how exactly does applying work?

[BRIANISONFIREE]

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So many people tell me to apply the year before i plan to start dental school.
Does that mean that dental schools look at your gpa from junior year?(saying how you haven't completed your 4th year yet).
this makes a huge difference. I will be starting my junior year and if i manage all a's that will bring me to a 3.1ish. But if i were to apply after i had finished my undergrad(and managed all a's as well) the schools would see my gpa as being a 3.4ish.

Also, is it popular to apply without having to take your DAT's at the moment? I am taking 19 hours both upcoming semesters and i wont have time to study for it until next summer, but if i do apply 1 year before, I will not have taken my dat by the time i apply.

 

[NMC2010]

So many people tell me to apply the year before i plan to start dental school.
Does that mean that dental schools look at your gpa from junior year?(saying how you haven't completed your 4th year yet).
this makes a huge difference. I will be starting my junior year and if i manage all a's that will bring me to a 3.1ish. But if i were to apply after i had finished my undergrad(and managed all a's as well) the schools would see my gpa as being a 3.4ish.

Also, is it popular to apply without having to take your DAT's at the moment? I am taking 19 hours both upcoming semesters and i wont have time to study for it until next summer, but if i do apply 1 year before, I will not have taken my dat by the time i apply.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Do well in all your classes this upcoming semester.

2. Prepare to have all your transcripts submitted, contact professors about letters of evaluation, shadowing hours, volunteering, etc. Find out what you need to do for AADSAS and have it ready.

3. Submit your application in June. DAT Scores and other things will update automatically as they come in.

4. Schedule to take your DAT in mid to late June or even early July. Give yourself a couple days break after school is finished then hit the DAT studying hard. Give yourself 4-6 weeks to study 4-8 hours per day. I suggest using DAT Bootcamp + Destroyer + Alan's Notes, practice tests from Kaplan and ADA website, wherever else you can find them.

5. If you can study AT ALL during the school year... DO IT! You won't regret it later.

Good luck.

 

[ModifiedBass]

Do you have advisors at your school? Because these type of questions should have been discussed/answered if you displayed an interest in dentistry this past year. If not, yes, you apply the year before dental school (next summer for you since you are going into your junior year) or you can take a year off by applying the summer after your senior year (which may help with your GPA dilemma. I completed my application when it opened (6/27 first batch) before I took my DAT (7/6) which is fine because it just uploads to your application after you take it. The earlier you take the DAT the better, so some like to take it earlier than that (winter break, spring semester/break, etc.) but during the summer (June, July, very early August) is good enough to be somewhat early.

 

[Koalafied]

So many people tell me to apply the year before i plan to start dental school. Same here.

Does that mean that dental schools look at your gpa from junior year?(saying how you haven't completed your 4th year yet). With a resounding yes.

this makes a huge difference. I will be starting my junior year and if i manage all a's that will bring me to a 3.1ish. Work hard and smart. Take about 6+ classes, that is mostly relevant science courses, per semester and earn nothing lower than A (4.0); that'll make a statement.

But if i were to apply after i had finished my undergrad(and managed all a's as well) the schools would see my gpa as being a 3.4ish. If it's that bad, then postpone graduation and take more relevant UL bio courses and, once again, nothing below A (4.0).

Also, is it popular to apply without having to take your DAT's at the moment? No

I am taking 19 hours both upcoming semesters and i wont have time to study for it until next summer, but if i do apply 1 year before, I will not have taken my dat by the time i apply. The DAT only took me little over 3 weeks to prepare, but that's a highly biased statement and depends on the person. It can typically span anywhere between 3 weeks to 3 months. Anything longer and info will starts to leak.

Useful tips for you and everybody else:
Follow the instructions on AADSAS and/or TMDSAS.

• DAT Q's (http://forums.sdn.net/showthread.php?t=992975)
• DS Statistics Q's (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453)
• App Q's (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1020426)
• PS Q's (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1002652) , (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=398535)
• Interview Q's (http://studentdoctor.net/schools/?view=dental)
• Motivation Q's (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=362708), (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1023693)
• School specific Q's (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=713)
• Any other Q's (Use the search box that's located on the top right of this page.)
• Start a new thread if you've exhausted all the resources above.