Different School Acceptance Averages

[LSUdent103]

Hey everybody,
I live in Louisiana so I thought I pretty much would be set on applying to the LSU School of Dentistry. I had an 18 on the DAT with a 20 in the PAT, my GPA was a 3.54. I know that's not the best, but I thought I'd still be competitive. I got no consideration from LSU with those scores and now my life will be on hold for a year while I reapply. I am now very open to applying to different schools out of state, does anybody know of any schools that may have larger acceptance class, or lower standards in a sense to where my credentials would be acceptable.
Thanks

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[Duriel]

Private schools like Tufts and Case Western. Also NYU and BU.

 

[Vosko]

NYU, Tufts, and USC have the largest classes... 240, 177, and 144 respectively.

Check out the excel spreadsheet that the OP posted in this old thread. Should be helpful

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=810649

 

[PP2010]

I advise you to retake DAT and get 20+. I think your GPA is not bad. GL

 

[NOLAdentist2016]

You should retake the DAT and increase your scores by at least a couple of points. As far as your GPA, it might be ok, but it might not. I think it depends on where you went for undergrad. It seems like they expect at least a 3.7 or 3.8 from most of the state schools (LSU, Southern, etc), because that's what the average matriculant to LSU dental from those programs has. I personally went to a well known private school in Nola and had a lower GPA (total: 3.4, science 3.2) but I still got an interview, because thats the expected "good" gpa from my school. Ultimately I didn't get in (they said I seemed too much like an OOS applicant, and didn't think I'd stay in LA after). In the end, I'm really glad I applied to other schools. LSU is nice, but I really really liked some of the other ones I looked at and I'll ultimately be going to my #1 school anyways. Apply other places just to get an idea of what is out there. I couldn't believe most people during my interview day said they only applied to LSU! crazy!

Also, make an appointment this spring/summer to meet with Dr. Ritchie, the Dean of Admissions, to show interest and get advice. After all, there is a lot more to it than just GPA and DAT. This year they had an abnormally high number of applicants at LSU and they just have to say no to some of them. Don't worry though, it seemed that most people who had any business applying and who didn't get in their first try, got accepted the second time around.