Chances and schools with strong community presence

[athomas]

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It looks like no one is posting on the 'what are my chances' thread so I thought I'd post here.

I'm wondering what my chances are at the schools on my list, and which schools I may want to add.

I went to a very competitive school for undergrad (acceptance rate is ~6%).
GPA 3.77
Sci GPa ~3.5
PAT 25
QR 21
RC 27
GC 28
OC 24
BIO 25
TS 25
AA 25

Some good ECs like tutoring, philanthropy with my sorority, couple student groups, was an RA and TA
Shadowing 100 hrs
Volunteer 1600 hrs
Work 1000 hrs
Research none (is this an issue? )
LOR should all be good, but I'm worried they won't be in until the end of July
I am currently looking at applying to these schools:

Washington
UoP
UCSF
UCLA
USC
Harvard
NYU
Penn

Will lack of research and late letters hold me back? I will be esubmitting in the next day or two.

Also, does anyone have schools I should add to this list? I am really interested in doing community outreach during school, so it's important to me that the school has a strong presence in the community and/or the opportunity for students to start more projects.

 

[Glimmer1991]

You have absolutely incredible stats and essentially nothing to worry about.

UNC is a very strong clinical school... and a great school all-around. (Of course, they do research, too!) They have OOS spots every year, and you look like a great fit. Just a recommendation.

Also, as a side note... I didn't know you were a girl! 🙂

 

[jeffity]

It looks like no one is posting on the 'what are my chances' thread so I thought I'd post here.

I'm wondering what my chances are at the schools on my list, and which schools I may want to add.

I went to a very competitive school for undergrad (acceptance rate is ~6%).
GPA 3.77
Sci GPa ~3.5
PAT 25
QR 21
RC 27
GC 28
OC 24
BIO 25
TS 25
AA 25

Some good ECs like tutoring, philanthropy with my sorority, couple student groups, was an RA and TA
Shadowing 100 hrs
Volunteer 1600 hrs
Work 1000 hrs
Research none (is this an issue? )
LOR should all be good, but I'm worried they won't be in until the end of July
I am currently looking at applying to these schools:

Washington
UoP
UCSF
UCLA
USC
Harvard
NYU
Penn

Will lack of research and late letters hold me back? I will be esubmitting in the next day or two.

Also, does anyone have schools I should add to this list? I am really interested in doing community outreach during school, so it's important to me that the school has a strong presence in the community and/or the opportunity for students to start more projects.

I feel like I push ASDOH non-stop on here. You'd think I went there or something. Add them. Private? New? Whatever. If you're interested in community involvement, they win. They will fully support you in any endeavors you might like to start. I think volunteering is required to an extent. A current student could clear all of this up (they seem to be quiet on here though). Starting/being heavily involved in organizing something is a required part of one course, I believe. It's what they do. Plus, you're plenty competitive for stats, but even more so with your volunteer hours. It's not easy to get into ASDOH. Don't let the low entrance stats fool you. Clinically, one of the best, in my opinion. Speciality placement is high (not sure how they feel about this since their focus is public health). I suspect the certificate in public health (required) or the masters in public health (optional) plus all the ECs you can get plus the clinical strength attribute to that. And their history of board passing rates (and WREB).

MOSDOH (their 'sister' trying to enroll their first class this fall) will be similar, I suspect. Same sort of mission. Another might be UNE (first class this fall). I think ASDOH wins for location and being more established.

I'll also say that pretty much every school will tell you they do community work in some form or another. This could very well mean they just participate in Give Kids A Smile and that's it. You can inquire, but don't get pushy or they might think you're only interested in that and think you won't fit their program. They are trying to present themselves as the best. So they 'do' it all. Same for research. And clinical experience. And everything else. An example of this: ASDOH isn't a research school, but they will tell you that on your breaks (maybe the first summer?) you can go research at other facilities (schools, I presume). I think they pay or did pay for it in the past. So it's an option, but they're not exactly a research school. Although, they will tell you about a student who won the American Dental Association (ADA)/Dentsply Student Clinician's Research Award for research on bioactive glass in dentistry.

Your application seems on par with the schools to which you are applying. Research will not likely be an issue, and late July letters won't either. I'd consider ASDOH. This is all.

 

[athomas]

I initially had ASDOH on my list but I thought they had a prereq I didn't have. I checked again and they don't so I'll definitely add them to my list! Man they are expensive though...

Yeah that's the issue I am having, every school says they do a lot in the community and it's hard to find out to what extent it's a part of the school culture.

If I wanted to specialize (thinking of pediatrics with an MPH) would I be competitive coming from ASDOH?

 

[gn4]

I think you should be alright with your school list buddy. No worries at all.

 

[jeffity]

I initially had ASDOH on my list but I thought they had a prereq I didn't have. I checked again and they don't so I'll definitely add them to my list! Man they are expensive though...

Yeah that's the issue I am having, every school says they do a lot in the community and it's hard to find out to what extent it's a part of the school culture.

If I wanted to specialize (thinking of pediatrics with an MPH) would I be competitive coming from ASDOH?

True. Price sucks.

These are some stats about specializing.

In the first three graduating classes, 19 percent (2007), 32 percent (2008), and 30 percent (2009) have been accepted into dental residency/specialty programs with the majority entering pediatric dentistry and postdoctoral general dentistry programs. I don't get why they'd go into AEGDs or GPRs though.

Another stat (which doesn't jive with that 30% above since the graduating class size was 55), was the class of 2009: Twenty-six graduates applied to residencies, and all were accepted into their first choice. Three graduates went into maxilofacial surgery residencies.

And my favorite, the class of 2011 had 38 students going into residency programs. I think that class size was 59. Word on the street was that all 38 who applied got in.

A random nugget of info: they were the school who accepted a 16-year old. She just graduated and is doing an OMS residency now (at Loma Linda, I believe). That's crazy.

 

[UCSFx2017]

Of those schools, I know that UCSF has satellite clinics, for students to rotate around, that span the entire Northern California region. UCSF's reach extends farther around NorCal than any other Cali school. They're also involved with community outreach events specific for adolescents and I think the students have a great time dressing up in costumes, setting up fun activities, and playing with kids. UCSF also gets together with UoP and together they collaborate on cleaning up the Bay area. Penn has the PennSmiles mobile van that travels around Philly providing basic care. I don't know how it is at other schools but Penn requires students to complete 82 hours of community service along with community health didactic courses.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...299523.-2207520000.1373993940.&type=3&theater

I thought this picture was really cute.

You really should add UConn. If you get into UConn and don't happen to get into your state school, you'll be glad that you have an affordable out-of-state option where you can get low in-state tuition rate after your first year.

 

[UCSFx2017]

I forgot about NYU. NYUCN/NYUCD Elder Care Program serves lower Manhattan's geriatric population with primary care and other health-related services. NYU has a three day event where they provide free basic care to both adults and children. NYU has a "Going Place" dental van that travels around New York City serving undeserved children. Two times a year, there's the NYUCD-Henry Schein Cares Global Student Outreach team that travels to an improvised clinic in Machias, Maine, where there are only six dentists in a 3,200-square-mile county.

You hear a lot of bad rap about NYU because of it's high tuition rate but the institution itself is very strong with very notable faculty and high productivity. This is such a big school that I doubt that you can't find a group of friends who share similar values.

 

[athomas]

What is SDN's opinion about Washington's clinical preparation? It's currently my top choice and I know a lot about their community involvement, but I'm curious about the clinical aspect. It seems solid to me, but I am not sure how other people view it in comparison to say, UoP.

 

[Baba Yaga]

What is SDN's opinion about Washington's clinical preparation? It's currently my top choice and I know a lot about their community involvement, but I'm curious about the clinical aspect. It seems solid to me, but I am not sure how other people view it in comparison to say, UoP.

I'm not from Washington so I don't know much about it, but I've only heard great things about Washington on this forum. It seems like it has a great reputation on SDN from what I have seen.