Reapplicant - Where Should I Buff Up My Application?

[DentalSuperman]

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Hello SDN,

I applied to dental school for the June 2012 cycle.

I received 3 interviews and 3 waitlists.

My GPA at the time was overall 3.64 and 3.44 BCP.

The GPA has decreased to 3.4-3.5 range during senior year and BCP is likely 3.3. I didn't do well in my upper level chemistry courses. However, I did do well in all of the prerequisite courses.

**I have 120+ shadowing hours in various dental practices/specialties.

There are two reasons I believe I didn't get in this cycle:
1. Applied late, 9/28 is when schools finally received my application.

2. My DAT Scores
19 AA 19 TS 17 PAT – 18 RC, 19 Bio, 18 Orgo Chem, 21 Gen. Chem,
19 QR

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What would your advice be at this point to get into dental school?

I'm graduating in a couple weeks and I have been looking at 1-year Masters in Science programs/1-year MBA programs. Are there other options I should be looking at? Also, should I be reapplying for dental school ASAP, as in next month, taking a new DAT and everything? Or should I wait an entire year, and then apply for the cycle in 6/2014?

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll be more than happy to answer.

I appreciate all your help. 🙂

 

[Bis-GMA111]

i'd say retake the DAT

 

[ryansgs]

^^ditto retake DAT.

It can make a world of difference for you. Try to get a 22.

I wouldn't recommend you taking a masters. Your GPA isn't that bad and delaying your graduation so you can take more classes to boost your GPA would be a better option. If you can't delay graduation then post-bac is the next best thing.

Though if you do well enough on the DAT retake you might not even have to take anymore classes. The decision on what to do is up to you because you know your situation best.

Unless you're fine with delaying yourself another year, you should retake the DAT some time during the summer and apply during the summer.

 

[twh019]

I'll third the DAT recommendation.
If you want to raise your GPA some consider taking some extra Chem/Bio classes. Hell sometimes a business or an art class helps too (think about it). I'm not sure if starting a Masters program with your ultimate goal of being a dentist is a good usage of your time and the university's.

You've got much less to worry about than some folks I know.
Best of luck DentalSuperman!

 

[waterraiden]

Which schools are you waitslisted at just out of curiousity? since I know you may have a chance off the waitslist for a few schools.

 

[KittySquared]

I will 4th the DAT retake.

Try your best to aim for 20+.

 

[DentalSuperman]

I appreciate the help PreDENT,ryan,twh,water, and KittySquared. You've taken a lot of weight off my shoulders.

For post-bacc vs. masters, would you suggest an official post-bacc program like Creighton's found here or would you suggest I take upper-level biology/chemistry undergrad courses to boost my science-GPA [which I choose, not an official program]?

Also, is the reason you suggest post-bacc over a Masters because my GPA is not in serious jeopardy and/or because you don't think a Masters would necesarrily boost my application much dental-school-wise?

Waterraiden, I was waitlisted at:
1. LECOM
2. NYU
3. Temple [Here I say "waitlisted", but truthfully I never heard back yet positively or negatively.]

For kicks, here were my interview dates:
1. LECOM - 1/17
2. NYU - 3/4
3. Temple - 1/31

 

[Baba Yaga]

I appreciate the help PreDENT,ryan,twh,water, and KittySquared. You've taken a lot of weight off my shoulders.

For post-bacc vs. masters, would you suggest an official post-bacc program like Creighton's found here or would you suggest I take upper-level biology/chemistry undergrad courses to boost my science-GPA [which I choose, not an official program]?

Also, is the reason you suggest post-bacc over a Masters because my GPA is not in serious jeopardy and/or because you don't think a Masters would necesarrily boost my application much dental-school-wise?

Waterraiden, I was waitlisted at:
1. LECOM
2. NYU
3. Temple [Here I say "waitlisted", but truthfully I never heard back yet positively or negatively.]

For kicks, here were my interview dates:
1. LECOM - 1/17
2. NYU - 3/4
3. Temple - 1/31

I don't think you need an official program. Yes, people are suggesting a post-bacc because your GPA isn't the worst thing ever. I agree with retake DAT + post-bacc classes.

DentalSuperman, what have you been doing since you've been wait listed to try to get off of the wait lists?

 

[Bis-GMA111]

might still have a solid shot at NYU.

 

[DentalSuperman]

I don't think you need an official program. Yes, people are suggesting a post-bacc because your GPA isn't the worst thing ever. I agree with retake DAT + post-bacc classes.

DentalSuperman, what have you been doing since you've been wait listed to try to get off of the wait lists?

Baba Yaga, I haven't called up my schools to follow up yet.

The biggest reason is that my first semester grades were my worst grades in my college career and I didn't think sending them in would help getting into dental school.

Do you think I should call/send emails anyway?

**I have sent thank you notes to every school a couple days after my interview.
For NYU, specifically, they sent out an email "Why should we take you off our waitlist?" Which I filled out and sent to them.

 

[xbite]

If you received 3 interviews, then your DAT is fine. They clearly already like your application. Re-take it if you want more interviews at other schools. The waitlists suggest that you should re-apply early and improve your interview skills.

 

[Baba Yaga]

Baba Yaga, I haven't called up my schools to follow up yet.

The biggest reason is that my first semester grades were my worst grades in my college career and I didn't think sending them in would help getting into dental school.

Do you think I should call/send emails anyway?

**I have sent thank you notes to every school a couple days after my interview.
For NYU, specifically, they sent out an email "Why should we take you off our waitlist?" Which I filled out and sent to them.

Did you not do the academic update?


What's the worst that could happen if you call/send emails? You're already preparing to reapply. I think it's definitely worth a shot to try and get off of the wait-lists. If I were you, I'd show interest. I would send letters of interest/intent and call/email them to keep them updated on what dental-related things you're doing on a regular basis.

I know there was a poster on this forum called sly guy last year who kept in touch with NYU's adcom and was able to get off of the wait-list eventually. Here are some key posts he made last year about his wait-list strategies (from this thread):

The best advice I can give to everyone still monitoring this forum is that expressing your interest in the school counts for a lot when NYU reviews the wait list again. I e-mailed a lot, and called about 15 times from when I received the wait list letter. I did everything to show my interest and it finally paid off. I hope you all receive good news too! I would love to meet all of you in person next year!

If you all have any questions, please feel free to PM me. I'll still be active on the Dental forums, including this wait list thread. I know when I had questions about people moving off the NYU wait list, I PMed them. I now want to do the same because talking to other people gave me renewed confidence in myself and allowed me to stay positive during a pretty stressful time. I'll try to help out in any way I can!

Even if they don't reply to your e-mails, NYU admissions still notes it down in your file that you e-mailed them expressing interest. Yeah, the thread has quieted down for now, but it will definitely pick up again once June finishes and July begins. Keep your spirits up!

Just thought I would check in with everyone. The wait list will keep moving up until 8/26 this year. I know last year, someone was accepted off the wait list right before the day orientation started. So keep in touch with NYUCD's admissions office. Every e-mail and call definitely counts and the admissions office will pull people off the wait list that show a true interest and desire in attending NYUCD. More seats should be available towards the end of this month, that's when peak movement occurs.

 

[Davermz450]

You people are crazy to retake a 19/19/17. Did anyone catch that the op applied late? That's the problem. Next cycle you will be good to go. Work on those wiatlists now and next cycle be ready for an acceptance

 

[maty10]

We both have the exact same problem. I was debating to redo my DAT or not.
my DAT score is 19/19/17 , and my oGPA is 3.45

If you are confident that you can do better this time ( and know your weaknesses ) , then redo your DAT.

 

[Baba Yaga]

You people are crazy to retake a 19/19/17. Did anyone catch that the op applied late? That's the problem. Next cycle you will be good to go. Work on those wiatlists now and next cycle be ready for an acceptance

Oh I didn't catch that he applied 9/28. At that rate, OP's application wouldn't have been complete until the end of October. That's really late in the cycle.

 

[DentalSuperman]

Would early July (around the first week) be too late to retake my DAT? Or should I focus on getting it done ASAP?

Also, I'm seriously considering the postbacc right now. However, before I go through with it my Dad would like me to talk to dental schools to make sure I'm on the right path academically. Is this something I could email/call them about?

 

[Baba Yaga]

Would early July (around the first week) be too late to retake my DAT? Or should I focus on getting it done ASAP?

I don't think the first week of July is too late to take the DAT. You'll likely still be filling out secondaries at that time, which means your application won't be 100% complete at schools anyway.

Also, I'm seriously considering the postbacc right now. However, before I go through with it my Dad would like me to talk to dental schools to make sure I'm on the right path academically. Is this something I could email/call them about?

I'd probably call/email adcoms from a wide variety of schools ASAP (they'll have less time once the application cycle starts) and ask whether they would mind talking to you about how to improve your application since you're planning to reapply.

One of my friends did this with the 20 med schools he applied to after he didn't get in anywhere. Of the schools he contacted, 3 adcoms actually talked to him and told him what they would like to see him fix in his application. He ended up sitting the next cycle out in order to take classes and continued taking classes while he was re-applying, but the advice he got worked because he had multiple acceptances (I think 4 or 5, including his top choice) in his second cycle of applying.

So yeah, I think it helps to talk to adcoms about this, but they might not have time to get back to you.

I still think you should work on the wait-lists at this point while preparing to apply again.