Should I refrain from applying this cycle?

[quaffled]

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I haven't submitted as two of my professors haven't submitted recs yet, and likely won't be able to apply till July 1st.
I also bombed my final quarter of college (3 Bs, 1 A, 1 NP in biochem) as I had a hard time coping with a friend taking their life.
At the end of the day, I underperformed regardless of any reason I might have, so I don't know if it's worth applying this cycle especially since it won't be early.

My cGPA is 3.74, sGPA is 3.64, DAT is 22.
I have a lot of volunteering and extracurriculars, but no research.
I have been working as a dental assistant for a year while attending UCLA online.
My recs are pretty decent (have read drafts of them but not the finals).

Should I wait a year before applying? I am fairly confident I can get a DAT of 24 or so since I didn't really study for it my first time and I can continue to work at a dental office while taking some community classes. I'm really worried about the NP strongly and weak final quarter lowering my chances. I heard that re-applicants may be judged more strictly in some cases as well. I'm not sure I am a strong applicant due to my GPA in the first place, but unfortunately am not in a position to afford a post-bacc purely in hopes of dental school acceptance.

I appreciate any insight or recommendations— thank you in advance!

 

[macsak]

I haven't submitted as two of my professors haven't submitted recs yet, and likely won't be able to apply till July 1st.
I also bombed my final quarter of college (3 Bs, 1 A, 1 NP in biochem) as I had a hard time coping with a friend taking their life.
At the end of the day, I underperformed regardless of any reason I might have, so I don't know if it's worth applying this cycle especially since it won't be early.

My cGPA is 3.74, sGPA is 3.64, DAT is 22.
I have a lot of volunteering and extracurriculars, but no research.
I have been working as a dental assistant for a year while attending UCLA online.
My recs are pretty decent (have read drafts of them but not the finals).

Should I wait a year before applying? I am fairly confident I can get a DAT of 24 or so since I didn't really study for it my first time and I can continue to work at a dental office while taking some community classes. I'm really worried about the NP strongly and weak final quarter lowering my chances. I heard that re-applicants may be judged more strictly in some cases as well. I'm not sure I am a strong applicant due to my GPA in the first place, but unfortunately am not in a position to afford a post-bacc purely in hopes of dental school acceptance.

I appreciate any insight or recommendations— thank you in advance!

your gpa is good
so is your dat
july 1 is not late...

 

[PerioDont]

yeah I think you should be all set to apply. No need to retake DAT or even think about post bacc at this point.

just make sure you try and resolve any major life stuff before dental school...I would guess you would get in this cycle btw. are you in senior year now?

you can also try filling in the full WAMC template.

 

[2thPirate🦷]

You’re gonna be fine, you have great stats, as long as your recs don’t throw you under the bus or your PS is a dumpster fire you’re gonna get some interviews. If those go well you’re going to walk away with a few offers, so focus on polishing your app and practicing those interviewing skills, much luck👍🏼

 

[quaffled]

Thank you very much for your words of advice! I will go ahead and apply as suggested.