Middle Name Change Before or After Application

[Rick Harrison]

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Hi everyone,

When I was very little, I had a different middle and last name than I do now. I had the same middle name of my biological father and when my mom was remarried, I changed my middle and last name. I have no idea why I decided it was a good idea to change my middle name when I was younger but I guess I was a little kid and little kids do dumb things. My biological father recently passed away and I'm extremely pissed at myself for changing my middle name because it was a connection that I had with my father. I am 100% certain that I want to legally change my middle name back to what it was when I was super little but I'm nervous about when I should do this. I recently took the DAT and got good scores. I am nervous that if I change my middle name back to what it was, I would somehow invalidate my DAT scores because the names wouldn't match up. I plan on applying in June of 2021, so I have some time to figure things out before then. Would you guys recommend for me to wait until after I apply to dental school before I legally make the name change? I'm extremely nervous and don't want to screw things up.

 

[Hi Just Lurking]

Hello!

The application has options for this under general information. Like "Do you have any alternative names?".
Of course, they also have a place to put your "official legal name".
If it makes you feel better, then you can put both.
I hope this answers your question.