Chances??

[alexanjm102592]

Hi everyone,
I'm thinking of applying to dental school next cycle and would like to get any input as to my chances/areas of my application to improve between now and next summer.

Undergrad institution: USA - Top 30 Nationally, Top 5 Public University
Resident - North Carolina
Major - Quantitative Biology & Chem minor
cumGPA - 3.41
sGPA - 3.2
Shadowing - 20hrs Dentistry(and counting...) + 50 hrs MD
Volunteering - 50hrs(and counting...)
Research - 2 years of bioinformatics & genome research + currently doing infectious disease research at a top 10 University in my post-bac year
DAT-?? (Not yet taken)

I know i need to get my shadowing and volunteering hours up, which I am currently doing. I also am hoping to improve my GPA/sGPA--I am currently taking Biochemistry at the Top 10 university I work at, and will also either take Physics or Anatomy next semester as well.

I know it's hard to get a complete idea of my application without my DAT scores but what schools would you guys recommend I apply to??

I would love to apply to:
UNC
Maryland
VCU
MUSC
UIC-Chicago

Any other ideas/input would be greatly appreciated!!

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[aznriptide859]

1. Work on your GPA. You will make the minimum cutoff for most schools but it is relatively low to be considered competitive.
2. Study hard and get a good score on the DAT.
3. Most important of all, get more exposure to the field. Doesn't matter if you work as a lab/sterile tech, assistant, shadowing, or whatever. Shadowing hour numbers mean nothing if you didn't learn anything. Throughout your application package, schools want to see not only someone who performs well in school, but also understands his/her own life goals and why you chose dentistry.

Your ultimate goal of your application is to sell yourself - numbers only go so far. People here seem to misunderstand that once you have "set stats", you're automatically "in". Be prepared to work even harder though, as dental school applicant pools have become much more competitive in recent years.

 

[SableFire]

1. GPA needs some improvement
2. Do really well on DAT (22+)
3. Get more shadowing (shoot for 100 range)
4. Work on obtaining good letter of rec writers
5. Volunteer some more