Need Help With Dental School Application List

[ajordan9999]

Hey everyone, I'm applying to dental school this upcoming cycle and have cut down my list to 22 schools and I'm looking for help to cut the list down to around 14 and I need some input on how to do that. I will have met the prerequisites for all of them but was hoping to hear some thoughts from the more experienced people out there....Let me know. Any other advice is greatly appreciated.
For background, I'm from Utah, Have a 3.96 GPA, (No DAT yet but I'm applying before I take it... I'm confident I will do ok) Major: Microbiology, Minor: Chemistry. Shadowing hours: 125, Service hours: 118. Been on 2 research projects in undergrad.

Here's my list

• University of North Carolina
• University of Utah
• University of Pennsylvania
• Oregon Health Sciences University
• Ohio State University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Temple University
• Marquette University
• UCONN
• VCU
• Creighton
• Louisville
• Indiana
• Case Western
• UNLV
• Tennesee
• University of Kentucky
• University of New England
• University of Maryland
• University of Nebraska
• University of Oklahoma
• Rutgers

Update: Getting into a specialty residency is also an important factor for me.

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[coolguy07]

Your GPA is excellent! it is difficult to make a judgment for which school you would be a good candidate for without a DAT score

 

[ajordan9999]

Your GPA is excellent! it is difficult to make a judgment for which school you would be a good candidate for without a DAT score

Ya, unfortunately, I will have submitted my application by the time I take the DAT. However, I am going to start studying in December and taking it in June. I work really hard and am pretty certain I will do well. Say I got a 23.... Would that change anything?

 

[deleted903013]

Take the DAT and come back to us. But I'd say of the state schools you apply to be sure you can get in state tuition after a year. At my state school, the out of state cost is more expensive than some private schools. Consider doing HPSP as well.

Update: Getting into a specialty residency is also an important factor for me.

You can get into a specialty residency from any dental school in the country so this doesn't change the equation. Cost is the number one factor you need to be considering.

 

[taurusdentist]

If you are pretty certain that you will do well on the DAT, and with your 3.96 GPA, I would wait until after you take your DAT to submit to prevent yourself from spending $$$$ on that many schools. With an average/above average DAT, if you have a strong rest of your cycle there is no need to apply to that many schools unless you have a ton of money to put towards it. There is also no need to submit your application the second that cycle opens. Yes, it does increase some peoples chances, but with your stats you should be fine waiting a few weeks to take your DAT, finalize your school list, and then submit and pay. I had a lower GPA than you and got a 22AA/20TS on my DAT and didn't submit until Aug 13 to 7 schools, and I received 5 interviews already.

 

[ajordan9999]

If you are pretty certain that you will do well on the DAT, and with your 3.96 GPA, I would wait until after you take your DAT to submit to prevent yourself from spending $$$$ on that many schools. With an average/above average DAT, if you have a strong rest of your cycle there is no need to apply to that many schools unless you have a ton of money to put towards it. There is also no need to submit your application the second that cycle opens. Yes, it does increase some peoples chances, but with your stats you should be fine waiting a few weeks to take your DAT, finalize your school list, and then submit and pay. I had a lower GPA than you and got a 22AA/20TS on my DAT and didn't submit until Aug 13 to 7 schools, and I received 5 interviews already.

Great! What other advice do you have? How many service hours did you have and what were your service opportunities?
Also, the whole purpose of this was to help me narrow down this list to like 14 or so....

 

[taurusdentist]

Great! What other advice do you have? How many service hours did you have and what were your service opportunities?

Have a strong personal statement with something that'll make you stand out rather than just "I want to be a dentist because x, y, z." Have strong letters of recommendation (I don't know what mine said, but I was close with my 3 people who wrote them so I assume they were decent). I had done a dental mission trip to Nicaragua so I had some service hours from that, as well as 2 other abroad opportunties (non-dental related). Was involved in clubs at my undergrad. I've worked since I was 16 so I had a lot of employment hours but I don't know if that really has much of an effect as does volunteer and service hours. Even though you have above the shadow hours for most schools, I would continue shadowing up until you submit your application (and then keep shadowing to add to academic updates) to show that you didn't just hit the minimum and stop. I think I had 160 or so shadow hours and around the same for volunteer. I talked about the research I did also (just because it related to dentistry a little), but I know many people who haven't done research at all and that hasn't seemed to hurt them.

 

[coolguy07]

UNC's out of state average is 24 AA so keep that in mind when you apply.

you need 3 science LOR submitted through AADSAS for Rutgers

 

[macsak]

Great! What other advice do you have? How many service hours did you have and what were your service opportunities?
Also, the whole purpose of this was to help me narrow down this list to like 14 or so....

if you are in the 20s, you won't have to apply to 14 schools...

 

[Milkteeth12]

Ya, unfortunately, I will have submitted my application by the time I take the DAT. However, I am going to start studying in December and taking it in June. I work really hard and am pretty certain I will do well. Say I got a 23.... Would that change anything?

Obviously it’s up to you, but I wouldn’t wait until June to take the DAT if possible. I personally started studying in December and took it the first week of April while taking a full class schedule and thought that was a good amount of time. Your stats are great but getting your application in as early as possible is the best course of action.

 

[artist2022]

I would apply after you have DAT scores in hand. Everyone aims to do well on the DAT, but sometimes things happen/life happens and it doesn't happen. Hope for the best/plan for the worst and apply when you know your scores (especially more so because you have a high GPA - you need a high DAT to match it, otherwise your undergrad may come across as having been too easy since the DAT is the only equalizer dental schools have to compare applicants with). Update your post when you have your scores to finalize a sensible school list. Good luck!

 

[Charcot-Marie-Tooth]

Hey everyone, I'm applying to dental school this upcoming cycle and have cut down my list to 22 schools and I'm looking for help to cut the list down to around 14 and I need some input on how to do that. I will have met the prerequisites for all of them but was hoping to hear some thoughts from the more experienced people out there....Let me know. Any other advice is greatly appreciated.
For background, I'm from Utah, Have a 3.96 GPA, (No DAT yet but I'm applying before I take it... I'm confident I will do ok) Major: Microbiology, Minor: Chemistry. Shadowing hours: 125, Service hours: 118. Been on 2 research projects in undergrad.

Here's my list

• University of North Carolina
• University of Utah
• University of Pennsylvania
• Oregon Health Sciences University
• Ohio State University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Temple University
• Marquette University
• UCONN
• VCU
• Creighton
• Louisville
• Indiana
• Case Western
• UNLV
• Tennesee
• University of Kentucky
• University of New England
• University of Maryland
• University of Nebraska
• University of Oklahoma
• Rutgers

Update: Getting into a specialty residency is also an important factor for me.

Hold your horses bucko - It's "not requisite that man run faster than he has strength". Do well on the DAT and you'll have a shot at any of those schools. I'd put a bit more research into those that you're applying to (in that list, you have schools that are very different from one another).
Some schools ask where else you applied to gauge if you really know what you're looking for (as it is generally indicative based on where one applied).