Should I apply this cycle or wait?

[deleted970761]

Hello guys,

I'm on my 3rd year of undergrad and I have finished all my prerequisites to apply, but I feel like there is too much to do in one semester and the idea of applying this cycle is weighing on my heavily.
I'll lay out the stuff I do have accomplished and was just wondering if I should apply this cycle or wait it out and spend the next year refining and improving my application?

• 3.3 GPA and 3.1 SGPA
• Around 150 hours of shadowing ( 1 general dentist)
• I'm in 3 pre-professional organizations
• 2 places that I frequently volunteer at on my own for the past 2 years
• I also have drafted my Personal Statement and my CV ( still needs to be heavily edited)
• I have yet to take my DAT but my bootcamp scores indicate that I'll score around a 20-22

I don't have any professors I can get any letters of rec from but I have been trying to be more proactive this semester and go to my professors' office hours so I can hopefully develop a relationship with them.

This whole process has been extremely stressful to me because I've been trying to get everything done, so I was just wondering with all the stuff I do have done should I even attempt to apply this cycle?

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[DSchoolorBust202X]

Around 150 hours of shadowing ( 1 general dentist)

I think you should spend some time shadowing at least two other general dentists to see how different offices do things.

Also, just my thoughts, but you seem to have most everything together, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to apply this cycle after taking the DAT and gathering LORs. That being said, apply when you feel comfortable with the majority of your application. Good luck!

 

[Crown95]

Approaching your professors for the LORs can be intimidating (I was also in your position). What I learned at my university was that professors are more than willing to write them for you (Ask them before spring break because around that time is when they usual get most of the requests from pre-healths). That being said it helps if you can offer them something in return like becoming a teaching assistant, if you did well in their classes, or even helped out your peers in labs.

In your case I would definitely still be a regular to their office hours and try to become an active participant in class until roughly the 1st-2nd week of March. I think that is your best bet to ask and get the letter back in a timely manner (May-June). If you want a stronger letter you should ask mid April or summer (You may have your letter delayed due to the volume of requests the professors may have). Even after you ask still visit their office hours. Chances are they wont write it immediately so any future interaction with them can give them more substance to include. Also it keeps them from forgetting about your letter. When you do ask please do not forget to give them a "deadline".

Like DSchoolorBust202X said shadow a bit more and apply when you are comfortable. The stress before applying can be crippling. With your GPA you may need to focus more on your classes so that you don't fall below the cutoffs (You are considered a traditional applicant).

A good tip is to use your spare time this semester to start organizing the various aspects of your application i.e. typing out all your volunteer activities with descriptions of what you did in a word document. It helps when you are filling out your application if you have >60% of everything completed and reduces your load little by little over the coming months. If you follow this, by the time the apps open you will see that you don't have much left to do. You also don't need to submit as soon as the application opens (the summer gives you much more free time to work on the details). July is also a perfectly acceptable time to submit (like I did) so do not rush your app. With that you should still keep in mind that your application still needs to be processed by the applications and the schools themselves.

Not sure about anyone else on this forum but once I submitted my applications my stress level dropped significantly until interview time. Getting organized and working little by little throughout my semester allowed me to submit that cycle or else I would have waited.

If you need support I am absolutely certain the wonderful people on this forum and I will be here for you.

 

[ESPN907]

I would say there’s no reason not to apply this cycle. Especially if you are scoring 20-22 on bootcamp you’ll probably score even higher on the real thing.

 

[deleted970761]

Approaching your professors for the LORs can be intimidating (I was also in your position). What I learned at my university was that professors are more than willing to write them for you (Ask them before spring break because around that time is when they usual get most of the requests from pre-healths). That being said it helps if you can offer them something in return like becoming a teaching assistant, if you did well in their classes, or even helped out your peers in labs.

In your case I would definitely still be a regular to their office hours and try to become an active participant in class until roughly the 1st-2nd week of March. I think that is your best bet to ask and get the letter back in a timely manner (May-June). If you want a stronger letter you should ask mid April or summer (You may have your letter delayed due to the volume of requests the professors may have). Even after you ask still visit their office hours. Chances are they wont write it immediately so any future interaction with them can give them more substance to include. Also it keeps them from forgetting about your letter. When you do ask please do not forget to give them a "deadline".

Like DSchoolorBust202X said shadow a bit more and apply when you are comfortable. The stress before applying can be crippling. With your GPA you may need to focus more on your classes so that you don't fall below the cutoffs (You are considered a traditional applicant).

A good tip is to use your spare time this semester to start organizing the various aspects of your application i.e. typing out all your volunteer activities with descriptions of what you did in a word document. It helps when you are filling out your application if you have >60% of everything completed and reduces your load little by little over the coming months. If you follow this, by the time the apps open you will see that you don't have much left to do. You also don't need to submit as soon as the application opens (the summer gives you much more free time to work on the details). July is also a perfectly acceptable time to submit (like I did) so do not rush your app. With that you should still keep in mind that your application still needs to be processed by the applications and the schools themselves.

Not sure about anyone else on this forum but once I submitted my applications my stress level dropped significantly until interview time. Getting organized and working little by little throughout my semester allowed me to submit that cycle or else I would have waited.

If you need support I am absolutely certain the wonderful people on this forum and I will be here for you.

Thank you! I'll slowly chip away at it and try to get everything done. Would applying mid July be too late to apply? I've heard so many people tell me that I have a much lower chance of getting in if I don't apply as soon as the cycle opens.

 

[Crown95]

The Health Professions Committee at my school used to scare everyone into applying as soon as it opens. Their intent is to get you in the queue as quickly as possible (I don't really know if this is how the system works I can only speculate). I can only assume this can lead to lots of errors because students rush through it in hopes that it will better their chances. Personally I do not think it is too late but you are the in control of when you apply. If you do want to spend your time refining your application then you can shoot for mid to late June typically 2 weeks after AADSAS opens. For TMDSAS (opens around May 1st) that time should be more than enough.

When I submitted mine I was taking 11 hours during the summer session while working (If I wasn't so backed up I would have submitted about mid June to the third week). I did notice an error or two every-time I looked at my app before I submitted. I also did get interviews at all schools except for one (My backup) because I didn't realize I was required to also submit transcripts directly to the school (Why tf did i go through all of AADSAS if they want me to give them the same info). Not say that this will 100% work for you as well because everyones situation is different.

Some things to keep in mind:
If you are submitting your letters to your Health Profession Committee to get a committee letter it may come with a delay because they can get backed up with the volume of pre-health students they deal with.
If you decide not to get their letter and have the writers submit it directly, it will be up to you to keep them on track so that it does get submitted.

You can submit as early as day one but if the application doesn't have your letters its not going to be processed until they get uploaded.
I figured that if my professors would not be able to submit my letters until xx-xx-2018 then I should wait until right before so that I can refine as much as I can. Logic did fail me a little because my letters were ready mid June but being a goof I put them off till July. (Picked up extra shifts to get that $$$ overtime)

The only advantage I see from submitting earlier is that your app will be seen first (again speculation) which may lead to you receiving an interview earlier before they fill up. I think thats where people get the idea that your chances increase. If I was ever selected to be on an ad-com I wouldn't necessarily give priority to when an application was submitted (i.e. they submitted asap so they must be a choice candidate). Everyone's situation is different and some people are more fortunate than others to be able to have everything sooner. I would focus more on the quality of the application itself and the interview with the applicant.

Sorry for the long posts, I hope this information can reduce your stress load.

 

[bayarea613]

MrNoVA- I also want to apply in my 3rd yr of undergrad. Can you please tell me what classes you already have down? Ex- chem, orgo, inorganic, physics ?? Thinking of how I would organize them together..

 

[deleted970761]

MrNoVA- I also want to apply in my 3rd yr of undergrad. Can you please tell me what classes you already have down? Ex- chem, orgo, inorganic, physics ?? Thinking of how I would organize them together..

Hi! I've taken Orgo, Inorganic, Physics, Anatomy, and Biochem. I pretty much took the courses that are required to apply to most Dental schools.
I generally saved Orgo and Physics for the summer since I knew a lot of people emphasized the difficulty of those courses. If I was going to suggest one thing, try taking your DAT after taking OChem since it is fresh in your mind and you don't have to focus much on it when studying for the DAT, it saves so much time!

 

[SmileGoals]

In my opinion, if you’re not ready, why would you rush yourself? There’s no need to rush into dental school. Take a gap year, go travel, live some life outside of undergrad. Take a deep breath and evaluate your situation. If you can get everything done in a quality and timely way (ie. do well on the DAT, get stellar LOR’s, and have a kickass personal statement) and you feel ready to take on interviews, then go for it. If there’s any doubt, I see nothing wrong with taking your time and making sure you are ready for it.

 

[toothyboi1996]

Hey! we have almost the same stats but I'm applying next cycle. how'd you do if you don't mind me asking?

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