Preparing for next cycle, what to do?

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Hello SDNers!

As application cycle is coming to a close, I'm afraid it's time to consider how to prepare for the next cycle in case this one does not work out. Out of the 9 schools I applied to, I have interviewed at 2 (One pre dec, one post dec) and am waiting to hear back from both. I have had only one rejection without interview and just no news from the other schools, which I plan to contact this week.

I'm just looking for some advice based on my application and others with similar experience on what I might do to improve my application for the next cycle. One of my dental mentors has recommended I do a masters to raise my science GPA from low Freshman/Sophomore grades. I'm concerned about the price tag on that and am wondering if there are any reasonable programs or other options for me?

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and for any advice!!!

As far as my application stats go I have:
BCP: 3.25
Science: 3.25
Non-science: 3.84
Total: 3.48
Most classes taken at my undergrad (University of Washington) and a couple at community college (some in high school, then recently Human A&P)

DAT:
PAT = 22
QR = 18
RC = 21
Bio = 21
GenC = 21
OChem = 18
TS = 20
AA = 20

Shadowing Experience: about 500+ hours mostly at a clinic at UW and some in private practice

Volunteer Work: about 80 hours at homeless shelters, 100+ hours for Make-a-Wish, various other hours in other organizations

Worked all through college, mostly as a waitress

I recently got my dental assistant registration but haven't been able to get a job in that field yet since those hiring are concerned that I would go off to dental school soon.

If this cycle doesn't work out I would also be interested in opportunities to travel and work or volunteer if anyone has insight into that

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[DC206R]

Same boat, similar stats. You seem like a well rounded applicant. Any way you can raise that GPA? I think it'll help tremendously. Clinical experience is a nice plus too if you can get it. I know this isn't necessary, but I'd possibly looking into aiming for a 21+ DAT to offset the GPA a bit. Everything helps.

 

[OrphanageCaretaker]

Which schools did you apply to?

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Same boat, similar stats. You seem like a well rounded applicant. Any way you can raise that GPA? I think it'll help tremendously. Clinical experience is a nice plus too if you can get it. I know this isn't necessary, but I'd possibly looking into aiming for a 21+ DAT to offset the GPA a bit. Everything helps.

So you think my GPA is just low enough that I may need to consider a masters? Have you heard of any good programs or ways to go about it that wouldn't be insane expensive/avoid taking GRE? So far I've only gotten an email about Midwestern-AZ and theirs is about $42,000 for a 9 month program. yikes.
And clinical experience as in working or volunteering in a clinic? Because I have 480 hours down on my application for the Dental Fears Clinic at UW, or do you mean something else?
I feel like I either want to do one or the other as far as GPA vs DAT and I feel that I wouldn't be able to raise my scores thaaaaat much to have it offset the GPA completely.
I appreciate all the advice! Is this your first time applying as well?

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Which schools did you apply to?

I applied to: University of Washington, OHSU, Midwestern-AZ (rejected), Midwestern-IL, BU (having no research might have dinged my chances here), Roseman, WesternU (interviewed Feb 4th), UNE (I think their cycle is over?), and ASDOH (but ended up not submitting secondary thinking I was a bit to late to stand a chance).

Probably should have applied to more, but financially couldn't get myself to do it. I thought I would fair a decent chance at these schools though, besides maybe OHSU, that was a shot in the dark lol

 

[LBagel]

Kinda funny cuz I had similar stats (minus the DAT until my second retake) on my first time applying and had no luck minus hearing from Midwestern-IL. I did decide to do a 1 year master program that I believed helped me a lot and it was the only one that didn't require the GRE lol. Your DAT is competitive imo so it would be tough to reciprocate that and get a higher score unless you were really confident in doing so. Also I would recommend looking into and researching your in-state schools (if you have any) cuz they sometimes prefer applicants from their state. Just make sure if you do apply again (hopefully you don't have to!), apply as early to the June 1st date as you can!

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Kinda funny cuz I had similar stats (minus the DAT until my second retake) on my first time applying and had no luck minus hearing from Midwestern-IL. I did decide to do a 1 year master program that I believed helped me a lot and it was the only one that didn't require the GRE lol. Your DAT is competitive imo so it would be tough to reciprocate that and get a higher score unless you were really confident in doing so. Also I would recommend looking into and researching your in-state schools (if you have any) cuz they sometimes prefer applicants from their state. Just make sure if you do apply again (hopefully you don't have to!), apply as early to the June 1st date as you can!

That's funny because I'm still waiting to hear back from them! UW is my only in-state school. I know they really like research and I don't have any. However, I graduated from UW in August 2015 so I'm not really sure how I could go about gaining any experience at this point. Where did you end up doing the masters? And how did the application cycle go for you after completing that?
And I submitted June 22nd and my app was officially sent out July 8th, which I thought was fairly early, but not as early as I would have liked.
Thanks for your input!

 

[LBagel]

That's funny because I'm still waiting to hear back from them! UW is my only in-state school. I know they really like research and I don't have any. However, I graduated from UW in August 2015 so I'm not really sure how I could go about gaining any experience at this point. Where did you end up doing the masters? And how did the application cycle go for you after completing that?
And I submitted June 22nd and my app was officially sent out July 8th, which I thought was fairly early, but not as early as I would have liked.
Thanks for your input!

I mean the master's isn't necessary and provides no guarantees for anything but I believe they schools I interviewed at liked that I was continuing my education cuz it showed change from the previous cycle and that I was determined. Schools are definitely going to ask you what you changed about yourself from last application cycle too so it is good to try to improve where you can. I graduated from CSU with my bachelors (Cleveland) and doing my master's here. I had a lot more luck this time around interviewing at way more schools and turning down places after dec. 1st lol. But try to look into any possible research opportunities I think thats pretty big! Best of luck.

 

[osker246]

If I am able to get acceptances with a 3.0 cGPA/sGPA, then your GPA isn't an issue IMO. Don't waste your money on a master's degree. I'd honestly look into taking the DAT and aim for 22+. Your current scores aren't actually far from what I scored, however, my OChem brought my AA/TS up a bit.

Did you interview at UW? UW is my state school as well and where I did my undergrad. Unfortunately I didn't make the cut for UW after interviewing.



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[AllAboutSmiles7]

If I am able to get acceptances with a 3.0 cGPA/sGPA, then your GPA isn't an issue IMO. Don't waste your money on a master's degree. I'd honestly look into taking the DAT and aim for 22+. Your current scores aren't actually far from what I scored, however, my OChem brought my AA/TS up a bit.

Did you interview at UW? UW is my state school as well and where I did my undergrad. Unfortunately I didn't make the cut for UW after interviewing.



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Where did you apply/end up getting interviewed and accepted? Did you have a ton of EC, research, or other experiences as well? I'm just worried to take it again and not improve by much and have my app look worse. Ochem was a weaker point in my studying though, so I'm sure I could bring it up with some serious prepping. That would certainly be a lot cheaper than a masters program.

I did interview at UW Oct 1st and am awaiting their decision that should come by March 1st. As of last Thursday, I'm still on the list of about 50 people being considered for the last few spots/wait list so its a tough call. Then WesternU I interviewed with Feb 4th and am hoping to hear back by the end of the month.

 

[osker246]

Where did you apply/end up getting interviewed and accepted? Did you have a ton of EC, research, or other experiences as well? I'm just worried to take it again and not improve by much and have my app look worse. Ochem was a weaker point in my studying though, so I'm sure I could bring it up with some serious prepping. That would certainly be a lot cheaper than a masters program.

I did interview at UW Oct 1st and am awaiting their decision that should come by March 1st. As of last Thursday, I'm still on the list of about 50 people being considered for the last few spots/wait list so its a tough call. Then WesternU I interviewed with Feb 4th and am hoping to hear back by the end of the month.

I applied to 17 schools because I realized I was going to be at a disadvantage due to my GPA. I was denied without interview by 7-8 schools and interviewed at UW, UNLV, Roseman, NYU, and Touro. I was waitlisted at NYU and accepted to UNLV, Roseman, and Touro.

Dentistry was never a career that I considered until recently so I didn't have much research or EC's for my application. My "research" consisted of being a lab assistant for one of the chemistry labs at UW my last quarter there; it was nothing really significant. I did not participate in any clubs or do EC's during undergrad since I worked. I had around maybe 80 hours of volunteering with Medical Teams International on my application that I did over the course of 1.5 years after deciding on pursuing dentistry. Then I shadowed a general dentist for about 100 hours. I honestly believe it was my DAT, PS, and LORs that landed me the interviews/acceptances because it was not my grades.

If you do happen to decide on retaking the DAT I would recommend using Organic Chemistry as a Second Language for Ochem review. Those books are awesome! I really didn't understand OChem until I had read it and I was a chemistry major too. Reading those books with the DAT destroyer and DAT BootCamp, I pulled a 26 on the Ochem section.

It's good to hear that you are still in the running for UW. I would've loved to be a husky again. Try to stay positive though, you may be one of the lucky individuals to get those empty seats.

 

[RS2224]

Hello SDNers!

As application cycle is coming to a close, I'm afraid it's time to consider how to prepare for the next cycle in case this one does not work out. Out of the 9 schools I applied to, I have interviewed at 2 (One pre dec, one post dec) and am waiting to hear back from both. I have had only one rejection without interview and just no news from the other schools, which I plan to contact this week.

I'm just looking for some advice based on my application and others with similar experience on what I might do to improve my application for the next cycle. One of my dental mentors has recommended I do a masters to raise my science GPA from low Freshman/Sophomore grades. I'm concerned about the price tag on that and am wondering if there are any reasonable programs or other options for me?

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and for any advice!!!

As far as my application stats go I have:
BCP: 3.25
Science: 3.25
Non-science: 3.84
Total: 3.48
Most classes taken at my undergrad (University of Washington) and a couple at community college (some in high school, then recently Human A&P)

DAT:
PAT = 22
QR = 18
RC = 21
Bio = 21
GenC = 21
OChem = 18
TS = 20
AA = 20

Shadowing Experience: about 500+ hours mostly at a clinic at UW and some in private practice

Volunteer Work: about 80 hours at homeless shelters, 100+ hours for Make-a-Wish, various other hours in other organizations

Worked all through college, mostly as a waitress

I recently got my dental assistant registration but haven't been able to get a job in that field yet since those hiring are concerned that I would go off to dental school soon.

If this cycle doesn't work out I would also be interested in opportunities to travel and work or volunteer if anyone has insight into that

Your first and main mistake was to apply to such less schools. In your case, I would've applied to 10-15. Your stats are fine and your DAT as well. Soup up on shadowing/assisting/meaningful extracurricular acitivires and apply early to more schools. Hoping you don't have to reapply ! Stay positive and hopeful. No news is good news sometimes .. it can mean acceptance (personal experience) too!

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

I applied to 17 schools because I realized I was going to be at a disadvantage due to my GPA. I was denied without interview by 7-8 schools and interviewed at UW, UNLV, Roseman, NYU, and Touro. I was waitlisted at NYU and accepted to UNLV, Roseman, and Touro.

Dentistry was never a career that I considered until recently so I didn't have much research or EC's for my application. My "research" consisted of being a lab assistant for one of the chemistry labs at UW my last quarter there; it was nothing really significant. I did not participate in any clubs or do EC's during undergrad since I worked. I had around maybe 80 hours of volunteering with Medical Teams International on my application that I did over the course of 1.5 years after deciding on pursuing dentistry. Then I shadowed a general dentist for about 100 hours. I honestly believe it was my DAT, PS, and LORs that landed me the interviews/acceptances because it was not my grades.

If you do happen to decide on retaking the DAT I would recommend using Organic Chemistry as a Second Language for Ochem review. Those books are awesome! I really didn't understand OChem until I had read it and I was a chemistry major too. Reading those books with the DAT destroyer and DAT BootCamp, I pulled a 26 on the Ochem section.

It's good to hear that you are still in the running for UW. I would've loved to be a husky again. Try to stay positive though, you may be one of the lucky individuals to get those empty seats.

Well good for you getting those acceptances and beating the odds, that's awesome!! If I retake the DAT I'll definitely look into that. Thank you for the advice and encouragement! Definitely trying to stay positive but also have to prepare for the worst

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Your first and main mistake was to apply to such less schools. In your case, I would've applied to 10-15. Your stats are fine and your DAT as well. Soup up on shadowing/assisting/meaningful extracurricular acitivires and apply early to more schools. Hoping you don't have to reapply ! Stay positive and hopeful. No news is good news sometimes .. it can mean acceptance (personal experience) too!

I tried to narrow my list down to schools I thought I could get into to save money and that just seemed reasonable. 10-15 is just a lot to take on financially. But I do think I could have changed my list and made it better looking back. If I do have to reapply I will definitely prepare for a couple more schools. I'm looking into more activities now. But if I don't start them until let's say March, and apply again in June, do you think that's enough time to have a "meaningful" change to my application?
Definitely staying hopeful! Lack of news means they have at least been thoroughly considering me Glad it worked out for you! Fingers crossed I don't have to reapply. But thank you for the advice in case I do!

 

[RS2224]

I tried to narrow my list down to schools I thought I could get into to save money and that just seemed reasonable. 10-15 is just a lot to take on financially. But I do think I could have changed my list and made it better looking back. If I do have to reapply I will definitely prepare for a couple more schools. I'm looking into more activities now. But if I don't start them until let's say March, and apply again in June, do you think that's enough time to have a "meaningful" change to my application?
Definitely staying hopeful! Lack of news means they have at least been thoroughly considering me Glad it worked out for you! Fingers crossed I don't have to reapply. But thank you for the advice in case I do!

Yes they do look at it meaningful! I got 2 post December interview invites only after submitting academic and ec updates to schools. My EC Update was that "I just started this and this activity " So try that as well! I know we all have some regrets but we live and learn! Staying hopefully for you and don't worry about if you have to reapply. All activities play a role.

 

[osker246]

Well good for you getting those acceptances and beating the odds, that's awesome!! If I retake the DAT I'll definitely look into that. Thank you for the advice and encouragement! Definitely trying to stay positive but also have to prepare for the worst

Thanks!

Looking at your volunteer history you didn't seem to mention doing any dental related volunteering. If you can I would suggest getting involved with Medical Teams International. Depending on who you work with you can actually get some hands on experience on the mobile clinic.

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[AllAboutSmiles7]

Thanks!

Looking at your volunteer history you didn't seem to mention doing any dental related volunteering. If you can I would suggest getting involved with Medical Teams International. Depending on who you work with you can actually get some hands on experience on the mobile clinic.

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I was able to get some hands on experience as part of my time at the Dental Fears Research Clinic. What position did you apply for with Medical Teams Int? And did you just apply through their website? http://www.medicalteams.org/take-ac...ortunities/washington-volunteer-opportunities

 

[osker246]

I was able to get some hands on experience as part of my time at the Dental Fears Research Clinic. What position did you apply for with Medical Teams Int? And did you just apply through their website? http://www.medicalteams.org/take-ac...ortunities/washington-volunteer-opportunities

I actually didn't apply through the webpage. I was given the contact information of one of the drivers/assistants and talked her into letting me help out. From there I was tasked with sterilization, setup and patient contact. I eventually had to complete the form on the webpage for their records though.

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[tyjacobs]

Hello SDNers!

As application cycle is coming to a close, I'm afraid it's time to consider how to prepare for the next cycle in case this one does not work out. Out of the 9 schools I applied to, I have interviewed at 2 (One pre dec, one post dec) and am waiting to hear back from both. I have had only one rejection without interview and just no news from the other schools, which I plan to contact this week.

I'm just looking for some advice based on my application and others with similar experience on what I might do to improve my application for the next cycle. One of my dental mentors has recommended I do a masters to raise my science GPA from low Freshman/Sophomore grades. I'm concerned about the price tag on that and am wondering if there are any reasonable programs or other options for me?

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and for any advice!!!

As far as my application stats go I have:
BCP: 3.25
Science: 3.25
Non-science: 3.84
Total: 3.48
Most classes taken at my undergrad (University of Washington) and a couple at community college (some in high school, then recently Human A&P)

DAT:
PAT = 22
QR = 18
RC = 21
Bio = 21
GenC = 21
OChem = 18
TS = 20
AA = 20

Shadowing Experience: about 500+ hours mostly at a clinic at UW and some in private practice

Volunteer Work: about 80 hours at homeless shelters, 100+ hours for Make-a-Wish, various other hours in other organizations

Worked all through college, mostly as a waitress

I recently got my dental assistant registration but haven't been able to get a job in that field yet since those hiring are concerned that I would go off to dental school soon.

If this cycle doesn't work out I would also be interested in opportunities to travel and work or volunteer if anyone has insight into that

low GPA is definitely holding you back
would look to increase that over this next year in some way -- make sure you take classes at 4 year university and not community college

 

[dentalgoal team]

Perhaps your personal statement or the timing of your application is the culprit.

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Well it looks like I don't need the back up plan after all you guys! Just received an acceptance today!!
Thank you so much for all of your kind words and advice. I really appreciate the support!!! And I hope your advice and others seeing my stats and story will help a future SDNer who may be looking for advice or encouragement in the future

 

[LBagel]

Hey congratulations!

 

[AllAboutSmiles7]

Hey congratulations!

Thank you!!