Feedback on my school list?

[oceanangel4]

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Hi all!

I'm applying this cycle and wanted to get some feedback on my list of potential schools. I'm thinking if there are too many reach schools? I'm a Nevada resident, oGPA 3.85, sGPA 3.86-ish (with math), BPC GPA 3.82-ish (my spring grades are not out yet since we are on quarter system). DAT 23/23/24. I have around 500 hours working as a dental assistant (counts as shadowing?), 100 hours volunteering. I'm planning on applying to the following schools, in no particular order:

University of Washington
UCSF
UCLA
UNLV
USC
Tufts
UoP
Harvard
Columbia
UPenn
NYU
Case Western
Boston

I'd really like to go to the west coast for dental school, but sadly I'm not a Cali resident even though I am applying to almost all the Cali dental schools. I'm hoping that at least one of them will work out! Is there any other school that I should probably add? Or maybe take out?

Thanks everyone in advance! Good luck to everyone applying this cycle!

 

[bpoore19]

What do your DAT scores look like?

 

[oceanangel4]

^ @bpoore19 I just edited my post!

 

[LaughingGas]

With your stats I would remove some private schools and add cheaper OOS friendly public schools.

 

[oceanangel4]

Thanks @LaughingGas, do you have any suggestions? I'm not quite sure which public schools are OOS friendly, other than UW (since Nevada is a WICHE state).

 

[bpoore19]

Great stats!

Really, it depends on how many interviews you would be willing to go to and how much money you want to spend on the application process. I honestly don't think you will have any problems getting in as long as you have done your research 0n each school and make sure you have or will have fulfilled all prerequisites prior to matriculation.

Preferentially, would you rather stay out West?

 

[Glimmer1991]

If you want to stay out west, apply mainly to schools out west. I'd add two or three that don't meet that criteria, just for good measure.

You have fantastic stats, but may fall a bit short on the volunteering/ECs. Your numbers, though, will certainly help with that. I'd say 10-15 schools is a very safe number for you, and I'm sure you will have much success. 🙂

 

[IsaacYankem]

Good list. Great stats. Start practicing your interview skills.

 

[oceanangel4]

Thank you everyone for your feedback so far!

Yes, I'd really like to stay in the West, especially in California because I'm hoping to practice in the West once I graduate. One thing I am concerned about, which Glimmer mentioned, is my volunteering/ECs. I switched to pre-dental (science in general) in my junior year of college so there wasn't much time for me to do any research or anything. I only started doing volunteering starting junior year because before that I was actually going to do finance, so I was more focused on getting internships etc and volunteering wasn't a huge thing. How much do ECs matter in the application? (NOT including volunteering)

Also, does anyone know if dental assisting counts as shadowing? I actually heard from someone that one particular school (not sure which one...maybe Midwestern IL?) actually didn't count their dental assistant hours as shadowing. The applicant I know asked the dentist he was working for for an LOR and had to especially request the dentist to put "shadowing" instead of "working as a dental assistant". Does anyone know more about this?

 

[oceanangel4]

bump! any other thoughts? 🙂 thanks!

 

[predentalhopeful2015]

1) I think you're looking great! I would definitely suggest removing some of the really expensive East Coast schools (Tufts, Boston, NYU) and replacing them with cheaper options (Temple and Pittsburgh for ex). You could apply to some Western state schools in addition to UW (Oregon? I don't know much about this, but you should do your own research with the resources available to see how friendly specific schools actually are.). Since you want to stay on the West Coast, go with West Coast schools if you really feel the need to add some of the more expensive schools (Midwestern AZ, ASDOH, Roseman etc). You should do what you feel comfortable with in terms of how many schools to apply to.

2) Is Nevada a WICHE state for dental school? It's not listed on the website for dental (http://www.wiche.edu/psep/dent). It's listed for optometry, pharmacy, physician's assistant, and vet med though. I think this means it is not considered a WICHE state for dental school.

3) Definitely put your internships and any other activities you did on your application! Lots of people have ECs that are not strictly dental-related, and it will help illustrate the story of your transition.

4) I don't think assisting counts as shadowing, so while you have great dental experience (assisting is better experience than shadowing obviously), I'd make sure to get some shadowing in there. You definitely have time to get this experience and submit your applications to dental schools early. Get on it ASAP!

 

[oceanangel4]

1) I think you're looking great! I would definitely suggest removing some of the really expensive East Coast schools (Tufts, Boston, NYU) and replacing them with cheaper options (Temple and Pittsburgh for ex). You could apply to some Western state schools in addition to UW (Oregon? I don't know much about this, but you should do your own research with the resources available to see how friendly specific schools actually are.). Since you want to stay on the West Coast, go with West Coast schools if you really feel the need to add some of the more expensive schools (Midwestern AZ, ASDOH, Roseman etc). You should do what you feel comfortable with in terms of how many schools to apply to.

2) Is Nevada a WICHE state for dental school? It's not listed on the website for dental (http://www.wiche.edu/psep/dent). It's listed for optometry, pharmacy, physician's assistant, and vet med though. I think this means it is not considered a WICHE state for dental school.

3) Definitely put your internships and any other activities you did on your application! Lots of people have ECs that are not strictly dental-related, and it will help illustrate the story of your transition.

4) I don't think assisting counts as shadowing, so while you have great dental experience (assisting is better experience than shadowing obviously), I'd make sure to get some shadowing in there. You definitely have time to get this experience and submit your applications to dental schools early. Get on it ASAP!

Thank you for your feedback!

Regarding the question of whether or not Nevada is a WICHE state, I was actually kind of confused about that as well. I thought that NV residents may count as WICHE state in admissions, but WICHE doesn't cover your tuition if you do get in. The UW dental school website says:

"The School of Dentistry is a state supported institution and participates in the student exchange program provided by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education(WICHE) which supports students from western states without dental schools (Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming)."
http://dental.washington.edu/prospective-students/admissions/residency/

Maybe I'll have to email UW about that...

 

[jeffity]

Thank you for your feedback!

Regarding the question of whether or not Nevada is a WICHE state, I was actually kind of confused about that as well. I thought that NV residents may count as WICHE state in admissions, but WICHE doesn't cover your tuition if you do get in. The UW dental school website says:

"The School of Dentistry is a state supported institution and participates in the student exchange program provided by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education(WICHE) which supports students from western states without dental schools (Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming)."
http://dental.washington.edu/prospective-students/admissions/residency/

Maybe I'll have to email UW about that...

You're from NV. You have a state school. So WICHE doesn't mean anything for you. If you're from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, or Wyoming all without state schools, then it applies to all these 15 (?) western schools who participate. NV shouldn't be listed on UWs site. It's an error.

 

[sjv]

Solid stats, good list, I would add Michigan and Pitt and possibly remove UW and some of the private NE schools.

 

[oceanangel4]

You're from NV. You have a state school. So WICHE doesn't mean anything for you. If you're from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, or Wyoming all without state schools, then it applies to all these 15 (?) western schools who participate. NV shouldn't be listed on UWs site. It's an error.

Nevada is part of WICHE though, for sure. I am just not sure if it applies to DENTAL school. Regardless, I emailed them about it, and will let you guys know once I hear back!

 

[jeffity]

Nevada is part of WICHE though, for sure. I am just not sure if it applies to DENTAL school. Regardless, I emailed them about it, and will let you guys know once I hear back!

Nevada is a receiving school/state, not a sending state. Those states I listed are sending states because they don't have their own state schools. There's actually 7. AK AZ HI MT NM ND WY. So, me, for instance, I'm from AZ. AZ sends and those 12 schools ASDOH, MWU, LL, Western, USC, UCLA, UCSF, UoP, UNLV, Colorado, OHSU, UW) have agreed to receive. Even though we have two private schools, they're not state schools. They're just another 2 of the schools who will receive from those 7 sending states. WICHE essentially makes tuition at those schools closer to what we might pay at a state school if we had one. That's if you get selected to receive the money from your state. But residents of those 7 sending states can still get priority at those schools for interviewing and can attend there (if accepted) whether they get funding or not. In AZ, you don't find out if you were chosen for funding until May, well after schools have accepted you. Just for fun, in AZ~60-70 residents register as WICHE each cycle (which involves just filling out a form and proving residency). No one knows how many get funding, but you get it for all 4 years (~$25K/yr).

Since you're from NV, you have a state school, so none of it matters. UNLV just happens to be a receiving school for those 7 states. But you're a resident, so you obviously get much higher priority than WICHE applicants. For other health professions for which Nevada does not have a state school, then you're a sending state (opto, pharm, PA, vet).

Ask UW. I'm betting someone thought ND was the abbreviation for Nevada.

From WICHE site: AK, AZ, HI, MT, NM, ND, WY

What UW write out: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming

Having said all that nonsense, all advice given is good here. If you don't want east, drop the pricey east for sure. If you just applied to those 5 CAs, you'd probably get into at least 1 of them. UNLV is almost guaranteed, yes? Western can be a backup or something. You probably have a decent shot at slightly cheaper state schools or perhaps some assistance with funding for schools that are known to give little scholarships. 3.9s and 23s is solid. CA is just crazy living on top of the tuition.

 

[predentalhopeful2015]

Solid stats, good list, I would add Michigan and Pitt and possibly remove UW and some of the private NE schools.

Why would you add Michigan? I thought they weren't OOS friendly. Is that wrong?

 

[sjv]

Why would you add Michigan? I thought they weren't OOS friendly. Is that wrong?

Class profile on site says 106 students entered in 2013, 60 resident and 46 nonresident.