time to reflect: what went wrong?

[19standup88]

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i know there is still a little hope left that i can into a dental school this cycle but i have to admit that things are looking pretty gloomy for me. it would be very helpful for me (and i bet for everyone else that might be applying for upcoming cycles) if i could get objective feedback from the SDN community.

let me give you an overview of my stats and perhaps someone could point out what went wrong and ways to improve for the next cycle.
any feedback will be much appreciated. thanks in advance.

Science GPA: 3.68
CumGPA: 3.75
DAT: TS21, AA22, PAT25
Applied: Late August/Early September
International Student
60 hours shadowing
Decent hours of volunteering but none dental-related
Decent hours of extracurriculars, some dental-related, some not
Schools applied to: NYU, BU, Tufts, Columbia, Case Western, USC
Schools interviewed: USC (February), Case (late April)
Acceptances: none
Rejections: none yet (but at this point, I'm assuming schools that haven't gotten back to me are rejections)

honestly speaking, i came into this cycle feeling pretty confident, only to come out of it completely humbled. i'm seriously wondering what went wrong. are there are critical areas that i completely overlooked?

 

[mr24]

applying late, and to only 6 schools is probably the reason. your scores are good, but they are not out of the ordinary good. if you would have applied early and to 10+ schools you would probably have 3+ acceptances.

do not re take dat, and dont do anything to your gpa!!! just apply early and to more schools!

 

[Ellers]

I'm an international students and I have only been through the process once but here are my suggestions anyways:

- apply earlier (it could potentially make a huge difference especially at schools that hand out interviews in August)
- apply to more schools, especially the ones that accept international students/students from your country
- make sure you have strong reference letters and a top-notch personal statement, this will really help distinguish you from other applicants with the same GPA and DAT scores
- do more shadowing/any activity that might help improve your application

 

[19standup88]

i did think applying to only 6 schools was a mistake but as an international student, one is somewhat limited to where you can apply (money was also an issue when i was applying). but yes, you make a VERY valid point there.
i know there isn't much time left before the next cycle begins but, do you think there is anything else i should (or could) do before I apply again to improve myself (other than applying early and to more schools)?

 

[19standup88]

@ellers. thanks for the advice.
are the schools that accept students from specific countries?

 

[iamjackbauer]

If you have an interview at case western .... chances are you will be accepted there.

 

[dentalWorks]

i know there is still a little hope left that i can into a dental school this cycle but i have to admit that things are looking pretty gloomy for me. it would be very helpful for me (and i bet for everyone else that might be applying for upcoming cycles) if i could get objective feedback from the SDN community.

let me give you an overview of my stats and perhaps someone could point out what went wrong and ways to improve for the next cycle.
any feedback will be much appreciated. thanks in advance.

Science GPA: 3.68
CumGPA: 3.75
DAT: TS21, AA22, PAT25
Applied: Late August/Early September
International Student
60 hours shadowing
Decent hours of volunteering but none dental-related
Decent hours of extracurriculars, some dental-related, some not
Schools applied to: NYU, BU, Tufts, Columbia, Case Western, USC
Schools interviewed: USC (February), Case (late April)
Acceptances: none
Rejections: none yet (but at this point, I'm assuming schools that haven't gotten back to me are rejections)

honestly speaking, i came into this cycle feeling pretty confident, only to come out of it completely humbled. i'm seriously wondering what went wrong. are there are critical areas that i completely overlooked?

you have strong stats, but you are an international students, the standards for you guys are even higher.

for that reason, I think the few things you can fix are (most of them are suggested by previous posters)
-apply early this time (June)
-Aim at more schools, I'd go for 15+, and be sure to include Michigan and Detroit, they accept international students

One more thing, you haven't been rejected from many schools, there is certainly hope left 🙂

Good luck

 

[Rubber Dam Man]

By the looks of your stats, you should be getting multiple acceptances. However, as an international student, you have to apply smart. By that I mean, find out how many international students are accepted each cycle by each school that you are interested in. Most schools have an allotted number of seats that go to international students (it isn't very many and I've heard numbers ranging from 2 seats all the way up to 6). Obviously the competition for those seats is fierce to say the least. Based on what you discover, apply accordingly... and it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with the dean of admissions at some of these schools during the offseason (in between cycles) so that you are on their radar.

Best of luck!

 

[sda710]

Hey I am international student and hAVE similar SpecS but I applied 20 dental schools at early June. I got accpeted into three dental schools and waitlist two. PM me if you have any questions.😎

i know there is still a little hope left that i can into a dental school this cycle but i have to admit that things are looking pretty gloomy for me. it would be very helpful for me (and i bet for everyone else that might be applying for upcoming cycles) if i could get objective feedback from the SDN community.

let me give you an overview of my stats and perhaps someone could point out what went wrong and ways to improve for the next cycle.
any feedback will be much appreciated. thanks in advance.

Science GPA: 3.68
CumGPA: 3.75
DAT: TS21, AA22, PAT25
Applied: Late August/Early September
International Student
60 hours shadowing
Decent hours of volunteering but none dental-related
Decent hours of extracurriculars, some dental-related, some not
Schools applied to: NYU, BU, Tufts, Columbia, Case Western, USC
Schools interviewed: USC (February), Case (late April)
Acceptances: none
Rejections: none yet (but at this point, I'm assuming schools that haven't gotten back to me are rejections)

honestly speaking, i came into this cycle feeling pretty confident, only to come out of it completely humbled. i'm seriously wondering what went wrong. are there are critical areas that i completely overlooked?

 

[Derk]

I agree with the above posts that you probably need to apply earlier.

I am also an international student, but I have much lower stats than you...the only advantage I see I'd have over you is that I have +300h of shadowing.

So, I find it strange that BU didn't offer you an interview because I had an interview in February and was also accepted there. I wish I knew how admissions pick their candidates...I would definitely try giving the schools a call and try to find out what they were looking for.

 

[Ellers]

@ellers. thanks for the advice.
are the schools that accept students from specific countries?

When I applied I checked the stats in the ADEA guide to see how many international/Canadian students the schools I was interested accepted from previous cycles. It gives you a guideline to work with when you are choosing where to apply.
For instance, it is pretty clear that most state schools don't take many international students.

 

[PreD]

Are you from Canada ? Which university ? What is your major ? What was your course load like ? Who wrote your Ref letters ? Is your DAT Canadian or American ?

 

[PreD]

So, I find it strange that BU didn't offer you an interview because I had an interview in February and was also accepted there.

There is no logic with Boston. I think due to the high numbers of application they get, you have to get lucky for them to take a look at your application.

 

[19standup88]

thank you for all your replies!
@PreD: i'm actually an international student from latin america. i came to the states ~5 years ago to attend college. i got a b.s. degree in biology. i'm not quite sure what you mean by course load but i did take all required courses plus additional courses (biochem, microbio, human phys) on top of classes required for me to get my degree. ref letters-wise, i got a commitee letter from my school. my dat is american.

again, thank you for the advice. they are all much appreciated.
@DentalWork, you're right in that there is still some hope. thanks

 

[dentalpath]

OP, I am an international student as well, with a GPA of 3.72, sci 3.68 and I did have a masters as well (3.45) in healthcare management from NYU when I applied this cycle. My dat is lower than yours with a 20 AA, 20TS and 17 PAT. I applied the first week of june and had excellent recommendation letters from faculty. I had a year of research experience as well. Shadowing hours and community service are vital. I would recommend you apply the first week of june (In case you do have to reapply) and try and get some research experience over the next 2-3 months if its possible. Some shadowing would also help you out. I hope you get in this cycle...Case is a great school and like someone else said if you interviewed there, you will most likely be accepted.

 

[k00laid]

definitely should have applied a little earlier, at least a month and a few more schools. i don't think 15+ is necessary, maybe at least 10 though. then again, if you're going for a second cycle you probably don't want to take any chances. also, schools like NYU and BU get SO many applicants. they take so long to go through the pool, so you mighttt still hear back from then.

also i agree with what someone else said about case. they love high DAT and GPA and your stats are pretty good. they also take a bunch of international students, so i think your chances are pretty high. the fact that your interview is late also doesn't lessen your chances of getting in (or so they told me)

 

[19standup88]

thanks! quick question for k00laid:
you mentioned that case loves high dat, gpa. so on the flip-side, what are other schools like? are other schools more inclined to like students with more shadowing? more volunteering? i'm just wondering if you know about other examples of other schools that show this kind of preference.