Should I apply to more than 4 schools?

[deleted992047]

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Hi everyone, I'm fortunate enough to be selective with the schools I apply to due to my stats, but I'm worried that applying to only 4 schools is still too risky. Should I apply to more schools, and which ones would you recommend? I'd like to attend a school with good specialization rates so I can keep my options open. Research is also really important to me so I'd like a school that emphasizes that.

Also, I grew up in and went to college in CA, but moved to another state after graduation. Would UCLA and UCSF still consider me OOS? My school list is small largely because I'd like to be in CA or NY.

Date of submission: Planning on submitting by the end of June
Overall GPA: 3.80
Science GPA: 3.79
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.76
DAT score: 26AA 28TS 28 PAT
State of Residence: NY

Major: Bio
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 100 hours between three general dentists (70 + 20 + 5)
Volunteering Experience: 325 hours (275 between five hospitals/clinics, 50 middle school tutoring)
Employment: 80 hours at a yoga studio (front desk)
Research: 5500 hours (2000 undergrad, 3500 at current job as a lab tech), no publications yet
Other Extracurriculars: none
Relevant Honors or Awards: My college's honors program
LOR type and strength: Bio professor (strong), Bio professor (average) research PI (strong), research professor (strong)

School list:
UCLA
UCSF
Columbia
Harvard

Schools I'm thinking about:
UoP - I was going to apply here but heard it's hard to specialize directly from here
USC - too expensive?
NYU - too expensive?
Penn - not sure if I would like Philly

Thanks!

 

[MavsFanForLife]

While your stats are way above average, The schools on your current list are very competitive. If you apply to only those 4 school, you run the risk being an above average applicant that has to reapply. If I were you, I would add 2-3 more schools that you could see your self attending.

 

[deleted992047]

While your stats are way above average, The schools on your current list are very competitive. If you apply to only those 4 school, you run the risk being an above average applicant that has to reapply. If I were you, I would add 2-3 more schools that you could see your self attending.

Are there any schools you would recommend?

 

[giannis]

I would just add NYU as your backup although it probably won't be necessary but you never know.

 

[Allsmiles!]

I agree with Mavs...your numbers are good, but I would apply to a few more schools. I would place UCONN, Stony Brook, and Penn on your list. As far as Philly is concerned, I’m not sure if you visited the area already, but I never thought I would live in Philly but really, really, really liked the school and feel/vibe of University City! To answer your question regarding residency...yes, you will be considered OOS for CA schools...trust me, they will not care how long you previously held residency in CA if your current residency is in a different state.

 

[macsak]

70+20+5 does not equal 100
you need a dentist LOR

I agree you are taking a risk by applying to only 4 extremely competitive schools, even with your stats
add at least 3-4 more schools

 

[deleted992047]

I agree with Mavs...your numbers are good, but I would apply to a few more schools. I would place UCONN, Stony Brook, and Penn on your list. As far as Philly is concerned, I’m not sure if you visited the area already, but I never thought I would live in Philly but really, really, really liked the school and feel/vibe of University City! To answer your question regarding residency...yes, you will be considered OOS for CA schools...trust me, they will not care how long you previously held residency in CA if your current residency is in a different state.

I'm planning on visiting the area in a few weeks and I was going to add Penn to my application after if I liked it! What do you like about the school and University City?

And that's a bummer about CA, I didn't decide to apply to dental school until after I moved.

 

[deleted992047]

70+20+5 does not equal 100
you need a dentist LOR

I agree you are taking a risk by applying to only 4 extremely competitive schools, even with your stats
add at least 3-4 more schools

Sorry, that was a typo. It should say 75.

Regarding my LORs, I decided to get a very strong letter from my research supervisor I worked with for 2 years instead of an average letter from a dentist (I'd only known him a few weeks when I was asking for LORs, the other dentists I shadowed knew me even less). I spoke to admissions from the 4 schools on my list and they confirmed that my LORs satisfy their requirements, so I took a calculated risk to make my application as strong as possible for these schools, even if that meant not being able to apply to other schools that require different LORs. That's also another reason my school list doesn't include more schools right now. If I absolutely had to, I could get a dentist LOR because he offered to write one, but all of my LORs are complete on AADSAS already. Columbia and Harvard also require 3 professor LORs so this is the best combination of letters that I decided to go with.

Any schools you would suggest I add?

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

Hi everyone, I'm fortunate enough to be selective with the schools I apply to due to my stats, but I'm worried that applying to only 4 schools is still too risky. Should I apply to more schools, and which ones would you recommend? I'd like to attend a school with good specialization rates so I can keep my options open. Research is also really important to me so I'd like a school that emphasizes that.

Also, I grew up in and went to college in CA, but moved to another state after graduation. Would UCLA and UCSF still consider me OOS? My school list is small largely because I'd like to be in CA or NY.

Date of submission: Planning on submitting by the end of June
Overall GPA: 3.80
Science GPA: 3.79
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.76
DAT score: 26AA 28TS 28 PAT
State of Residence: NY

Major: Bio
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 100 hours between three general dentists (70 + 20 + 5)
Volunteering Experience: 325 hours (275 between five hospitals/clinics, 50 middle school tutoring)
Employment: 80 hours at a yoga studio (front desk)
Research: 5500 hours (2000 undergrad, 3500 at current job as a lab tech), no publications yet
Other Extracurriculars: none
Relevant Honors or Awards: My college's honors program
LOR type and strength: Bio professor (strong), Bio professor (average) research PI (strong), research professor (strong)

School list:
UCLA
UCSF
Columbia
Harvard

Schools I'm thinking about:
UoP - I was going to apply here but heard it's hard to specialize directly from here
USC - too expensive?
NYU - too expensive?
Penn - not sure if I would like Philly

Thanks!

According to Aadsas, as long as you have an address from the state of CA, you will be considered an instate.

Your stats are good. I think the schools you are applying to will like it. You can and should add Penn (another brand name) and a few other program just to safe.

In terms of shadowing, just fill it up to 100. Some schools require or recommend it. You don't necessarily need a letter from a dentist to get accepted. But right now you only have letters from faculty or PI. Id try to get a letter from either a dentist or an employer or a leader of an organization where your volunteered.

Good stats. All the best to you

 

[Allsmiles!]

The key point is if you established residency in a new state (e.g., Driver license, voting, employment) I strongly believe you will not get in state from CA...that was my personal experience when I went through last cycle. What I liked about Penn and University City...wow, there is so much I can say! You can DM me and I’ll break down my rationale for selecting Penn from, what I consider, several great schools and options I ended up having.

 

[macsak]

Sorry, that was a typo. It should say 75.

Regarding my LORs, I decided to get a very strong letter from my research supervisor I worked with for 2 years instead of an average letter from a dentist (I'd only known him a few weeks when I was asking for LORs, the other dentists I shadowed knew me even less). I spoke to admissions from the 4 schools on my list and they confirmed that my LORs satisfy their requirements, so I took a calculated risk to make my application as strong as possible for these schools, even if that meant not being able to apply to other schools that require different LORs. That's also another reason my school list doesn't include more schools right now. If I absolutely had to, I could get a dentist LOR because he offered to write one, but all of my LORs are complete on AADSAS already. Columbia and Harvard also require 3 professor LORs so this is the best combination of letters that I decided to go with.

Any schools you would suggest I add?

70 + 20 + 5 does not equal 75

 

[deleted992047]

70 + 20 + 5 does not equal 75

According to Aadsas, as long as you have an address from the state of CA, you will be considered an instate.

Your stats are good. I think the schools you are applying to will like it. You can and should add Penn (another brand name) and a few other program just to safe.

In terms of shadowing, just fill it up to 100. Some schools require or recommend it. You don't necessarily need a letter from a dentist to get accepted. But right now you only have letters from faculty or PI. Id try to get a letter from either a dentist or an employer or a leader of an organization where your volunteered.

Good stats. All the best to you

I actually meant 75 + 20 + 5 shadowing hours so I do have 100 🙂

I think I will end up adding Penn and UoP to be on the safe side. Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[macsak]

I actually meant 75 + 20 + 5 shadowing hours so I do have 100 🙂

I think I will end up adding Penn and UoP to be on the safe side. Thanks everyone for your input!

ok, thanks for clearing that up

so now you have 5 out of the 7 or 8 most competitive schools on your list

UOP is a good choice, because they love high DAT scores
and they are expensive, so lots of people stay away from applying there

edit to add:
i'd still recommend adding one or two more schools

 

[deleted903013]

I would add a couple of cheaper schools that give you in state after a year. School's like NYU, USC, and even Penn will cripple you with debt for the rest of your life.

 

[REACHOn]

You have great scores but even people with great scores might not have that luck. You applied to competitive schools so you might want to have a few safety ones like what people mentioned. Schools are forced to have diversity in numbers and race, so they can only have a certain # of great GPA and DAT students like you and then they go down the list. I would not recommend the expensive ones like USC and NYU unless you like the school a lot and can get pass the high tuition. I have not done a through research to recommend any school that fit the criteria for you but I'm sure you can research it easily with your smarts. I'd be doing you more harm than good if I threw out a random school 😛 Adding 2-3 more schools would work. Good luck and hope your hard work pays off.

 

[Allsmiles!]

Keep in mind, with numbers like yours you may be offered a scholarship from some of these more expensive schools like Penn. For example, after being offered a scholarship from Penn it was a no brainer that I would not be attending my in state school. I actually was struggling between Penn and another school who also offered me a great scholarship. With that said, yes, always apply to your state school (I did)! Hopefully, you will get several offers and scholarships which will allow you to pick the best school for you based on your particular situation. UCONN is a great program and super cheap (probably the cheapest and cheaper than most in state tuition) for OOS applicants, but they only take about 45 student per cycle with just a couple of students not from CT and a couple of states nearby. Remember, the VAST majority of state schools will not change your OOS status to in state so these schools will be as expensive as some of the most expensive private dental schools. To sum it up, do not get over confident because of your scores...apply to a few more schools to include your state school...don’t shy away from some of the private schools because you might get lucky and be offered a scholarship that makes it much more reasonable to forgo your state school. Good luck.

 

[Faefly]

You can have a very strange and awkward personality and they wouldn't like you after the interview.
or you can get sick or scared on the day interview and do miserably or not even attend your interviews.
Or maybe they would look at you and decide you are not a good fit for them! They are picky schools!

You should apply to more than 4 schools.

 

[Cthuluhoop]

You need to apply to more than 4 schools, however your stats are way above the likes of NYU, so please don't apply to any ridiculous private dental school.

Maryland, U Conn I would add. Stony Brook I believe is "reasonable", Pittsburgh and Penn both can be generous with scholarships to lower the CoA, so I would add those two but I would only attend either if you receive a scholarship.

 

[REACHOn]

You can have a very strange and awkward personality and they wouldn't like you after the interview.
or you can get sick or scared on the day interview and do miserably or not even attend your interviews.
Or maybe they would look at you and decide you are not a good fit for them! They are picky schools!

You should apply to more than 4 schools.

HAHA I totally agree with you. When life hits you with the unexpected. At one of my interview I arrived 1 day early and had sushi alone at a restaurant. During the interview the next day I had the runs..... Well only the first half was true, the runs was made up but it could happen 😛 What did happen was I ended up losing the buttons on my suit the morning of the interview (careful with morning stretches with the suit buttoned up...) and even though I drove to the nearest Target I could not find what I needed to fix it. I just kept my suit unbuttoned...