Need help narrowing down schools

[Impulse155]

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Im a New York Applicant. 3.15 gpa, 3.5 over the past 2 years. 20AA/19TS/23PAT. I have great LOR's, good volunteering etc. I was going through and selecting schools. Next thing I know, I have a list like 5x the size of what I wanted lol. Anyone with some help? I went through the OOS friendlies and chose all those. I chose all the New York schools and I feel that I also picked a few that are "Where I want to go" vs "Where I should apply"
Any help narrowing down a few here and there?

Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (AZ)
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona (MWU)
Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (WESTU)
University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry (USC)
The University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine (COL)
Howard University College of Dentistry (HOW)
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (NSU)
Georgia Health Sciences University College of Dental Medicine (GHSU)
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (MWU-IL)
Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU)
Indiana University School of Dentistry (IND)
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UK)
University of Louisville School of Dentistry (UL)
Louisiana State University School of Dentistry (LSU)
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUF)
Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MYD)
University of New England College of Dental Medicine (UNE)
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry (UDM)
University of Michigan School of Dentistry (MICH)
Creighton University School of Dentistry (CRE)
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Dental School (UMDNJ)
University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine (UNLV)
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine (SUSB)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry (OSU)
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University (TEMP)
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (PITT)
Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine (MSC)
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry (UTHSC)
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry (MEH)
University of Utah School of Dentistry (UTAH)
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (USN)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry (VCU)
Marquette University School of Dentistry (MQT)
West Virginia University School of Dentistry (WVA)

 

[jeffity]

Go though the list and see which prefer regional applicants (that can make OOS stats deceptive). Like Colorado. Take a peek at tuition for fun too. I think SIU is the most expensive school if you're OOS. If you picked ASDOH for low stats and OOS, rethink that. I've read UT taking 2 OOS for 20 slots this year. GA only takea 5% OOS. Take a look at the 'where should I apply' sticky tread too to see of there are ones you can throw out.

 

[ushaseos]

In case you haven't checked this out yet:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=635046

Helped me a lot with the OOS dilemna.

Also don't apply to schools with vastly higher or lower stats. Its just a waste of money and time. I'd say shoot for 2-3 safety schools, 8 or so good schools and maybe 2-3 reach schools.

Lastly, don't apply to Meharry or Howard unless you are URM.

 

[Impulse155]

In case you haven't checked this out yet:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=635046

Helped me a lot with the OOS dilemna.

Also don't apply to schools with vastly higher or lower stats. Its just a waste of money and time. I'd say shoot for 2-3 safety schools, 8 or so good schools and maybe 2-3 reach schools.

Lastly, don't apply to Meharry or Howard unless you are URM.

But with my GPA what are my safety schools/good schools/reach

 

[finchy86]

I would cut your list down to 20. The list you have is a lot of money and a ton of secondary applications to fill out. It gets old quickly. Your stats are decent so I think you'll be fine. Good luck!

 

[ushaseos]

With your GPA safe schools would be those with decent stat requirements and larger class sizes. If I remember correctly Tufts would fit the bill. Its not exactly an "easy" school to get into, but due to the larger class size it would be one you can count on more. Similarly NYU would be something of a safety school.

A safety school isn't exactly something you know you'll get into...that sort of a thing just doesn't exist here. Its just something you have a good chance at getting into.

 

[Impulse155]

In case you haven't checked this out yet:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=635046

Helped me a lot with the OOS dilemna.

Also don't apply to schools with vastly higher or lower stats. Its just a waste of money and time. I'd say shoot for 2-3 safety schools, 8 or so good schools and maybe 2-3 reach schools.

Lastly, don't apply to Meharry or Howard unless you are URM.

This is basically how I made my list. I took all 30 of those schools, plus my state ones and a few others.
I dont have loma linda, dont have uconn, Columbia is only on there because I have an LOR from a professor at columbia dental.

Outside of
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine (SUSB)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MYD)
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUF)
Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University (TEMP)
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry (UDM)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry (VCU)
Marquette University School of Dentistry (MQT)
Indiana University School of Dentistry (IND)

Where els shoudl I apply. Thats 13. Aiming for 20.

 

[znny19]

Maybe UNE, Nova, UMDNJ (they like applicants from the tristate), Upitt? Your list right now looks good although I would remove Stony Brook. Though you are a NY resident they have about 35 seats with avg gpa of 3.7 and AA of 21. If money is not an issue tho then keep it. Good Luck!

 

[omnipoDent]

But with my GPA what are my safety schools/good schools/reach

While it's good to have the experience, LOR, volunteering, etc.., it's only when paired with a good gpa and DAT score. You basically have an average DAT score for accepted students. While the DAT score is solid, your GPA of a 3.15 is well below the averages for admitted students at most schools. Obviously, an acceptance is never guaranteed, regardless of scores, but based on the numbers I don't believe any schools qualify as safety schools for you. I think your list will mostly be levels of reach, as low reach-middle reach-high reach. You may have a few (MWU-AZ, MWU-IL, Roseman) that are closer to a match than a low reach, though.

Here were the average admission statistics for last cycle:

View attachment 2011 Ranking of DS-GPA-DAT-Other SDN .xls

I hope that helps you in deciding where to apply. Best of luck.👍

 

[Impulse155]

Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine (SUSB)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Dental School (UMDNJ)
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MYD)
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUF)
Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University (TEMP)
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry (UDM)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry (VCU)
Marquette University School of Dentistry (MQT)
Indiana University School of Dentistry (IND)
University of New England College of Dental Medicine (UNE)
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (NSU)
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (MWU-IL)
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (USN)
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (AZ)

Thats 19, what you guys think?

 

[LiteBear2011]

OOS may be misleading. Some schools might seem like really OOS friendly schools but because neighboring states don't have dental schools they accept students from those states that are in the region. I would look into seeing if your school has a copy of the ADEA guide (which is like the dental school applicant bible) and looking into which states are represented at the schools on your list.

just my 2 cents.

 

[qkchen]

I think you have a good list of schools. For Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, I read that they need crazy high number of volunteer hours; it sounds like you have substantial volunteering, but just wanted to give a heads up to meet their requirements.

 

[mmmsteakdinners]

Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine (SUSB)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Dental School (UMDNJ)
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MYD)
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUF)
Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University (TEMP)
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry (UDM)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry (VCU)
Marquette University School of Dentistry (MQT)
Indiana University School of Dentistry (IND)
University of New England College of Dental Medicine (UNE)
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (NSU)
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (MWU-IL)
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (USN)
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (AZ)

Thats 19, what you guys think?

I am also a NY Resident, 3.54 GPA and 21AA/21TS/22PAT and my list is basically the same. I applied to 17 schools and the only difference is I didn't apply to the Arizonas or Midwestern, added UPenn, Pitt and UConn. I suggest you add Pitt, OOS friendly and a great school.

 

[Impulse155]

I am also a NY Resident, 3.54 GPA and 21AA/21TS/22PAT and my list is basically the same. I applied to 17 schools and the only difference is I didn't apply to the Arizonas or Midwestern, added UPenn, Pitt and UConn. I suggest you add Pitt, OOS friendly and a great school.

Sounds good, that makes 20 🙂
Any other suggestions?

 

[bluesprite13]

I talked to a representative from ASDOH and they specifically emphasize that you have many many hours of community service (not to confuse w/ dental shadowing).