Hey Guys! This is my first post on Student Doctor.net and wanted to know what are my chacnes. I applied to 16 schools and interviewed at the following: U. Pitt., NYU, Boston U., and Indiana U.. I received a alternate status letter from Marquette needing $750.00 and a waitlist letter from NYU today. My first choice is BU and want to know do I have a shot of geting in? I'm majoring in engineering with a 3.5 overall and 17/17 DAT. I hope you guys can give me any advice or what could happen!
Need some advice with a couple schools...
- Thread starter MINI430
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If BU is your first choice then perhaps you should retake the DAT. I know they want 19s. Call and ask....I am not sure what they told you in your interview.
It was never brought up during my interview about retaking the DAT. Is this true about needing a 19 to be given admission? I know in the ADEA guide book it shows BU avg. DAT score as 19 and always thought an avg. was low being 17 and the high being 20+. Any information would be great!
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Hey Mini, I think you should ask BU's admissions director about whether to retake the DAT because he/she can give you a better idea of what's the other applicants' DAT scores are and also suggestion on how to improve your chances of being accepted. Also, by asking the director about this situation will give him/her an indication that you really want to go to their school and will do whatever it takes to get in.
Wish you luck!👍
Wish you luck!👍
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I agree with The Musketeer. I just speak from my own experience. My first DAT avg. was 17....so they told me to re-take the DAT. Second time I got 19s and that was good enough for them to accept me. Mind you, every case is different. So call and ask. Good luck and don't give up! Hopefully we will be classmates!
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Maybe this late in the game, you might need 19s on your DAT, but usually for BU, its not that hard to get an interview there....I didnt have all 19s on my DAt, and i got an interview/acceptence there.....when did you apply? that will make a big diff!
Hey Hopefulgirl...thanks for the advice. I feel like it's a little to late to re-take the DAT at this time due to the fact it'll be 2 weeks to get approval from the time I sign up via online. Do you think this is the only way I'll be given a strong chance of acceptance?
Hey Avingupta...I applied mid August with my ADDSAS submitted to all the schools on late September. I interviewed at BU last week and now wondering what are my chacnes given I was waitlisted at NYU.
Knowing you guys both have been accepted do you mind sharing your stats? Thanks alot!
Hey Avingupta...I applied mid August with my ADDSAS submitted to all the schools on late September. I interviewed at BU last week and now wondering what are my chacnes given I was waitlisted at NYU.
Knowing you guys both have been accepted do you mind sharing your stats? Thanks alot!
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NYU is not as easy to get into as people on here make it seem. People here are mostly gunners so they may get accepted here but NYU only accepts at most 25-30% of the applicants. So do not think you could just walk into any school and think you will get in. They might have picked up on this in the interview with you and may possibly be a reason you got waitlisted.
Best of luck to you. And bother the admisisons people... well really keep in touch with them. Usually the ones that make the most noise are the ones that get picked from the waitlist
Best of luck to you. And bother the admisisons people... well really keep in touch with them. Usually the ones that make the most noise are the ones that get picked from the waitlist
That's a good point! Every interview I had I went in there honest and very interested in the school. I really think all the dental schools I've applied to are great and have a lot to offer to each student. I think it's up to the student to utilize and make the best of what the school has to offer. Anyway, I hope for the best would appreciate ANYMORE information.
Hey Dentaldream....you think so? To be honest NYU during my interview said re-taking the DAT would give me a strong chance of getting in. When I e-mailed Amy at NYU that I have no plans of re-taking it I go my waitlist letter a 1 1/2 weeks later. During my BU interview the interviewer so SO Cool and asked about my research, my engineering background, and how I liked my undergraduate program. During the whole interview the question about DAT or GPA never came up. So I'm wondering what should I do and what my chances are of getting into my #1 top choice? Should I call them and tell them like I did during my interview that BU is my top choice? Until then, any info. would be great!
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Hi Mini
First of all, couldn't you call a testing center within 48 hours? or do you have to register again with ADEA?
I would try the dat again if I was you. It wouldn't hurt you unless you do worse, which you shouldn't. And heck maybe you'll be accepted somewhere before they recieve your scores anyway. Good luck and hopefully I'll see ya next year at BU!
First of all, couldn't you call a testing center within 48 hours? or do you have to register again with ADEA?
I would try the dat again if I was you. It wouldn't hurt you unless you do worse, which you shouldn't. And heck maybe you'll be accepted somewhere before they recieve your scores anyway. Good luck and hopefully I'll see ya next year at BU!
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Mini,
I don't think it will be too late to re-take the test. Just as long as you indicate to the admissions office at BU that you are trying to upgrade your DAT scores soon I am sure if they believe all you need is to have higher DAT scores, than they will reserve a spot for you! Also, if you decide to re-take the test, make sure to give BU frequent updates so they won't loose you on their radar, and it gives them a positive impression that you are willing to do everything you can to get into THEIR school! Your determination will make you stand out from the other applicants.
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Ask them, this allows the adcom to view you as a person who is interested. You don't see a person who is not interested taking the initiative to call them up and ask questions.
I wish you all the best, Mini!
I wish you all the best, Mini!
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Hey Mini,
I think if you can make time to re-take the DATs you definitely should. I think 17/17 is fine, but last I checked that is right around the National average....I graduated college 3 yrs ago, and when I was planning on going to Dental school back in '99 the national average was 15, so the applicant pool has gotten significantly stronger and more competitive.
Your GPA is good...what is your science GPA? and where did you go to school? I went to a small private college and a lot of pple at schools don't know about it...so eventhough my GPA was good, I had to do a little more to prove that i was as competitive as someone coming from a well known school...and so i worked to do really well on my DATs.
I took them twice...the first time I had pink eye so although I had a 19 and broke 20+ on all my sciences...my PAT was weak 14 (cause of my eye infection)...and a lot of the schools didnt really care cause the rest of my credentials...but I did so I took it again in November and did much better in every section....
I got my interviews based on my first scores but when I went for my interviews and told them about why I got a low PAT score and they saw that I took it again just for that...it showed determination and that I was willing to do whatever I could to go to dental school..
I interviewed and was accepted to BU and NYU in less than a week after my interviews. I loved BU and it was one of my top choices...but I got accepted to my #1 choice and declined the acceptances from all the other schools.
I agree with avin that getting an interview is not hard at those schools, but acceptance is different and you have to stand out among the masses. I would suggest taking the DAT again...and eventhough it is late in the game def def!!! call your top schools and let them know that it means soo much to you to go there and to prove it you are re-taking your DATs....
Keep on the schools that you were waitlisted at...cause the thing is alot of private schools lose applicants to state schools. When an applicant gets accepted into their state school, usually (not always) they will go there and call the other schools (at least they should) if they arne't accepting that school's offer, which of course frees up another spot for someone else 🙂
So don't lose hope! =) and good luck!
Sleepless
I think if you can make time to re-take the DATs you definitely should. I think 17/17 is fine, but last I checked that is right around the National average....I graduated college 3 yrs ago, and when I was planning on going to Dental school back in '99 the national average was 15, so the applicant pool has gotten significantly stronger and more competitive.
Your GPA is good...what is your science GPA? and where did you go to school? I went to a small private college and a lot of pple at schools don't know about it...so eventhough my GPA was good, I had to do a little more to prove that i was as competitive as someone coming from a well known school...and so i worked to do really well on my DATs.
I took them twice...the first time I had pink eye so although I had a 19 and broke 20+ on all my sciences...my PAT was weak 14 (cause of my eye infection)...and a lot of the schools didnt really care cause the rest of my credentials...but I did so I took it again in November and did much better in every section....
I got my interviews based on my first scores but when I went for my interviews and told them about why I got a low PAT score and they saw that I took it again just for that...it showed determination and that I was willing to do whatever I could to go to dental school..
I interviewed and was accepted to BU and NYU in less than a week after my interviews. I loved BU and it was one of my top choices...but I got accepted to my #1 choice and declined the acceptances from all the other schools.
I agree with avin that getting an interview is not hard at those schools, but acceptance is different and you have to stand out among the masses. I would suggest taking the DAT again...and eventhough it is late in the game def def!!! call your top schools and let them know that it means soo much to you to go there and to prove it you are re-taking your DATs....
Keep on the schools that you were waitlisted at...cause the thing is alot of private schools lose applicants to state schools. When an applicant gets accepted into their state school, usually (not always) they will go there and call the other schools (at least they should) if they arne't accepting that school's offer, which of course frees up another spot for someone else 🙂
So don't lose hope! =) and good luck!
Sleepless
Hey Sleepless! Wow thanks for the helpful advice. I'm majoring in engineering at Vanderbilt University. I've done pretty good here in both my major and overall classes. My sci gpa is a 3.1 with an overall 3.5. I've not heard from BU since my interview, which was a week ago. During the interview my GPA or DAT score was not brought up. You think if it was a big problem they would have brought it up...right? Still I'm worried this could be a problem gaining acceptance to the school. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!
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I think getting invited to interviews at schools such as BU and NYU, don't mean anything. Getting an interview from Tufts is a different story. BU interviews a lot of students and then they are picky about who they accept! So just call and ask. All the best!
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So true and Temple is another school that interviews a lot of people first and then decides. I prefer schools that do more of their pruning before interviewing because it saves candidates a good deal of money that would be spent on travel. The interesting thing is that some of those schools don't even interview that heavily so I got the impression that they invite you over and then predominantly look at the numbers anyway to make their decisions, although I am sure that around 25% are taken out of the running by their interviews.
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Are you sure about this? I went to my BU interview with no intentions of going to the school....not only was I late for the interview, but I accidentally called the guy Mr. XX, and he corrected me and said Dr. XX in a very annoyed manner....and he mentioned a couple of times that I was late....
but a few weeks later, I got an acceptence, and my stats are weak. I really think if you get the BU interview, you are golden....so dont fret and lose sleep over it!!
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Yah, Temple does interview a lot of people, and they accept around 2/3 from the ones they interview...I really think getting an acceptence from Temple is not hard at all, but it takes more work...such as contacting them after your interview and explaining your interest, and why you liked their school. When they see this, an acceptence is on the way cause it shows motivation.
Temple is a DAT school, so if you have a 20 DAT, you are guaranteed an interview....
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Thanks a lot! I suspected that they wanted to hear from us. I just shot them out an e-mail. I'm sure your advice will help me get an acceptance there, and I think it's a great school too.
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NO prob...you did the right thing...just email Brian Hahn, and tell him you had a great time, and why you loved the school....and tell them u look forward to being at Temple in August!
I dunno about other schools, but an email at Temple goes a long way!
Avingupta are being serious or just playing around! If you don't mind me asking what are your stats? I really felt my interview went really really well! What do you think my chances are? So even after having a alright interview you got in! I'm sure you have pretty good stats!
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avingupta,
Do you have Brian Hahn's email address?
Do you have Brian Hahn's email address?
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regarding BU...
I had a 17 AA and they told me to retake the DAT's. I decided to wait and see where else I got interviews/acceptances and then decide if I really needed to retake them just for BU. Well...I've gotten interviews at many schools (tufts, michigan, pitt, temple, nova, etc..) and accepted so far at Tufts.
My father is an alumni of BU dental school (and my mother undergrad) and they still have not let me know if I've gotten an interview. I assume they are waiting to see if I'm going to re-take the DAT, but obviously if I can get into good schools I say screw them!
I guess if they are not willing to look at my overall "package", then it's their loss. Plus, they really screwed themselves out of any future donations from the alumni in my family. Very wierd to me considering they seem to give out lots of interviews, but who knows..just my odd little experience.
I had a 17 AA and they told me to retake the DAT's. I decided to wait and see where else I got interviews/acceptances and then decide if I really needed to retake them just for BU. Well...I've gotten interviews at many schools (tufts, michigan, pitt, temple, nova, etc..) and accepted so far at Tufts.
My father is an alumni of BU dental school (and my mother undergrad) and they still have not let me know if I've gotten an interview. I assume they are waiting to see if I'm going to re-take the DAT, but obviously if I can get into good schools I say screw them!
I guess if they are not willing to look at my overall "package", then it's their loss. Plus, they really screwed themselves out of any future donations from the alumni in my family. Very wierd to me considering they seem to give out lots of interviews, but who knows..just my odd little experience.
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When I was at my UF interview, I asked about the avg GPA in d-school over the past few years. They said that the GPA of dental students has been fairly consistent. So then I asked what has been the trend in DAT AA. They responded that the AA avg has been going up and they think students with 17's should retake it. Then I asked if GPA in dental school has been the same over the years but the DAT AA avg is going up, doesn't that show that the DAT is not a sole/main factor for dental school success???
Then there was a moment of silence...
Then they finally fessed up and said it makes the school look better (for many reasons, mostly political) if the numbers are higher for the incoming students.
Admissions is a stupid little game. If the admissions director got laid the night before you will get in with 16's. If they have bad gas you will get waitlisted with 20's
Then there was a moment of silence...
Then they finally fessed up and said it makes the school look better (for many reasons, mostly political) if the numbers are higher for the incoming students.
Admissions is a stupid little game. If the admissions director got laid the night before you will get in with 16's. If they have bad gas you will get waitlisted with 20's
Hey Brocnizer2007, that is true. It's very subjective and really depends on the mind frame the admissions committe members are in that day. I really hope the U. Pitt and BU admissions committe are having a good day when they look at me🙄 Anymore would be great guys. I'm feeling a little better.
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Why don't you just call and ask!!
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u rock, Broc; great way of putting it!
I can see all of us following around adcom members the day before the interview trying to make sure they don't eat beans...
On a more serious note, best of luck to you, Mini!!
