For the LOVE OF GOD...Anyone???

[Stroszeck]

I've been rejected two years in a row. I graduated from UCLA with a 3.35 and 20/17 DAT. I only applied to Temple (which gave me an interview) and Cali schools and UNLV.

I don't need encouragement to "Broaden" my horizons to include other state schools.

SHOULD I GO TO A MAster's program and will that help? SFSU, CSUN, CSUF whatever. Because of their deadlines (coming up quick) I can only go to a Chemistry MS with emphasis in Biology. They don't require the GRE.

Will that help? I know I'll retake the DAT again if I have to, but would going to a master's help? And if so, do I have to finish it or can I get teh hell outta that garbage after a year? Please give me help on this specific thing. thanks.

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[unlvdmd]

You just need to broaden your application range. Applying to more private/generous state schools will gain you an acceptance more readily. Even if you are a Cali resident, those spots are so hard to get. Try adding more schools next time around (this application cycle still isn't over though).

 

[airvent]

The MS degree sounds good "no GRE". You will not likely have to complete it. All you really need is to take additional upperlevel courses and do well. If it leads to a MS degree that is just a bonus.

ALso apply early. Write a new essay (some schools hold on to app for a year or so) get another LOR from a science Porfessor.

And apply to more schools BU NYU Pitt Case Tufts Nova all private schools and a few state schools that are open to Out of staters

 

[disruptor]

I'm curious, did you drop your grades in the later years of your degree? Those stats should be good enough for some schools, but maybe not for the ones you applied to.

I have a friend who is doing a master's degree and got plenty of invites at dentistry schools during her first year so it does make you look better if you somehow didn't seem to before.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Im not being rude here, but perhaps there is something wrong with your interview skills?? Cause your stats are damn good, especially for a school like Temple. And you came from UCLA which is a top notch school!!! Your stats were way better than mine last year, and I got into 5 schools on my first try, so there is no reason why you got rejected twice. On paper, you look great....its probably in person where you need to improve.

Just a sidenote....if you got rejected last year, Im curious on why you didnt apply to many more schools, especially the easier ones like BU and NYU???

 

[J2AZ]

When you apply you should view UCLA/UCSF/Pacific/LLU/USC as one school. As mentioned by others, they are very competitive and many cali residents dont even get interviews. If I was you I would contact a few of the adcoms and ask how you could improve your application. Try they guy at Pacific (Warren?) and the lady over at UCLA (Sarah?). They both seem to be very nice. Next year you need to apply to atleast 10 schools.

 

[xxJuiceDxx]

I've been rejected two years in a row. I graduated from UCLA with a 3.35 and 20/17 DAT. I only applied to Temple (which gave me an interview) and Cali schools and UNLV.

I don't need encouragement to "Broaden" my horizons to include other state schools.

SHOULD I GO TO A MAster's program and will that help? SFSU, CSUN, CSUF whatever. Because of their deadlines (coming up quick) I can only go to a Chemistry MS with emphasis in Biology. They don't require the GRE.

Will that help? I know I'll retake the DAT again if I have to, but would going to a master's help? And if so, do I have to finish it or can I get teh hell outta that garbage after a year? Please give me help on this specific thing. thanks.

Seriously, WTF? Why haven't you gotten in anywhere? Your ****ty luck in gaining acceptance to dental school makes me feel even more worthless in the eyes of ADCOMS...

Good luck. Hopefully, the 2006 cycle will be more fruitful.

 

[jk5177]

Im not being rude here, but perhaps there is something wrong with your interview skills?? Cause your stats are damn good, especially for a school like Temple. And you came from UCLA which is a top notch school!!! Your stats were way better than mine last year, and I got into 5 schools on my first try, so there is no reason why you got rejected twice. On paper, you look great....its probably in person where you need to improve.

Just a sidenote....if you got rejected last year, Im curious on why you didnt apply to many more schools, especially the easier ones like BU and NYU???

Stroszeck:
That's exactly what I was thinking of, why didn't you apply to NYU even as a backup. It's helpful to keep options open as oppose to being fixated on certain schools. Why?

 

[jk5177]

When you apply you should view UCLA/UCSF/Pacific/LLU/USC as one school. As mentioned by others, they are very competitive and many cali residents dont even get interviews. If I was you I would contact a few of the adcoms and ask how you could improve your application. Try they guy at Pacific (Warren?) and the lady over at UCLA (Sarah?). They both seem to be very nice. Next year you need to apply to atleast 10 schools.

Sarah is definitely a nice person. However, she may not know exactly what goes on with the adcoms, so it would be quite difficult for you to know the exact reason of your misfortune. My sense is that UC schools, they want applicants who actually have a heart.

 

[Stroszeck]

Thanks a lot for the encouragement. The only school to give me any type of feedback was UOP, they said it was that 17 that screwed me. I had 19 and above on all the other sections. I wanted to stay in the west coast. Only got two interviews and no acceptances. 2nd straight year in a row. I'm thinking maybe I should take a WHOLE nother app. cycle off and apply for Fall 2007, because I doubt I'll be able to get a fat 25 or something on the DAT in a short 5 month period.

As for my interviewing skills: Man, I believe from the bottom of my heart I nailed the interviews I had. We had a great vibe with the two interviewers and each one lasted about 40 to 45 minutes and I told them pretty much everything I was about and they responded in kind. All I know is that UCSF accepted people with GPA MUCH LOWER than mine but with DAT's of like 23/19 or something like that. I'm sunk. Now I gotta spend a year of hell in a place like Cal State Something studying crap I don't very much care for (There's only so much Biochem and Physiology a person can take.)

Anyways, I wonder if it's better to take the MS route towards Biochem or Public Health? Anybody know?

 

[ziptree]

I don't know about the route you should take w/ the MS degree, but...in 5 months you should be able to pull off 22-24 on your DAT with lots of dedicated hard work.

Try the Kaplan prep course if you haven't already. And oh, the contact info @ UCLA is 310-794-7971. Her name is Noemi (sp?); I believe Sarah moved on to post-doctoral admissions.

 

[jk5177]

Dear Stroszeck:

I'm sorry to hear you have to struggle through all this. My advisor recommended me to get at least 19's on all sections, and I believe that ought to suffice for any applicant. I don't know what seems to trip you up in your application. Is the clinical? The community service and volunteering?

I, myself, was thinking about a MS program, but then soon I got tired of the idea of doing research.

 

[Tooth Fixer]

I've been rejected two years in a row. I graduated from UCLA with a 3.35 and 20/17 DAT. I only applied to Temple (which gave me an interview) and Cali schools and UNLV.

I don't need encouragement to "Broaden" my horizons to include other state schools.

SHOULD I GO TO A MAster's program and will that help? SFSU, CSUN, CSUF whatever. Because of their deadlines (coming up quick) I can only go to a Chemistry MS with emphasis in Biology. They don't require the GRE.

Will that help? I know I'll retake the DAT again if I have to, but would going to a master's help? And if so, do I have to finish it or can I get teh hell outta that garbage after a year? Please give me help on this specific thing. thanks.

What are your full stats, cum gpa and sci and all ur dat scores extra curriculars? If you don't mind me asking kind of in the same position except different schools.

 

[ljca]

I feel for you stroszeck. What about retaking the DAT's. They might be the only thing holding you back. Your GPA sounds fine and I'm assuming that you've got plenty of dental experience, too, given the commitment you've made to the application process.

 

[The Godfather]

In five months, you should be able to nail the DAT. Like everyone has said, CA schools are highly competitive and the DAT scores seem to be the only way that these schools can filter through all of the qualified applicants. I suppose you could doing some more shadowing and volunteering within that time to "sweeten the pot." Hang in there. Obviously you are dedicated, and I think the adcoms will see that. But, I'll add, apply to some other schools (that are not on the west coast even). It's only four years. You're going to be so busy, it'll go by quicker than you think.

 

[Stroszeck]

Thanks for all the support. Got 17's on 2 sections: PAT and Verbal. Not sure if I might be able to boost up those scores in a few short months. Frankly, it's exhausting thinking about it. Still unsure about what to pursue...

 

[EyeAmCommi]

There was an article in the San Jose Mercury last year about how 30% of engineering students dropped out of their engineering majors and switched to...guess what...biology. That means...competition is getting tougher every year as more and more people are discovering how lucrative dentistry and other health professions are. I got this info from Kaplan: 10 years ago 1 student out of every 1.3 applicants get accepted. Last year, 1 student out of every 3 gets accepted. Medical school has the same acceptance ratio! I think if you want to stay in the West Coast, you're gonna need to score in the 95 percentile, which equates to 20+, in every category. It only gets harder every year guys...

 

[PERFECT3435]

You just need to broaden your application range. Applying to more private/generous state schools will gain you an acceptance more readily. Even if you are a Cali resident, those spots are so hard to get. Try adding more schools next time around (this application cycle still isn't over though).

exactly why i applied to 36 schools. i know 36 is a lot but whats a lot when you have to make sure you get in somewhere?

if you have the money, apply everywhere.

 

[jk5177]

There was an article in the San Jose Mercury last year about how 30% of engineering students dropped out of their engineering majors and switched to...guess what...biology. That means...competition is getting tougher every year as more and more people are discovering how lucrative dentistry and other health professions are. I got this info from Kaplan: 10 years ago 1 student out of every 1.3 applicants get accepted. Last year, 1 student out of every 3 gets accepted. Medical school has the same acceptance ratio! I think if you want to stay in the West Coast, you're gonna need to score in the 95 percentile, which equates to 20+, in every category. It only gets harder every year guys...

Interesting statistics which I can not exactly agree with but I know that seems to be the trend that every year the competition gets harder. However, I like to also add that there may be cycles and trends. As in medical school, the amount of applicants peaked in the mid 90s and then has dropped ever since till last year, where the numbers increased.

I don't know what the trend is with dental school, however keep in mind that there are cycles.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

Interesting statistics which I can not exactly agree with but I know that seems to be the trend that every year the competition gets harder. However, I like to also add that there may be cycles and trends. As in medical school, the amount of applicants peaked in the mid 90s and then has dropped ever since till last year, where the numbers increased.

I don't know what the trend is with dental school, however keep in mind that there are cycles.

Yea you're right, there are cycles. But the one we're in right now is staring China and India in the eyes and we're blinking. Engineering is one of those jobs that can be offshored. My father is an engineer for IBM and just a month ago, his department was sold to Hitachi which will probably soon do some "cost-cutting." This is the fate of many engineers. Anything health related is much more secure and cushy and the sooner people figure that out, the harder it is to get in. I totally agree that the difficulty of applying to professional schools are cyclic but I am afraid that this bubble that we're in is going to continue to grow for a very long time.

The reason why I used engineering as an example is because of articles like this http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/8263034.htm . The 30% was a number that I THINK was in an article published in the paper but I can't find it for you, sorry. So I could be wrong about that There is the possibility that people choose to apply to B-school as opposed to health schools but I don't think so. According to Kaplan, B-school applicants saw a huge decline since the 2000 recession and is low ever since. So I believe that those who are disenchanted by the notion of job offshoring and those are don't see business as a potent in our economy might choose health; which makes it harder for us pre-dents

 

[Profchaos]

I've been rejected two years in a row. I graduated from UCLA with a 3.35 and 20/17 DAT. I only applied to Temple (which gave me an interview) and Cali schools and UNLV.

I don't need encouragement to "Broaden" my horizons to include other state schools.

SHOULD I GO TO A MAster's program and will that help? SFSU, CSUN, CSUF whatever. Because of their deadlines (coming up quick) I can only go to a Chemistry MS with emphasis in Biology. They don't require the GRE.

Will that help? I know I'll retake the DAT again if I have to, but would going to a master's help? And if so, do I have to finish it or can I get teh hell outta that garbage after a year? Please give me help on this specific thing. thanks.

As others have pointed out, apply to more schools or stick glue to the admission officers of UCLA which happens to be close to your house.