Reapplicant Advice Please

[dent-af]

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Hello everyone,

I'm applying for my second time around. I am retaking my DAT on July 1st, I have added more dental hours, volunteer hours, and shadowing to my application, and I will start working at a pediatric dental office as a front desk receptionist.
I am not so worried about my application itself, but I am worried about the personal statement.

For any reapplicants, how did you revise your first personal statement? Did you start from scratch or did you simply revise your first statement?
Also, if anyone is willing to read my reapplicant personal statement please let me know 🙂

Thanks so much!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Your personal statement is a very important part of the process and can be the door opener to an interview. If you do not have great writing skills get some help from a professional, meaning someone skilled in writing personal statements especially if you have a lower DAT Score or GPA, you need all the help you can get. If you are worried about your personal statement it leads me to believe you do not think it is well written.

Good luck to you, I saw you posted somewhere else and that need to retake and used our DAT Destroyer would you mind letting me know your scores and perhaps I can make some suggestions since you are taking it again in July.

Hope this helps, and I am just giving my 2 cents, you can take it our leave it

Nancy

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

If you got a few interviews last year, that means that your personal statement was good enough last year. If you didn't, that means that you need to put work into the statement this year.

That said, fundamentally you cannot change a lot of things in one year. Your motivation to pursue dentistry, shadowing/observation experience, community service or leadership stuff cannot change drastically in less than a year. So, dental schools don't expect changes in those stories. Fundamentally, for reapplicants, they are looking for areas of improvements.

First, if you had an okay personal statement last year and got a few interviews, I'd add one or two paragraphs and discuss what has changed/improved from your apps during the last cycle.

Second, if you believe your personal statement wasn't terrific, I'd try to work on finding more meaningful stories to incorporate into your essay to make it a more compelling read. Brainstorm stories around: a) how you became interested in dentistry b) why would you be a good dentist? What personalities you have that will make you a good dentist c) What did you learn during shadowing/volunteering, d) stories about your community service, leadership, etc and e) displaying manual dexterity and a passion for arts and science.

If you need any help, let us know.

Best
Zia
Dental School Coach

 

[dent-af]

Your personal statement is a very important part of the process and can be the door opener to an interview. If you do not have great writing skills get some help from a professional, meaning someone skilled in writing personal statements especially if you have a lower DAT Score or GPA, you need all the help you can get. If you are worried about your personal statement it leads me to believe you do not think it is well written.

Good luck to you, I saw you posted somewhere else and that need to retake and used our DAT Destroyer would you mind letting me know your scores and perhaps I can make some suggestions since you are taking it again in July.

Hope this helps, and I am just giving my 2 cents, you can take it our leave it

Nancy

Thank you for your advice.

I got a 20 AA and a 20 TS. I used Destroyer and Bootcamp last time, but I am thinking about using iPrep this time around. I still have my Destroyer books so I might look over them closer to the date.

My state school said I needed to raise my DAT and work on my interview skills which is why I'm worried about my personal statement. I'm unsure how to improve it because I felt like I articulated my story perfectly in 4500 characters. I got 5 interviews with it as well so I know the personal statement had to be good.

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

Thank you for your advice.

I got a 20 AA and a 20 TS. I used Destroyer and Bootcamp last time, but I am thinking about using iPrep this time around. I still have my Destroyer books so I might look over them closer to the date.

My state school said I needed to raise my DAT and work on my interview skills which is why I'm worried about my personal statement. I'm unsure how to improve it because I felt like I articulated my story perfectly in 4500 characters. I got 5 interviews with it as well so I know the personal statement had to be good.

In that case, just add one paragraph to talk about improvement since last year.

 

[macsak]

Thank you for your advice.

I got a 20 AA and a 20 TS. I used Destroyer and Bootcamp last time, but I am thinking about using iPrep this time around. I still have my Destroyer books so I might look over them closer to the date.

My state school said I needed to raise my DAT and work on my interview skills which is why I'm worried about my personal statement. I'm unsure how to improve it because I felt like I articulated my story perfectly in 4500 characters. I got 5 interviews with it as well so I know the personal statement had to be good.

why are you worried about your PS if it got you 5 interviews
my opinion is you need to work on your interview skills...