Options for a 3rd time applicant...

[JEMDent]

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I am getting ready to apply for dental school for the 3rd time. If for some reason it does not work this time, I was considering applying the Dental Hygiene School, completing my degree, and then applying to dental school again. Any thoughts? I figured - since I will be completing the post bach program in May - going to dental hygiene school will allow me to continue my education in the field I love and then I could try for dental school a 4th time (at which point I would be even more prepared then I am now).

 

[shans]

I am in the same situation as you are. If you don't mind me asking what are your stats as far as GPA and DAt score. Also what do you mean that you have completed the post-bac program??? I am doing post-bac taking one course per semester being a bio major, i running out of biocourses to take as a post-bac.

 

[samdds]

I thought about this idea before and I actually talked to a couple dental hygiene counselors at different CA schools. I know DH is a in the same field, but are you sure you want to become a dental hygienist? I thought about it and I know DH is not my biggest passion. If this is not my passion, why spend 2 years on a program I don't really love. Also, I will take the spot away from someone who really want to be a DH. And based on what i know, DH program is pretty competitive as well. But that's just my thought.

 

[JEMDent]

I am in the same situation as you are. If you don't mind me asking what are your stats as far as GPA and DAt score. Also what do you mean that you have completed the post-bac program??? I am doing post-bac taking one course per semester being a bio major, i running out of biocourses to take as a post-bac.

I am finishing the Post Bach program at VCU School of Medicine - it is a full-time 1 yr program where you earn a "Master's Certificate" - it prepares you for professional school. My undergrad GPA was ~3.26 and my post bach GPA is 4.0; my DAT was 17AA and 23PAT the 1st time and 18AA and 23PAT the 2nd time.

 

[Ehhhh]

raise that DAT just a bit and you should be golden!!

 

[shans]

I have already taken the DAT three times, I can't really think of taking it for the fourth time. I can possibly not improve on the reading. The Bio section on my DAT was really hard, half of the questions were not fromt he Text book.
I really don't have the courage to retake it.

 

[rtbfyb]

this application cycle was my third time applying and as of now, i've been accepted to two schools. my stats on the DAT were similar to yours, JEMDent, but my undergrad GPA was higher (~3.5 science, 3.7 non-science). when i didn't get in, i focused on how to improve myself as an applicant and how to present the improvement to schools. i didn't want to redo the DAT, so instead i got involved in an orthodontic research project at a nearby hospital and have been working as a dental assistant. i also wrote a kick-*** personal statement that was humble and frank about the fact it was my third time applying and highlighted what i've learned from past application cycles and my improvements. i also used the adea book to find schools that accept students with similar stats to mine and applied all over the place (20 schools in all). i got 6 interviews and two acceptances; the cycles before i got one interview and (obviously) no acceptances.

hope this helps.

 

[aggie-master]

I have already taken the DAT three times, I can't really think of taking it for the fourth time. I can possibly not improve on the reading. The Bio section on my DAT was really hard, half of the questions were not fromt he Text book.
I really don't have the courage to retake it.

I hate to be a debbie downer, but dental school is 10 times more stressful than preparing for and taking the DAT.

The DAT will not get any harder. If you do a better job of preparing for it, there is no reason that your score won't go up in the Bio, Chem, and OChem sections. Also, the math is high school level stuff. If you have trouble with that, then hire a tutor to teach you how to do those problems. If you are having trouble with the reading section, try different methods of taking it from the DAT board to see if they will help you improve your score.

 

[JEMDent]

this application cycle was my third time applying and as of now, i've been accepted to two schools. my stats on the DAT were similar to yours, JEMDent, but my undergrad GPA was higher (~3.5 science, 3.7 non-science). when i didn't get in, i focused on how to improve myself as an applicant and how to present the improvement to schools. i didn't want to redo the DAT, so instead i got involved in an orthodontic research project at a nearby hospital and have been working as a dental assistant. i also wrote a kick-*** personal statement that was humble and frank about the fact it was my third time applying and highlighted what i've learned from past application cycles and my improvements. i also used the adea book to find schools that accept students with similar stats to mine and applied all over the place (20 schools in all). i got 6 interviews and two acceptances; the cycles before i got one interview and (obviously) no acceptances.

hope this helps.

That's a good way to approach it...Thanks!

 

[rose786]

this application cycle was my third time applying and as of now, i've been accepted to two schools. my stats on the DAT were similar to yours, JEMDent, but my undergrad GPA was higher (~3.5 science, 3.7 non-science). when i didn't get in, i focused on how to improve myself as an applicant and how to present the improvement to schools. i didn't want to redo the DAT, so instead i got involved in an orthodontic research project at a nearby hospital and have been working as a dental assistant. i also wrote a kick-*** personal statement that was humble and frank about the fact it was my third time applying and highlighted what i've learned from past application cycles and my improvements. i also used the adea book to find schools that accept students with similar stats to mine and applied all over the place (20 schools in all). i got 6 interviews and two acceptances; the cycles before i got one interview and (obviously) no acceptances.

hope this helps.

I totally agree with this post. Be critical with yourself and figure out what your app is lacking (shadowing, low gpa, low dat, etc) and fix that problem before reapplying.

In your case Jem, I think you've done all you can in terms of grades but a little higher DAT would make you golden. No need to waste time/money on a DH degree.

 

[shans]

My DAT scores for the third time are AA 19 TS 20 PA 15 Chem 21 Orgo 20 BIO 20 Reading 17 QR 16 and my GPA is 3.35 and took 15 hrs Post-Bac GPA 3.75, what should I do at this point for next year. Should I retake my DAT. I studied really hard the third time, used all the resources Achiever, Kaplan, Destroyer, Top score. should I take a chance and retake it for the next year?

 

[ummjoey]

My DAT scores for the third time are AA 19 TS 20 PA 15 Chem 21 Orgo 20 BIO 20 Reading 17 QR 16 and my GPA is 3.35 and took 15 hrs Post-Bac GPA 3.75, what should I do at this point for next year. Should I retake my DAT. I studied really hard the third time, used all the resources Achiever, Kaplan, Destroyer, Top score. should I take a chance and retake it for the next year?

i think a 15 in PAT is too low. i would recommend a retake.......

however, the decision is really up to you. you can just try to apply this cycle and see what happens. remember to apply smart and make sure you are on top of things.

 

[JEMDent]

I totally agree with this post. Be critical with yourself and figure out what your app is lacking (shadowing, low gpa, low dat, etc) and fix that problem before reapplying.

In your case Jem, I think you've done all you can in terms of grades but a little higher DAT would make you golden. No need to waste time/money on a DH degree.

I think you are probably right... The only problem is - when I took it the 2nd time a few of my scores went down (bio went from 19 to 17, chem went from 18 to 17 and quant went from 17 to 15... BUT orgo went from 15 to 18, reading went from 18 to 25 and PAT stayed the same - 23). I am worried that if I take it again, my score will either not change or go down. I did a lot of studying and preparing for that second DAT and was consistently scoring low 20s on each section (sometimes high 20s) on practice tests (about 8+ of them) so I thought for sure I would do very well. When I didn't do nearly as well as I expected, it came as quite a crushing blow to me [I think my nerves definitely got the best of me and I felt the 2nd test was much harder then the 1st.] My GPA should no longer be the problem, I have quite a bit of experience (was a full-time surgical/dental assistant for over a yr), I've volunteered (in the dental school clinic, a dental office, & for MOM)... So it definitely looks as if my DAT is really my only real problem - I just don't want to make it MORE of a problem by taking it a 3rd time and receiving lower scores (which happened last time despite my efforts).

 

[SHC1984]

Did you take the Kaplan Class and use the DAT Destoryer??? If I had to take the DAT again thats what I would do. I took the Kaplan class, but I never used the Destoryer and I scored fairly well. If you use BOTH I am sure you will do even better. Good luck! 🙂

I think you are probably right... The only problem is - when I took it the 2nd time a few of my scores went down (bio went from 19 to 17, chem went from 18 to 17 and quant went from 17 to 15... BUT orgo went from 15 to 18, reading went from 18 to 25 and PAT stayed the same - 23). I am worried that if I take it again, my score will either not change or go down. I did a lot of studying and preparing for that second DAT and was consistently scoring low 20s on each section (sometimes high 20s) on practice tests (about 8+ of them) so I thought for sure I would do very well. When I didn't do nearly as well as I expected, it came as quite a crushing blow to me [I think my nerves definitely got the best of me and I felt the 2nd test was much harder then the 1st.] My GPA should no longer be the problem, I have quite a bit of experience (was a full-time surgical/dental assistant for over a yr), I've volunteered (in the dental school clinic, a dental office, & for MOM)... So it definitely looks as if my DAT is really my only real problem - I just don't want to make it MORE of a problem by taking it a 3rd time and receiving lower scores (which happened last time despite my efforts).

 

[rose786]

I think you are probably right... The only problem is - when I took it the 2nd time a few of my scores went down (bio went from 19 to 17, chem went from 18 to 17 and quant went from 17 to 15... BUT orgo went from 15 to 18, reading went from 18 to 25 and PAT stayed the same - 23). I am worried that if I take it again, my score will either not change or go down. I did a lot of studying and preparing for that second DAT and was consistently scoring low 20s on each section (sometimes high 20s) on practice tests (about 8+ of them) so I thought for sure I would do very well. When I didn't do nearly as well as I expected, it came as quite a crushing blow to me [I think my nerves definitely got the best of me and I felt the 2nd test was much harder then the 1st.] My GPA should no longer be the problem, I have quite a bit of experience (was a full-time surgical/dental assistant for over a yr), I've volunteered (in the dental school clinic, a dental office, & for MOM)... So it definitely looks as if my DAT is really my only real problem - I just don't want to make it MORE of a problem by taking it a 3rd time and receiving lower scores (which happened last time despite my efforts).

Do not doubt yourself!! This is not a hard test, it just takes a lot of effort. I think you'd be fine if you focus on what you don't know and do a bunch of practice questions. Destroyer, Achiever, Topscore, plus Kaplan Subject Tests (pm me if you need these) should be plenty to raise you to where you want to be. Do as many problems as possible and go over them in depth. Leave no stone unturned, no question you're not confident of.

It's really all about mindset. I used to browse the USMLE board to see how med students studied. They have this "take no prisoners" attitude about the test and I think that is what I was lacking the first time I took it. Instead of saying "I kind of get this", I got to the point where I knew stuff cold. I could pull out a blank piece of paper and write out everything about a topic, just like it was written in my notes. You have to overlearn it to be on the safe side.

Hope my little pep talk worked.

 

[JEMDent]

Do not doubt yourself!! This is not a hard test, it just takes a lot of effort. I think you'd be fine if you focus on what you don't know and do a bunch of practice questions. Destroyer, Achiever, Topscore, plus Kaplan Subject Tests (pm me if you need these) should be plenty to raise you to where you want to be. Do as many problems as possible and go over them in depth. Leave no stone unturned, no question you're not confident of.

It's really all about mindset. I used to browse the USMLE board to see how med students studied. They have this "take no prisoners" attitude about the test and I think that is what I was lacking the first time I took it. Instead of saying "I kind of get this", I got to the point where I knew stuff cold. I could pull out a blank piece of paper and write out everything about a topic, just like it was written in my notes. You have to overlearn it to be on the safe side.

Hope my little pep talk worked.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

 

[shans]

Thanks for your advice. I am thinking about retaking it, however I really don't want my science score to drop down!!!

 

[JEMDent]

Thanks for your advice. I am thinking about retaking it, however I really don't want my science score to drop down!!!

Meee toooo.

 

[TempleDMDKrazd]

Meee toooo.

seriously, a big factor on the DAT is confidence. if you don't have any confidence in yourself then you will do bad.