Going on 3rd App Cycle. Apply to all 54 Schools?

[wu8313]

Ok so the story of my life in a nutshell. This is my 3rd cycle applying. First time I applied I got a 17AA (3.1 GPA), and 2nd time I applied I had an 18 AA (3.1GPA). First time I applied to like 6 schools with one interview and no acceptances. Second time I applied to under 20 schools with one interview and no acceptances. Now, I am in graduate school getting my Master's. I just pulled off a 4.0 this semester, with a 3.6 from Fall. And I'm studying really hard for my DATs and aiming for above a 20. Do schools know how many places you apply to? Is it looked down upon or do they know that it is highly competitive, so they understand? I asked one of the schools and they said that schools DO know how many you apply to but they DO NOT look down upon it because they understand. Is that true? Any thoughts? I know it's alot of money, but I'm tired of going through this rigorous process and want to ensure my acceptance so I'm desperate. Any advice, words of wisdom, personal accounts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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[utahdent123]

Well, if you feel like wasting your money then go for it. Applying to all 54 schools will not ensure that you get in. First of all do you realize the amount of money this could potentially cost...AADSAS fee, Secondary fees to each school, flying around the country for interviews, hotels, car rentals, food, etc. Anyway, even if you decided that cost was not an issue, applying to all the schools doesn't help. What you need to do is apply to the right schools. I'm sure you already own an ADEA's guide to dental school use that information to determine which schools to apply to. Look at stats of incoming freshmen, states they are coming from, DAT scores and so on. Some schools just don't accept very many non-residents. Do you understand what I'm saying? Private schools are a great place to apply to as well. Keep doing well with you masters and if you Kill the DAT you'll get in.

 

[PWNed Shop]

Well, this is what I'm going to do...If I'm not accepted into dentistry the first or second application cycle. I would move on to a different branch of medicine, since most of the pre-reqs are pretty much the same and I have an equal affinity for all of them. But, it seems you want dentistry more than anything. All I can say is to keep your head up and keep trying. Sorry, I know it isn't much..

 

[DrReo]

So let's say your application for 54 AADAS will cost 3500, sending dat fees for 49 of the schools (since 5 are included) is 4725. In addition, one must figure interview costs. Let's say you do 10 interviews @ 1k a piece, yes spendy, but for a sake on an arguement. you're at about 15,000. Now consider a year off, that's one year less out in the work field, using the national average, 130k. From another perspective, lets say you were accepted in school A that costs 200K and school B that's 130k. Thus, you'd save 70,000-15,000 [note: this is figuring that you don't apply, so say you'd save about 53k]. Granted it's not practical to apply to 54 schools, apply to many and hope that one works . You never get accepted into the ones that you don't apply. Research the schools and make sure it's possible to be accepted (pre-reqs, out of staters, etc)

 

[DrSmiles12]

Schools can see what other schools you applied to - when I was at UNLV and Ohio State they showed me my AADSAS application printout they received and it showed all my schools I applied to.

I am one of the probably 5% of people that will tell you to go for it. There is always people who say don't do it, or that will never work, or you need to do this or that. If you really want to be a dentist then do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. Personally I would never do that, I would continue in grad school pull up your GPA, study like nuts for the DAT and do well on that.

 

[golfer]

So let's say your application for 54 AADAS will cost 3500, sending dat fees for 49 of the schools (since 5 are included) is 4725. In addition, one must figure interview costs. Let's say you do 10 interviews @ 1k a piece, yes spendy, but for a sake on an arguement. you're at about 15,000. Now consider a year off, that's one year less out in the work field, using the national average, 130k. From another perspective, lets say you were accepted in school A that costs 200K and school B that's 130k. Thus, you'd save 70,000-15,000 [note: this is figuring that you don't apply, so say you'd save about 53k]. Granted it's not practical to apply to 54 schools, apply to many and hope that one works . You never get accepted into the ones that you don't apply. Research the schools and make sure it's possible to be accepted (pre-reqs, out of staters, etc)

Not only is that spendy but almost impossible. I took a flight all the way from Phoenix to Buffalo, stayed at a nice hotel, ate out three times + roomservice etc... total cost about $400. 4 of my interviews I spent less then $120. For some of the interviews that were located close together I schedule a day apart so that I could only have to pay for one flight there an back. You can't just throw out any figure for the sake of an argument, it must be somewhat realistic. 10 interviews should cost around 2-3.5k in my opinion. That would bring your 15k figure to around 7-8.5k.

 

[Simply_Unique]

I wouldn't apply to all schools. That would take too much time and money. Plus, some schools don't even take non-residents. You just need to research some schools and see which ones you have a better chance of getting into.

 

[DrReo]

Not only is that spendy but almost impossible. I took a flight all the way from Phoenix to Buffalo, stayed at a nice hotel, ate out three times + roomservice etc... total cost about $400. 4 of my interviews I spent less then $120. For some of the interviews that were located close together I schedule a day apart so that I could only have to pay for one flight there an back. You can't just throw out any figure for the sake of an argument, it must be somewhat realistic. 10 interviews should cost around 2-3.5k in my opinion. That would bring your 15k figure to around 7-8.5k.

Exactly, that even emphasizes what I'm stating better. Thank you.

 

[Montserrat]

Schools can see what other schools you applied to - when I was at UNLV and Ohio State they showed me my AADSAS application printout they received and it showed all my schools I applied to.

!!

I didn't know they were made privy to that information. I bet it looked pretty awful sitting there during my interviews and having them see that I applied to half the schools in the nation.

I shotgunned my applications during the previous cycle - and I wouldn't advise others to do it. Even if you have the money, it's not worth it because of the above. Ultimately, applying to a lot of schools says that you badly want to get into dental school. However, once at an interview, they'll ask you why here and not somewhere else ? Having 50+ other people on the party list doesn't make them feel like they are your "choice."

 

[firecracked]

It's pointless to apply to all. Some schools only accept in-state residents. Some public schools accept VERY low numbers of out-of-state students. That's just a waste of money right there.

 

[HoangDDS]

I agree with firecracker. Try looking at the Medical and Dental School Guide book. It tells you which school accept only in state applicants. Plus you show know which school you shouldn't apply to due their higher standards. And bro, I'm in the same boat as you.

 

[DrSmiles12]

!!

I didn't know they were made privy to that information. I bet it looked pretty awful sitting there during my interviews and having them see that I applied to half the schools in the nation.

I shotgunned my applications during the previous cycle - and I wouldn't advise others to do it. Even if you have the money, it's not worth it because of the above. Ultimately, applying to a lot of schools says that you badly want to get into dental school. However, once at an interview, they'll ask you why here and not somewhere else ? Having 50+ other people on the party list doesn't make them feel like they are your "choice."

I felt a bit silly when one of them actually pointed it out that I applied to a lot of schools. I answered by simply stating that I am an out of state applicant with no instate school and I wasn't taking chances on applying again next year.

 

[litldime]

I was also asked why i applied to many schools (14). I basically said i wasn't taking any chances. But 54 schools? NO. Some schools only take in-state applicants as someone already pointed out.
good luck.

 

[diane07]

Do some research and apply to the schools where you have a chance of getting accepted. State schools accept a majority of in state residents. I wouldn't apply to a state school unless you had stellar stats or had something that really made you stand out.

 

[Sephisabin]

Like everyone else said, 54 is way too much. Considering you're in a masters and doing well, you should definitely cap yourself at 30... if you can get a 20 on the DAT, you can cap yourself at 20 schools. You really do need to research your schools... What state are you in? If you're in CA, you can cross of UW, UMinn and all the Texas schools right off the bat... According to the ADEA guide, those schools have combined to take only a couple of CA kids over the past 5 years... Don't worry about the schools seeing how many places you applied to... What interviewer is honestly going to look at a 3 time applicant and ask "Why did you apply to so many schools?" And even if they do, you can't tell me you won't have a really good answer waiting... If they ask, just make it clear that you do have schools you would prefer to attend (like theirs... haha), but in the end, you really needed to make sure you got accepted this year.