Narrowing Down Schools

[ChrisM07]

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So I see that everyone is posting lists of their schools for everyone here to evaluate. I am just wondering HOW you chose the ones to apply to. So far I have a list of about 20, and I did it mainly based on my GPA. I looked at OOS friendly schools as well. I did this all based on the spreadsheet with all the dental schools in the country that someone here posted (doc toothache I believe). Of course, I have a handful that I REALLY want to attend so I obviously added them first.

I didn't want to immediately post my list for sake of not wanting to inundate the forum with another one, BUT if it would be helpful in answering my question, I can.

Chris

 

[rpatel104]

Well if you want help you should list them along with your stats. But its always up to you. After looking at your chances of gaining admission you should look at cost and then location (if that is important to you). Also you narrow down your list based on how much you want to spend on applications.

 

[ChrisM07]

Ok. Here goes.

- Undergrad GPA: 3.01
- Graduate GPA: 3.3
- DAT: 18AA, 18TS, 18 BIO, 18GC, 20OC, 20RC, 17PAT, 16QR (I am re-taking it soon-ish).
- PA Resident, very Non-Traditional student.

Of course, a few are out of reach schools that I thought I'd apply to anyways. They are listed in no particular order.

1. NOVA
2. SUNY SB
3. Pitt (way stretch)
4. UMDNJ
5. Midwestern (both)
6. Louisville
7. UConn
8. NYU
9. Temple (No. 1)
10. Boston
11. UNLV
12. LECOM
13. Tufts
14. ASDOH
15. Western
16. Roseman

(Ok, so maybe 16, not 20 😳 )

I appreciate the help.

 

[squigloo]

Ok. Here goes.

- Undergrad GPA: 3.01
- Graduate GPA: 3.3
- DAT: 18AA, 18TS, 18 BIO, 18GC, 20OC, 20RC, 17PAT, 16QR (I am re-taking it soon-ish).
- PA Resident, very Non-Traditional student.

Of course, a few are out of reach schools that I thought I'd apply to anyways. They are listed in no particular order.

1. NOVA
2. SUNY SB
3. Pitt (way stretch)
4. UMDNJ
5. Midwestern (both)
6. Louisville
7. UConn
8. NYU
9. Temple (No. 1)
10. Boston
11. UNLV
12. LECOM
13. Tufts
14. ASDOH
15. Western
16. Roseman

(Ok, so maybe 16, not 20 😳 )

I appreciate the help.

Stony brook and Uconn are definitely farther out of reach than pitt. If anything I would say not to waste any money at SB.

 

[rpatel104]

If I were you I would remove NOVA, SB, UConn, UNLV, and ASDOH (if you don't have 1000s of community service hours). You would definitely have to raise the DAT because your GPA is low.

 

[ChrisM07]

Thanks. Yeah I am re-taking the DAT this summer. And 1000's of hours? Seriously? I mean, I have done my share of community service and volunteer work, but I haven't exactly cured cancer 🙂

I thought that UNLV was OOS friendly, that's why I put it there (same with NOVA).

 

[rpatel104]

Nova likes higher DAT scores and Idk much about UNLV but I'm sure it prefers WICHE applicants. And yeah ASDOH wants a lot of extracurriculars so if you think you stand out and have a shot then apply.

 

[ChrisM07]

Thanks for the input guys. I know this thread is already a bit old. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Maybe another OOS friendly school that I missed? I have looked through all of them a few times and feel like I might still have overlooked some. I wanted to apply to more than what I have listed but I feel like I might not be competitive when some of them have pretty high averages. I am a pretty non-traditional applicant so I'm hoping I can stand out somewhat.

Thanks again.

 

[tounchie]

if i were you, i would apply to all 63 schools. some ppl actually do that

 

[park1234]

if i were you, i would apply to all 63 schools. some ppl actually do that

Yeah if i were you and want to get in this cycle, i would apply more unless you are certain that you are going ace the next dat (like 21++)

 

[ChrisM07]

I would love to apply to more, but I can't really decide which ones are worth applying to with my scores. I am re-taking the DAT and feel more confident that my scores can be better than the ones I had when I originally took it. Practice scores are good so far, so I'm trying to be positive about that.

Applying to all 63 schools is not practical given my numbers.

 

[Ferneezy]

And 1000's of hours? Seriously?

no. last year's entering class had an average service time of 700 hours.

hardly thousands. i would say if you're credibly approaching 500 (skewed to the underserved) you're in good shape.

 

[ChrisM07]

How about:

- Marquette
- Case
- Michigan
- VCU
- USC

I think Michigan might be out there, but I read somewhere that USC is OOS friendly and it also seems that Marquette is as well. On Marquette's site, it shows with a bar graph that their average GPA for applicants is a 3.3 oGPA/3.2 sGPA, but that the matriculant GPA is 3.6. Maybe I'm wrong in doing so, but so far, the biggest factor for my choice of schools has been their GPA's of the 'class profile'. Of course, like I mentioned above, I have a few out of reach schools that I will give them a try.

Thanks for the input so far, I appreciate this. I don't know anyone who has gone through this process, and my graduate school is a medical school so they're not too familiar with the dental school process. I feel like I'm going through this alone haha 🙁

 

[ChrisM07]

no. last year's entering class had an average service time of 700 hours.

hardly thousands. i would say if you're credibly approaching 500 (skewed to the underserved) you're in good shape.

Can 'volunteer' work be anything? Because I did volunteer work at a dental school for a few years. When I hear volunteer work, I think of organizations like Red Cross, United Way, or American Cancer Society.

 

[tounchie]

no. last year's entering class had an average service time of 700 hours.

hardly thousands. i would say if you're credibly approaching 500 (skewed to the underserved) you're in good shape.

what's included in "service time"?
does it include just the extracurricular + hospital volunteer * shadow?
or does it include research and everything else in "Professional Experiences" on AADSAS?

because 700 hours seems pretty ridiculous to be the average...jussayin

 

[journeybegins]

When picking schools, please look into the letter of recommendations and pre-requisites requirements of each school that you decide to apply to (some schools vary) and also don't waste money on schools that you might not want to go there even if you got in.

 

[ChrisM07]

When picking schools, please look into the letter of recommendations and pre-requisites requirements of each school that you decide to apply to (some schools vary) and also don't waste money on schools that you might not want to go there even if you got in.

Good points. It seems that most schools have very similar pre-requisite requirements so I feel that I have those covered. I have also completed a master's degree so I have many of the 'recommended' requirements as well. When I look at my application as a whole, I think it's diverse so I hope this helps. The only thing standing in my way is my GPA, and I hope that schools may be willing to give me a shot at an interview to hear more about my story, etc. As far as the letters go, most have mentioned committee letters or three separate letters. Believe it or not, this process has been in the back of my head since I decided on this career in middle school. It's sort of surreal that I am at this point and I just want to make sure that I am doing everything correctly.

 

[Ferneezy]

Can 'volunteer' work be anything? Because I did volunteer work at a dental school for a few years. When I hear volunteer work, I think of organizations like Red Cross, United Way, or American Cancer Society.

volunteer work can be anything that is actually volunteer work. the only thing you probably need to concern yourself with is the population you're serving as you do so, which is why i mentioned the underserved.

what's included in "service time"?
does it include just the extracurricular + hospital volunteer * shadow?
or does it include research and everything else in "Professional Experiences" on AADSAS?

because 700 hours seems pretty ridiculous to be the average...jussayin

volunteer time can include shadowing time if you happen to do it in a clinic where you also observe practicing clinicians. research is research, not volunteering.

and let's say someone volunteers an average of 4 hours per week. to make the math easier (using a 50 week year) that comes out to 200 hours per year. over a college career that person can amass 800 hours.

ridiculous? perhaps. but it falls in line with the kind of service-oriented student ASDOH appears to seek.