too late? Wait til next cycle??

[ktran02]

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This is my first post but i've been following this awesome forum quite some time now. I need some advice. I made a huge mistake by not applying earlier in the process. I held back because I didn't want to waste $$$$ if I did poorly on the DAT's (My GPA sucks 3.0/3.0). Well, I took them last week on the 9th and this was the outcome:

Acad Avg: 22
Pat: 24

It was such a relief to score higher than I expected. I graduated in june from UCSB with 3.0/3.0, no research, +200 hrs dental experience. My application should be done by the end of the weekend if I still want to send it.
Schools i'm looking into: UOP, UCLA, UCSF, USC, LLU, Arizona, UNLV, Nova, Boston, Tufts, Michigan, Creighton, NYU, Case Western, Temple, UPenn, Marquette. Any of these look like bad choices? I need to narrow in down.
Do I still have a shot this late in the game? Thanks for hearing me out.

 

[Stanford Fencer]

don't wait.
i sent my aadsas in mid to late NOV
didn't send in secondaries until mid to late JAN
i had plenty of options for schools.
keep at it!

 

[SMDdent]

Please do apply! Your excellent DAT scores alone should get you in to a few schools, like UOP, that weigh the DAT a little heavier than GPA. All your dental experience will help also. As far as timing is concerned, you're definitely not early but not absolutely late either. You've got a very good shot still, but don't put high hopes on the higher tier schools on your list (UCLA, UCSF, U Penn). But you never know. As a former Kaplan student advisor, I've seen some pretty bizarre scenarios. I say send in your app ASAP and just sit back, relax, and wait for those interview invitations to roll in come January. Good luck and congratulations on your score. Hey if you're interested, you should look into teaching for Kaplan. Tell 'em I sent ya.

 

[savvysearch]

I say, apply to just two or three schools that you think you really want to go to and/or have a close enough gpa statistics to yours. But apply next cycle if you want to apply to >10 schools.

By the way, can I ask you how you studied and how long?

 

[ktran02]

Appreciate all the advice. I just needed a little reasurance. In response to..

Originally posted by savvysearch
By the way, can I ask you how you studied and how long?

I took a kaplan course starting mid-July. It lasted about 5-6 weeks. I didn't really study intensely until after the course. The course lectures weren't very helpful because you can't expect to thoroughly go thru all that material in a couple of sessions for each subject. My suggestion, if you're a good student (which I'm not), save your $ and study on your own but get a hold of a lot of testing material, whether it be Princeton's, kaplan's, or TopScore. The most useful tool for me were the test questions provided. Just going thru all the wrong answers did wonders in my prep.

 

[Stanford Fencer]

just to add to the general optimistic spirit here, i got into ucla, ucsf, and upenn despite applying even later than you did... that's why i say, keep at it!

 

[Neurodent]

I am glad you asked the question because I am in the same boat as you and had the same concerns.
I submitted my application in late september and will be taking the DAT late November. I hope I'll get in somewhere.
Good luck

 

[space kacy]

I say go for it but your window is closing fast so get on it! I got all my crap in about the same time last year and now, I'm a D1 at Michigan. You definitely have a good chance with your scores. Good luck!

 

[ktran02]

Thanks space kacy, I just sent my application earlier this week. Michigan is one of my top out-of-state choices, it seems like an awesome school. I am real excited to see what happens in the next few months. 😛

 

[vahedi]

I think you made the right coice in sending it. Good luck. You'll do well.