Tell me what I need for Boston schools

[northeastbandit]

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Hi guys--I graduated in May from undergrad. I am from the northeast and have strong ties here, and thus would prefer to stay here for D-school. I am particularly interested in Boston schools as I love the city and have free living arranged there. Yayyy family lol. Honestly I really like the idea of Tufts--BU just seems like they arent as invested in their program, and Harvard just seems too small of class. I also have heard students are happy at Tufts..anyone attest to this? GPA took a bit of a dip my last semester--thanks Ochem II and lab 🙁 My cumulative GPA is a 3.83 and BCP is right around there I am assuming...perhaps a bit less. Anyways, if I am really in on Tufts is there anything I can do to make them realize this--besides applying of course. I.e. I know with law schools you can fill out early decision which means you are committed to attending if they accept you. It is essentially binding. But, it increases likelihood of acceptance at your #1 school cause they realize if they accept you that you're essentially obligated to go.

I havent taken the Dat yet--what score should I be shooting for? As an aside I took the MCAT and did fairly well, but decided not to apply as I was wanting medicine for some external reasons and pressure from certain individuals. I was supposed to apply to med school for this cycle but didnt because I was unsure on med verus dental, but now I feel I know dental is for me. I hope the MCAT exposure can expedite my DAT studying--as I really know my bio (just not plant) and gen chem /ochem well. Yay CHADS. Haha I used him for a supplement for my MCAT prep books. Man that guy is awesome. Would def buy his DAT vids. I have lots of ec's, including years of research. One year at an ivy doing research. 1 publication, 3rd author. Not so great; I know. I have lots of shadowing --my mom works at a dental office as a secretary so I have been fortunate there and able to get in readily to shadow with GP's and specialists. I dont have much money, raised by single mother. Do dental schools ever give need based/and or academic scholarships? Paying sticker at Tufts would be brutal. 😱 Thanks for input guys !

 

[ajj70]

You can express interest by visiting but really, that doesn't help all that much. It's luck of the draw. If you get an interview at Tufts, obviously you can express your interest in the school then.

Having taken the MCAT will be a negative on your application. Usually when that happens people didn't score high enough or didn't get into med school so they use dental as a back up and dental schools do not like that. You will have to report that on your application so I would address the "last minute" change of heart in your PS.

Yes, some schools give academic scholarships and your GPA is in line with what they consider and you will probably need a 23+ on your DAT for a real chance. I don't know if Tufts gives scholarships or not though.

Research is not all that important for most dental schools but Harvard wants a lot of research experience.

Outside of your state school, if you have one, it will be sticker shock at every school.

 

[PocketRocket]

You can express interest by visiting but really, that doesn't help all that much. It's luck of the draw. If you get an interview at Tufts, obviously you can express your interest in the school then.

Having taken the MCAT will be a negative on your application. Usually when that happens people didn't score high enough or didn't get into med school so they use dental as a back up and dental schools do not like that. You will have to report that on your application so I would address the "last minute" change of heart in your PS.

Yes, some schools give academic scholarships and your GPA is in line with what they consider and you will probably need a 23+ on your DAT for a real chance. I don't know if Tufts gives scholarships or not though.

Research is not all that important for most dental schools but Harvard wants a lot of research experience.

Outside of your state school, if you have one, it will be sticker shock at every school.

You do not have to report that you've taken the MCAT. They only ask if you've applied to other professional schools like med, pharm, etc... They might ask about it during an interview and that's where you explain everything. But again, I wouldn't mention it unless they ask.

Also, don't mention anything about how you were gonna do medicine but chose dentistry over it. Again, only if they ask during your interview. It sounds like Med school wasn't even your idea anyways... I was in the same boat as you last year and now have 4 interviews. PM me if you have questions

 

[kholley25]

Average DAT scores for the 2014 entering class are as follows:

BU: 19.8 (AA)
Harvard: 23.0 (AA)
Tufts: 19.8 (AA)

Average GPA scores for the 2014 entering class are as follows:

BU: sGPA 3.46 oGPA 3.51
Harvard: sGPA 3.87 oGPA 3.85
Tufts: sGPA 3.29 oGPA 3.40

In-state (Mass.) interview data for the 2014 entering class:

BU: 155 applied, 57 interviewed, 29 matriculated
Harvard: 68 applied, 2 interviewed, 0 matriculated
Tufts: 161 applied, 72 interviewed, 49 matriculated

I would not mentioned you took the MCAT on your dental application; you are not required to do this anyway. Judging by the scores above, I would shoot for a 20 AA on your DAT to be competitive at your state schools; higher for Harvard or other Ivy-league schools. Your GPA is solid for any school. I don't think many D-schools have early decision but you may want to look into this further. Academic scholarships are available at many schools but you need to have a stellar application (high, probably >24 AA on your DAT, excellent LoR, ECs, etc.). Loans should cover most of the cost of school but I understand the sticker shock. If you're looking for value, you may want to consider OOS schools that allow you to declare residency after 1 year to get in-state tuition.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

EDIT: If you're really shooting for Tufts, your best opportunity to improve your chances is to contact the admissions office BEFORE the start of the next cycle, sit down with the admissions representative, and find out what you can do to make your application more competitive. This will show the ADCOM that you are interested in their program and it will help you to hone your application. You may also consider shadowing someone with ties to their program/getting a LoR from a Tufts alumni if possible. This is all in my opinion, of course.

 

[bambam92]

Outside of your state school, if you have one, it will be sticker shock at every school.[/QUOTE]

 

[northeastbandit]

You do not have to report that you've taken the MCAT. They only ask if you've applied to other professional schools like med, pharm, etc... They might ask about it during an interview and that's where you explain everything. But again, I wouldn't mention it unless they ask.

Also, don't mention anything about how you were gonna do medicine but chose dentistry over it. Again, only if they ask during your interview. It sounds like Med school wasn't even your idea anyways... I was in the same boat as you last year and now have 4 interviews. PM me if you have questions

Thank you! Really helpful input here.

 

[ajj70]

You do not have to report that you've taken the MCAT. They only ask if you've applied to other professional schools like med, pharm, etc... They might ask about it during an interview and that's where you explain everything. But again, I wouldn't mention it unless they ask.

Also, don't mention anything about how you were gonna do medicine but chose dentistry over it. Again, only if they ask during your interview. It sounds like Med school wasn't even your idea anyways... I was in the same boat as you last year and now have 4 interviews. PM me if you have questions

Isn't it a question on the DAT application though (if you took any other professional tests)? I guess I just assumed that information got sent with your official scores, maybe not?

 

[PocketRocket]

Isn't it a question on the DAT application though (if you took any other professional tests)? I guess I just assumed that information got sent with your official scores, maybe not?

I don't remember this... Regardless I really don't see how having taken the MCAT and done well, or even poorly, will negatively impact your chances. Dental schools shouldn't care about these things. The only thing they should
be evaluating are the characteristics that will make you a good student/ competent dentist.

 

[ajj70]

I don't remember this... Regardless I really don't see how having taken the MCAT and done well, or even poorly, will negatively impact your chances. Dental schools shouldn't care about these things. The only thing they should
be evaluating are the characteristics that will make you a good student/ competent dentist.

It's well known that if you were pre-med and moved to pre-dental, especially after taking the MCAT that dental schools do not like that. Do a search on the boards here. They want people that are committed to being a dentist and not someone that dental school is the fall back because they didn't get into medical school. Yes, they should care because their job is to train dentists and there are plenty of qualified candidates that have a true passion for dentistry and are not just going into the field for the money or because they couldn't get into med school.

 

[PocketRocket]

It's well known that if you were pre-med and moved to pre-dental, especially after taking the MCAT that dental schools do not like that. Do a search on the boards here. They want people that are committed to being a dentist and not someone that dental school is the fall back because they didn't get into medical school. Yes, they should care because their job is to train dentists and there are plenty of qualified candidates that have a true passion for dentistry and are not just going into the field for the money or because they couldn't get into med school.

I agree 100%. But, this particular individual did well on the MCAT and has everything needed to be a competitive applicant for med. However, he feels that medicine is not his passion and is choosing to pursue dentistry instead. If he went through with it by actually applying to med school that would have been a different story. Nothing about what OP said screams "dentistry is a back-up plan"

 

[northeastbandit]

It's well known that if you were pre-med and moved to pre-dental, especially after taking the MCAT that dental schools do not like that. Do a search on the boards here. They want people that are committed to being a dentist and not someone that dental school is the fall back because they didn't get into medical school. Yes, they should care because their job is to train dentists and there are plenty of qualified candidates that have a true passion for dentistry and are not just going into the field for the money or because they couldn't get into med school.

Hello, I spoke with a OMFS that works at same dental office as my mom with the concerns you had about someone who was interested in both med and dental, and he assured me that there is no adverse or negative reaction towards an individual among adcoms at Dschools if an individual took the MCAT and then the DAT. He actually helped volunteer interviewing potential applicants at his D school when he was 3rd and 4th year, so I feel like he is knowledgeable. After Dschool this person opted for the dual degree DMD/MD and attended medical school. How does your assertion that dental schools are adverse towards anyone who had interest in medical school hold up when OMFS ( many of whom have a DMD/MD) are held so highly in regard among dentists and physicians. You make it seem as if there is some bad feelings or dislike between dental and med schools--I believe this isn't the case. Many schools med and dental programs are closely linked, and some even share pre-clinical classes together.

I felt obliged to reply to you because you have replied on this post several times what appears to be false information. No where on the dental school app do they ask if an individual has taken any other grad school test i.e. MCAT/LSAT/GMAT etc. They do ask if someone has applied to a grad school--this is where applying to med school and being rejected would likely hurt a person applying to dental schools because it has appearance of being a fall back. Even if they did ask, they would not be able to find out because AAMC doesn't share info with Dschools just as ADA doesn't share info with med schools. Where are you pulling this knowledge from? Are you a dental student, have you applied, are you a practicing dentist, an adcom at a Dschool? You saying a person will be at a disadvantage if they at one point had interest in med then switched to dental or even vice versa is just flat out wrong. At my school and most schools there is no "pre-med" or "pre-dental" as you allude to, there is rather a set of pre-reqs that are essentially the same for both programs and most choose a bio major as it knocks these pre-reqs out. So no one would be switching from pre-med to pre-dental cause it doesn't exist, there is just a major and the pre-reqs. And that shouldn't change for either med or dental.

Just for reference I shadowed a dentist sophomore year of college, didn't shadow a physician until junior year. I never applied to med school, but I could have. The interest for me was always there for dental, but some people close to me were pushing med on me. Don't want to get into that. You actually think its uncommon for "pre-meds" and "pre-dental" students to flip flop between these two careers? They are very similar, both healthcare, both prestigious, both relatively higher income---I think there are more similarities between med and dental than differences. I can assure you I have met multiple people in UG who were pre-meds flirting with idea of bailing on medicine in favor of dental due to the lifestyle, residency, and growing lack of autonomy in medicine. And I have met pre-dents flirting with the idea of switching to medicine. You are creating some great divide between these two careers in your head that quite frankly doesn't exist. Thanks for your input, but you seem to be set on getting across this false idea of individuals not being able to display interest in both of these fields at some point in time. This is both false, and unrealistic.

 

[ajj70]

I agree 100%. But, this particular individual did well on the MCAT and has everything needed to be a competitive applicant for med. However, he feels that medicine is not his passion and is choosing to pursue dentistry instead. If he went through with it by actually applying to med school that would have been a different story. Nothing about what OP said screams "dentistry is a back-up plan"

or so he said....who knows???

Hello, I spoke with a OMFS that works at same dental office as my mom with the concerns you had about someone who was interested in both med and dental, and he assured me that there is no adverse or negative reaction towards an individual among adcoms at Dschools if an individual took the MCAT and then the DAT. He actually helped volunteer interviewing potential applicants at his D school when he was 3rd and 4th year, so I feel like he is knowledgeable. After Dschool this person opted for the dual degree DMD/MD and attended medical school. How does your assertion that dental schools are adverse towards anyone who had interest in medical school hold up when OMFS ( many of whom have a DMD/MD) are held so highly in regard among dentists and physicians. You make it seem as if there is some bad feelings or dislike between dental and med schools--I believe this isn't the case. Many schools med and dental programs are closely linked, and some even share pre-clinical classes together.

I felt obliged to reply to you because you have replied on this post several times what appears to be false information. No where on the dental school app do they ask if an individual has taken any other grad school test i.e. MCAT/LSAT/GMAT etc. They do ask if someone has applied to a grad school--this is where applying to med school and being rejected would likely hurt a person applying to dental schools because it has appearance of being a fall back. Even if they did ask, they would not be able to find out because AAMC doesn't share info with Dschools just as ADA doesn't share info with med schools. Where are you pulling this knowledge from? Are you a dental student, have you applied, are you a practicing dentist, an adcom at a Dschool? You saying a person will be at a disadvantage if they at one point had interest in med then switched to dental or even vice versa is just flat out wrong. At my school and most schools there is no "pre-med" or "pre-dental" as you allude to, there is rather a set of pre-reqs that are essentially the same for both programs and most choose a bio major as it knocks these pre-reqs out. So no one would be switching from pre-med to pre-dental cause it doesn't exist, there is just a major and the pre-reqs. And that shouldn't change for either med or dental.

Just for reference I shadowed a dentist sophomore year of college, didn't shadow a physician until junior year. I never applied to med school, but I could have. The interest for me was always there for dental, but some people close to me were pushing med on me. Don't want to get into that. You actually think its uncommon for "pre-meds" and "pre-dental" students to flip flop between these two careers? They are very similar, both healthcare, both prestigious, both relatively higher income---I think there are more similarities between med and dental than differences. I can assure you I have met multiple people in UG who were pre-meds flirting with idea of bailing on medicine in favor of dental due to the lifestyle, residency, and growing lack of autonomy in medicine. And I have met pre-dents flirting with the idea of switching to medicine. You are creating some great divide between these two careers in your head that quite frankly doesn't exist. Thanks for your input, but you seem to be set on getting across this false idea of individuals not being able to display interest in both of these fields at some point in time. This is both false, and unrealistic.

If you know it all already, why are you asking? The dental school app asks if you are applying to other professional schools, which you are not, I guess. I did mention the application to take the DAT, because there is a question there....

 

[LaughingGas]

@northeastbandit out of curiosity, why do you want to go to school in Boston?

 

[Iwanttopulloutteeth]

Tufts is my #1 choice just because I spent so much time around the school growing up...But I had to take a couple prereqs at community college due to time and financial constraints. I know how anti-CC they are too. It's over

 

[northeastbandit]

@northeastbandit out of curiosity, why do you want to go to school in Boston?

I am from area, love it, and have free living arranged in the city thru family.

 

[northeastbandit]

or so he said....who knows???



If you know it all already, why are you asking? The dental school app asks if you are applying to other professional schools, which you are not, I guess. I did mention the application to take the DAT, because there is a question there....

I was asking about dental schools in Boston. At NO POINT did I ask for your input on a person having interest in both fields and how adcoms would view this. You took it on yourself to go on a little tirade about how it would/could hurt me in Dschools apps cause I previously took the MCAT. So not only were you off topic for what the post was asking, your information was wrong. So apparently it is you who thinks they know it all; I certainly dont which is why I had to go and ask my moms boss about the claim you made, and he said it was wrong (this is an OMFS). Instead of going out of your way to spread false info on sdn and fear monger why don't you take up another hobby. Over 1200 posts, and you joined sdn less than a year ago? Wow, someone has too much free-time on their hands. BYE FELICIA.

 

[LaughingGas]

@northeastbandit then it might be worth going to Tufts lol. That Boston living expense ain't cheap.

 

[ajj70]

I was asking about dental schools in Boston. At NO POINT did I ask for your input on a person having interest in both fields and how adcoms would view this. You took it on yourself to go on a little tirade about how it would/could hurt me in Dschools apps cause I previously took the MCAT. So not only were you off topic for what the post was asking, your information was wrong. So apparently it is you who thinks they know it all; I certainly dont which is why I had to go and ask my moms boss about the claim you made, and he said it was wrong (this is an OMFS). Instead of going out of your way to spread false info on sdn and fear monger why don't you take up another hobby. Over 1200 posts, and you joined sdn less than a year ago? Wow, someone has too much free-time on their hands. BYE FELICIA.

Wow, who peed in your Cheerios this morning?? When you go on a message board and ask for advice, people will answer, and your "pre-health field, undecided" doesn't suggest that you were not wavering between medicine and dental school.....and averaging 3 posts/day is hardly having too much time on my hands

 

[cpain]

As someone who recently interviewed at Tufts, I can tell you that they put a lot of emphasis on finding something "unique" about you. "Everyone" has a high GPA and DAT with research who is applying to dental school, but they want to see something unique about you that will bring diversity to their school. This could be a high desire to serve the underserved or your community (with the volunteer hours to prove it and maybe starting your own charitable project), different ethnic backgrounds, some kind of unique leadership organization you were apart of, etc. If you haven't already, I would look at doing something that makes you stand out from all the other equally qualified applicants. I mentioned my switch from pre-med to pre-dent and I think it benefited me that I made a logical decision of why I liked dentistry moreso than medicine after shadowing both instead of blindly guessing that I liked dentistry more. I don't think anyone just "loves" dentistry and becomes a pre-dent from the get go without having some kind of predisposition (parents in dental field etc.). Good luck.