Complicated WAMC - school list? Additional activities?

[ToddPacker12]

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Just looking for some advice for next years cycle. Undergrad was interesting for me. I took about 8 years to graduate. I started school and then left for a two year mission for my church. Then I came back and did a two semesters and then moved to Brazil for a year and a half because I got married to a Brazilian girl and we decided to live in Brazil until she got her green card. While I was there I taught English and perfected my Portuguese. I came back and started school again and have gotten straight As the rest of my 5 semesters undergrad. I feel like my stats look good but I’m worried my years off will hurt me. I also had a semester where I withdrew from all 5 of my classes. Basically it was a rocky start but once I came back from Brazil it was smooth sailing. Wondering if anyone has advice on my chances and what I can do to strengthen my application. I’m also wondering what kind of schools I should be applying to. Here are some of my stats:

Overall GPA:3.76

Science GPA:3.65

Bio-Chem-Physics GPA:3.65

Shadowing Experience: 200 hours with 2 different pediatric dentists and 2 general

Volunteering Experience: 100 hours teaching English to immigrants, 200 hours special Olympics

Employment: Inventory manager at large potato packing plant, sales associate, English teacher. I’ve been assisting at a dental office for the last year

Research: 400 hours no pubs

Other Extracurriculars: just normal stuff I’ve traveled back to Brazil a few times and I love golf.

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere: I speak Portuguese and Spanish fluently

 

[BMH500]

Hard to tell you for sure without knowing which state you are from and what your DAT score is. That being said, I think your GPAs, shadowing, and research look great. Schools like to see improvement in your GPA which you clearly have. You also seem like a really interesting and unique applicant which I'm sure will help you. Focus on writing a good PS and getting good rec letters, and aim for a solid DAT score (I think a 20AA will get you in somewhere, but if you can get a 22+ I think you have a really solid shot at getting into most schools).

 

[ToddPacker12]

Hard to tell you for sure without knowing which state you are from and what your DAT score is. That being said, I think your GPAs, shadowing, and research look great. Schools like to see improvement in your GPA which you clearly have. You also seem like a really interesting and unique applicant which I'm sure will help you. Focus on writing a good PS and getting good rec letters, and aim for a solid DAT score (I think a 20AA will get you in somewhere, but if you can get a 22+ I think you have a really solid shot at getting into most schools).

Ya so I’m an Arizona resident. I got a 23AA on the DAT. I guess my biggest concern is how schools will see the two gaps in education and the semester I had to withdraw from

 

[BMH500]

Ya so I’m an Arizona resident. I got a 23AA on the DAT. I guess my biggest concern is how schools will see the two gaps in education and the semester I had to withdraw from

I doubt schools will care about the gap years since you clearly used that time doing interesting stuff and you didn't simply waste them. Your AA and GPA when you got back prove that you are well prepared for dental school. The withdrawal they may not love, but if you retook all those classes and did well, I'm sure they will see that you just weren't in the right headspace to succeed and you came back when you were. I think as long as you have a good answer as to why you withdrew that semester for when you interview you should be totally fine.