Finalizing dental school choices

[IcemanDDS]

I'm filling out the DAT application. I have chosen MCG, NYU, and Boston. My stats are very low. What other schools would you suggest I send my scores to as a possibility of applying to? I get up to 5 choices for the testing fee, and need two more. Any ideas?

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[Pikeyman]

Howard & USC

 

[canuck_chick]

a girl in my Kaplan class suggested Temple...she told me it's an easier school

I'm filling out the DAT application. I have chosen MCG, NYU, and Boston. My stats are very low. What other schools would you suggest I send my scores to as a possibility of applying to? I get up to 5 choices for the testing fee, and need two more. Any ideas?

 

[organichemistry]

you might try south carolina, alabama, or tennessee. find some stats on how many out-of-staters each of those places takes. i think alabama takes 6-8 each year, so that would be a long shot. i'm not sure about TENN and SC.

in reality it might be a waste if your stats are low and you are an out of stater.

if you get into any of those places then you should also get into MCG... which is probably your first choice because of tuition.

that's how i am with the university of alabama. it is my #1 choice easily because i love birmingham and it is the cheapest. plus, as an alabama resident, it is probably the place i have the best chance of getting into.

sometimes i think it would be a waste to apply anywhere else EXCEPT for UAB.

 

[The Godfather]

I'm filling out the DAT application. I have chosen MCG, NYU, and Boston. My stats are very low. What other schools would you suggest I send my scores to as a possibility of applying to? I get up to 5 choices for the testing fee, and need two more. Any ideas?

You're pretty much stuck with the privates. If you're AA, Meharry or Howard. If I had gone private I would have loved to have gone to Nova - it's in Ft. Lauderdale! It'll be tougher to get into, but you never know! I'd take bikinis and beaches over bundled up any day of the week.

 

[The Godfather]

you might try south carolina, alabama, or tennessee. find some stats on how many out-of-staters each of those places takes. i think alabama takes 6-8 each year, so that would be a long shot. i'm not sure about TENN and SC.

in reality it might be a waste if your stats are low and you are an out of stater.

if you get into any of those places then you should also get into MCG... which is probably your first choice because of tuition.

that's how i am with the university of alabama. it is my #1 choice easily because i love birmingham and it is the cheapest. plus, as an alabama resident, it is probably the place i have the best chance of getting into.

sometimes i think it would be a waste to apply anywhere else EXCEPT for UAB.

Don't do like my friend did, and apply to a bunch of state schools you don't have much of a chance. He had great stats and didn't even get interviews at many of them. Save your money. At some of those schools it is next to impossible to get in out-of-state (don't forget you'll be competing against out-of-state alumni's kids too). Plus, even if you did get in, you'll be paying as much as private schooling in out-of-state tuition. Apply to some of the better private schools. It seems like you want to stay down south (except OHIO), but it's only four years. It might be nice adventure to get out and see the rest of the world a while. All that being said, if you do even average on the DAT, you should be a shoe-in at alabama with that rockin' gpa.

 

[blankguy]

a girl in my Kaplan class suggested Temple...she told me it's an easier school

If you add temple, you might as well add Tufts. It seems to me that these 2 schools are mentioned in the same light.

 

[45540]

The Southeast Schools
--UAB takes 6 out of state residents if i'm not mistaken. They're also very selective and plenty of people apply for those spots.
--MUSC is very hard to get in out of state as well. THey only take 3 out of state residents.
--UMC doesn't take any out of state residents, neither does MCG
--UT-Memphis takes 8 out of staters
--Louisville takes about 30, so that might be a good shot.
--LSU takes 8 I think


Probably NYU, BU, Temple, and Tufts are your best bet.

 

[J2AZ]

If you have mid to low stats you def want to stay away from state schools. Like the others have said you need to find out how many out of state residents each school takes and then calculate your chance. You need to apply to atleast 10 schools. I would def look at MCG, Tenn, and then some private schools. You will have better chance at private schools not because they offer a lower quality of education, often it is higher, but b/c they accept more out of state students. Check out Pitt, Temple, NYU, BU, USC, Louisville, UOP, Tufts, NOVA, VCU, Marquette, Case, Creighton. Remember that you can make up for lower grades if you have higher DAT +20.

 

[Johnson22]

I would add Arizona to that list as well

 

[IcemanDDS]

Wow thanks for the huge response guys. I'll def have to consider some of the schools you have mentioned. So you think I should apply to 10 schools? I was just gonna apply to 5 schools that I have the BEST chance of getting into. BU, NYU, and MCG are my 3 main choices. I'm thinking Arizona and NOVA possibly. One of the guys on here said I would be wasting my time applying to NOVA with my current stats, so I dunno. Stats are 2.6 range. But keep the suggestions coming, SDN helps out a lot!

 

[hockeydentist]

Wow thanks for the huge response guys. I'll def have to consider some of the schools you have mentioned. So you think I should apply to 10 schools? I was just gonna apply to 5 schools that I have the BEST chance of getting into. BU, NYU, and MCG are my 3 main choices. I'm thinking Arizona and NOVA possibly. One of the guys on here said I would be wasting my time applying to NOVA with my current stats, so I dunno. Stats are 2.6 range. But keep the suggestions coming, SDN helps out a lot!

you would think 5 schools especially with the one's you choose you would have a good shot, but in reality you need at least 10 schools. The DAT will make or break you.

HD

 

[IcemanDDS]

at least 10 schools?? I am not applying to ANY state school other than my own, and def the private schools with lowest acceptance stats. Lemme get some more opinions as to the best 5-10 private schools to apply to, other than NYU and BU which im already def applying there. Thanks!

Edit: this is my current list of schools, what do you think
MCG
BU
NYU
Arizona
UP
UL
Tufts
Temple

 

[fishindr]

at least 10 schools?? I am not applying to ANY state school other than my own, and def the private schools with lowest acceptance stats. Lemme get some more opinions as to the best 5-10 private schools to apply to, other than NYU and BU which im already def applying there. Thanks!

OK, someone has to ask. How's your trend? With anything lower than a 3.0 it better be a 1.5 drunken freshman year GPA followed by 3 years on the deans list, or something like that. I know of 5 guys that applied with 2.9's and didn't get an interview, they applied to about 10 schools.

Most schools give interviews based on GPA, DAT and some other stat that varies (hrs. in dental office, volunteer experience, etc.) But no matter what anyone says, GPA is #1, ALWAYS (UOP is an exception). Fact is, you're as faceless name to the admissions director (the guy/girl that decides whether or not you get interviewed). All they are doing is deciding whether you meet a certain criteria or "parameters". They start for the top and work their way down. Nobody look CRITICALLY at your application until you get an interview, and for those of us with lower GPA's that is was we need, someone to take the time and look at our application critically. YOU GOTTA GET AN INTERVIEW FIRST. If your GPA is lower, this MUST be your primary focus.

It goes like this:

4.0-3.8 get interviews put into a pile, then they look at DAT's. They take out all of those with like 14's and 15's. Then they look at their own specific stat, let's say it's time spent volunteering and 40+ hours is their "cutoff". They find those that don't have 40 hrs. and take them out. Now they are left with a pile of people that didn't give them a reason to reject them. They get interviews. Now, in the interview, they are looking for reasons TO accept you. If you don't get in after getting an interview, chances are, you didn't do well at it or you gave your interviewer something to feel uneasy about. They send out their offers and those people that receive one either accept or decline. Then the admissions director takes a look at how many spots are left and they do it over again.

They go to the 3.6 to 3.4 people, then the 3.4 to 3.2, and so on (just using these #'s as examples)

I had a 3.25 GPA when I applied both last year and the year before. I didn't get in my first year, and I know at one school I interviewed at, I was the 120th interview of the 150 or so that they gave this year. I was picking up scraps with a 3.25, and that was my state school!!!

Look, I wanna give you the or a and say, "Stay confident, you'll get in. Good luck buddy." But that isn't going to HELP you at all. You need the facts about this whole process. Best advise I can give you is to increase that GPA, it might take 2 years of a full course load to do, but you MUST do it. It will be worth it in the end. Take it from someone who knows and wasted 1000's of dollars applying when I didn't have a shot in the first place. In the past two years I've spent around $10,000 trying to get in. Interviews, cabs, hotels, deposits, etc. I could've saved more than half that if someone told me what I have just told you 1 year earlier.

Honestly, GOOD LUCK! You've got an uphill battle but it will be worth it when you see that acceptance in your hand. From your posts you seem like a great person, all you need is the stats. Go get them.

 

[JakeMUSC]

OK, someone has to ask. How's your trend? With anything lower than a 3.0 it better be a 1.5 drunken freshman year GPA followed by 3 years on the deans list, or something like that. I know of 5 guys that applied with 2.9's and didn't get an interview, they applied to about 10 schools.

Most schools give interviews based on GPA, DAT and some other stat that varies (hrs. in dental office, volunteer experience, etc.) But no matter what anyone says, GPA is #1, ALWAYS (UOP is an exception). Fact is, you're as faceless name to the admissions director (the guy/girl that decides whether or not you get interviewed). All they are doing is deciding whether you meet a certain criteria or "parameters". They start for the top and work their way down. Nobody look CRITICALLY at your application until you get an interview, and for those of us with lower GPA's that is was we need, someone to take the time and look at our application critically. YOU GOTTA GET AN INTERVIEW FIRST. If your GPA is lower, this MUST be your primary focus.

It goes like this:

4.0-3.8 get interviews put into a pile, then they look at DAT's. They take out all of those with like 14's and 15's. Then they look at their own specific stat, let's say it's time spent volunteering and 40+ hours is their "cutoff". They find those that don't have 40 hrs. and take them out. Now they are left with a pile of people that didn't give them a reason to reject them. They get interviews. Now, in the interview, they are looking for reasons TO accept you. If you don't get in after getting an interview, chances are, you didn't do well at it or you gave your interviewer something to feel uneasy about. They send out their offers and those people that receive one either accept or decline. Then the admissions director takes a look at how many spots are left and they do it over again.

They go to the 3.6 to 3.4 people, then the 3.4 to 3.2, and so on (just using these #'s as examples)

I had a 3.25 GPA when I applied both last year and the year before. I didn't get in my first year, and I know at one school I interviewed at, I was the 120th interview of the 150 or so that they gave this year. I was picking up scraps with a 3.25, and that was my state school!!!

Look, I wanna give you the or a and say, "Stay confident, you'll get in. Good luck buddy." But that isn't going to HELP you at all. You need the facts about this whole process. Best advise I can give you is to increase that GPA, it might take 2 years of a full course load to do, but you MUST do it. It will be worth it in the end. Take it from someone who knows and wasted 1000's of dollars applying when I didn't have a shot in the first place. In the past two years I've spent around $10,000 trying to get in. Interviews, cabs, hotels, deposits, etc. I could've saved more than half that if someone told me what I have just told you 1 year earlier.

Honestly, GOOD LUCK! You've got an uphill battle but it will be worth it when you see that acceptance in your hand. From your posts you seem like a great person, all you need is the stats. Go get them.

Great Reply.

IcemanDDS, I know you can do it. EAT, SLEEP, and LIVE the DAT so you can rock out 22+s and you're in for sure at MCG.

 

[IcemanDDS]

Great Reply.

IcemanDDS, I know you can do it. EAT, SLEEP, and LIVE the DAT so you can rock out 22+s and you're in for sure at MCG.

In for sure with 2.6 overall?

 

[JakeMUSC]

In for sure with 2.6 overall?

GPA is the one THING you CANT change. Its only one piece of the puzzle, (albeit a large one). Rock out your DAT (22+), do lots of volunteering/shadowing/research, buy a nice suit and go into your MCG interview with confidence! I am really convinced that if you do all of these things and apply early, yes, your in for sure!

 

[blumnday99]

I would add Arizona to that list as well

Make sure you have a lot of community service if you apply to Arizona.

 

[IcemanDDS]

Make sure you have a lot of community service if you apply to Arizona.

Does AZ put a lot of weight on comm service? I dont really have any. I have >150 hrs of shadowing. Any suggestions comm service??

 

[JakeMUSC]

Any suggestions comm service??

Open up your yellow/white pages phone book.
Look up shelters, boys and girls clubs...you can volunteer at any hospital, church, YMCA....be creative that way you can have fun while doing the community a service.

I volunteered at a YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, local shelters, even elementary schools.

By the way, GREAT job on the 150+ hrs of shadowing!!

 

[wimmcs]

I also suggest you increase your GPA... w/an overall GPA of approx. 2.6, you're looking at an avg. of 65%

If you can increase it a 3.0, then your chances will get better. I believe in AZ, the GPA's of the incoming class is higher than the first year's class... I'm willing to bet on this.

I do wish you luck, but like some posts have indicated, you probably need to raise your GPA to above 3.0 and do very well on the DAT. Application cycles have been getting more and more competitive.

 

[ItsGavinC]

If you can increase it a 3.0, then your chances will get better. I believe in AZ, the GPA's of the incoming class is higher than the first year's class... I'm willing to bet on this.

I'd drop AZ from the list. 1st year was 3.2 something, last year was 3.3 something, this year will be higher. Of course those are only averages, so there are stats on both sides of those, but with no service the app. won't get very far.

 

[Kiluminati]

You're pretty much stuck with the privates. If you're AA, Meharry or Howard. If I had gone private I would have loved to have gone to Nova - it's in Ft. Lauderdale! It'll be tougher to get into, but you never know! I'd take bikinis and beaches over bundled up any day of the week.

Except for Ft. Lauderdale will be under water soon.

 

[IcemanDDS]

Ok so with my current GPA, I'm thinking of just applying to BU, NYU, and MCG. Those are the only realistic choices. I'm considering doing this to save hundreds of dollars in app. fees to schools where I have <1% chance of getting into. What do you think of this?

 

[IcemanDDS]

Adding UoP.

MCG
BU
NYU
UoP

Seem like a good list with impossible stats?

 

[ISU_Steve]

Personally if you want volunteer experience, since you'll probably not get in this year (don't mean to be mean, I think you seem like a nice guy, just being realistic), I would suggest you look into a volunteer fire department. I was told by three different schools I have talked to that this reflects VERY well because of the level of "dedication" that it shows. Hope this helps. I have some other suggestions, if this isn't your speed. Let me know.

 

[mvs04]

Iceman-

With a low GPA you NEED something outstanding/amazing to overcome it in some aspect of your application. The quickest and easiest, provided you can't pull something "amazing" out extracurricularlly (and the usual 12908791875 hours shadowing/volunteering/working is simply NOT going to cut it), is to get an OUTSTANDING DAT. Not a competitively good DAT, but outstanding, I'm thinking 23 at a minimum, 25+ before I'd be comfortable.

Be aware of that stats filter many schools have for interviews.... you need to be above their cut-off to even have your application read to be considered for an interview.

My GPA is same as yours, so getting into a few schools is not impossible, but I will acknowledge it is hard, and definitely require a substantial "hook" in your application. At one of my interviews the first thing the guy said to me was "normally we'd just toss someone with your numbers' application into the trash...."

 

[jk5177]

I just like to add that UOP is pretty competitive as well because it is a California school. Generally all the applicants from California wants to get into California schools. I know because I live in California, and I hear about people debating between going to UOP and UC's, so that's indicative of the good reputation that UOP has. However, I heard that if the applicant has high DAT scores, then UOP will look favorably at the person.

Someone posted earlier that you want to rock your DAT's, and I wholeheartedly agree. You absolutely need to rock your DAT's, and I highly highly emphasize that you need to get at least 19's on all sections, if not higher. Honestly, if you don't score higher than 19's on all sections, then just wait and apply in another year. I know this sounds brutal, but sometimes truth hurts.

It's common to have the mentality of "better tried and not get in, then never having tried." But people don't realize how long the application process is, and how emotionally draining it can be. But you really need to get at least 19s on everything.

I welcome dissenting viewpoints from anyone.

 

[jk5177]

Adding UoP.

MCG
BU
NYU
UoP

Seem like a good list with impossible stats?

I would suggest you adding USC to your list, since it is less competitive than UOP.

What makes UOP unique, and perhaps also competitive is because it is the only program in the nation that will give you the DDS degree in 3 years.

 

[jk5177]

Iceman-

With a low GPA you NEED something outstanding/amazing to overcome it in some aspect of your application. The quickest and easiest, provided you can't pull something "amazing" out extracurricularlly (and the usual 12908791875 hours shadowing/volunteering/working is simply NOT going to cut it), is to get an OUTSTANDING DAT. Not a competitively good DAT, but outstanding, I'm thinking 23 at a minimum, 25+ before I'd be comfortable.


My GPA is same as yours, so getting into a few schools is not impossible, but I will acknowledge it is hard, and definitely require a substantial "hook" in your application. At one of my interviews the first thing the guy said to me was "normally we'd just toss someone with your numbers' application into the trash...."

So did you get a 25+ on your DAT to get in to NYU?

 

[mvs04]

So did you get a 25+ on your DAT to get in to NYU?

nah, my ticket in was a unique work experience.

 

[IcemanDDS]

What do you guys know about the dental school in Puerto Rico? Only thing is, they require 12 semester hours of spanish. They dont lecture in spanish do they?? I mean I have 8 hours of spanish, but I dont speak well enough for d-school! Any thoughts?

 

[nothen2do]

What do you guys know about the dental school in Puerto Rico? Only thing is, they require 12 semester hours of spanish. They dont lecture in spanish do they?? I mean I have 8 hours of spanish, but I dont speak well enough for d-school! Any thoughts?

They accept mostly people from puerto rico, 5 or so accepted out of territory.

 

[IcemanDDS]

They accept mostly people from puerto rico, 5 or so accepted out of territory.

n/m then!

 

[jk5177]

nah, my ticket in was a unique work experience.

Unique work experience? You piqued my interest.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

nah, my ticket in was a unique work experience.

Did you do porno?

 

[EyeAmCommi]

n/m then!

After reading a few posts about UoP, it is true that a high score on the DATs will get you looked at. Now, what we here in SDN consider high is not considered high to UoP. Since they value the DATs so much, this raises the bar a bit. The average GPA for UoP for this year's incoming class is 3.39, but this doesn't rule about the possibility of you Iceman being looked at. Now, Dr. Yarborough says that a 17 on the DATs in the AA portion is around 50 percentile, so this means tough luck; your application is going in the trash (unless you have an insanely high GPA he says to balance it) if you got this. A 20 on the AA is 90 percentile and this is where you want to be even though it might not be good enough. Now this is the interesting part, UoP values the PAT portion so much that even a 26 on the AA will not balance an 18 on the PAT. All PAT scores have to be 20 or above to qualify for acceptance, or so this was the impression I got. QR scores don't have to be as high as others. Knowing this Iceman, you can figure your chances at going to UoP after you have taken your DATs.

UoP is pretty hard to get into, I wouldn't lump that school with the other schools. California schools are damn tough to get into period.

 

[Diana A.]

nah, my ticket in was a unique work experience.

Now I'm curious... what do mean unique? And what exactly did you get on the DAT's, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[mvs04]

Now I'm curious... what do mean unique? And what exactly did you get on the DAT's, if you don't mind my asking?

started a multi 7 fig. hedge(like a mutual) fund during college. You know, typical California teenager got-expelled-from-HS-troublemaker-bored-so-starts- a-business endeavor Of course it's more money than I'll ever make as a dentist.... but let me tell ya, it's not the least bit of fun and gets mighty boring mighty quick. DATs was competitively over 20 but <25.

 

[786mine]

ooops! my cover is blown!

 

[jk5177]

NYU of course.

Yeah. You are right about having high DATs, that's a must.