DAT Done and Ready for Acceptance

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You're fine.....period! Refer to my predent stats, pretty similar but I tanked the QR. Good Luck! Any specific questions about schools, PM me.
 
beautiful1 said:
I am a NY resident, graduated from an Ivy League school, then completed a semester long post bacc at a local state school taking 4 upper division bio courses (earned straight As)
20 AA, 21 TS, 21 PAT, 20 QR and 20 RC
~3.5 GPA, ~3.4 BCP, ~3.4 science
I applied as an economically disadvantaged applicant on AADSAS and submitted about a week ago
I have about 300 hours shadowing experience
In addition, I applied to medical school last year, but did not enroll

Provided these stats, where do you think I could get accepted/where should I apply? What are my chances? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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The application to med school may stress your application a bit, especially if you were rejected. You will get interrogated on this point, I'm pretty certain. Be prepared to defend yourself, because the people that I've talked to said they really do not favor this kind of behavior.

Provided the economic disclaimer you put on your application is genuine, this may be a "gem" in the eyes of the admissions staff. They may see you as needing a "leg-up."

You should have a decent chance at landing an interview. And if you're honest and genuine about everything, you should be fine 😉

By the way, congrats on obtaining those solid scores on the DAT.
 
First of all I am sure you will get in somewhere. you have a decent GPA and good DAT scores. However, I am curious how you attended an IVY league school and are economically disadvantaged.
 
Economically disadvantaged students cannot/are not allowed to attend an Ivy League school? Humor me please
 
at first glance I just found it oxymoronic. A person w/ a hardship due to loss of jobs, etc attends one of the most expensive schools, then does a post-bacc, and now is going to dental school. hard work pays off. congrats.
 
any ideas on where i should apply though? thoughts?
 
Apply to schools that interest you...I'm not sure what you are trying to get people to tell you.

Make sure you have a good story behind why you chose to apply to dental schools all of a sudden. It's gonna be a pain to explain that one.
 
Doesn't my PS explain that kind of? Studying a profession for one year before deciding to do it is sudden? Especially with 300 hours of shadowing?
 
There's a reason the application has a box for "have you ever applied to a health profession school or are applying to one currently" box. There is a history of medical school rejects applying to dental schools as a backup, and dental schools don't like that.

I'm sure you have a legit reason just be ready to talk about it.
 
beautiful1 said:
Doesn't my PS explain that kind of? Studying a profession for one year before deciding to do it is sudden? Especially with 300 hours of shadowing?
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What kind of answers are you wanting to hear? People are trying to give you advice and you have answers for everything.
 
I think you have a very average numbers, with slightly above average DAT scores and a slightly lower than average GPA. However, assuming other parts of your application is average or somewhat above average, I think you'll most likely get an interview somewhere, such as NYU, BU, etc. Definitely apply to some "safe" schools and some "dream" schools and see how it goes! Good luck!
 
beautiful1 said:
Doesn't my PS explain that kind of? Studying a profession for one year before deciding to do it is sudden? Especially with 300 hours of shadowing?
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Yes, that is a very drastic switch.

Usually people decide they want to switch career paths before or during another career; certainly not because they faced rejection. You have to be prepared to explain yourself. You will likely have a tough time with this topic.

People are trying to give you suggestions on what to look out for, yet you bristle up right away and seem to shove comments back in others faces.

Not quite sure how you expect people to help you. It certainly does no good to spoon feed a person "advice" that they just want to hear.

Bottom line, do research YOURSELF on schools that appeal to you and read about their suggested attributes and requirements. Don't expect other people to easily put together a list of schools that is tailored to your unique situation.
 
The What Schools Should I Apply To Thread is really great. Take a look at that and also delve into the dental school statistics and see where you fit. Everyone has to take into account personal factors like family and regions where you want to be, so take the time to consider all of that.

You'll be asked about your previous application at interviews, I would expect, but it's not the end-all be-all doom that people make it out to be. Everyone has to own up to the weaknesses in their application at interviews...a streak of poor grades gets asked about, a poor DAT gets asked about, a lack of shadowing gets asked about, a lack of volunteering gets asked about, etc. Just like people in those situations need to have explanations ready, you should too, and it should be sincere. If it is, then you'll be fine.
 
DAT and GPA looks good. Shadowing hours, I am sure there are A LOT of people who have just about the same hours as you do if not more so that's not that special. Do you have any other EC to back you back?? Research? Leadership position? Strong letters of rec? Not to burst your bubble but quite a few # of people with your stats that applied from my undergrad had similar stats as you and 20, 19 on the DAT but either scored only 1 interview and didn't get in or didn't get an interview at all.

Med school, did you actually get accept somewhere and chose NOT to enroll or you didn't get in period? Like people said, if you do get an interview then you BETTER be ready to defend yourself with a good and proper answer other than...I don't think I am the right fit for med school.

So if you ONLY have what you have that are listed then....I would apply to like 12 schools or more just to enhance your chances of scoring interviews. B/c what you provided can't really separate you that far ahead from the great bunch of the applicants, it's kinda hard to say you have a GREAT shot. Applying to health professional schools is like a shot in the dark, you never really know what part of your package is the deciding factor but ya....good luck
 
peerless218 said:
DAT and GPA looks good. Shadowing hours, I am sure there are A LOT of people who have just about the same hours as you do if not more so that's not that special. Do you have any other EC to back you back?? Research? Leadership position? Strong letters of rec? Not to burst your bubble but quite a few # of people with your stats that applied from my undergrad had similar stats as you and 20, 19 on the DAT but either scored only 1 interview and didn't get in or didn't get an interview at all.

Med school, did you actually get accept somewhere and chose NOT to enroll or you didn't get in period? Like people said, if you do get an interview then you BETTER be ready to defend yourself with a good and proper answer other than...I don't think I am the right fit for med school.

So if you ONLY have what you have that are listed then....I would apply to like 12 schools or more just to enhance your chances of scoring interviews. B/c what you provided can't really separate you that far ahead from the great bunch of the applicants, it's kinda hard to say you have a GREAT shot. Applying to health professional schools is like a shot in the dark, you never really know what part of your package is the deciding factor but ya....good luck
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Sigh I need to read the forums less often. Posts like this make me :scared::scared::scared: as I have pretty much the same scores with a 21/22 with additional ECs/work/volunteering... :scared::scared::scared:
 
Afterschool88 said:
Sigh I need to read the forums less often. Posts like this make me :scared::scared::scared: as I have pretty much the same scores with a 21/22 with additional ECs/work/volunteering... :scared::scared::scared:
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Well what are you worrying about? If you have an interesting PS, and good amount of what I mentioned in my previous post then you should be good to go. Just don't be over confident and only apply to like 3 schools. I am not saying the OP isn't a good applicant. Academically he's a SOLID applicant, but it takes a little bit more than your academic to do great in the application cycle. My message for him/her is he/she has good academic stats, but not a GREAT one so he/she can't be expecting interviews from ALL the schools he/she applied to. On top of that....an acceptance; That STILL depends on your interviewing skills and the OVERALL package (for some schools.)

Besides, your 21 is really on a TOTALLY different level than a 20 so you're in that much better shape. Just apply to multiple schools and hope for the best. Remember, ALL aspect adds up. Unless you have like a 3.9 and like a 21 22 on the DAT with minimal effort in the EC, a little connections along the way. You can't really say you're gonna be scoring A LOT of interviews. Don't worry just apply and wait, good things will happen. Sorry if I made you worry a bit but ya know...just go with the flow.
 
Honestly your scores are fine. You have a strong DAT and your gpa is average for some schools, slightly above average for overs, and slightly below average for a few.

Dental school is still easier to get into than medical school despite what people on this forum say, they are just trying to freak out their competition.

You will be fine in terms of stats. Also, if you went to an Ivy League school you will probably get interviews everywhere you apply. Schools love accepting Ivys cause then they can brag about it in their class profile report. makes them look more special. Like ooh...look we have a student who went to Princeton)

Also, since you are economically diadvantaged, that will probably help you too.

I think you will get interviews almots anywhere you apply so just apply already, its pretty late in the application cycle what are you waiting for.


*PS, how can you be considered economically disadvantaged? My parents aren't poor but I've been living off of ramen noodles for three years and spendding every cent I have on school...does that make me economically disadvantaged?
 
I really appreciate the feedback and insights, thank you
so will i definitely get an acceptance from at least one school this cycle if my "defence" is good?
someone said I should definitely apply to "safe" schools, which schools are considered safe? which schools should I definitely apply to as "back up"?
thanks
 
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