Shotgun Approach

[Datooth]

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As the title suggests, I plan on applying to every possible school I can. I checked out the where to apply thread and noticed it hasn't been updated since 2011 so I thought I would ask to make sure. Is the following list all encompassing? I have taken 60 credits total @ a CC (including physics 1 +2 & chm1) so I removed NYU, BU, and Tufts. I'm also OOS for every school (yay Arizona!)

1. Temple
2. Midwestern AZ
3. Creighton
4. Louisville
5. Pittsburgh
6. Western
7. Maryland
8. USC
9. Case Western
10. Buffalo
11. Virginia Commonwealth
12. Nova
13. Michigan
14. Marquette
15. Indiana
16. Detroit Mercy
17. Midwestern IL
19. Kentucky
20. UNLV

I appreciate the help. 👍

Just in case it helps, 3.74 GPA / 3.62 sGPA / 3.84 BCP GPA + 18AA/18TS (which I plan on retaking for hopefully a 19aa / ts.)

Edit: Got a 22 AA / TS on the retake!!!

 

[UCSFx2017]

The shotgun approach only works in home defense and DNA sequencing. 😀 I guess that list is good enough if you just want to get into any dental school. Make sure to check if they're friendly towards OOS.

 

[Datooth]

The shotgun approach only works in home defense and DNA sequencing. 😀 I guess that list is good enough if you just want to get into any dental school. Make sure to check if they're friendly towards OOS.

To be honest, the goal is being a dentist. If I get lucky and have the privilege to choose where I go to school, then I'll take a look at the individual schools but I'll be happy with just being accepted. I ripped the list directly off the of the OOS friendly portion of the Where to Apply thread so unless things have changed, I believe they are good to go!

 

[Teeths]

As the title suggests, I plan on applying to every possible school I can. I checked out the where to apply thread and noticed it hasn't been updated since 2011 so I thought I would ask to make sure. Is the following list all encompassing? I have taken 60 credits total @ a CC (including physics 1 +2 & chm1) so I removed NYU, BU, and Tufts. I'm also OOS for every school (yay Arizona!)

1. Temple
2. Midwestern AZ
3. Creighton
4. Louisville
5. Pittsburgh
6. Western
7. Maryland
8. USC
9. Case Western
10. Buffalo
11. Virginia Commonwealth
12. Nova
13. Michigan
14. Marquette
15. Indiana
16. Detroit Mercy
17. Midwestern IL
19. Kentucky
20. UNLV

I appreciate the help. 👍

Just in case it helps, 3.74 GPA / 3.62 sGPA / 3.84 BCP GPA + 18AA/18TS (which I plan on retaking for hopefully a 19aa / ts.)

If you retake the DAT and score a 19-20 or anything above, I don't think you'll need to go about it with the "shot gun" approach, but of course that's just imho. Good luck!

 

[UCSFx2017]

To be honest, the goal is being a dentist. If I get lucky and have the privilege to choose where I go to school, then I'll take a look at the individual schools but I'll be happy with just being accepted somewhere. I ripped the list directly off the of the OOS friendly portion of the Where to Apply thread so unless things have changed, I believe they are good to go!

If I could go back in time, I would tell my past self to apply for the HPSP. If you know that you want to be a GP and are likely to attend an OOS or private school, HPSP is a very good deal. Even if you got into your state school, that is if you had one, HPSP would still be a great option. Here's why:

My state school increased its direct cost by $3,000 bringing the annual total for fixed-costs to almost $40,500. Assuming that the school does not increase the tuition for subsequent years (unlikely), I will be taking out the maximum unsubsidized 6.8% + 1% origination fee loans of $40,500 per year. During the four years of dental school, the accrued interest will amount to $29,160 for the $162,000 ($40,500 x 4), making the grand total by graduation equal to $191,160. Under the standard 120-month (10-year) repayment schedule, the total repayment will be $263,985. The total interest will be $72,925. The monthly loan repayment amount is $2,200. Under a 48-month (4-year) repayment schedule, the total repayment will be $218,873. The total interest will be $27,713. The monthly loan repayment amount is $4,560. Ideally, I would like to pay this off within 4-years or less. My annual expenses for student loans would be $54,720. I do not know how much the typical newly grad makes but assuming I am lucky and also remain single, a $120,000 gross salary would equate to $6,643 in state income tax for Virginia and $23,000 in Federal income tax. Net-income would be $120,000 - $54,720 - $6,643 - $23,000 = $35,637.

As a military dentist you get paid >$60K during your service and receive both a $20K bonus and $2K/month stipend during dental school. There are also downsides. Some would also argue that your clinical experience is limited within the military if you do not add another year for GPR/AEGD, making the total service obligation 5-years. From what I've read, the military limits certain procedures to only those with GPR/AEGD experience. Private practitioners are also learning the ins-and-outs of running a dental practice while the typical military dentist is exposed to much less business experience. You may also lose a potential patient base by joining the military. If I had not been interested in a specialty, I would have applied for the HPSP. You can still apply to specialties after your service obligation but I prefer spending those first years out of dental school completing my residency instead of practicing general, bread-and-butter dentistry (as opposed to practicing specialty dentistry).

After explaining the possible financial benefits, I think it's necessary to remind ourselves that it's best to leave the HPSP to those who are seriously considering a military career and who have a genuine interest in service.

 

[laundry]

The shotgun approach only works in home defense and DNA sequencing. 😀 I guess that list is good enough if you just want to get into any dental school. Make sure to check if they're friendly towards OOS.

even in sequencing, it's been out-dated by Illumina next-gen sequencing 😉

 

[UCSFx2017]

even in sequencing, it's been out-dated by Illumina next-gen sequencing 😉

Or Roche 454 😀

 

[Datooth]

If I could go back in time, I would tell my past self to apply for the HPSP. If you know that you want to be a GP and are likely to attend an OOS or private school, HPSP is a very good deal. Even if you got into your state school, that is if you had one, HPSP would still be a great option. Here's why:

My state school increased its direct cost by $3,000 bringing the annual total for fixed-costs to almost $40,500. Assuming that the school does not increase the tuition for subsequent years (unlikely), I will be taking out the maximum unsubsidized 6.8% + 1% origination fee loans of $40,500 per year. During the four years of dental school, the accrued interest will amount to $29,160 for the $162,000 ($40,500 x 4), making the grand total by graduation equal to $191,160. Under the standard 120-month (10-year) repayment schedule, the total repayment will be $263,985. The total interest will be $72,925. The monthly loan repayment amount is $2,200. Under a 48-month (4-year) repayment schedule, the total repayment will be $218,873. The total interest will be $27,713. The monthly loan repayment amount is $4,560. Ideally, I would like to pay this off within 4-years or less. My annual expenses for student loans would be $54,720. I do not know how much the typical newly grad makes but assuming I am lucky and also remain single, a $120,000 gross salary would equate to $6,643 in state income tax for Virginia and $23,000 in Federal income tax. Net-income would be $120,000 - $54,720 - $6,643 - $23,000 = $35,637.

As a military dentist you get paid >$60K during your service and receive both a $20K bonus and $2K/month stipend during dental school. There are also downsides. Some would also argue that your clinical experience is limited within the military if you do not add another year for GPR/AEGD, making the total service obligation 5-years. From what I've read, the military limits certain procedures to only those with GPR/AEGD experience. Private practitioners are also learning the ins-and-outs of running a dental practice while the typical military dentist is exposed to much less business experience. You may also lose a potential patient base by joining the military. If I had not been interested in a specialty, I would have applied for the HPSP. You can still apply to specialties after your service obligation but I prefer spending those first years out of dental school completing my residency instead of practicing general, bread-and-butter dentistry (as opposed to practicing specialty dentistry).

After explaining the possible financial benefits, I think it's necessary to remind ourselves that it's best to leave the HPSP to those who are seriously considering a military career and who have a genuine interest in service.

I'm definitely going the hpsp route if I'm accepted. I just hope I don't choke on the DAT again so I can qualify for the hpsp.

 

[Dgeorg6]

isn't the HPSP route 10 years though?

 

[jeffity]

As the title suggests, I plan on applying to every possible school I can. I checked out the where to apply thread and noticed it hasn't been updated since 2011 so I thought I would ask to make sure. Is the following list all encompassing? I have taken 60 credits total @ a CC (including physics 1 +2 & chm1) so I removed NYU, BU, and Tufts. I'm also OOS for every school (yay Arizona!)

1. Temple
2. Midwestern AZ
3. Creighton
4. Louisville
5. Pittsburgh
6. Western
7. Maryland
8. USC
9. Case Western
10. Buffalo
11. Virginia Commonwealth
12. Nova
13. Michigan
14. Marquette
15. Indiana
16. Detroit Mercy
17. Midwestern IL
19. Kentucky
20. UNLV

I appreciate the help. 👍

Just in case it helps, 3.74 GPA / 3.62 sGPA / 3.84 BCP GPA + 18AA/18TS (which I plan on retaking for hopefully a 19aa / ts.)

No state school is lame. But whatever. If you are indeed a resident of AZ, mind you have a nice selection of schools where you're semi-in-state with WICHE (for interviewing). You have a good shot at interviewing at both Colorado and Oregon on top of what you have. You could possibly add those or switch them out. Based on what I've seen past AZ applicants do, that list is pretty familiar. I agree with HPSP. Best deal in dentistry at the moment...probably forever. If you can land WICHE support, knock a good $100,000 off tuition if you go to a WICHE school. Lastly, although private, MWU-AZ is very friendly to AZ residents. I don't know your individual scores, but I'd think you're good for interviewing there as-is. If you're sending out your application before the re-take, keep in mind they're one of those schools that will not go back and review your application.

 

[JAWSSS]

Or Roche 454 😀

I had to work with a SOLiD sequencer for my thesis.... It sucked. HAHA

 

[Datooth]

isn't the HPSP route 10 years though?

From what I understand the HPSP route can be a minimum of 7 years (4 school + 3 year repayment) and up to 10 years if you go 4 year school + 4 year repayment + 2 year AEGD.

 

[Datooth]

I've been getting quite a few PMs suggesting that I don't need to retake the DAT. I thought an 18 AA / 18 TS was a very low score?

My specific scores were listed in this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=999245

While I would love to not have to retake the beast, I feel that the 16 in OC might be a bit much.

 

[LFA20]

I've been getting quite a few PMs suggesting that I don't need to retake the DAT. I thought an 18 AA / 18 TS was a very low score?

My specific scores were listed in this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=999245

While I would love to not have to retake the beast, I feel that the 16 in OC might be a bit much.

18AA/TS isn't really a low score if your GPA is 3.7+

 

[Teeths]

I've been getting quite a few PMs suggesting that I don't need to retake the DAT. I thought an 18 AA / 18 TS was a very low score?

My specific scores were listed in this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=999245

While I would love to not have to retake the beast, I feel that the 16 in OC might be a bit much.

Didn't know you had a 16 in OC... if that's the case then definitely retake imo since it's a science section.

 

[Blake1e]

You probably will get into at least one school. Though I imagine the interviewers are gonna grill you hard on your 18AA.

If you want to increase your options of what schools you get accepted to then I suggest you retake the DAT. I mean what if the only school you get accepted to has old equipment and not enough patients or its located in a not too welcoming area? imo I would want to decrease my odds of something like that happening if I could.