Need some brutal honesty!

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RSalha17

UWSOD c/o 2017 :)
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I need a little help! I am from Washington and currently go to UW going into my senior year, I have a 3.37 Cum and 3.0 science, and am about to take the DAT, hoping for 20+. The reason my GPA is low is because I work full time to support my schooling and housing, but I know I can do well on the DAT to balance out my GPA. I have over 250 hours of community service/time in clinics, and some research in the UW dental school dealing with public health. I've had different types of jobs and EC's and had the chance to study abroad for a few months. My questions are...

1)If I get 20+ on my DAT would I be a somewhat competitve applicant?

2)How can I let them know that I work full time and tell them why my GPA is low, do I do that through my personal statment or on the AADSAS app somewhere?

3)Any thoughts of what would make me a more competitive applicant?

Please be brutally honest I need to know what I need to do, my passion is in dentistry and I know that if I get interviews I can show that to them.

Thanks!
 
If you work full time and have that listed under the work section of AADSAS, Adcoms will realize that it may have gotten in the way of your GPA. If you're able to tie in your work into your PS, go ahead by all means. You need to get a solid DAT score to prove to adcoms that you know your stuff and that it really was your work that got in the way of your grades. I think the AADSAS app has a section for you to list other, miscellaneous information you'd like adcoms to consider. That would be a good place to include this information.
 
Solving a problem with too many unknowns is pretty hard to do. You could wait until you have your DAT scores firmly in hand.
 
Ya I guess that makes sense, thanks for the responses guys I really do appreciate it, just gotta do well on the DAT and take it from there! Doc Toothache, any suggestions on somehow letting them know how much I work and how that has affected the gpa?

P.S. you rock and I really appreciate what you do for SDN
 
RSalha17 good luck on your test! Do your best and fight for every point and then have a nice refreshing beverage 🙂

You seem to have put a lot of work in it as you have done lots of EC and research. Plus you are a responsible person as you are funding your own education and you have clear goals.

Apply broadly especially to those schools that look at your complete application, and I know UW is one of them. Do your best on the DAT and the interviews! Good luck!
 
in the application process, there is a section where you can talk about that. Attending university level course-work, while juggling a full-time job is tough. I think you have a good shot at applying if you can kill the dat. goodluck!
 
Solving a problem with too many unknowns is pretty hard to do. You could wait until you have your DAT scores firmly in hand.


This makes me laugh, he asks for brutal honesty and you give him one of your more tame posts:laugh:
 
So when everyone says, "kill the DAT" is that basically just saying 21+?
 
A lot is going to be dependent on your DAT score. 3.37 isn't the lowest gpa that's ever gotten in, but it's a little on the lower end. If you do well on the dat, have good essays/interview skills and apply to a lot (~15) schools I would think you would be able to get in somewhere.
 
I would guess, that in the event you don't get in, your sGPA will be a big reason why. 3.0 is basically the bare minimum.

Blow the DAT out of the water (I think of that as 21+ with no lower than 19 in any category) and you have a shot. If you don't get in this year, you will have a nice shot next year assuming you can take some science courses to up your sGPA.
 
So basically it all comes down to the DAT! :scared:

I had another question, I am part of an international outreach group and we will travel to Panama in a month to assist dentists in dental work and to help educate the communities of proper oral hygiene. I know that certain schools, especially UW tend to look down upon international outreach because it has been deemed unethical. Is this the way it is looked at around the nation or is it just UW who frowns upon international work with pre-dents? Will this hurt my chances of getting into school?
 
I would guess, that in the event you don't get in, your sGPA will be a big reason why. 3.0 is basically the bare minimum.

Blow the DAT out of the water (I think of that as 21+ with no lower than 19 in any category) and you have a shot. If you don't get in this year, you will have a nice shot next year assuming you can take some science courses to up your sGPA.

Makes sense, what I didnt mension is that I still have a few sciences classes left to take that will up my science gpa, i.e. biochem, microbio, physics, and ochem lab. So I still have a chance to significantly raise my sGPA... Hopefully! 🙂
 
So basically it all comes down to the DAT! :scared:

I had another question, I am part of an international outreach group and we will travel to Panama in a month to assist dentists in dental work and to help educate the communities of proper oral hygiene. I know that certain schools, especially UW tend to look down upon international outreach because it has been deemed unethical. Is this the way it is looked at around the nation or is it just UW who frowns upon international work with pre-dents? Will this hurt my chances of getting into school?

Why do they view this as unethical behavior?
 
this is the 1st time i've heard of international outreach being considered unethical.

I'm pretty sure all schools have the goals of promote oral health care, I would think it would run counter to that if you consider international groups that do such things to be unethical.

Now it possible that certain organizations have questionable history/ties are the ones they frown upon, but I highly doubt schools would call all international outreach groups unethical.

I'm not applying to Washington so I am up to stuff on what they like and i'm only generalizing.
 
Why do they view this as unethical behavior?

because the predents might be overextending themselves in the activities that they could possibly be performing on one of these trips. This is a document that predental advising forwarded late last year.

It is not unethical if don't do anything that you need to have training for. But if you are a dental hygienist and a pre-dent at same time, then by all means do help as a hygienist, but don't extract teeth.
 

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because the predents might be overextending themselves in the activities that they could possibly be performing on one of these trips. This is a document that predental advising forwarded late last year.

It is not unethical if don't do anything that you need to have training for. But if you are a dental hygienist and a pre-dent at same time, then by all means do help as a hygienist, but don't extract teeth.

I wrote in my personal statement that I helped brush teeth. I think that's okay?
 
I say do it and get as much experience as the patient is willing to provide. What if all the doctors are busy and there isn't enough staff to yank those rotten teeth? Time to glove up son and see what you're made of. We'd have races of who could fill a bucket first (I'm pretty sure all those teeth would have been infected eventually). Injections take some practice. My first time I'm not sure where I put the needle but before I emptied that syringe of lidocaine with epinephrine the lady bolted straight up like a rabid dog hyperventilating and heart racing until it passed through her system.


PETA DISCLAIMER: No rabid dogs were harmed in this trip.
 
you're on the right track. study hard and do well on dat. when are you planning on applying to ds? I'm applying next cycle, but I'm also considering doing a few quarters as a 5th year to boost up my science gpa. if you apply to ds your senior year, I would recommend an extra quarter or more to boost up sceince gpa while you wait.
 
If you're applying this cycle and you have those stats your chances are slim if you haven't put your application in yet. For boarder line candidates such as yourself applying early and broadly is key. If you apply within the next 15 days you'd be on the end side of on time after that you'd be considered a late candidate. This is mainly because AADSAS takes forever to confirm that they received your stuff and to send your stuff out once they confirm they have it.

Your numbers are good enough for a chance but you want as many things in your favor as possible, that includes application timing.
 
If you're applying this cycle and you have those stats your chances are slim if you haven't put your application in yet. For boarder line candidates such as yourself applying early and broadly is key. If you apply within the next 15 days you'd be on the end side of on time after that you'd be considered a late candidate. This is mainly because AADSAS takes forever to confirm that they received your stuff and to send your stuff out once they confirm they have it.

Your numbers are good enough for a chance but you want as many things in your favor as possible, that includes application timing.

Ya I'm planning on applying next cycle and have everything ready to go right when the AADSAS app opens up in order to maximize my chances at getting in. I really think I'll have an okay chance if I apply really early next cycle, and do well this year with all the science classes I'm taking.

And UW deems international outreach unethical because they have heard of predents going over to third world countries and extracting teeth, and doing things they shouldnt be doing without proper training. Also, they feel that there is a lot of need for help in our own communities so why go out to another country to help them when we need help here.
 
What do you mean? Like before I apply or before I interview (assuming that I get one)?
Call and see if you can set up a meeting with them before you apply- now or in the early Fall. You stand a better chance if you discuss any concerns that you have with them now. They may give you some advice on things that you can do to become a more competitive applicant over the next year.
 
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