I have questions regarding the process of applying to dental school

[chokrn4]

Thanks for checking out this thread.

I am a Junior in college right now.
I am going to apply to dental school this summer.
Since I am taking organic chemistry right now, I will be taking DAT this summer as soon as I am done with Orgo II. I am thinking that I should spend like 2 months on studying DAT.

Here are my questions:
1) Is it true that earlier you apply, there are more chances of you getting accepted into dental school?
2)In my situation, when should I apply to dental school by?
3)I am thinking of attending research program over the summer, and this will probably conflict with my process of applying to dental school. Should I give up research program this summer and just study DAT and apply to dental schools this summer?

I am really confused about what I should do this summer..
Also, I did poorly on my orgo I (B-) this semester. Is this serious problem?


Thanks,

chokrn

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

1) Apply as early as possible. The earlier your application is in, the earlier you can be considered for an interview. However, if you have good stats, 3.5+ gpa and 20+ aa dat, then applying early really isn't as critical.
2) see above
3) Research shouldn't interfere with studying for the dat that much should it? I would suggest maybe taking the dat before summer starts if you feel this will be the case. I've seen people learn enough organic II, without taking the class, to do okay on the dat.

Good luck.

 

[dentite12345]

B- is no problem. It will be less of a problem when you ace ochem next semester though, right?
Applying to schools really isn't that bad, i don't see why you would need to give up doing research. And the dat isn't bad either, especial if you are still in school and taking relevant classes. I studies for a couple weeks (8 hours a day for for about ten days) and did fine. I don't see why you couldn't do the same if you study a couple of hours each day for a couple months.
Yes, the earlier you apply the better. I suggest handing in your app the first week aadsas is able (in may i think). The problem with this is schools wont really look at you unless they have your dat scores. So if you don't take them till the end of the summer then there is no benifit from applying early.
Maybe you can postpone your research and study for a few weeks as soon as school gets out then take the test. I got out of school in may and postponed my summer job till june.