My List of 30 Dental Schools - Too much?

[ddskid25]

So this week I will be sending in my application! Below are my stats and list of schools. Any particular schools you guys think I should cut/add? Any feedback is greatly appreciated, Thanks!

Undergraduate (BS):
- Biological Sciences
- cGPA: 2.77
- sGPA: 2.56

Graduate (MS):
- Biological Sciences (Medical Sciences)
- cGPA/sGPA: 3.83 (+10 units of Academic update)
**Will complete the program December 2015**

DAT Score:
AA: 20
TS: 21
Bio: 21
Org Chem: 21
Gen Chem: 19
QR: 19
RC: 20
PAT: 24

Work Experience / Volunteering / Extra-curricular Activities (Dentistry-related):
- Dental Office #1: Volunteer/Shadow with 1200+ hours
- Dental Office #2: Volunteer/Shadow with 800+ hours
- Dental Mission Trip: Guatemala
- Pre-Dental Society
- Student Health Profession Association
- 1yr of Research (No publications)

Resident: CA
Not an URM

Dental School List:

University of Southern California
Western University
University of Pacific
University of California Los Angeles
University of California San Francisco
Oregon Health Sciences University
Roseman University
Midwestern University AZ
Colorado University
Creighton University
ATSU Missouri
Marquette University
Midwestern University IL
University of Indiana
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
Meharry Medical College
University of Tennessee
Case Western Reserve University
Ohio State University
Lake Erie College of Medicine
Nova Southeastern University
University of New England
New York University
Boston University
Tufts University
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburg
Howard University

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[cacajuate]

Yes that's too many.

 

[ICUrunning]

Take out Meharry and Howard.

 

[virtualmaster999]

I agree that's a LOT of schools, and the price is a lot too. Plus then you gotta do supplemental fees, and dont forget about travel costs...is that worth it for you?

I see that you excelled greatly from undergrad to grad, which schools will love, and your DAT is good too. I think you should do no more than 15-20 to be honest. Think about which schools are OOS friendly, if you match their criteria, pre-reqs, etc.

Best of luck!

 

[PlasmaMembrane]

Prune that list of schools that are highly competitive OOS. The University of Colorado, for example: they received 1,443 OOS applicants last cycle and enrolled 29. With your stats schools like that are a bit too much of a reach because the OOS seats are more difficult to get. Same with Penn, probably too competitive for your stats. You also have Tennessee on there - not very OOS friendly despite appearances because their stat is inflated by the neighboring states students it's obligated to take. You should invest in a copy of the ADEA guide and trim this list down to something more realistic.

 

[ddskid25]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!!

Yes that's too many.

I agree that's a LOT of schools, and the price is a lot too. Plus then you gotta do supplemental fees, and dont forget about travel costs...is that worth it for you?

I see that you excelled greatly from undergrad to grad, which schools will love, and your DAT is good too. I think you should do no more than 15-20 to be honest. Think about which schools are OOS friendly, if you match their criteria, pre-reqs, etc.

Best of luck!

Any particular schools you guys suggest I cut, and why?

Take out Meharry and Howard.

Their requirements seemed pretty low and OOS friendly. Are their programs not that great?

That's 30 school which means approximately $30 * 2* 70 ~~4200 + AADSAS app fee. You sure you want to do that?

Fortunately, my parents will be helping me out the apps. The reason why Im applying to 30 schools was because I am a re-applicant and wanted to give myself the best shot this time around. I reallyyy hate the whole application process, so hoping I make the cut this cycle.

Prune that list of schools that are highly competitive OOS. The University of Colorado, for example: they received 1,443 OOS applicants last cycle and enrolled 29. With your stats schools like that are a bit too much of a reach because the OOS seats are more difficult to get. Same with Penn, probably too competitive for your stats. You also have Tennessee on there - not very OOS friendly despite appearances because their stat is inflated by the neighboring states students it's obligated to take. You should invest in a copy of the ADEA guide and trim this list down to something more realistic.

The reason why I decided to go with Colorado University is because the organization I did my mission trip to Guatemala was centered in Denver, CO. Several directors on the trip were either professors at the dental school, or had close affiliation. I mean it is still a long-shot, but worth it? Also, I used a MS Excel spreadsheet a SDN member had typed up using the 2015-2016 ADEA Guide. Does the ADEA Guide tell you which states the OOS enrolee's came from?

 

[strep mutans]

Their requirements seemed pretty low and OOS friendly. Are their programs not that great?

Meharry and Howard heavily favor URMs. Howard is a historically black university. Meharry accepts a few non-URMs every year, but the odds are not in your favor.

 

[ddskid25]

Alright, so I updated my list: What do you guys think? (Im at 23 dental schools)

Cut:
University of California Los Angeles - (Although it is my state school, I feel like I do not fall under their requirements - GPA, DAT)
Oregon Health Sciences University
Colorado University
University of Kentucky
Meharry Medical College
University of Tennessee
University of Pennsylvania
Howard University

Add:
University of Maryland

Also what did you guys think about University of Minnesota?

 

[byahnoob]

Honestly if you are willing to spend the money, apply wherever you want to.
Don't let others tell you what to do and what not to do. The only word of advice you should take is investing in the ADEA 2015 book. It has stats about past applicants and a lot of good stuff on there

 

[ddskid25]

Honestly if you are willing to spend the money, apply wherever you want to.
Don't let others tell you what to do and what not to do. The only word of advice you should take is investing in the ADEA 2015 book. It has stats about past applicants and a lot of good stuff on there

Ya I understand where you are coming from, but just looking for others experiences applying to the schools I have listed. Btw I used the attached file to choose the schools I am applying too. At a glance, would you say that it is roughly along the lines of the 2015 ADEA guide?

 

[ajj70]

I think you are crazy to apply to so many schools. Your grad school GPA is fantastic, the growth there alone will get you noticed. Your DAT is also good and your volunteer work/shadowing, etc. is outstanding. I wouldn't apply to more than 15 schools with those stats and probably maybe only 10 schools. Apply to all of the CA state schools, then the next 7 or so schools you like the best focusing on schools like Ohio and UConn that give out of state after a year. Iowa should be on your list as it's been reported that if you take max loans, they give you scholarships to reduce your costs to close to instate.

 

[LFA20]

If you have the money I'd do it.

 

[ddskid25]

I think you are crazy to apply to so many schools. Your grad school GPA is fantastic, the growth there alone will get you noticed. Your DAT is also good and your volunteer work/shadowing, etc. is outstanding. I wouldn't apply to more than 15 schools with those stats and probably maybe only 10 schools. Apply to all of the CA state schools, then the next 7 or so schools you like the best focusing on schools like Ohio and UConn that give out of state after a year. Iowa should be on your list as it's been reported that if you take max loans, they give you scholarships to reduce your costs to close to instate.

"Ohio and UConn that give out of state after a year??" Wait what do you mean? According to their website, UConn accepts 60% IS, 30% from New England states, and 10% from the remaining states. I feel as though Id be an average student, with little-to-no chance of acceptance. Also on the University of Iowa website, majority of the OOS acceptances were from the surrounding states. Colorado was the farthest west of any OOS acceptance.

 

[ajj70]

"Ohio and UConn that give out of state after a year??" Wait what do you mean? According to their website, UConn accepts 60% IS, 30% from New England states, and 10% from the remaining states. I feel as though Id be an average student, with little-to-no chance of acceptance. Also on the University of Iowa website, majority of the OOS acceptances were from the surrounding states. Colorado was the farthest west of any OOS acceptance.

oops, I mean they give IN state tuition after a year...sorry .

Don't confuse acceptance with attendance....

 

[ddskid25]

oops, I mean they give IN state tuition after a year...sorry .

Don't confuse acceptance with attendance....

My bad, I meant attendances haha!

Alright, I think Ive got my final list: (24 dental schools)

University of Southern California
Western University
University of Pacific
University of California San Francisco
University of California Los Angeles
Roseman University
Midwestern University AZ
Creighton University
ATSU Missouri
Marquette University
Midwestern University IL
University of Indiana
University of Louisville
Case Western Reserve University
Ohio State University
Lake Erie College of Medicine
Nova Southeastern University
University of New England
New York University
Boston University
Tufts University
Temple University
University of Pittsburg
University of Maryland