picked my initial 5 schools on dat app, how are they?

[whateveryoulike]

Well I registered for the DAT and picked my initial 5 schools to have scores sent to:

Florida
Nova
Denver
Las Vegas
Portland

I'm a Florida resident, hence the choice for Florida and Nova. I chose the other 3 based on liking the area (not a partier so no comments about Vegas please) in terms of scenery and cost of living/school cost. Would you guys rank these schools harder/easier than "average" (if there is one) to get accepted into as an out of state applicant?

ps - internet is out at my place so it might be a day or two before i respond.

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[somethinpositiv]

Well I registered for the DAT and picked my initial 5 schools to have scores sent to:

Florida
Nova
Denver
Las Vegas
Portland

I'm a Florida resident, hence the choice for Florida and Nova. I chose the other 3 based on liking the area (not a partier so no comments about Vegas please) in terms of scenery and cost of living/school cost. Would you guys rank these schools harder/easier than "average" (if there is one) to get accepted into as an out of state applicant?

ps - internet is out at my place so it might be a day or two before i respond.

UF and Nova are good choices, as is UNLV. It is very difficult to get into OHSU and Colorado as out-of-state, you might as well pick two more realistic choices (such as Buffalo and Temple).

 

[cjb04]

In terms of getting interviews, I would consider adding any of the following: NYU, Midwestern, Indiana, and ASDOH. I received interviews at all 4 of these schools (plus UF) as a florida resident. Oh, and apply to more than 5. I applied to only 5 schools my first time and didn't get accepted. This past cycle, I applied to 15 and had 5 interviews, 2 acceptances (NYU and Midwestern).

 

[bwdgator]

In terms of getting interviews, I would consider adding any of the following: NYU, Midwestern, Indiana, and ASDOH. I received interviews at all 4 of these schools (plus UF) as a florida resident. Oh, and apply to more than 5. I applied to only 5 schools my first time and didn't get accepted. This past cycle, I applied to 15 and had 5 interviews, 2 acceptances (NYU and Midwestern).

What did you do for that one year...I'm in the same boat that you were in and Im trying to figure out a back up plan.

 

[cjb04]

I took a gamble. I gambled that my GPA and DATs would be high enough to get in SOMEWHERE. I therefore focused on job shadowing, volunteering as a dental assistant at my health department, getting good letters of recommendation, writing a killer personal statement, and saving money by working part-time as a server. Truthfully, my stats are probably borderline to get an acceptance with how competitive admission is getting. Everyone is different, and you may need to retake DATs or enroll in a special masters program to raise your GPA. I was lucky that I did not have to, but I did have some post-bac programs in mind to apply to if I did not get any December acceptances.

 

[PDizzle]

Adding ASDOH is questionable. They do infact interview a lot of people but reject a lot too. I would only apply there if you are what they want in an app.

There are plenty of threads that deal with this but to sum it up, if you are into providing care to the underserved as a main goal for entering dentistry, then you will have a good shot at getting in.

I agree with OSHU and Colorado as been long shots as an out of state applicant. I would add NYU, Temple and USC to just about anyone's list.

Good luck.

P.S. applying to 15+ schools is about the norm now-a-days. Applying to just 5 schools in this competative field is a little cocky!! hehe

 

[vlct0ria]

Sorry to the OP for intruding...but while were on the topic...when you apply for the DAT and get the notice saying you're eligible, how long afterwards do you have to schedule your actual testing date? Also, at what point in the process do you indicate which schools to send your scores to (when you apply to take the test, when you schedule an appointment, on testing day??) ? Is it best to go ahead and specify to send the scores to every school you plan on applying to, or just the 5 and then adding more later?

 

[Plopper]

Adding ASDOH is questionable. They do infact interview a lot of people but reject a lot too. I would only apply there if you are what they want in an app.

There are plenty of threads that deal with this but to sum it up, if you are into providing care to the underserved as a main goal for entering dentistry, then you will have a good shot at getting in.

I agree with OSHU and Colorado as been long shots as an out of state applicant. I would add NYU, Temple and USC to just about anyone's list.

Good luck.

P.S. applying to 15+ schools is about the norm now-a-days. Applying to just 5 schools in this competative field is a little cocky!! hehe

OP: i would apply to 15 schools if i were you, i thought with a 3.7 in a heavy science major with 20/20 DAT i would be quite competitive, and even so i never heard back from Temple

apply to more and you'll have better chances, search for easier schools to get into, as well as look at pre-dents for average applicant gpa's/dat per acceptance. Dr. Toothache has some really awesome threads about these topics in his signature, helped me when i applied

it would also be helpful if you posted your overall gpa, sci gpa, and DAT score averages

 

[PDizzle]

Sorry to the OP for intruding...but while were on the topic...when you apply for the DAT and get the notice saying you're eligible, how long afterwards do you have to schedule your actual testing date? Also, at what point in the process do you indicate which schools to send your scores to (when you apply to take the test, when you schedule an appointment, on testing day??) ? Is it best to go ahead and specify to send the scores to every school you plan on applying to, or just the 5 and then adding more later?

If memory serves, you can add schools to recieve your DAT before and/or after the test. I think when you "buy" the test, they give you 5 with it(I believe that's the "5" you mentioned). If you look at the cost table, you will see that the more you send, the cheaper each one is, at least this is how it was back when I took it.

Not sure about how long you have to schedule a date.

All these questions should really be answered from Prometrix or the ADA/ADEA if you want 100% certainty.


/hijacking thread

 

[dc0617]

I think 15 schools is a little excessive, not to mention expensive. I too picked schools based on the area I thought I wanted to live and I wish I had taken a different approach. Read about schools you're interested in, see how they compare to other schools (there are PLENTY of xxx vs xxx threads here), and be selective on where you apply. Remember, you have to impress a school first, but they have to impress you too if they really want you in the incoming class and get those 4 years of tuition out of you! Just my opinion

 

[DiNoZeRo2o9]

UF and Nova are good choices, as is UNLV. It is very difficult to get into OHSU and Colorado as out-of-state, you might as well pick two more realistic choices (such as Buffalo and Temple).

qft