Should I wait to apply?

[jarrodsimons]

I am considering applying to dental schools sometime in September and am wondering if I should actually plan on waiting another year to apply.

*I have a 3.61 cGPA / 3.26 sGPA
*I have no volunteering hours and no shadowing experience.
*I still need to take the DAT and have not yet started studying for it.

My super-cram-plan was to rack up volunteering and shadowing hours between the end of spring semester and summer school, and between the end of summer school and fall semester. I'm working ahead of schedule in my studies at school to free up my schedule so I can study for the DAT, but have thus far not put in any time.

Is it possible to become a competitive candidate between now and September, or is it much more realistic that I plan on waiting until June-July of 2013 to apply?

This information may be important: I finish my BBS in Business Management and Finance in the summer of 2013, and will have completed all of my pre-requisites in the Spring of 2013. I can retake general chemistry I in the Fall of 2013 and really improve my sGPA (with current grades, it'll change my sGPA from 3.26 -> 3.5)

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[Shazzam]

All this information is easily found using the search tool on the forum. Short version, you shouldn't waste your money applying in September and wait for the next cycle.

 

[wizi]

Its difficult to say anything without your DAT score but I wouldnt wait for a year. Your GPAs is not at the end of the world. Apply in Sept is not early but its not too late either. You have a slim chance to get into a dental school but who knows.

Apply this year, learn from it, get some feedbacks etc. These things will make your app even stronger.

 

[jarrodsimons]

So what I'll likely gain from applying this cycle is a sense of urgency to act now and some experience in the application process, but I have a very low chance of acceptance? (I want to go to UMKC, I'm a KS resident). If that's the case, I'm leaning toward waiting until the next cycle.

I plan on spending the summer studying for the DAT and taking it just before fall semester begins. Then, if I don't do as well as I'd hoped, I'll take it again at the end of the next winter break. Does that sound like a good plan? I want to avoid overtaxing myself with to-do lists and acceptance anxiety which would make me a miserable grump for the next several months, especially if the most likely result is a hardly competitive application in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to hard work, but I think what I'd have to do is beyond hard?

 

[white fang]

The workload is manageable. The problems is your sGPA. You said if you retook a chem course it would jump from 3.26 to 3.5, but you are probably figuring your old grade will be replaced. It won't, the two grades will be averaged. Once class will likely move your sGPA far less than that.

Now I am not saying you won't get into dental school, just that by applying that late you stack the odds against yourself when you will likely need the benefits of applying early in the cycle.

When you take the DAT it will make your situation far more clear. For example, if you get a 19 you are probably out of luck. But if you manage a really high score, maybe it will be worth sending an application to a few of your top choice schools to see what happens.

 

[invictusx]

I wouldn't apply in September, that's too late. It's hard to do work and study at the same time because you'll be exhausted. I think you need to volunteer because what if dentistry isn't your cup of tea? It'll look "bad" on your application because dental schools are going to think "well, this applicant JUST started to volunteer and expects to apply the same year (s)he started volunteering? What's (s)he up to? Is this person really doing it because (s)he was somehow coerced into doing it or genuinely interested?"

There are too many "what ifs" and you want to minimize those speculations.

 

[jarrodsimons]

In the case that the grade for my retaken class is averaged, it will change my sGPA from a 3.26 to a 3.34--but I recall reading somewhere that UMKC practices grade replacement for retaken classes, which is why I claimed my sGPA would go from a 3.26 to a 3.5. If someone knows otherwise, please correct me.

The reason it changes that much is because my degree is in business management and finance, so I have relatively few science classes which makes a drastic change possible when a 5 credit hour course goes from a C to an A.

I do have another question, and this is probably a "call UMKC" question, but perhaps someone knows a rule-of-thumb answer that is helpful.

How is the science GPA calculated? The 3.26 I have calculated only includes the pre-requisite science courses for dental school. I took a few science courses (for business majors) that would increase my sGPA (3.26 -> 3.35) but I avoided including them in my calculation because I doubt they would be given consideration in determining my science GPA.

Thank you all for your responses thus far, the process of making this decision has murdered my motivation this weekend.

 

[jarrodsimons]

Scratch my last question about science GPA calculation, the answer was easy to find -- if I use UMKC's rules for calculating sGPA and I replace my gen. chem I grade with an A, I will have a 3.61 sGPA.

 

[white fang]

Scratch my last question about science GPA calculation, the answer was easy to find -- if I use UMKC's rules for calculating sGPA and I replace my gen. chem I grade with an A, I will have a 3.61 sGPA.

Yeah, I just verified what you said about UMKC replacing grades. That gives you a verycompetitive GPA once GC is retaken. However, their website stresses Sept 1 as the preferential deadline to have all application information submitted and really wants it in June or July. If I were you, I would figure out a way to take the DAT in June and rush and get my application done by July. I think you would have a real shot with a good DAT. However, you don't seem to worried about missing a year in exchange for less stress so that might be the right option.

 

[jarrodsimons]

Thank you all very much for your input, with your aid I feel like a ton has been lifted from my chest. I've decided to wait the extra year, and during that time I'll work in a dental office, volunteer, and shadow even more. Using that strategy, I qualify to get on board with UMKC's reserve program, and I'll have time to really evaluate my choices and save up some cash.