Giving up on waitlist?

[MechZZ]

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I am currently on Nova and NYU's dental wait list. With each passing day, I start to feel more and more that it's a lost cause. Currently, I'm applying to different Masters programs to hopefully strengthen my application for when I reapply in June. My GPA is 3.68 and my DAT score was 19, so nothing amazing but probably not the worst in the world. I cannot retake the DAT since I've already taken it 3 times, so that's not an option.

A lot of people tell me not to lose hope and anything can happen, but it's kinda rough. I was just curious on to what the best kind of actions would be? I guess this is more for peace of mind. If I knew that if at this point of the year that you don't get off the waitlist, you probably won't get in, I'd be fine with it. However, if there's still a good chance, then is there any action I could take to increase my opportunity?

I've had some friends suggest that I email the 2 admissions offices restating my interest in attending the schools.

 

[tinman831]

moving to pre-dental

 

[Moe Lester]

I would like to know when you applied, because 3.7 and 19 is not bad at all. By the way, what was your major that made up the 3.7?

 

[MechZZ]

thanks, I didn't realize it was the wrong section

I would like to know when you applied, because 3.7 and 19 is not bad at all. By the way, what was your major that made up the 3.7?

I went to University of South Florida and majored in Biomedical Science. I applied in the summer of '08

 

[Moe Lester]

is there any action I could take to increase my opportunity?

I've had some friends suggest that I email the 2 admissions offices restating my interest in attending the schools.

You answered your own question. That is all you can do at this moment and students do this all the time to remind them that you are still interested and still alive.

What was your break down of the DAT?
I still don't know why you didn't get in man!

 

[sajjy]

thanks, I didn't realize it was the wrong section



I went to University of South Florida and majored in Biomedical Science. I applied in the summer of '08

WHAT???
Are you sure there is nothing wrong with your PS or any other aspect of your application? 3.7 with Biomedical gives you a shot at schools like Harvard, UConn and UCLA.

 

[DrReo]

How were your letters of recommendation. A 3.7 GPA does not call for a masters. What type of extras/shadowing do you have?


Hang in there buddy.

 

[MechZZ]

I probably have a good idea of why I didn't get in. Before tranferring to USF, I did take a few courses at a community college, including a few of the pre-reqs. When I transferred over, my grades slipped a little bit. I got a C's in bio chem and micro bio that I wish I could take back.

My DAT break down goes
Bio 18
Chem 19
O. Chem 19
PA 19
Reading 21
QA 16 (I don't know how...)

Letters of recommendation come from my O.Chem teacher and Bio teacher. 1 from a dentist that I shadowed. They should all be pretty positive since I have really good relationships with all 3.

For extracurricular, I didn't really join that many clubs at school. I was always comfortable volunteering at different places on my own. One of my favorite jobs was volunteering for my old middle school and tutoring the kids there. I have work experience with 2 dentist that happen to be my family members and countless hours shadowed(that I don't think matter since they're my family members). I have around 80 hrs logged in with 3rd dentist that I shadowed that wasn't my family member.

If I had to guess why I'm having such a hard time getting in, I would say schools are a little concerned about my slight grade drop when I transferred. A bit of it might be my QA score. Also, the volunteering for my family members.

What's hard is that a lot of my other friends are getting off wait list and I don't know how far into the year they keep taking people off. I mean, we've all heard about the person that gets the call 2 days before the school year starts, but I really doubt that'll happen for me. lol

 

[bennijai]

your scores arent that bad at all. maybe your PS?

 

[kingsingh]

A Masters is only recommended for people who have a low GPA, it won't help you. Even your DAT score, while it could be improved is around the mean of accepted students so that is not the issue either. Did you apply on time? Did you apply to many schools? Did you have someone read your personal statement? I would bet the problem lies in your personal statement or the way you presented the rest of your application.................That being said, there is still time, YOU WILL get off the waitlist, keep the hope alive.

 

[MechZZ]

Thanks to everybody for the words of support, but I called Nova and NYU today and they both told me that their classes were full. So pretty much I guess I'll be getting the Masters. heh

 

[bigasianpianist]

why not retake the dat's?

 

[TeamGuo]

why not retake the dat's?

That would be quicker and you would also save a lot of $$$.

 

[notin]

Thanks to everybody for the words of support, but I called Nova and NYU today and they both told me that their classes were full. So pretty much I guess I'll be getting the Masters. heh

afaik schools can take people off the waitlist all the way up to august when classes start.

its weird that you got no attention anywhere as your gpa is strong and your dat is ok. what was your science gpa, and your gpa not counting the cc classes? i can maybe see it if you took 2 years at cc and got straight a's then switched to usf and flunked all your sciences, or something like that.

i would plan to retake the dat, and to take a master's. at least at my school the admission advisor told me he strongly prefer's if you stay in academics while trying to get in, so even if the master's isn't going to boost your gpa tremendously its better than alternatives. look for a one year post-bac style program that is designed for people trying to get into professional school, as i would hope that you'd be accepted somewhere this cycle.

 

[262912]

my DAT score was 19, so nothing amazing but probably not the worst in the world. I cannot retake the DAT since I've already taken it 3 times, so that's not an option.

Why can't you retake the DAT? Excerpt from the dat_examinee_guide_2009.pdf from ADA:

Examinees who have attended three or more tests must apply for special permission to retest. For test administration purposes, an examinee is considered as having “attended” a test each time the examinee is seated at a computer workstation at a Prometric Test Center and starts the test by electronically agreeing to the confidentiality statement.
Requests for additional testing must be submitted in writing to the Department of Testing Services (DTS) and must include evidence of current (within the previous 18 months) intent to apply to dental school. Acceptable forms of evidence include (you need submit only one of the following):

A copy of a completed and submitted application to dental school.

A letter of rejection from a dental school.

A letter from a dental school admissions officer encouraging you to retest or reapply.

A letter on school stationary from a college/university health profession advisor/instructor verifying that you are applying/reapplying to dental school.
Upon approval, you will be permitted to retake the DAT once per twelve-month period.
The results of the four most recent DATs taken, as well as the total number of DATs taken, are released on the official scores and forwarded to dental schools.

 

[MechZZ]

Hey, sorry bout not checking up. I applied for a Masters at Barry University and Boston U. I got wait listed at BU but I just got accepted today at Barry.

I had a meeting with the Dean of Admissions of the BU dental school and we went over my case. She pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of my application but what it boiled down to was that they had a strict policy about not accepting students that have taken their a big bulk pre-reqs at a CC which is what I had done. She also said that it would probably the main reason why I was having a hard time getting in. She recommended that I get a M.S. and not retake the DAT since I had taken it 3 times without big improvements.

Thanks for all the replies! The Masters is only 1 year long so I'm debating whether I should reapply for 2009 mainly because there essentially is no change in my application except for volunteering at different places. If I were to reapply I probalby wouldn't do the monstrous 15 schools again since it cost so much and limit it to schools that had either given me interviews or showed interested.

 

[AlwaysImproving]

Barry University?
not cool, that means u will be far from me. btw, this is me maria 😀

 

[MechZZ]

LOL maria you bum, how'd you know this was me? When I saw Elizabeth at boston she told me what had happened to you at your job =\ I'm excited for you for getting into Columbia and I'm still hopeful for NYU's wait list so if I get in you can count of me visiting you a lot =]

 

[nze82]

I am currently on Nova and NYU's dental wait list. With each passing day, I start to feel more and more that it's a lost cause. Currently, I'm applying to different Masters programs to hopefully strengthen my application for when I reapply in June. My GPA is 3.68 and my DAT score was 19, so nothing amazing but probably not the worst in the world. I cannot retake the DAT since I've already taken it 3 times, so that's not an option.

A lot of people tell me not to lose hope and anything can happen, but it's kinda rough. I was just curious on to what the best kind of actions would be? I guess this is more for peace of mind. If I knew that if at this point of the year that you don't get off the waitlist, you probably won't get in, I'd be fine with it. However, if there's still a good chance, then is there any action I could take to increase my opportunity?

I've had some friends suggest that I email the 2 admissions offices restating my interest in attending the schools.

At this point, you should probably give up on the waitlist. I'm pretty much in the same spot as you. I'm on UCLA's and UCSF's waitlists, but I've already given up. So, I retook my DAT and I submitted my application on June 1st, for the 2010 cycle.
I remember when I went to interview for UCSF, they told us that if we get on the waitlist, there's still a chance that they call us a week before school starts, and tell us that we're in. So, you never know. You might be one of the few lucky people who'd get in just few weeks before school starts.
Do you know your place on the waitlist? I mean if you're placed way down on the list you probably don't have a good chance. But if you're among the first 10-15 people, you might still hear some good news sometime in the near future.