interviews-

[DBB]

just wanted to add something to the board-
i received a letter from u. maryland stating that i was not competitive with their incoming class, and was not granted an app./ interview. i am a PA resident, and the adcom-person i spoke with stated that my GPA was too low...obviously, schools DO give a cut-off (with regard to GPA, and maybe DAT) when determining who gets an interview. my stats:
GPA: 3.0/ 3.1 science; double major- bio and econ
DAT: acad. - 19
read. - 20
PAT - 19
quant- 17
sci.- 19
bio- 20
gen. chem- 19
org. chem- 18

i also have weeks of research exp. at a dent school, hours and hours of dental assisting, many extracurriculars, etc.

HOPEFULLY other schools look at more than just GPA/ DAT as the deciding factor for an interview??? this sort of has me worried...are my stats that low??

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bickle]

maryland is a very tough school to get into, so dont let this scare you. which other schools did you apply to?

 

[DBB]

i applied all over the east coast- 11 schools. i didnt have much backround on many programs, so i didnt want to leave any out; boston, tufts, nyu, columbia, penn, temple, pitt, case, louisville, maryland, buffalo.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I've been saying this for a long time, and people usually rip on me because I'm being too negative and blah blah blah. You folks have got to realize that I'm just telling it like it is.

Here is the long and short of it: dental school IS difficult to get into. We all have heard of people who have friends who know cousins who have siblings who got in with low grades, but those are NOT the norm.

Part of the problem is that state schools don't have many seats reserved for out of state students. If you don't have stellar stats then you should review your application list and perhaps cross off a couple public schools and add some private ones. That is simply the nature of the dental school situation these days.

DBB doesn't have "bad" grades. Let's be realistic -- a 3.0 is a "B" average and a "B" in college is NOT bad! That requires some serious effort and should be applauded.

For the dental applicant pool, however, it is below par. Remember all your pre-med friends with 3.8 GPAs? They're all applying to dental school now. DBB's situation is also exacerbated by the fact that the school in question is an out-of-state school.

Further, a 19/19 DAT is not a bad DAT, but I do believe it is a full point (at least) below the average for matriculants this year.

Schools are always going to have cutoffs, but your situation can be helped by choosing schools wisely. For example, maybe NYU isn't your top choice of schools, but it might be your only choice if you don't have a dental school in your state.

So, DBB, you ARE going to get some interviews AND some acceptances if you applied to the proper schools. If you spent all your money on public schools in other states then you might be out of luck.

Your numbers aren't bad, but they aren't going to set you apart from anybody.

Good luck and welcome to SDN.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I wanted to add that Maryland is a tough school for MD applicants to get into.

I kicked myself all through the application process because I applied to schools that rejected me outright! Everybody do your homework on the schools and avoid this problem. Your hypertension will be relieved, I promise

 

[ItsGavinC]

DBB, now that I see where you've applied I can almost promise you several interviews. I think you'll have lots of success at NYU, Tufts, Temple and Case.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that you have NO chance at Louisville. I say this because my GPA was a 3.4, my DATs were higher than yours, Louisville takes 5-10 students from my undergrad each year and I STILL got rejected without an interview.

 

[larryt]

Gavin is correct ! it is very tough to get in any dental school with average stat. with my average stat 3.0 gpa and 20/19 DAT, I have to apply 25 schools. Hopefully I might get in one. or none, but at least I tried.

 

[kevinacko]

i agree with the others-don't be discouraged. we're all second guessing our stats now and stressing about the whole process. i'm sure it's normal. i've heard that md is tough to get into as well. i'm a pa resident and just got an interview invite from md. it took a 3.6 science/3.6 overall gpa, a master's degree, a 21/18 dat, and about 2 years molecular bio research experience to get an invite and i feel lucky! you should be fine at pitt and temple, at least-don't worry, you'll get in.

 

[savvysearch]

You are bound to get rejected by a few schools even if you have a 3.6 gpa and 20s across the board. Don't let that discourage you. Be careful where you apply and don't apply to schools that are difficult to get into like Maryland.

 

[Prettygirl]

With your GPA and DAT scores, I think you should get interviews at
boston, tufts, nyu, temple, pitt, case, and possibly Columbia. Forget Maryland..it's just one school!
Pretty soon, you will be amazed at all the interviews you're recieving! You may possibly even reject interviews because you have too many!