How many dental schools did you apply to?

[helprosie]

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I had a list of 10, but after looking at the pre-reqs and researching, I dropped it to 5. I'm only a freshman in college, but I already want to have my list down, so I know what pre-reqs I need completed. How many dental schools did y'all apply to? Also, if you have any advice on handling pre-reqs or creating a school list, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[CraigHack]

I wouldn't recommend limiting yourself to five schools. Consider that as a freshman, you have a great deal of flexibility as to what pre-reqs you can fit into your planned course list. Applying to a small number of schools is usually limited to individuals who have a great deal of confidence in their application, or are limited in where they can attend school for personal reasons. While it'll be great if you find yourself sitting on a 4.0/25 DAT in a few years, you may want to set yourself up for a wide range of eligible schools in the event your application strength doesn't overwhelm your competition. And besides, where you'll want to go to school may change multiple times as you learn more about different areas/programs.

 

[OpSmile]

That's awesome that you're already thinking about your school list as a freshman! For creating a final list, I would recommend making an excel to stay organized. For me, I downloaded the ADEA guide with all of the schools and their info. From there, I noted any pre-reqs that I didn't have that the school required, OOS ratios (also looking for whether anyone in my state ever enrolled), evaluation letter requirements, tuition for all 4 years (adjusting for schools that allow you to apply for in-state tuition after your first year), application fees, diversity of the class that just enrolled, and GPA+DAT score ranges. I started from a list of 20+ and ended up with 10+, so it helps to see all of the info organized on one page! And then I made a whole other document for supplemental info for each school, where I also put the dates on when I heard back from each of them (app completed, interview invitation, etc.). Sorry for the long response, but I hope this helps a little with organizing your school list!

 

[helprosie]

That's awesome that you're already thinking about your school list as a freshman! For creating a final list, I would recommend making an excel to stay organized. For me, I downloaded the ADEA guide with all of the schools and their info. From there, I noted any pre-reqs that I didn't have that the school required, OOS ratios (also looking for whether anyone in my state ever enrolled), evaluation letter requirements, tuition for all 4 years (adjusting for schools that allow you to apply for in-state tuition after your first year), application fees, diversity of the class that just enrolled, and GPA+DAT score ranges. I started from a list of 20+ and ended up with 10+, so it helps to see all of the info organized on one page! And then I made a whole other document for supplemental info for each school, where I also put the dates on when I heard back from each of them (app completed, interview invitation, etc.). Sorry for the long response, but I hope this helps a little with organizing your school list!

I actually made an excel sheet like that already. It really helped me evaluate them all at once. But I will include the other categories you mentioned like letter evaluation requirements and GPA/DAT score ranges.

I wouldn't recommend limiting yourself to five schools. Consider that as a freshman, you have a great deal of flexibility as to what pre-reqs you can fit into your planned course list. Applying to a small number of schools is usually limited to individuals who have a great deal of confidence in their application, or are limited in where they can attend school for personal reasons. While it'll be great if you find yourself sitting on a 4.0/25 DAT in a few years, you may want to set yourself up for a wide range of eligible schools in the event your application strength doesn't overwhelm your competition. And besides, where you'll want to go to school may change multiple times as you learn more about different areas/programs.

I think I'm trying not to take extra pre-reqs for a school that I'll end up not applying to. But I get your point. I don't know what my GPA or DAT scores will look like and its better to apply to more for a better chance.

 

[yihaej12]

Applied to 6 and got 4 interviews so far. Which is not a lot of schools applied to compared to the people that post here on sdn but weirdly 6-8 seemed the avg of all the other students I've met so far during my interviews. idk i think you should apply smartly not broadly. But I think people on sdn have a general tendency to overthink/get overly anxious and then click away the boxes for school designations in a state of induced panic. haha Unless of course you are just rich or have lower stats so it would make sense to apply more broadly.

 

[Godspeedyou]

I'll be going the way of the aznboi and applying to 50

 

[bsal1]

I found 7 to be the best number for me. Initially I had my list at 5 and I upped to it to 7 to be safe. Currently had 6 interviews so it definitely worked out.