How many schools should I apply to?

[Go Getter]

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Hi everybody. I am taking my dat in July 2017 and applying to dental school right after that. I am a non-traditional student (BS in architecture from abroad with great dental shadowing/experience/volunteering,etc)- GPA 3.4( took about 65 prerequisite/recommended science units in US). My initial plan was to apply to all dental schools but I just realized the cost will be about $6000 ( I am getting a heartattack now) can somebody please give me some advice? I need to know if I should apply to all school and pay that much money to increase my chances of acceptance or select just some? Thank you so much

 

[plusalpha]

Hi everybody. I am taking my dat in July 2017 and applying to dental school right after that. I am a non-traditional student (BS in architecture from abroad with great dental shadowing/experience/volunteering,etc)- GPA 3.4( took about 65 prerequisite/recommended science units in US). My initial plan was to apply to all dental schools but I just realized the cost will be about $6000 ( I am getting a heartattack now) can somebody please give me some advice? I need to know if I should apply to all school and pay that much money to increase my chances of acceptance or select just some? Thank you so much

Can't say without your DAT score...

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Hi everybody. I am taking my dat in July 2017 and applying to dental school right after that. I am a non-traditional student (BS in architecture from abroad with great dental shadowing/experience/volunteering,etc)- GPA 3.4( took about 65 prerequisite/recommended science units in US). My initial plan was to apply to all dental schools but I just realized the cost will be about $6000 ( I am getting a heartattack now) can somebody please give me some advice? I need to know if I should apply to all school and pay that much money to increase my chances of acceptance or select just some? Thank you so much

As mentioned above, giving a narrow range of how many schools to apply to is impossible without your DAT score. If you score really well you could probably get away with around 10 schools or less, but if you score below average, you would want to expand that number by a lot more.

Also, you should never apply to all dental schools regardless of cost - some schools are not friendly to OOS students or students that don't meet specific criteria (e.g. Houston's dental school doesn't even interview OOS applicants - applying to schools like that is just a waste).

 

[starsbeneathme]

As mentioned above, giving a narrow range of how many schools to apply to is impossible without your DAT score. If you score really well you could probably get away with around 10 schools or less, but if you score below average, you would want to expand that number by a lot more.

Also, you should never apply to all dental schools regardless of cost - some schools are not friendly to OOS students or students that don't meet specific criteria (e.g. Houston's dental school doesn't even interview OOS applicants - applying to schools like that is just a waste).

According to the 2017-2018 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools, Houston interviewed 16 out of state applicants and 2 students matriculated -- but yes, very small shot.

 

[fit2]

Apply to all school? That would definitely be a waste...don't apply to more than 15-20 max. It's like owning stock in the market. You still have a ~20% required return if you own the stock of ALL companies in the US. You can reach that return with WAY less stocks if you choose the right balance between a few companies/ that being said you have to research schools see which ones you like which ones fit your criteria etc. and IMO find like 15. At that point you'll probably have like the same chances as applying to all dental schools. Don't waste your money by applying to all

 

[FeralisExtremum]

According to the 2017-2018 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools, Houston interviewed 16 out of state applicants and 2 students matriculated -- but yes, very small shot.

Looks like they've stepped it up, back in my day they interviewed maybe 1 applicant per cycle.

 

[fit2]

Yeah I thought Houston didn't invite OOS students. SAN Antonio and Houston don't offer invites or acceptance to any international students. I guess A&M is maybe slightly more open but it's a long shot. I would recommend the ADEA guide to dental schools or looking at stats for the admitted class. That way you'll see which schools are OOS friendly or not

 

[Go Getter]

Thank you all for your prompt responses.

 

[Go Getter]

As mentioned above, giving a narrow range of how many schools to apply to is impossible without your DAT score. If you score really well you could probably get away with around 10 schools or less, but if you score below average, you would want to expand that number by a lot more.

Also, you should never apply to all dental schools regardless of cost - some schools are not friendly to OOS students or students that don't meet specific criteria (e.g. Houston's dental school doesn't even interview OOS applicants - applying to schools like that is just a waste).

Thank you for your prompt response.

 

[Kibe3143]

Applying to skool? Before making a decision, account for supplemental application fees, and travel and lodging expenses for interviews...

 

[fit2]

I was in the same exact boat last cycle, 3.4 GPA, 21 AA, pursued a different career path and I applied to 20 schools, got 5 interviews (I declined Touro since I already went to 4 interviews) and got 3 acceptances out of those 4 that I attended. And yes, you will be spending around 6 grand or more, depending on plane tickets, rental cars, flights, enjoying the nightlife assuming it's a decently sized city, etc.

What most people don't bother to calculate are those nonrefunable deposits. Including those, I spent around $9500 since June 2016. Personally, just the chance of fulfilling the dream of becoming a dentist was worth almost $10 grand out of my own pocket. But then again, there are ways to do it cheaper if you have undergrad loans or have a tight budget.

Wait what do u mean non refundable deposits? Like you deposited to a few schools? Or just the one u wanted to go to? Also does that deposit count towards next years tuition?

 

[fit2]

I was in the same exact boat last cycle, 3.4 GPA, 21 AA, pursued a different career path and I applied to 20 schools, got 5 interviews (I declined Touro since I already went to 4 interviews) and got 3 acceptances out of those 4 that I attended. And yes, you will be spending around 6 grand or more, depending on plane tickets, rental cars, flights, enjoying the nightlife assuming it's a decently sized city, etc.

What most people don't bother to calculate are those nonrefunable deposits. Including those, I spent around $9500 since June 2016. Personally, just the chance of fulfilling the dream of becoming a dentist was worth almost $10 grand out of my own pocket. But then again, there are ways to do it cheaper if you have undergrad loans or have a tight budget.

Also are you international?

 

[fit2]

Every school's different. Some do 2 installments where the 1st half is nonrefundable and the second in credited toward tuition. Schools like BU make you send a non refundable $3000 deposit. I deposited $2000 to one school and recently heard back from my dream school, so I rushed to pay a $1500 deposit to the other school. If it's credited, then ultimately I spent $8,000 net, although I'm still technically $9,500 in the hole.


Nope, 'Murican

That sucks that they just make u do a deposit for no reason if it doesn't count towards tuition. Didn't know that. Also I asked cause I saw a post with someone asking u if u took the TOEFL. Nice I hope I hear from some top school early haha

 

[samulea]

I was in the same exact boat last cycle, 3.4 GPA, 21 AA, pursued a different career path and I applied to 20 schools, got 5 interviews (I declined Touro since I already went to 4 interviews) and got 3 acceptances out of those 4 that I attended. And yes, you will be spending around 6 grand or more, depending on plane tickets, rental cars, flights, enjoying the nightlife assuming it's a decently sized city, etc.

What most people don't bother to calculate are those nonrefunable deposits. Including those, I spent around $9500 since June 2016. Personally, just the chance of fulfilling the dream of becoming a dentist was worth almost $10 grand out of my own pocket. But then again, there are ways to do it cheaper if you have undergrad loans or have a tight budget.

I am non traditional student also. Do you mind telling me what schools you applied too and what school offered you interview?

 

[Miss Resilience]

Touro, UMN, UNLV, USC, ASDOH interviewed me. I applied to a total of 20 schools I forgot cuz this was 2 years ago, LMAO.

P.S. I haven't been on SDN since last year so apologies for the late response. Life, dental school, dating, and unwanted stalkers let me to involuntarily giving up SDN for a while....

Hahah just saw your reply on this thread - which school did you end up going to? And which state are you a resident of?