Anyone have words of advice for reapplicants? I will take whatever advice I can get.
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Tips for Reapplying
- Thread starter agtoma3a
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What happened last cycle first? Stats? Schools applied to? Interviews?
oGPA: 3.39
sGPA: 3.20
I am in my final semester of college, and my GPA should go up slightly after this semester.
DAT 2nd time:
AA: 18
PAT: 18
TS: 17
QR: 14 - I know this a very low score.. on my previous DAT I got a 17 in this section but there was a computer malfunction right before this section started, and I got anxious about it and as a result did poorly
RC: 26
I took the Kaplan course and did not find it helpful in some areas of the test. I am concerned to retake the DAT for a third time because it will be my final time.
I have 135 hours of shadowing experience, I have three jobs, 500 hours of volunteering/EC, I also did research.
Schools I applied to (I live in WI):
Marquette- My application was placed on hold but I did not receive an interview
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
Ohio State
MWU-IL
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I'm a re-applicant. Received two interviews my first cycle and no acceptances. Definitely do not submit the same app from last cycle. I improved upon my DAT, completely rewrote my personal statement, letters of recommendation were all identical except for one, increased my shadowing hours and I dug through various old folders to try and find any type of award, scholarship or achievement, which would help to strengthen my application. Received 7 interviews this cycle and 5 acceptances. Being a re-applicant shows persistence and determination and schools like to see an upward trend. Good luck!
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Gonna have to bring up that DAT. Average matriculant scores a 20
D
deleted735879
You are going to need to retake the DAT. A TS of 17 and a QR of 14 coupled with a low GPA just are not going to be enough I'm afraid.
I'd suggest doing as well as you can this semester, raise the GPA a little. Then you will likely need to take a gap year. Spend the summer studying for the DAT, get a great score, and reapply next cycle.
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1. Your GPA isn't great, but it also isn't the lowest of people that have been accepted, so I don't think there's much to do here.
2. I think you should retake your DAT. You can take it more than three times if you need to, you just have to get permission. Idk if you're trying to apply again this cycle, but you're running out of to take the DAT. I'd recommend memorizing everything in DAT Destroyer, and that should help boost your science scores. There are plenty of threads on the DAT page to review and detail how you should study.
3. With your stats you definitely didn't apply to enough schools. I'd say you should apply to around 15-20 schools including some private schools. You should buy the adea guide to dental school books and do some research on which schools are friendly to OOS applicants and have stats closer to your range.
Do you think taking a year off from applying will hurt my chances more than reapplying and then applying for the third time after I take the DAT again?
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I applied twice with similar stats and nothing happen until I took that DAT again to bring up the score.. aim for 20+ but try to not go lower than 18 in any section.
Also, definitely continue shadowing, and even better, volunteering. There are lots of schools wanting to see you involved in your community.
I took 2 years off between my 2nd and 3rd time applying, many things changed and admissions committees liked to see that I took time to improve my application.
3rd time I applied to 6 schools, had 3 interviews and 2 acceptances.
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Also, definitely continue shadowing, and even better, volunteering. There are lots of schools wanting to see you involved in your community.
I took 2 years off between my 2nd and 3rd time applying, many things changed and admissions committees liked to see that I took time to improve my application.
3rd time I applied to 6 schools, had 3 interviews and 2 acceptances.
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D
deleted735879
I don't think you will have time to take the DAT and apply this summer. Based on your pass DAT scores it sounds like you need to put in a significant amount of study time, probably 3-4 months. Which means you'll probably be taking the test sometime in either August or September. At that point you'd be applying kinda late in the cycle, since you still will need your verified DAT scores to be sent to the schools (another few weeks). I did this and it didn't turn out super great. I did well on the DAT but applied wayyy to late in the cycle for it to matter.
Taking a gap year won't look bad as long as you continue to do things. Shadow more specialties, go on a medical missions trip, maybe try to become a Dental Assistant(not sure how that works, but it'd look great!).
The main thing is you don't want to take the DAT four times, so study well, don't take short cuts or rush it, and make this one count!
Keep in mind this is just my opinion. I am not on a Dental Admissions Committee, so I can't really say what would be best. All I know is you need to do very well on the DAT, and I don't think you have enough time to do that and apply this cycle.
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No point in wasting money if you don't think you can get in. My recommendation would be to take a year off, commit 3-4 months to studying for the DAT. Get a 22+. Work for the year and save up some money. Maybe take a few vacations and relax a bit. And then apply again. Improving your DAT significantly is what will help you the most.
I mainly say take a gap year because it's beginning to be too late in order to get all this done in time to apply early. You want to make sure you have your entire application finished by end of July at the latest, so if you had to retake the DAT idk if that would be possible this year.
