Reapplicant

[LightAtTheEnd]

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Hi guys, I'm a Texas resident and last year I submitted my app pretty late (late August) to the three Texas schools and was interviewed at Baylor and rejected.

I already submitted my TMDSAS app for this year. I got a 23 AA on my DAT and I have a overall GPA of 3.61 but a BCPM GPA of about 3.42. It is a bit low but I have a very strong upward trend (think ~3.9 for 3 years but first year was abysmal). My other problem is I'm an English major and I know that's not favored all that much by dental schools. However, I do have several upper science classes such as Biochemistry, Genetics, Physiology, Neuroscience, Molecular Biology.

My ECs are pretty good. I have about 120 hours shadowing an oral surgeon and a general dentist. I have over 1000 hours volunteering in my community center, plenty of work experience. To improve my app, I joined the predental organization at my school and volunteered with them.

My question is, should I apply to OOS schools, or do I have a standing chance at the Texas schools?

 

[ajj70]

Your stats are very good and your 23 AA will likely put you in the running for scholarships out of state. Being an English major is actually something dental schools like, something other than a bio or chem major anyway. You just limited yourself way too much last year by only applying in Texas. You are competitive at pretty much every dental school in the country, I'd apply to 8-10 out of state schools of your choosing, but mostly schools like Ohio, UConn, Utah that give out of state, I'd add Iowa-reports of good scholarships making it close to in-state, maybe consider UCSF. I'm sure others will pipe in here too.

 

[mrdocta]

Here's a tip: use your major in English as an advantage and selling point to how you're unique. Come on now use your creattiveness to stand out! Don't have the mindset that only science majors are acceptable.

Plus.. you interviewed at Baylor which probably looks for the science major/tons of upper level bios the most out of the threes tx schools. With that gpa and Dat you should have no problem hearing back from all 3 schools this time.

 

[RuffDay]

Your stats are very good and your 23 AA will likely put you in the running for scholarships out of state. Being an English major is actually something dental schools like, something other than a bio or chem major anyway. You just limited yourself way too much last year by only applying in Texas. You are competitive at pretty much every dental school in the country, I'd apply to 8-10 out of state schools of your choosing, but mostly schools like Ohio, UConn, Utah that give out of state, I'd add Iowa-reports of good scholarships making it close to in-state, maybe consider UCSF. I'm sure others will pipe in here too.

Is it really safe for him to not apply to any private schools?

 

[ajj70]

Is it really safe for him to not apply to any private schools?

I didn't mean only apply to state schools, I meant apply to schools other than Texas schools 😀. I gave a couple examples of state schools that give in-state after a year because he was concerned with cost, but yes, some private schools should be on the list.

 

[BellaNella]

I only applied to TX schools and it worked for me. It is always safer to apply to some OOS schools just in case but I understand that it is a pain in the butt because it's another application. Your stats are pretty solid though! Good luck!!!

 

[strep mutans]

Hi guys, I'm a Texas resident and last year I submitted my app pretty late (late August) to the three Texas schools and was interviewed at Baylor and rejected.

I already submitted my TMDSAS app for this year. I got a 23 AA on my DAT and I have a overall GPA of 3.61 but a BCPM GPA of about 3.42. It is a bit low but I have a very strong upward trend (think ~3.9 for 3 years but first year was abysmal). My other problem is I'm an English major and I know that's not favored all that much by dental schools. However, I do have several upper science classes such as Biochemistry, Genetics, Physiology, Neuroscience, Molecular Biology.

My ECs are pretty good. I have about 120 hours shadowing an oral surgeon and a general dentist. I have over 1000 hours volunteering in my community center, plenty of work experience. To improve my app, I joined the predental organization at my school and volunteered with them.

My question is, should I apply to OOS schools, or do I have a standing chance at the Texas schools?

How did your stats/app change between last year and this one?

 

[LightAtTheEnd]

Thanks everyone for your responses! And I'm a "she" actually. 🙂

@strep mutans, my stats are the updated stats. Since last year, I took Neuroscience, Mol Biology, and Anatomy. I also joined the pre dent society and volunteered with them extensively. I did drop to half time status so I used the extra time to pick up extra events as a free lance photographer as well as picking up some hobbies I've always wanted to partake in like baking and cake decorating.

@mrdocta I actually did dedicate the entire section of TMDSAS to that very topic, so let's see how that goes.

My top mistakes last time were:
1) Applying late
2) Mediocre LORS (one of them was not good at all).

This time around I'm absolutely certain that every single LOR is stellar and I obviously have applied "early." I really don't want to go out of state. Even though they might give out scholarships, it won't be significant enough to contest in state tuition at the three Texas schools. What I want to know is should I apply to "8-10" safety" or more along the lines of "4-5." And also how strong of a chance do you guys think I have at Texas schools? I actually called Baylor and asked what I can do to improve my application, and they said to take more science classes. Are Houston and San Antonio the same way? I really want to make good use of this gap year so if science classes are their thing, then I'll ditch my old plan of volunteering at a dental clinic and load up on science classes. Do you think San Antonio and Houston didn't offer me an interview because of the lack of science classes or due to applying late/weak LORS?

Thanks!

 

[ajj70]

I understand wanting to stay instate and paying as little as possible, but the effect of losing 2 years of earning power has already cost you more than paying in-state somewhere else. I guess it is just a game of odds. Most people apply to 10-15 schools. Your DAT and upward trend in your GPA will certainly get you noticed, not sure how your previous application history will factor into your situation though. Someone on another thread posted that acceptance rates to the Texas schools for in-state was something like 33 or 35%...you would probably be on the slightly higher side of that rate. The question really is, how comfortable are you applying a 3rd time if you don't get in somewhere this cycle. If you are 100% ok with that, don't apply anywhere else. If you don't want to do this again, apply to more schools.