previous reapplicants please help!

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smile101

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Hey guys,
I am going to be reapplying for next year. I am just wandering how the experience is.
Do you use the same application, does AADSAS save the old info? What about the personal statement...should I write a new one...my reasons to be a dentist have not changed?
Should I apply to the same schools as before just so that they will see that I am coming back with new statistics (I am retaing DAT and doing more volunteer work)?

Please help...thanks!
 
Hey guys,
I am going to be reapplying for next year. I am just wandering how the experience is.
Do you use the same application, does AADSAS save the old info? What about the personal statement...should I write a new one...my reasons to be a dentist have not changed?
Should I apply to the same schools as before just so that they will see that I am coming back with new statistics (I am retaing DAT and doing more volunteer work)?

Please help...thanks!

Hi there,

To answer some of your questions, AADSAS does not save any of your information, you will have to re-create an account and re-enter all of your information so make sure to print out a copy of all the info you put in this cycle so that you can fill it out quickly next time around.
I personally did not change my personal statement because my reasons to go into dentistry did not change and i felt my essay was still relevant. If you feel there is something you could add that would make it even better than i'm sure it's a good idea to add it in.

If there are schools you previously applied to that you feel were completely out of your league i.e. DAT scores way too high or GPA much higher than you have then maybe it wouldn't be best to reapply to them. It is great however to re-apply to some schools because they are seeing you again and you are now coming in with experience and knowledge about how their whole application and possibly interview process works.
However if through research you find new schools you feel could be a good fit for you, then they will see your old DAT scores along with your new ones.

Good luck and keep your head up because many people don't get in the first time around!!
 
hey whydentistry...thanks for your help!
 
Hey guys,
I am going to be reapplying for next year. I am just wandering how the experience is.
Do you use the same application, does AADSAS save the old info? What about the personal statement...should I write a new one...my reasons to be a dentist have not changed?
Should I apply to the same schools as before just so that they will see that I am coming back with new statistics (I am retaing DAT and doing more volunteer work)?

Please help...thanks!

Smile,
I'm a reapplicant...I decided to change my personal statement. I just felt like the 2nd time around I had a better grasp on the whole application cycle, so I decided it would be best to show that in my statement. Also, like the other poster said, AADSAS does not save old info...so you have to redo the whole application.

As for what schools to apply to...if you had interviews this year and you felt like they went fairly well, then reapply to them. Try to contact those schools and ask the admissions chairperson what was lacking in your application. Most schools are willing to talk to you about that. In my case, I didn't do that last year, and I wish i would have. Also, don't assume you will get an interview with the same school, just because you are reapplying...Louisville interviewed me last year and I thought it went well, but it was at the end of the year, and then I didn't get another interview this year with them. And the 2 schools I interviewed with last year and this year still rejected me....so it's a crapshoot. I ended up being accepted to Case Western and I didn't apply their last year. My advice would be...apply to as many schools as possible. Most dentists will tell you that dental school is dental school...the majority of schools will prepare you properly. If you are willing to pay the price to go to a private school...then apply to as many of them as possible. Also, don't just apply to a school to add more schools to your list...make sure the schools you apply to take a fairly good amount of out-of-state students. Anyways, hope this helps...and good luck!!!!!!!
 
Change your personal statement. You'd be amazed to see how much it matters. People often think PS's should be stylistic and glibly fanciful. They are mistaken. PS's should reflect on your experiences and your values. Just make sure it has a good flow, and isn't hap hazardous. You needn't include ALL your experiences. Mention ones that are most important, what they meant to you and what you got out of them. Good luck! 👍
 
thanks florida28 and timkhan...that really helps!
 
well, second year applying I changed my personal statement because I was doing my masters and because of that I had a lot to say, but I used a lot of my past cycle applications too, but I got new recommendation letters from my more recent professor and dentist, so I think make some changes would be to your benefit,,, good luck to you,,,
 
I was a reapplicant this year and thankfully I got in. In addition to possibly changing the PS, reevaluating the schools you applied to makes a difference. Unless your scores are really high, applying to out of state public schools probably isn't a good idea unless they have a high number of out of state students, but this is the exception and not the norm. Also, if you applied late, apply as early as possible in the next cycle. I applied 3 months earlier this year and I think it made a difference because by the time I had interviewed last year, most spots in the schools I had applied to were full.

Getting different reccommendations may help as well, especially if you get them from various sciences. I didn't do this and it limited the amount of schools I could apply to because they wanted a bio, chem and physics recommendation.

Hope this helps.
 
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