP: 3 years. The dental campus in San Fran. New tech and is fancy looking. They have a pre-dental clinical simulation course but I think that was in April
Western: Right next to a railroad. Small campus. One of the newer dental schools. The surrounding area is not known to be too great but they have constant security guards roaming around. Also on the pricier end.

What you write in your personal statement is what you want to put into it. Put in your strength and the stories that make you you. They might never inquire about you pre-med history.

Stay positive and ReachOn!

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

Date of submission: First week of June
Overall GPA: 3.6
Science GPA: 3.5
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.4
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA 25 | TS 25 | BIO 26 | GC 22 | OC 26 | PAT 23 | RC 24 | QR 26
State of Residence: CA

Undergrad Attended: UC Berkeley
Major: Integrative Biology
Minor: n/a
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No- but I'm changing from pre-med to pre-dental

Shadowing Experience: 100 hours general, 20 hours oral surgery, 20 hours ortho
Volunteering Experience:

• Global volunteering in Guinea: 100 hours
• ER volunteer: 300 hours
• Volunteer in the transplant unit (different hospital): 100 hours
• Volunteer in a homeless shelter: 50 hours
• Student volunteer in a physical therapy program at Berkeley: 120 hours

Employment:

• Dental Assistant (currently): ~700 hours
• Math & science tutor: 2000 hours

Research: Undergraduate Research Assistant, finished an individual project, expecting to be published soon, acknowledged in one of my postdoc's papers

Other Extracurriculars:

• Undergraduate Student Instructor (Anatomy lab): 110 hours
• Undergraduate Student Instructor (Biology lab): 150 hours
• various health-related clubs: 600 hours

Relevant Honors or Awards: Various city, state, presidential awards

LOR type and strength: 2 science professors, 1 general dentist I'm assisting

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere: I applied to medical schools last year, but I didn't get into any of them. I changed my path in the winter after taking time off from all the submission to medical school in the summer. I know some dental schools do not like previous pre-med students applying to dental schools, so I want to know if I have a good chance of getting into a dental school.

School list:

• USC
• UCSF
• UCLA
• UOP
• Western

All CA schools except Loma Linda for now. I want to know which schools do not accept pre-med students so that I don't need to apply there and which schools I have a good chance.

Also, a side question: I was not going to write anything about me being a pre-med than changing the path to dentistry in my personal statement. Is that reasonable? Of course, I will answer questions about it during my interview if I'm invited.

Good DAT. The BCP GPA could be better. But that should not be an issue. I think you will get accepted to one of the UCs hopefully as long as you have a compelling story.

That said, many pre-dental I encountered (including myself) change from pre-med to pre-dental. You don't have to mention that on your personal statement or in the interview.

 

[autumn0408]

Great numbers and experiences. You're good to go. I'd apply to a few more just to play it safe but I think you've got a good chance at landing an interview at all five programs.

You being pre-med once upon a time doesn't matter. Many applicants have gotten into dental school after applying successfully/unsuccessfully to medical school. Just focus on writing an honest personal statement explaining why you chose dentistry. Touching on your pre-med experience is totally up to you. I personally would. They're not going to use it against you if you've got a legitimate reason for making the switch.

Good luck!

Can you recommend me other schools to apply?

 

[Punished Angeleno]

Can you recommend me other schools to apply?

It's tough to say, since all of your scores are higher than mine. I had to apply to mostly private schools because of a subpar sGPA. So, I didn't bother looking into many OOS programs. You don't really have that problem so it's up to you to do the research on every university (curriculum, cost, location, class size, average GPA/DAT, OOS "friendliness," etc.) to see if it's a realistic fit for you.

My personal goal was to stay close to home so my top choices are already on your list. If you get into UCLA or UCSF, you'll be golden since they're the cheapest options. If you still want me to name a couple others, I'd probably throw in UNE and Loma Linda to your list. UNE is on the other side of the country, but I've heard good things about their clinical program. It also has a pass/fail curriculum and is one of the cheaper private schools. Portland is also nice if you don't mind the weather.

 

[artist2022]

I was not going to write anything about me being a pre-med than changing the path to dentistry in my personal statement. Is that reasonable? Of course, I will answer questions about it during my interview if I'm invited.

I believe there's a section on the app that asks you if you've applied to other health professional programs, so you're going to have to say yes there, just a heads up. Also, because of that, while your DAT is great, they may be worried about you dropping dentistry and going to another field, so be sure your PS is compelling. I'd add like 8 more schools to your list, probably mostly privates in places that you'll be comfortable spending 4 years in, and with manageable tuition. Don't apply to places you'd be miserable spending 4 years in or crazy expensive places. Good luck!