Cycle's not over yet, but thinking about reapplication

Started by blablabla1
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blablabla1

blablabla1

Orthodontics Resident
7+ Year Member
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I'm still waiting to hear from 3 schools that I interviewed at so I haven't quite given up on this cycle yet. Regardless, I think it's important for me to get ready for reapplication soon since I want to be ready to apply June 1st. I'm currently still in undergrad, and will be graduating this semester.

My stats were a 3.5 GPA (overall was a few hundredths above 3.5, science was a few hundredths below) and my DAT was a 22AA/23TS/18PAT/24RC

I applied to 13 schools, received 8 interviews. It's clear to me after this process that something was lacking in my interviewing ability and will need to work on my interview skills with a professional/mentor if I reapply.

During the possible gap year, I was considering either completing a Post-bacc at VCU's CERT program (I'm a VA resident) or spending the year working in a dental office, possibly getting training as a dental assistant. With the number of interviews I received, I am leaning towards thinking that a post-bacc would be unnecessary, but I'd love to hear people's opinion on this. Regardless of which option I choose, I would also be doing some sort of volunteering in my free time.

I am also planning on re-writing my personal statement in order to show some differences in my application and replacing 1 of my science recommendations with a newer one from this semester. One thing stressing me out the most is making sure my application is significantly different enough from this past cycle's such that school's that I reapply to don't automatically throw my file away due to my app being similar to last cycle.

Any suggestions/advice/opinions are welcome and wanted!
 
I think getting more dental exposure is a good idea plus it'll help you improve communication skills at the same time. See if you can get a dental assistant job, you'll learn a lot about dentistry and people and have more life experiences to talk about during interviews. 🙂
 
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You have very good stats and maybe it was your interviewing abilities that were in question. I don't know if it's necessary for you to complete the CERT program, instead I'd get a job in the field and earn some money and apply to 20 schools next cycle. It may be overkill but the odds are definitely in your favor if you apply to that many.
 
Your definitely competitive...letters of intent once a month from here until the end!!!! Apply early to 20 programs, any programs that rejected you post interview - I would not apply to, they have it on record.


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No I think there is no harm in enhancing your gpa! Your gpa is not low, but it's not great. Most schools are getting more selective each year. Your Dat score is awesome by the way congrats on that.

You will be more competitive alongside getting more dental exposure.

But!
I think your personal statement was good to begin with, as they invited you for interviews .. so your interviews as not ideal, can you tell us what happened exactly?
How did you feel about each interview? did you prepare a list of questions, but they asked you surprising ones? were your cloth not formal enough or your hairstyle?
Maybe a beard or a risky hairstyle was annoying to them?
Too confident or too shy?

I hope they will accept you.
 
Last edited:
Faefly said:
No I think there is no harm in enhancing your gpa! Your gpa is not low, but it's not great. Most schools are getting more selective each year. Your Dat score is awesome by the way congrats on that.

You will be more competitive alongside getting more dental exposure.

But!
I think your personal statement was good to begin with, as they invited you for interviews .. so your interviews as not ideal, can you tell us what happened exactly?
How did you feel about each interview? did you prepare a list of questions, but they asked you surprising ones? were your cloth not formal enough or your hairstyle?
Maybe a beard or a risky hairstyle was annoying to them?
Too confident or too shy?

I hope they get accept you.
Click to expand...

While my personal statement was good enough to nab me interviews, after going through this cycle and learning more about the field, I definitely know there's some things I'd like to change in it.

As for the interview, I did prepare answers to questions and other than one interview, I thought all of them went relatively well. I'm definitely not connecting with my interviewers in some way and I'm going to do my best to figure where the disconnect is.
 
blablabla1 said:
I'm definitely not connecting with my interviewers in some way and I'm going to do my best to figure where the disconnect is.
Click to expand...

This is the key. My recommendation is that you call up the admissions offices, tell them that you want to improve, and request feedback on your interview. This way, you'll hear directly from the decision-makers.

However, I will say that I really hope this cycle comes through for you, brother. It makes me sad to see that this is happening to you...you don't deserve this.
 
Incis0r said:
This is the key. My recommendation is that you call up the admissions offices, tell them that you want to improve, and request feedback on your interview. This way, you'll hear directly from the decision-makers.

However, I will say that I really hope this cycle comes through for you, brother. It makes me sad to see that this is happening to you...you don't deserve this.
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I already have an appointment to meet with admissions at one of the schools I was rejected from next week. Depending on how helpful it is, I'll schedule to do the same with other schools!

And thank you, that means a lot!
 
Question: should I avoid applying to the schools I applied this cycle or is it okay to reapply
 
blablabla1 said:
Question: should I avoid applying to the schools I applied this cycle or is it okay to reapply
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If your state school rejected you, you should definitely re-apply. Fight for that in-state tuition.

blablabla1 said:
I already have an appointment to meet with admissions at one of the schools I was rejected from next week. Depending on how helpful it is, I'll schedule to do the same with other schools!
Click to expand...

I'd go ahead and set up requests with all of the schools.

If there's one thing I learned from my cycle, it's that each dental school admissions does things differently. One school counseled me with helpful feedback on why I was rejected. Another told me they don't do that for their applicants.

Bottom line is - Even if only 1 of your 13 schools gives you meaningful feedback, that 1 may be just the help you need. But you gotta try all 13 schools to see what you can get.
 
Incis0r said:
If your state school rejected you, you should definitely re-apply. Fight for that in-state tuition.
Click to expand...

And what about all the other schools that I interviewed at but got rejected from or didn't get an interview from at all? For example, I interviewed at Pitt but didn't get in, but I would still love to go there. On the other hand, I also applied to UConn (kinda late though) and didn't get an interview
 
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blablabla1 said:
And what about all the other schools that I interviewed at but got rejected from or didn't get an interview from at all? For example, I interviewed at Pitt but didn't get in, but I would still love to go there. On the other hand, I also applied to UConn (kinda late though) and didn't get an interview
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If you really like the school, then why not apply a second time?

And both of those schools are among the most affordable in the nation, while also being really strong programs (small class sizes, innovative curricula, high specialty placements, etc.). Definitely keep them on your list.
 
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