Retake or not?

[neurotic]

I am deciding if I am going to reapply this cycle. My GPA has dropped from a 3.9 to a 3.5 over the past year (I became a parent in the middle of the semester). While trying to support my family I have had less time to focus on grades and dentistry related things like shadowing and volunteer work. I was only granted one interview last year which I was waitlisted from (Buffalo), but I did not apply to many schools. My DAT was so so but the QR section killed my application to schools with hard cutoffs.

PAT 18
QR 14
reading 18
bio 22
gchem 18
ochem 20

TS 20
AA 18

I am thinking I will need to retake but I have very little time to study. Would I be foolhearty to apply with the same DAT and a worse GPA? Advice?

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[mamma dentist]

First and foremost, congratulations on still continuing with everything while becoming a parent. I am in the same shoes and I know how tough it can be. So a 3.5 GPA is not bad at all. But, I think you should take your time and retake DAT. If this is what you want to do then time should not be a factor. Increase your DAT by few points and you are bound to get in.

I hope this helps.