Competitive Scores?!?

[cariesRbad]

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I'll be gearing up for my third application cycle this year. I recently retook the DAT for the second time and would like to know if you all think I have competitive scores or if I need to improve. I also recently did a 1 year pre-professional M.S. program.

Undergrad GPA:
Overall: 3.04
Science: 2.86

Graduate GPA (All Science Courses): 3.7

Recent DAT: 20/20/20
Bio: 21
GC: 21
O: 18
PA: 20
RC: 23
QR: 15
AA: 20
TS: 20

Do you think that I have made enough progress in my DAT retake and graduate school grades to offset my poor undergraduate GPA? My poor undergraduate GPA was significantly affected by an illness I had (which I have addressed in my PS).

I should note that the only thing that has changed from my previous cycle's application is my retake of the DAT. Last cycle I had a AA 17/TS 17/PA 19 and only got one interview which was at my state school.

I have hundreds of hours of shadowing/lab work and volunteering.

Also, if you have any suggestions for schools where these scores would be very competitive then I would appreciate your input on that as well.

 

[bing12]

great improvement, your DAT is deff competitive. You stand a far greater chance of acceptance with your new DAT scores. Congratulations !

 

[wwuviking]

Looks good dude! Something to be proud of

 

[John Durian]

It all looks good. I would be wary of that 15RC score though. Some schools have a cutoff at 17.

 

[Predoctalk]

It all looks good. I would be wary of that 15RC score though. Some schools have a cutoff at 17.

The 15 was QR, not RC. If it was RC the OP would not have a good chance at all. However, the national avg for QR is never very high anyway. In addition, that is the least important category to many schools. So I'd say as long as your AA and TS are in order, which they are, your DAT is not an issue.

 

[HillsNayyr]

I'll be gearing up for my third application cycle this year. I recently retook the DAT for the second time and would like to know if you all think I have competitive scores or if I need to improve. I also recently did a 1 year pre-professional M.S. program.

Undergrad GPA:
Overall: 3.04
Science: 2.86

Graduate GPA (All Science Courses): 3.7

Recent DAT: 20/20/20
Bio: 21
GC: 21
O: 18
PA: 20
RC: 23
QR: 15
AA: 20
TS: 20

Do you think that I have made enough progress in my DAT retake and graduate school grades to offset my poor undergraduate GPA? My poor undergraduate GPA was significantly affected by an illness I had (which I have addressed in my PS).

I should note that the only thing that has changed from my previous cycle's application is my retake of the DAT. Last cycle I had a AA 17/TS 17/PA 19 and only got one interview which was at my state school.

I have hundreds of hours of shadowing/lab work and volunteering.

Also, if you have any suggestions for schools where these scores would be very competitive then I would appreciate your input on that as well.

Other than some schools dismissing you because of the 15 qr your dat scores are definitely competitive. Your gpa however isn't. I would do some research and find schools that put more emphasis on dat score than gpa (they're out there) and apply to those.

 

[doc toothache]

There is a "pre-professional" MS program?

 

[cariesRbad]

Other than some schools dismissing you because of the 15 qr your dat scores are definitely competitive. Your gpa however isn't. I would do some research and find schools that put more emphasis on dat score than gpa (they're out there) and apply to those.

Yea I freaked out when I saw that score.. so I called a couple of schools and they both said not to worry about it. I am still not very comfortable with it though. I suppose when I apply this summer, I'll just call the schools first and make sure there is not a cutoff.

 

[cariesRbad]

There is a "pre-professional" MS program?

Yea, it's a non-thesis master's. It's 30 credit hours of graduate coursework shoved into one school year. It's very intense and is designed to simulate the curriculum in professional school.

 

[dentalWorks]

Yea, it's a non-thesis master's. It's 30 credit hours of graduate coursework shoved into one school year. It's very intense, hence the "pre-professional" master's. I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. Seriously.

I think this was an SMP (special masters program or short masters program)... its designed for people who wanna apply to medical / dental schools.

Man, 3.7 GPA on an SMP is nice, I bet you have a decent shot. do yourself a favor and apply to 20 schools.... There is a chance some schools won't disregard the undergrad GPA, so applying to more schools is the safest thing you can do to improve your chances.

Use this thread (just the first post) to get a good list of schools to apply to
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=635046

Right now, I am going to recommend you apply to detroit Mercy and U of Michigan, both are out-of-state friendly and highly regard upward trends. Avoid Case western reserve, they care very much for overall numbers, so that undergrad GPA will be scrutinized

 

[cariesRbad]

I think this was an SMP (special masters program or short masters program)... its designed for people who wanna apply to medical / dental schools.

Man, 3.7 GPA on an SMP is nice, I bet you have a decent shot. do yourself a favor and apply to 20 schools.... There is a chance some schools won't disregard the undergrad GPA, so applying to more schools is the safest thing you can do to improve your chances.

Use this thread (just the first post) to get a good list of schools to apply to
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=635046

Right now, I am going to recommend you apply to detroit Mercy and U of Michigan, both are out-of-state friendly and highly regard upward trends. Avoid Case western reserve, they care very much for overall numbers, so that undergrad GPA will be scrutinized

Thanks for the tip on applying to a lot of schools.

But I thought Case Western's stats looked good for me. 3.2/3.3 gpa, 18.3 DAT (didn't look it up - somehwere around this). I would be pretty competitive with that. But I understand what you're saying. That's something that is difficult to discern when I'm picking schools to apply to...

 

[dentalWorks]

Thanks for the tip on applying to a lot of schools.

But I thought Case Western's stats looked good for me. 3.2/3.3 gpa, 18.3 DAT (didn't look it up - somehwere around this). I would be pretty competitive with that. But I understand what you're saying. That's something that is difficult to discern when I'm picking schools to apply to...

I think thats very old data. They are in the 3.6's for GPAs and I think 19-20 DAT

You can use this site to compare schools stats
http://dent.osu.edu/admissions/compare.php

 

[cariesRbad]

I think thats very old data. They are in the 3.6's for GPAs and I think 19-20 DAT

You can use this site to compare schools stats
http://dent.osu.edu/admissions/compare.php

You're right. I was way off. 😱

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

I think thats very old data. They are in the 3.6's for GPAs and I think 19-20 DAT

You can use this site to compare schools stats
http://dent.osu.edu/admissions/compare.php

Did you see the stats for University of Kentucky on there? Average PAT is 14 lol. I think somethings off.....

 

[pogue]

Yea, it's a non-thesis master's. It's 30 credit hours of graduate coursework shoved into one school year. It's very intense and is designed to simulate the curriculum in professional school.

I was in a similar, if not the same, program (IUPUI). If that is the one you were in a 3.70 is really good. If you are an Indiana resident and are applying to IUSD I would say you are in great shape. Congrats!

 

[cariesRbad]

Thanks. Yea, I did the IUPUI program and had the 3.7 last cycle when I applied and wasn't accepted. I interviewed at IUSD and was ranked low in the fall interviews. So I retook the DAT and got a 20 instead of my previous 17. I was actually expecting to do better than a 20. I felt like a 21 or 22 would have put me in much better shape, but maybe I'm just over thinking it. Hopefully +3 points on the DAT will be enough to sway their decision this time.
I haven't had time to shadow this year because I've had to go get a full-time job that's non science related (Dept. of Defense). So literally the only improvement I have made is the DAT. I'm going to try to get some volunteering in too. Not sure what else I can throw in for the next cycle...

I was in a similar, if not the same, program (IUPUI). If that is the one you were in a 3.70 is really good. If you are an Indiana resident and are applying to IUSD I would say you are in great shape. Congrats!

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

Awesome job man! You really stepped up your game. To answer your question, yes you are competitive.