Chances of Admission- Need direction

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Tman26

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I would like to begin with a thank you to whoever takes the time to read this and provide feedback. I am so, immensely grateful.

Hello, I'm applying for dental school this coming cycle, but I need some feedback and advice. First off, I'm a non-traditional. I graduated in May of 2014 with a B.S. in Biology. I did 3 years(90 hours) at a community college because I was pre-pharmacy--I had no reason to consider going for a bachelor's. However, I decided pharmacy wasn't for me after working in a pharmacy for nearly a year. I took basic bio courses, chem, and orgo prereqs at the CC and made A's in all of these courses. I transferred to a 2 year university and took two years(around 55 hours) of almost exclusively upper level biology courses, making all A's except a B in Genetics. Some of these Bio courses were neuropharmacology, immunology, cell bio, botany, animal phys, zoology, ecology. What's more, I took Biochemistry of Macromolecules and also Metabolic Biochemistry. My GPA sits at a 3.93. Only recently(January 2014) did I decide to pursue a dental career, and because of this, I am behind.

For Volunteer hours, I have around 500 hours. 400 of these hours were dedicated to volunteering in theater. And before judgement is cast, the plot and the goal of all 80 volunteers was to unite the impoverished area in which I reside. We reached out to an audience of 2,500(a tenth of the county's population). The New York Times came and did a story on this called,"Tacking the Problems of Appalachia, Theatrically." I played a lead role and was required to be very involved. This project was about uniting the community and addressing problems that are so prevalent in this area. Other volunteer experiences include environmental restoration events, working with elementary students, and projects to help children in need. There are a few others, but most of these involve helping children in some way. I'm aiming at volunteering every week for a few hours until my application is submitted in June.

I've shadowed an orthodontist, periodontist, and two general dentists as well as a clinic with dental students. I have around 50 shadowing hours and aim to get 100-120 by June 1st.

I'm taking the DAT in late April. I briefly tinkered around with the idea of becoming an optometrist shortly after I switched from pharmacy(I do acknowledge that I had no concrete direction early in my undergrad--I wanted to pursue a career that was holistically appealing). I took the OAT and scored in the 84th percentile in Biology, a 50 percentile in reading, and a disheartening 30% in chem and orgo. I believe QR was around 35% also. In studying for the DAT, I'm using Klein's Organic Chemistry as a second language(1st and 2nd semester), along with Chad's videos, the DAT Destroyer, and Cliff's AP Bio(3rd Ed.). I'm focusing heavily on my chemistry as it is what I am most concerned about. For the PAT, I'm still looking for resources. Should I add anything to this list of materials?

I'm interested primarily in the University of Kentucky's Dental school along with U of L. I'm unsure as to what other programs I should also apply. Any advice for what schools or the quantity of schools in which I should apply would be greatly appreciated.

What are my odds of being admitted? How can I strengthen my application? I am grateful for all feedback. Thank you again for your time.

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Your app looks pretty solid, your theatre hobby will add some flavor and something to talk about in potential interviews.

Your DAT resources are fine and most people use what you are using and yes, bring those scores up. Add DAT Bootcamp if you need some more practice exams. I read Cliff Notes for Bio to refresh my memory but I memorized Feralis Notes in its entirety since it has most, if not all, the information needed for that section. I scored very well for bio using just the notes.

I think considering what you have so far, you should be able to receive interviews at UK and UL. Add VCU, WVU, Tennessee, and what ever schools you research and decide to apply to and you should be fine.
 
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Your app looks pretty solid, your theatre hobby will add some flavor and something to talk about in potential interviews.

Your DAT resources are fine and most people use what you are using and yes, bring those scores up. Add DAT Bootcamp if you need some more practice exams. I read Cliff Notes for Bio to refresh my memory but I memorized Feralis Notes in its entirety since it has most, if not all, the information needed for that section. I scored very well for bio using just the notes.

I think considering what you have so far, you should be able to receive interviews at UK and UL. Add VCU, WVU, Tennessee, and what ever schools you research and decide to apply to and you should be fine.
Thank you for the feedback! I really appreciate it! Words of encouragement definitely pushes me harder! Take care.
 
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You are on the right track. You next job is to handle the DAT. Once you do that, I am confident you will receive interviews at UK and UL. Your background is quite interesting. Good luck and remember your main focus is the DAT. I will echo with what ICUrunning said and that is get bootcamp and maybe even crackdatpat if you have some extra money to spend. Chad videos are great. after you have finished watching those videos, keep doing problems. Get math destroyer for QR.

good luck message me if you have any questions.

I would like to begin with a thank you to whoever takes the time to read this and provide feedback. I am so, immensely grateful.

Hello, I'm applying for dental school this coming cycle, but I need some feedback and advice. First off, I'm a non-traditional. I graduated in May of 2014 with a B.S. in Biology. I did 3 years(90 hours) at a community college because I was pre-pharmacy--I had no reason to consider going for a bachelor's. However, I decided pharmacy wasn't for me after working in a pharmacy for nearly a year. I took basic bio courses, chem, and orgo prereqs at the CC and made A's in all of these courses. I transferred to a 2 year university and took two years(around 55 hours) of almost exclusively upper level biology courses, making all A's except a B in Genetics. Some of these Bio courses were neuropharmacology, immunology, cell bio, botany, animal phys, zoology, ecology. What's more, I took Biochemistry of Macromolecules and also Metabolic Biochemistry. My GPA sits at a 3.93. Only recently(January 2014) did I decide to pursue a dental career, and because of this, I am behind.

For Volunteer hours, I have around 500 hours. 400 of these hours were dedicated to volunteering in theater. And before judgement is cast, the plot and the goal of all 80 volunteers was to unite the impoverished area in which I reside. We reached out to an audience of 2,500(a tenth of the county's population). The New York Times came and did a story on this called,"Tacking the Problems of Appalachia, Theatrically." I played a lead role and was required to be very involved. This project was about uniting the community and addressing problems that are so prevalent in this area. Other volunteer experiences include environmental restoration events, working with elementary students, and projects to help children in need. There are a few others, but most of these involve helping children in some way. I'm aiming at volunteering every week for a few hours until my application is submitted in June.

I've shadowed an orthodontist, periodontist, and two general dentists as well as a clinic with dental students. I have around 50 shadowing hours and aim to get 100-120 by June 1st.

I'm taking the DAT in late April. I briefly tinkered around with the idea of becoming an optometrist shortly after I switched from pharmacy(I do acknowledge that I had no concrete direction early in my undergrad--I wanted to pursue a career that was holistically appealing). I took the OAT and scored in the 84th percentile in Biology, a 50 percentile in reading, and a disheartening 30% in chem and orgo. I believe QR was around 35% also. In studying for the DAT, I'm using Klein's Organic Chemistry as a second language(1st and 2nd semester), along with Chad's videos, the DAT Destroyer, and Cliff's AP Bio(3rd Ed.). I'm focusing heavily on my chemistry as it is what I am most concerned about. For the PAT, I'm still looking for resources. Should I add anything to this list of materials?

I'm interested primarily in the University of Kentucky's Dental school along with U of L. I'm unsure as to what other programs I should also apply. Any advice for what schools or the quantity of schools in which I should apply would be greatly appreciated.

What are my odds of being admitted? How can I strengthen my application? I am grateful for all feedback. Thank you again for your time.
 
I found Crack the DAT - PAT section very helpful (I wouldn't recommend getting their other sections though since your other resources are better).
 
Make sure UK and UL dont require the prereqs taken at a 4 year uni and you're solid. But Im sure it's fine since you did well in your upper level science courses.
 
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