Need help narrowing down my list of schools... 30+ :(

[jhanago]

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So I've tried to narrow it down using the ADEA book but i'm getting nowhere.. DOWN TO 23

Washington State Resident. Did 2 years at a CC and completed chem and bio there

AA: 20
TS: 20
PAT: 20
QR: 21

GPA BCP and Overall : 3.7

100+ hours shadowing. 300+ volunteer hours. All the usual stuff etc etc.

Schools...


ASDOH
MIDWESTERN - AZ
USC ("Safety")
UOP (3 year program = heart)
WESTERN
NOVA
IOWA
MIDWESTERN - ILLINIOS
LOUISVILLE
MARYLAND
MICH
MINN
CREIGHTON
UNLV
BUFFALO
CASE
OSU
OKLAHOMA
OHSU
PENN (Dream School)
PITT
VCU
UW

 

[dantemac]

With stats as good as yours there is NO REASON to apply to that many. 12-15 max.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=791510&highlight=dantemac

Go here to see which schools don't prefer out of state students. Also, Marquette has religious inclinations (Jewish).

 

[jhanago]

With stats as good as yours there is NO REASON to apply to that many. 12-15 max.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=791510&highlight=dantemac

Go here to see which schools don't prefer out of state students. Also, Marquette has religious inclinations (Jewish).

When paranoia sets in, you have to apply everywhere to assure yourself you will get in

 

[Osity]

Get rid of:

UCSF-They take almost all California residents, school is really expensive, cost of living (COL) is really high.
Colorado-They take very few OOS students.
LECOM-Brand new school. With you stats you will have multiple acceptances.
Midwestern-IL-Brand new school.
Kentucky-They take few OOS.
Tennessee-They take few OOS.
USN-Brand new school, insanely expensive ($80k/year just tuition and fees).

Consider getting rid of:

USC-One of the most expensive schools in the country (tuition + COL).
NYU-One of the most expensive schools in the country (tuition + COL).
UNC-They take few OOS; however, if you get in, tuition is low, so it may be worth a shot.
UNLV-Major financial problems, extremely expensive. They ARE OOS friendly.
OHSU-Huge tuition increases each year (>10%). Like UNLV, they ARE OOS friendly. Plus since you're a Washington resident, if you don't get into UW, OHSU is close to home.
Penn-Same as USC/NYU.

With your stats you'll have multiple acceptances on Dec. 1. I know the feeling of insecurity (I was in a similar position to your last year), but you have great stats and don't need to overspend on applying.

 

[Freeskier02]

I agree with limiting the number of schools you apply to somewhere around 8 - 12. I had very similar stats to yours and applied to 14 schools, but if I could go back I would have applied to less. This is hard to say because the application process is a crapshoot, but the key is to stack your cards in your favor by choosing the schools that will give you the best shot of getting in. If you do your research you will find which schools are best for you, like applying to OOS friendly, WICHE schools, if you're religious some schools will favor you over others (ex. Loma Linda), your race factors in a bit (ex. Howard), etc. I would look at some stats that show which schools accepted students from Washington State and you'll get an idea if they favor applicants from your region. Be smart in your selection and you'll get in some schools for sure with your stats, which is always nice to be able to "choose" which school you want to attend. 😀

 

[dentalWorks]

So I've tried to narrow it down using the ADEA book but i'm getting nowhere..

Washington State Resident. Did 2 years at a CC and completed chem and bio there

AA: 20
TS: 20
PAT: 20
QR: 21

GPA BCP and Overall : 3.7

100+ hours shadowing. 300+ volunteer hours. All the usual stuff etc etc.

Schools...


ASDOH
MIDWESTERN - AZ
UCSF
USC
UOP
WESTERN
COLORADO
CONN
LECOM
NOVA
IOWA
MIDWESTERN - ILLINIOS
INDIAN
KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE
MARYLAND
UDM
MICH
MINN
UNC
CREIGHTON
NEW JERSEY
UNLV
COLUMBIA
NYU
BUFFALO
CASE
OSU
OKLAHOMA
OHSU
PENN
PITT
TENNESSEE (31/300 OOS interviewed so worth a shot)
USN
VCU
UW
MARQUETTE

You need to be careful, with your stats and THAT many schools, your going to end up with 10-15 interview invites lol.... do you have time (and more importantly, $$$) to go all those?

20/20 with 3.7 = don't apply to more than 15.

IMO, I would take out Columbia and UoP (due to their high DAT), LECOM (you can get in else where), and take out a bunch more lol.

 

[jhanago]

Edited with new list of schools. Thanks guys for all your help. Anyone else?

 

[dentalWorks]

Edited with new list of schools. Thanks guys for all your help. Anyone else?

If you don't have a billion hours in volunteering, take out ASDOH too

And also, I don't like case western reserve (personal reasons), so take it out too

 

[jhanago]

If you don't have a billion hours in volunteering, take out ASDOH too

And also, I don't like case western reserve (personal reasons), so take it out too

I have 3-400 hours. Is that decent or nix it?

 

[TXistheReason]

I was in the same situation as you and when I had finally finished my research and made my a list of schools that I would have a decent shot at getting into, I still had too many. So I started looking at the locations and using that to narrow down even more. For example, I threw out Nebraska, Creighton, and Marquette because I didn't want to live in climates that cold (nothing against those schools/states, just my personal preference). Look at where you want to live and use that to scratch off a few more.

 

[Freeskier02]

So I've tried to narrow it down using the ADEA book but i'm getting nowhere.. DOWN TO 27

Washington State Resident. Did 2 years at a CC and completed chem and bio there

AA: 20
TS: 20
PAT: 20
QR: 21

GPA BCP and Overall : 3.7

100+ hours shadowing. 300+ volunteer hours. All the usual stuff etc etc.

Schools...


ASDOH
MIDWESTERN - AZ
USC ("Safety")
UOP (3 year program = heart)
WESTERN
CONN
NOVA
IOWA
MIDWESTERN - ILLINIOS
INDIANA
LOUISVILLE
MARYLAND
UDM
MICH
MINN
UNC
CREIGHTON
UNLV
BUFFALO
CASE
OSU
OKLAHOMA
OHSU
PENN (Dream School)
PITT
VCU
UW

Knowing that you'll most likely be getting in this next cycle, I would seriously take a look at where you'd actually enjoy living and the tuition/living expenses. I see that you have CASE written down, when I interviewed there I QUICKLY realized that there was no way in hell that I'd live in Cleveland. I hated it! I ended up getting accepted there but it was kind of a waste of time and money for me. I guess it was good for me to see it in person but it definitely would have been easier to take other people's word for it, I was definitely warned by people on SDN. (If you like Cleveland, keep it!) So don't apply to schools where you would not want to live even if you got accepted. Secondly, choose some schools that will be the best fit for you financially, that allow in-state tuition after a year or look into WICHE schools. This wasn't the highest priority for me at first, but it quickly became my top priority after talking to numerous dentists and students. I would definitely cut USC for the expensive tuition and COL. I would also cut UCONN if I were you, in my interview they told me that they pretty much only interview people with 21 TS.

 

[dentalWorks]

I have 3-400 hours. Is that decent or nix it?

I dunno if thats enough. I've talked to a few members here whom had 600+ and the school told them they'll need more lol

You could call them to make sure, or, you can remove them 😀

 

[Lane138]

you don't need to apply to that many schools!!! Save yourself the money and go buy ___something that you really want to splurge on_____.

With your scores, you're definitely going to get in somewhere. So please don't make it tougher for the rest of us by randomly applying to every school whose stats range you fall in. I recommend choosing schools based on what you've heard other people say, visiting there and seeing for yourself, and for locations that you can see yourself living in for four years. There's NO way you actually can see yourself at all those schools.

 

[jhanago]

you don't need to apply to that many schools!!! Save yourself the money and go buy ___something that you really want to splurge on_____.

With your scores, you're definitely going to get in somewhere. So please don't make it tougher for the rest of us by randomly applying to every school whose stats range you fall in. I recommend choosing schools based on what you've heard other people say, visiting there and seeing for yourself, and for locations that you can see yourself living in for four years. There's NO way you actually can see yourself at all those schools.

Honestly, location has NOTHING to do with my decision strangely enough. I couldn't care less about location haha. I'm just a tad paranoid that I might screw up my interviews and not get in anywhere. Thus, apply broadly is my goal... but how broad is the question

 

[thewobblytooth]

i don't know about you, but I only applied to schools that were friendly to OOS and CA students. I've heard that some schools restrict applications OOS (like texas). I figured this out when I bought the ADEA book to D-school. I probably applied to 12 and these were ones that accepted 5 or more CA students

 

[larryguy1960]

if you're not worried about dishing out some serious $, don't care about location, then apply to that list. If you're worried about your interview skills, there is no shame in loading up on schools, getting 7-10 interviews and being able to sleep at night knowing you can afford to blow one or two interviews.

 

[Osity]

You still have 27 schools on your list. That's going to cost you $2,185 for the primary application alone. Then, you're looking at a roughly $50 fee per school for their "secondary" applications, so another $1,350 for that, which brings you to about $3,500 just for your application. Then, say you get 10 interviews (it's likely you'll get more than that based on your stats), it costs around $350/trip by the time you get a flight, hotel, car, food, etc. If you apply to 27 schools, it'll cost you at least $7,000.

I understand the doubt of getting in, but with your stats, you'll get in to a bunch of schools on Dec. 1. If you have the means, apply to all of those schools. If you don't, I would really consider thinning out your list.

Just out of curiosity, why is Penn your dream school?

 

[jhanago]

You still have 27 schools on your list. That's going to cost you $2,185 for the primary application alone. Then, you're looking at a roughly $50 fee per school for their "secondary" applications, so another $1,350 for that, which brings you to about $3,500 just for your application. Then, say you get 10 interviews (it's likely you'll get more than that based on your stats), it costs around $350/trip by the time you get a flight, hotel, car, food, etc. If you apply to 27 schools, it'll cost you at least $7,000.

I understand the doubt of getting in, but with your stats, you'll get in to a bunch of schools on Dec. 1. If you have the means, apply to all of those schools. If you don't, I would really consider thinning out your list.

Just out of curiosity, why is Penn your dream school?

Down to 23!

But, my parents both went to Penn so I grew up around it. I was accepted for undergrad but turned it down and regretted it. so now I want to at least go there for DS