Safety Schools?

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predentduck

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First I want to say good luck to everyone with finishing their application within the next week or so -

My question to everyone is, what are your safety schools and why?

I'm looking to add a school or two to my application, basically for fear from not getting enough interview opportunities...

I have a 3.6 overall and 3.5 science with a 20 AA 21 TS 21 PAT but I have waaay more work experience than volunteer/shadowing, so with that, does anyone recommend a school or two to tag on to my list of dental schools I am applying to:

Indiana
Michigan
Marquette (Hopeful ha)
Case Western
Midwestern Illinois and Arizona
Louisville
Temple
Arizona

Any opinions or advice would most helpful and hopefully people can use this for ideas on their own school list! Oh and New York just doesn't sound that great to me but I am considering it

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get ready to be torched by people who actually want to go to these schools
 
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Getting into dental schools is extremely competitive. Even NYU, at which I'm sure many people, including myself, would love to have the opportunity to study dentistry.There's really no such thing as a "safety" dental school.
 
Getting into dental schools is extremely competitive. Even NYU, at which I'm sure many people, including myself, would love to have the opportunity to study dentistry.There's really no such thing as a "safety" dental school.


:thumbup: your best bet would be to realize that there is no such thing as a safety school for dentistry, and appreciate any interviews you MAY be getting...

Apply to a lot of schools, and take a chance...
 
First I want to say good luck to everyone with finishing their application within the next week or so -

My question to everyone is, what are your safety schools and why?

I'm looking to add a school or two to my application, basically for fear from not getting enough interview opportunities...

I have a 3.6 overall and 3.5 science with a 20 AA 21 TS 21 PAT but I have waaay more work experience than volunteer/shadowing, so with that, does anyone recommend a school or two to tag on to my list of dental schools I am applying to:

Indiana
Michigan
Marquette (Hopeful ha)
Case Western
Midwestern Illinois and Arizona
Louisville
Temple
Arizona

Any opinions or advice would most helpful and hopefully people can use this for ideas on their own school list! Oh and New York just doesn't sound that great to me but I am considering it

You do know people with your stats get rejected regularly?

There are no safety dental schools. It's competitive and getting into one of em is an accomplishment on its own.
 
i think i can call USC a safety school. all the health professionals i know that come from that school really did not like their experience. that school has gone through a lot of trouble with accreditation. i believe they had an unefficient teaching system in the last few years. i have talked to a faculty member, and they have also displayed unenthusiasm for the education system.. (plus the tuition is so expensive and the surrounding area is quite ghetto. their football team will also be gone fishing for the next 2 post-seasons, so yeah.. with all this negativity, USC would probably be a safety school)
 
i think i can call USC a safety school. all the health professionals i know that come from that school really did not like their experience. that school has gone through a lot of trouble with accreditation. i believe they had an unefficient teaching system in the last few years. i have talked to a faculty member, and they have also displayed unenthusiasm for the education system.. (plus the tuition is so expensive and the surrounding area is quite ghetto. their football team will also be gone fishing for the next 2 post-seasons, so yeah.. with all this negativity, USC would probably be a safety school)

Being unhappy with the experience does not translate to 'safety school'. It translates to being a whiner. Try messaging people who go to that dental school. I have, and I've heard nothing but good things. USC arguably has one of the best reputations for school pride, especially at football games; so the 'health professionals' you talked to probably just stuck to the books and never tried to enjoy the student experience. But you're right about it being in the ghetto.

Good luck actually getting accepted. Must be nice to know for sure you're getting into dental school next year!
 
less people being happy equates to more people avoiding the school and having it as a lower priority. when a school has a lower priority among applicants, the stats tend to drop, and so it becomes "easier" to get into, and thus, a safety school.
 
less people being happy equates to more people avoiding the school and having it as a lower priority. when a school has a lower priority among applicants, the stats tend to drop, and so it becomes "easier" to get into, and thus, a safety school.

This statement could apply to UT, also. Given UT's horrendous application (separate from AADSAS) it deters a lot of people; it worked for me! :p

Nonetheless, it's really not a safety school because the people that make UT their priority really bring the competition, in my opinion. Also, I don't think many people would want to devote all the time and effort into UT's application given that it was just a safety school.
 
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I do realize people with my stats get rejected all the time, hence I am worried. And yes, obviously there is no such thing as a true safety school for dental school. I was merely looking for some honest conversation about some schools I could add to the list and what different people's thought processes were for each. Thank you to the people who have or will acknowledge this and take this thread for what it is
 
I do realize people with my stats get rejected all the time, hence I am worried. And yes, obviously there is no such thing as a true safety school for dental school. I was merely looking for some honest conversation about some schools I could add to the list and what different people's thought processes were for each. Thank you to the people who have or will acknowledge this and take this thread for what it is

I think the list of schools you're applying is a fair list that should net you a few interviews (pending a decent enough personal statement and ec's) and an acceptance or two. i hope you do well at your interviews. without any other info about you or your situation and going off of numbers alone, i would guess that MWU-Ill is your "safety" school, as it is brand new, and new schools are historically easier to get into for the 1st year or two, until a rep or some kind is established.
 
I think we are giving the OP a hard time. He/She just wants an opinion on what schools best fit his/her credentials. I do agree with what some of you guys said "no DS is easy to get into", but the OP may fit in in some schools over others.

My advice to you: 1) look up each schools statistics on predents.com (see which school matches or is close to your statistics), 2) Call up some schools and ask if your scores are competitive enough (you would be surprised.. nice ppl usually pick up), or if the websites say not to call during application review cycle email some body in admissions.

Best of Luck!
 
I don't agree...safety schools do exist and in my opinion, they are Howard and Meharry. Trust me, you're a shoe-in at those schools :D
 
There is really no such a thing as a safety school.
The people within the admission committee of each school are looking for applicants who have a good reason for applying to their school and most importantly fit their criteria. The minute they feel you're choosing their school as a back-up (and believe me they can tell that quite easily), they will reject your application.
Last year Arizona was my backup school, and sure enough they rejected me, despite the fact that my GPA, DAT, etc was above their average requirement. They knew I was gonna get into a school closer to home with my stats and their school was just a backup school on my list. So, they didn't even waste time interviewing me.
Besides, in most interviews, they will ask you "Why our school?"
It's kind of hard to BS and pretend like that particular school is your dream school, when you're really thinking of it as a "Safety School."
 
I don't agree...safety schools do exist and in my opinion, they are Howard and Meharry. Trust me, you're a shoe-in at those schools :D

Meharry and Howard are only safety schools if you're black, native, or hispanic. And if you are, then every school is a safety school.
 
Meharry and Howard are only safety schools if you're black, native, or hispanic. And if you are, then every school is a safety school.

To a certain extent, this is correct.

The rate that Howard and Meharry accept Caucasian and Asians is virtually zero.

Howard and Meharry are NOT safety school by any means!
 
Pretty sure he was sarcastic when he said they were safeties for him.
 
To a certain extent, this is correct.

The rate that Howard and Meharry accept Caucasian and Asians is virtually zero.

Howard and Meharry are NOT safety school by any means!

I don't think that's exactly accurate, 16 of 80 seats (20%) from Howard's class entering in 2009 went to Asian Americans according the the most recent ADEA book. 40 African Americans, 9 Hispanic, 0 Native American and 16 Asian American, leaving 15 of the 80 seats for unlisted races, so Caucasians made up a maximum of 15 seats.
 
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Lets be for real here. Sure there are schools that accept students with "lower" numbers at a higher rate than others. Can we agree on that? Now the point where most people lose their temper is when people assume they can get in a school just because they have above their average scores for GPA and DAT. Don't assume anything. A lot rides on your interview; whether or not you're a personable guy/girl means something to the admissions committee. I do think that a fair number of people on this board get waaaaaay too upset with phrases like "safety school" and tend to err on the side of extreme political correctness. Not to say that this is a bad thing, but it kinda gets on your nerves when you are legitimately asking a question, looking for some progress in your search for schools. I guess some people are worried that their schools are stalking them on SDN watching everything they say.

Just don't get mad at me for making a prediction that turned out to be right, OP.
 
I also think that you have to look at where the applicant is from if you are trying to decide whether he has any "safety" schools of not. For example, I am from Nevada, and I am looking at UNLV as a back up school, since I feel my stats are plenty competitive for in-state.
 
Safety School?

Trust me people. Learn humility now. If you come off exceedingly prideful or cocky at any of your interviews you're toast. Be honest and grateful.

Everyone apply to Temple because Brian Hahn is the man! It'll be your favorite interview by far. :)
 
Safety School?

Trust me people. Learn humility now. If you come off exceedingly prideful or cocky at any of your interviews you're toast. Be honest and grateful.

Everyone apply to Temple because Brian Hahn is the man! It'll be your favorite interview by far. :)

I think you're absolutely correct.

I do think it's very important to display confidence, but be sure not to demonstrate self pride or cockiness. Sometimes being overly confident can result in the unintentional manifestation of those negative characters.

I'm trying to be careful myself! :scared:
 
My question to everyone is, what are your safety schools and why?

Sorry nobody here is answering your question.

It's been a while since I applied to dental school, but I think the three biggest safety schools are: USC, BU, and NYU. Why? They are so ridiculously expensive it keeps that applicant stats down. But if your life goal is to become a dentist, what does an extra $100,000 in debt really mean? Ans: nothing. Check out USC's stats page. They're average entering GPA is super-low and their estimated expenses for the first 3 years is over $100G. Beyond USC, BU, and NYU I'd also suggest Temple. Good luck.
 
Sorry nobody here is answering your question.

It's been a while since I applied to dental school, but I think the three biggest safety schools are: USC, BU, and NYU. Why? They are so ridiculously expensive it keeps that applicant stats down. But if your life goal is to become a dentist, what does an extra $100,000 in debt really mean? Ans: nothing. Check out USC's stats page. They're average entering GPA is super-low and their estimated expenses for the first 3 years is over $100G. Beyond USC, BU, and NYU I'd also suggest Temple. Good luck.

Generally private schools may overlook a poor GPA if you have other things going for you: i.e. research, high DAT, leadership, extremely strong/unique personal statement, .... Given your list that seems heavy in mid-west i'd recommend you also consider Detroit Mercy and Case Western (both very fine schools).
 
Meharry and Howard are only safety schools if you're black, native, or hispanic. And if you are, then every school is a safety school.

Exactly how is every school a safety if you're a minority? Minorities get rejected by all schools just like everyone else.
 
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