Just curious on how much it helps to apply early...is someone with a 3.0 more likely to get in early in the cycle, or it does it not really matter (aka too low GPA, same level of competition)? Does it make much of a difference applying early vs late (ie.September)?
Does applying early make much of a difference?
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I am curious about this too. I'm willing to wager that admissions committees have a general idea of the quality of applicants that they are going to get; that is, the applicant pool doesn't change drastically from year to year. And assuming what they are looking for doesn't change year to year, why would applying early matter?
In the OP's post, adcoms know that there are bound to be people with stronger stats than the 3.0-guy that will eventually trickle in, so what advantage (if any) does this guy have?
In the OP's post, adcoms know that there are bound to be people with stronger stats than the 3.0-guy that will eventually trickle in, so what advantage (if any) does this guy have?
Exactly, they might interview people, doesnt mean they'll get in. Say they interview a 3.0 early,and later a dude with 4.0 and awesome stats applies later in the year they'll interview him and just decline the other guy (assuming both did well on their interviews).
I think early lands you interviews (like a little better chance), not acceptances.
General consensus on sdn seems to agree that applying early helps all who apply, whether you have low stats or high stats. SDN also seems to agree that applying early especially helps those who have low stats. I have low stats (3.2o, 3.0sci, 20/20/20 DAT) and definitely feel like applying early helped me, as I have a couple of interviews so far. From talking to past applicants, they agree applying early helps. How much of a difference does it make? It's hard to say. Number of applications wise, there are just a larger of applications Adcoms have to sift though, so just by sheer statistics, I'd say it's a bit harder to get interviews with low stats. I just know that most people who know that they have low stats are doing everything in their power (i.e. applying early, etc) to increase their chances of landing an interview/acceptance because gpa/app is out of their control at this point (unless you're still in school). Good luck!
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I agree with this guy, I also have a below avg gpa, and I have landed a few interviews myself...applying early is a huge leg up!
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yea, i think so too... the advantage of applying early is small/neglected in term of getting acceptances. I know a person who landed 4 interviews but went away empty handed. They'd wait around and picked the most qualified...
I know this because my uncle's friend is a grad from upenn who used to work as an adcom for usc dental...
for those w/ low stats.. a great PS can also greatly help
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Well obviously youll get an interview, your GPA is above average, and your DAT (AA) is decent. The PAT is not really looked at a lot. AA is the most important section on the DAT, see doc toothaches recent post on this.
I was thinking about the same question, I have 3.2gpa, applied in first batch but no interviews so far...I saw a lot of ppl w/ high stats got interviews so as schools get more applications aren't they going to continue interview those w/ high stats instead of us?
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I don't believe there is a definitive answer to the "apply early = best chance" question.
Everyone says it makes a difference (literally EVERYONE says that).... but no one has any evidence.
My opinion (keyword = OPINION), applying late will hurt your chances. So now the question is, what is early vs late?
Once again, my opinion in this regard, apply as early as you can without killing yourself. I My theory is.....Applying early (as early as possible) means you have least competition all-around (because not all 12,000 applicants are applying in the same time frame of june-july)
Everyone says it makes a difference (literally EVERYONE says that).... but no one has any evidence.
My opinion (keyword = OPINION), applying late will hurt your chances. So now the question is, what is early vs late?
Once again, my opinion in this regard, apply as early as you can without killing yourself. I My theory is.....Applying early (as early as possible) means you have least competition all-around (because not all 12,000 applicants are applying in the same time frame of june-july)
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I also have to agree with this. Even with a lower than average gpa, I applied later than usual (early august instead of early july) just because I wanted to make sure my personal statement was absolutely perfect. I could've turned it in much earlier and probably made the third batch... but like dentalworks said, I didn't want to kill myself with a below-to-average personal statement.
So I guess... what are people's opinion on applying early with mediocre personal statement vs applying 3 weeks later with a much better personal statement?
I'd say wait 3 weeks. The personal statement is a important part of your app and a below average personal statement might get you rejected at the spot. It shows how you feel about dentistry, it's like a practice(pre) interview. As i said applying early helps land you interview NOT acceptances, just think about it; when do they start accepting applicants?? Not till a lot later, goes to show theyre waiting to see most (if not all) applicants and make sure they make the best decision!
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Personal statement is not likely to play a huge factor unless it totally sucks. I don't suggest completely rushing it, but if it gets to the point where your statement is keeping you from submitting, you didn't start early enough. Don't assume those who applied early didn't start their statement early.
As for applying early, who knows how much of a factor it plays. I think it helped me. I just know one consistent piece of advice every admissions person gives is to apply early. So I did.
As for applying early, who knows how much of a factor it plays. I think it helped me. I just know one consistent piece of advice every admissions person gives is to apply early. So I did.
It could be they're trying to get you to apply, money maker? But again, why have a deadline if applying early makes is the way to go? I know someone who took their Canadian DAT in November and applied then and got in to mercy. Another got in to NOVA. Both did have a 3.7+ GPA tho. But it goes to show they wait until they have a more accurate level of how competitive the entire pool is before accepting. The interview they had with a 3.0GPA, decent DAT and ECs, in August, isnt going to beat a 3.7 GPA with awesome DAT and ECs later in the year.
Only way it could help is, for instance, they took the 3.0 INCASE they needed to fill up all there seats, i doubt they want empty seats. After all, a lot of people get accepted to more than one school and have to choose one, so all the other schools are short 1 person. That is when they start to dig into the "extra" pile.
Basically, if you applied late or early it wont matter as much, as people make it seem, because your up against the same people when they start accepting. And they start in end of the year and beginning of the next. And seeing how competitive DS is getting (especially as more people are aware of it's job stability, high salary, and being your own boss, etc) alot of people are applying. Not to mention Canadian applicants, applicants who worked their behinds off for medical school and wont make it apply to dental school as "back up". You have many different types of people applying. And to the above post, being competitive is whats important, having an awesome PS can make you competitive in that sense...
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Really? Hm... I've heard the opposite. I've heard that the personal statement DOES play a big factor in landing interviews, at least. In fact, I've heard of pre-dents who have had mediocre averages but randomly got interviews just because their personal statements caught the attention of the adcoms. I'm not so sure about acceptances.. although I personally (yes, my own opinion) believe that more interviews = increase chance of gaining acceptance into dental school.
Also, yes, of course there are definitely those who started their personal statements early and applied early as well. However, I know there are also applicants out there who were eager to just submit as soon as possible even if they had mediocre/decent personal statements because, as you just mentioned, the most consistent piece of advice every admissions person/dental school student/pre-dental association/sdner tells us is to apply early. So yeah, I'm strictly talking about these specific circumstances, not those who wrote their statements earlier and applied earlier.
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Yea of course it's always best to get everything done asap and submit. For those with high stats, PS might not play a big role as long as it doesnt suck (true). I know a dentist (and casually talk to him) who used to work as an adcom for usc dental that he also heavily considers those with lower stats but have a well-done ps.
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Theres a lot of logistics involved. If you had to retake the DAT(like me--> 17first time / 23second time), it is advisable to wait until the new scores are processed by aadsas before submitting your application.
If I submitted my application before my new scores were received and processed by aadsas, schools would have already reviewed my application (and most likely rejected me) based off of my old score.
If I submitted my application before my new scores were received and processed by aadsas, schools would have already reviewed my application (and most likely rejected me) based off of my old score.
I emailed BU, and asked him how important it is to apply early. He said to me that its better because you might get an interview BUT acceptance is based on more than just the interview (interview is only X%, and GPA, DAT is at least 60% based, as it seems those with low GPA and/or DAT rarely, if ever, get accepted). The interview is only X%, rocking the interview will not get you accepted if your GPA or DAT is below average. You need to be WELL ROUNDED.
So i think i conclude to myself that applying early MIGHT get you an interview, but won't land you an acceptance, it takes good grades, a high DAT and really good reference letters to really get you through to DS.
So i think i conclude to myself that applying early MIGHT get you an interview, but won't land you an acceptance, it takes good grades, a high DAT and really good reference letters to really get you through to DS.
D
deleted487471
I think we need to better define the time lines here. The difference between June and July may be minimal, but there is a point where it's highly detrimental. I applied last year and because of delays with letters, wasn't complete until late Sept / early Oct. at most schools. I got rejections from all but one, and most of them explicitly stated that my application was not even looked at.
I think earlier is better for interviews. And since interviews have a correlation to acceptances, I think it gives an overall edge. Although if we're talking June vs. July or early Aug., the difference may be minimal depending on the school.
As for the PS, my personal opinion is that it's not a make or break component. I'd wager it as being worth less than 10% of your overall application. That's just my opinion and I really don't have anything to back it up.
I think earlier is better for interviews. And since interviews have a correlation to acceptances, I think it gives an overall edge. Although if we're talking June vs. July or early Aug., the difference may be minimal depending on the school.
As for the PS, my personal opinion is that it's not a make or break component. I'd wager it as being worth less than 10% of your overall application. That's just my opinion and I really don't have anything to back it up.
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The whole... "Being early gets you interviews, but not acceptances. It's more fully based on DAT/GPA" is such a wrong way to look at it.
EACH school that is sending out interviews has the pick of the litter.... each school COULD offer interviews to 200 students with high stats from the first two batches and be done, but they don't.
They give some of the VERY finite number of interview spots to people with lower stats.
While an interview does not equate to an acceptance. I feel (as was stated above) the more interviews you receive, the more indicative this is of you receiving an acceptance.
0 interviews = reapply, (unless creighton accepts you without an interview, haha).
1 interview = meh
2 interviews = ok
3 interviews = pretty good
4 interviews = you should be fine
5+ interviews = golden
I know I know, this of course allllll depends on where your interviewing... but you RARELY hear someone say "My friend interviewed at 5 schools and was rejected by all of them"
apply early = better.
EACH school that is sending out interviews has the pick of the litter.... each school COULD offer interviews to 200 students with high stats from the first two batches and be done, but they don't.
They give some of the VERY finite number of interview spots to people with lower stats.
While an interview does not equate to an acceptance. I feel (as was stated above) the more interviews you receive, the more indicative this is of you receiving an acceptance.
0 interviews = reapply, (unless creighton accepts you without an interview, haha).
1 interview = meh
2 interviews = ok
3 interviews = pretty good
4 interviews = you should be fine
5+ interviews = golden
I know I know, this of course allllll depends on where your interviewing... but you RARELY hear someone say "My friend interviewed at 5 schools and was rejected by all of them"
apply early = better.
As i stated, i know of a few (well 4 now) canadian applicants who wrote their DATs in november (canadian DAT) and applied after and got accepted to the schools they wanted (UDM, BU, and Case).
That being said, I'm implying that early could get you an interview (and could lead to an acceptance), but i do not think you'll be at a disadvantage if you apply late. They don't start accepting applicants till next year for a reason, so they get almost everyone evaluated.
D
deleted487471
But to be fair, a lot of these Canadians are probably those on the bubble for Canadian dental schools, and have pretty insane GPA + DATs.
