Re-applicant looking for some guidance

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vubaru

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Hi guys,

So I've been lurking this forum for the last four years and I've finally made an account hoping that maybe someone can give me some advice on what to do. Last year I didn't even get a single interview at any schools. Unsurprising since I submitted really late (like..october late..), my GPA wasn't strong and I was a little lacking in extracurriculars.

So for the last few months I've been looking for master's programs or things of that nature, and I was thinking about doing Midwestern's Master of Arts of Biomedical Sciences program for Fall of 2015. But then I realized that the program is only a year, so unless I'm mistaken..if I want to go to a dental school right away after the program I would have to re-apply this cycle anyway right? Which is why now I'm scrambling to see if I can pull together another application by the end of the month and hopefully be applying a little sooner. My question is...should I? It's a big financial burden for me and I'm afraid to get rejected again and lose out on another few hundred to a thousand bucks.

Here's my academic stats:

GPA: Overall 3.203 / sGPA: 3.098
DAT Scores
-------
PAT: 20
QR: 18
RC: 25
Bio: 19
Gen Chem: 19
OChem: 22
Total Science: 20
AA: 21

Do you guys think I should pull the trigger? Or should I do a year of GPA grinding and try again next round?

Also, I hope that I'm not breaking any forum rules or anything. If so, mods feel free to delete this.

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You didn't get interviews last cycle not because your app was late, but because your stat is mediocre at best. If you did nothing to improve your app since last year, I don't see how it will turn out differently.
 
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How many schools did you apply to?
 
You didn't get interviews last cycle not because your app was late, but because your stat is mediocre at best. If you did nothing to improve your app since last year, I don't see how it will turn out differently.

His stats are mediocre? What's consider good standing? At least a 3.5 or close to it?
 
His stats are mediocre? What's consider good standing? At least a 3.5 or close to it?

~3.3 is okay, ~3.5 is good, and 3.6+ is great. His DAT isn't high enough for his low GPA to make him competitive. Applying early won't magically make his stat more appealing and competitive.
 
~3.3 is okay, ~3.5 is good, and 3.6+ is great. His DAT isn't high enough for his low GPA to make him competitive. Applying early won't magically make his stat more appealing and competitive.

Oh dang, and here I thought his DAT is pretty good!
 
I'll have to agree. With that GPA you'd probably need like a 24 or something to have a chance. OP if you can knock out an SMP or something and do very well in it you have a great shot.
 
Is there anything different in your application since last cycle?
Applying early is a big difference but you already missed the first batch already.
Your DAT is great but not enough to overcome your GPA.
Either you retake the DAT or you improve your GPA through the masters program.
 
You might be fine, check the accepted thread for this year... lots of applicants with lower stats than ures got in..... maybe if u apply early it could help.... "I want to go there" isn't giving you the best of advice

just look at the accepted thread from this cycle
 
Hi guys,

So I've been lurking this forum for the last four years and I've finally made an account hoping that maybe someone can give me some advice on what to do. Last year I didn't even get a single interview at any schools. Unsurprising since I submitted really late (like..october late..), my GPA wasn't strong and I was a little lacking in extracurriculars.

So for the last few months I've been looking for master's programs or things of that nature, and I was thinking about doing Midwestern's Master of Arts of Biomedical Sciences program for Fall of 2015. But then I realized that the program is only a year, so unless I'm mistaken..if I want to go to a dental school right away after the program I would have to re-apply this cycle anyway right? Which is why now I'm scrambling to see if I can pull together another application by the end of the month and hopefully be applying a little sooner. My question is...should I? It's a big financial burden for me and I'm afraid to get rejected again and lose out on another few hundred to a thousand bucks.

Here's my academic stats:

GPA: Overall 3.203 / sGPA: 3.098
DAT Scores
-------
PAT: 20
QR: 18
RC: 25
Bio: 19
Gen Chem: 19
OChem: 22
Total Science: 20
AA: 21

Do you guys think I should pull the trigger? Or should I do a year of GPA grinding and try again next round?

Also, I hope that I'm not breaking any forum rules or anything. If so, mods feel free to delete this.
I would get everything together. Make sure you have the full package and then apply. If its not this year then do it next year but dont do it half-*ssed
It doesnt look good to apply 3x
 
What are your ECs? Really strong ECs may be able to overcome the GPA

You might be fine, check the accepted thread for this year... lots of applicants with lower stats than ures got in..... maybe if u apply early it could help.... "I want to go there" isn't giving you the best of advice

just look at the accepted thread from this cycle
Is there anything different in your application since last cycle?
Applying early is a big difference but you already missed the first batch already.
Your DAT is great but not enough to overcome your GPA.
Either you retake the DAT or you improve your GPA through the masters program.
You didn't get interviews last cycle not because your app was late, but because your stat is mediocre at best. If you did nothing to improve your app since last year, I don't see how it will turn out differently.

Since last year my GPA (both overall and sci) went up by like.. .1.5 so not that drastic.
I have a lot more hours of dental volunteering which is now at around 600 hours. I've also gotten 200 hours of microbiology research and 50 hours of animal behavior research. I'd say my application is improved but not incredibly drastically, which is why I'm a little nervous about doing it this time around. But I really don't want to wait around and do a year of post-baccalaureate then end up with a gap year.

I really appreciate all your answers. I mean 'I Want To Go To There' is right. My stats are mediocre. But I'm hoping to secure just one school. Any school.

P.S. do you guys know what dates the "batches" start and end? I've heard this term thrown around but I've never seen definitive cutoffs.
 
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Hey man. I'm in a similar boat and I decided to reapply earlier in the cycle. I know two who applied three times and got in the third without major changes in their data. Each admissions council member I've spoken to mentions the importance of applying early. It is quite possible that they were rejecting everyone when we dropped our applications in October.

BTW, That's a hell of a reading score. If you decide against dental school you may want to check out patent law. The set of pre-reqs you took for dental school will enable you to sit for the patent bar and you may be able to get a great score on the LSAT.
 
Hey man. I'm in a similar boat and I decided to reapply earlier in the cycle. I know two who applied three times and got in the third without major changes in their data. Each admissions council member I've spoken to mentions the importance of applying early. It is quite possible that they were rejecting everyone when we dropped our applications in October.

BTW, That's a hell of a reading score. If you decide against dental school you may want to check out patent law. The set of pre-reqs you took for dental school will enable you to sit for the patent bar and you may be able to get a great score on the LSAT.

Nope, people apply in December and still get interviews and acceptances.
 
I had a 3.2 overall gpa and a 2.98 sGPA with a DAT much lower than yours and did MWU's 1 year masters and got into multiple schools after no acceptances last year
 
I had a 3.2 overall gpa and a 2.98 sGPA with a DAT much lower than yours and did MWU's 1 year masters and got into multiple schools after no acceptances last year
Wow really? Did you get any financial aid? The cost of that program is really offputting to me right now so I'm a little nervous about doing it.
 
agreed with above posters--decent DAT scores, but your GPA is going to kill many chances you would otherwise have. ec's?
 
I disagree with the posts saying that your DAT was insufficient to overcome your GPA. First of all, there are several schools which have an average oGPA in the 3.3 range, which means you are only slightly below that... Considering that this is an AVERAGE score for those schools, many students must be getting in with lower than a 3.3 oGPA. Your science GPA leaves something to be desired certainly, but again, when you look at Boston and see that their sGPA range was 2.7-3.9 and the average was a 3.3 then that tells you that you are not at all out of the race...

Applying late probably had an effect, though I don't really know how much. I know that I read repeatedly on this forum of people who applied late and got 0 interviews, so there seems to be at least some correlation.

How many schools did you apply to? You said you spent several hundred or up to $1000 which makes me think you didn't actually apply to that many schools since the fee is $245 for the first school alone and $93 for each school after that. If you only applied to a few schools, they were all competitive, and they all had rolling admissions, then it's really no surprise that you didn't get any interviews.

You need to look at the ADEA guide and select schools which like students with stats like yours. There's really no reason you couldn't get into one of the Midwestern schools, Boston, Roseman, etc.

Also, I would say that you have made significant improvements to your application. 600 volunteering hours and research experience is nothing to sneeze at and admissions committees will likely take notice.

Lastly, a 21AA is a significant score. The average for admissions to dental schools is just above a 19. You are roughly 2 full points above that. Given that schools seem to treat the DAT AA the same way gamers treat the 40-yard dash on Madden, I think you should just make the full effort and get your app in ASAP.

I really don't know why there is so much negativity surrounding people with GPAs which are really only slightly below average the average matriculant. If you had a sub-3.0 GPA and a 21AA then it would be a lot harder sure, and yet there is a HUGE thread (with 2 parts) on this forum devoted to people with sub-3.0 GPAs, many of whom got in to dental school!
 
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How's your upward trend buddy?
If you still have plenty of bio courses to take, I recommend doing an informal post bac. It's not as expensive as a masters and it can be enough if you can hold a 3.7+ in those post bac classes.
 
I disagree with the posts saying that your DAT was insufficient to overcome your GPA. First of all, there are several schools which have an average oGPA in the 3.3 range, which means you are only slightly below that... Considering that this is an AVERAGE score for those schools, many students must be getting in with lower than a 3.3 oGPA. Your science GPA leaves something to be desired certainly, but again, when you look at Boston and see that their sGPA range was 2.7-3.9 and the average was a 3.3 then that tells you that you are not at all out of the race...

Applying late probably had an effect, though I don't really know how much. I know that I read repeatedly on this forum of people who applied late and got 0 interviews, so there seems to be at least some correlation.

How many schools did you apply to? You said you spent several hundred or up to $1000 which makes me think you didn't actually apply to that many schools since the fee is $245 for the first school alone and $93 for each school after that. If you only applied to a few schools, they were all competitive, and they all had rolling admissions, then it's really no surprise that you didn't get any interviews.

You need to look at the ADEA guide and select schools which like students with stats like yours. There's really no reason you couldn't get into one of the Midwestern schools, Boston, Roseman, etc.

Also, I would say that you have made significant improvements to your application. 600 volunteering hours and research experience is nothing to sneeze at and admissions committees will likely take notice.

Lastly, a 21AA is a significant score. The average for admissions to dental schools is just above a 19. You are roughly 2 full points above that. Given that schools seem to treat the DAT AA the same way gamers treat the 40-yard dash on Madden, I think you should just make the full effort and get your app in ASAP.

I really don't know why there is so much negativity surrounding people with GPAs which are really only slightly below average the average matriculant. If you had a sub-3.0 GPA and a 21AA then it would be a lot harder sure, and yet there is a HUGE thread (with 2 parts) on this forum devoted to people with sub-3.0 GPAs, many of whom got in to dental school!
Hey man I really appreciate the kind words. Right now my worst aspect of my application is probably my LOR though. I only developed a close relationship with one professor. The rest of them... I've only been a face in a lecture hall. I'm trying to find a decent one and hoping the letters aren't a "make it or break it" factor for me lol.


How's your upward trend buddy?
If you still have plenty of bio courses to take, I recommend doing an informal post bac. It's not as expensive as a masters and it can be enough if you can hold a 3.7+ in those post bac classes.
I'd say I don't really even have much of an "upward trend".. I got a low GPA the second semester of my freshman year but ever since then my GPA has hovered around 3.2-3.4 each semester without much of a "trend".
 
Hey man I really appreciate the kind words. Right now my worst aspect of my application is probably my LOR though. I only developed a close relationship with one professor. The rest of them... I've only been a face in a lecture hall. I'm trying to find a decent one and hoping the letters aren't a "make it or break it" factor for me lol.



I'd say I don't really even have much of an "upward trend".. I got a low GPA the second semester of my freshman year but ever since then my GPA has hovered around 3.2-3.4 each semester without much of a "trend".

I still think you have a shot man. How are your volunteering and shadowing hrs?
 
I feel like applying early and broadly would definitely help your chances! I know of someone this past cycle with very similar stats who was admitted to Howard. Did you contact the schools you were rejected from last cycle and find out any specific reasons for not being accepted? I feel like that's important, so you know what to work on.
 
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