Sorry to be cliche but... school list help?

[CoFe2]

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I promised myself I would NEVER post one of these but I've felt so conflicted the last two weeks and I can't get ahold of my dental advisor. I took the DAT on the 24th and did a lot better than I expected and that has kind of changed my outlook on things... sooooo if anyone has some input let me know! I promise I have done my research... I just have some weird circumstances that are holding me back

Background: 3.5 GPA with a strong upward trend at a small, liberal arts school in the south.
Major: Biology
DAT: 23 AA 22 TS 20 PAT
EC's: Pretty strong. was a D1 athlete for my first two years (quit because I wanted to focus all of my energy in my academics which helped my GPA considerably) and I held a lot of leadership positions in different organizations, most being philanthropic.
Shadowing: a little over 100
Personal Statement: probably pretty average. I'm not a strong writer by any means.

So here's where it gets tricky. I'm not financially well off at all right now. I was approved for FAP which was amazing and I'm very very lucky but I have to be very careful about the additional schools I apply to. I don't have money to just willy nilly apply to schools, fill our secondaries and travel to interviews unfortunately 🙁

I went ahead and submitted my first three applications because those were covered (minus the supplemental fees of course)
1. Indiana (state school)
2. Kentucky
3. Maryland

From there I'm debating a few different schools.. what are your thoughts on these? (in no particular order)
1. MUSC- I go to school in south carolina and MUSC seems to love applicants from my school. I am optimistic that I would get an acceptance here BUT it's also one of the most expensive schools and expensive cities to live in. Statistically speaking I should be able to get at least one acceptance to one of the previously listed schools (assuming I interview well at least) but at the same time you can never be too sure and am I really in the position to turn away something somewhat safe?
2. UTHSC Memphis- *sigh* I love Tennessee so much. I would love to end up in Tennessee and/or the south in general.. unfortunately many southern schools don't seem to be very OOS friendly and this one has about 50% OOS students. I honestly don't even know very much about the program but the thought of leaving the south at the end of this year breaks my heart 🙁
3. Louisville- Great school and program.. people seem to really love it there. It's close to home so that's also a bit of a plus as far as traveling for interviews and what not goes.
4. Columbia- A stretch. A huge stretch and I keep telling myself it's not worth applying here at all but I feel like I might be mad at myself later ya know? Always wondering if I could have done it. And in the slim chance I got an interview I would also have to get my way over to New York which would be amazing but another huge expense 🙁

Ok so what are our thoughts? Again I'm low on funds so need to be smart. Thanks so much for any input!! 🙂

 

[larrylu]

that 50% of OOS at UTHSC are pretty much all for Arkansas residents. There are only about less than 10 OOS spots.

 

[CoFe2]

that 50% of OOS at UTHSC are pretty much all for Arkansas residents. There are only about less than 10 OOS spots.

ahh wow ok I didn't know that. well that takes care of one. thanks!

 

[zhou381OSU]

Hello, great job on your DAT btw. I'm from charleston sc and I'll be applying this year. From what I heard from the dental students at the musc, they seem to be accepting a lot more oos students now, so you will have a good chance landing an interview. With that being said, MUSC is very expensive for in state and outrageously expensive for OOS, so keep that in mind. 🙂

 

[CoFe2]

Hello, great job on your DAT btw. I'm from charleston sc and I'll be applying this year. From what I heard from the dental students at the musc, they seem to be accepting a lot more oos students now, so you will have a good chance landing an interview. With that being said, MUSC is very expensive for in state and outrageously expensive for OOS, so keep that in mind. 🙂

yes thats whats keeping me from applying. Going there would put me in debt for life but like I said they LOVE students from my school. Practically everyone who applies lands an interview so idk what to do!

 

[DivaDent]

3. Louisville- Great school and program.. people seem to really love it there. It's close to home so that's also a bit of a plus as far as traveling for interviews and what not goes.

Louisville is a great choice to add to your list! Very OOS friendly. I'm an Indiana resident that attended Louisville. If you're applying to UK, you should definitely add Louisville, as our class size is bigger.

 

[stomatology]

yes thats whats keeping me from applying. Going there would put me in debt for life but like I said they LOVE students from my school. Practically everyone who applies lands an interview so idk what to do!

Would you attend MUSC if that was the only school you were accepted to this year? Would you regret it if you didn't apply to MUSC and were not accepted to any other schools? Those are the two relevant questions you have to answer.

For what it's worth, the biggest cities, such as New York City for example, have a significantly more expensive COL than Charleston. If you're considering Columbia, I wouldn't cut MUSC based on COL in Charleston. I don't know what the OOS tuition is like, so I can't advise on that front.