Is it bad to be a reapplicant for dental schools?

[hoober]

I was planning on taking a couple years to build up activities since I didn't really do anything in my undergrad...

I was wondering if it'd be a bad idea to try applying to a couple of schools after one year to see if I can get in?

But if I don't get in on that first try, are reapplicants typically viewed less favorably? Should I take the extra year (2 years total) to make my first application stronger? (Side effect would be older letter of recommendations from my profs though).

I'd be willing to pay the fees if it meant possibly getting in earlier (extra year of income > whatever fees come my way).

Though if being a reapplicant greatly hurts my chances then I'll opt for taking two years. Just a little worried about tuition rates and potential increases of average gpa/DAT scores for dental schools.

I'm asking because being a reapplicant in the med school process is pretty rough apparently. Was wondering if the same applied to dental school.

My stats are a 3.46 cgpa and 3.38 scpa (I think bcp is ~3.33?), so they are on the low side. I haven't taken the DAT yet, and I don't what kind of score it'll take to offset the gpa (I really really do not want to do a postbacc/smp, I just don't have the money/time to relocate like that given my other weaknesses).

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DC206R]

I don't see how being a reapplicant is a negative. As long as your app is strong, the number of times you apply shouldn't matter IMO.

 

[Kombucha]

Not at all if you shows improvements in your stats.

 

[hoober]

Hmm but if I get rejected, are LoRs from the previous application still okay to use? It'd suck to have to get LoR's from professors again as a nontrad.

 

[JLT223]

Hmm but if I get rejected, are LoRs from the previous application still okay to use? It'd suck to have to get LoR's from professors again as a nontrad.

No they are not. It may be fine to have one old letter but not every single one.

 

[hoober]

No they are not. It may be fine to have one old letter but not every single one.

And there's the killer. Alright, 2 years it is to try and get my activities up to snuff.

 

[kholley25]

Unless you already have the next year or two lined up, I would reapply earlier rather than later. And apply broadly.

This depends however on how good/bad your stats are. If you're sitting with a 17 AA and a 3.0, you might want to consider improving those before reapplying.

 

[postpitadh]

You can always ask them next year to update your LORs with more recent activities and such