WAMC 24-25: CA 3.85 26AA 25TS

[etky2107]

Date of submission: June 2024
Overall GPA: ~3.85
Science GPA: 3.78
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.78
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
Bio: 30
Chem: 22
OChem: 26
RC: 24
QR: 30
PAT: 23
TS: 25
AA: 26

State of Residence: CA

Undergrad Attended: UC
Major: History
Minor: Global Health
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 150 across General, Ortho, OMFS
Volunteering Experience: 400 hours Meals on Wheels, food bank, nonprofit thrift shop.
100 hours Asia Pacific Health Corps: organize health fairs around LA area for underserved AAPI communities, including dental
300 hours 1 year MEDAL UCLA, teaching English remotely to medical professionals in Vietnam, including dentists. Outreach Chair
150 Hours CSC Dental Clinic: Volunteer Assistant
400 hours Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities: Political Advocacy and community outreach for underserved Chinese needing MH care in SF bay

PREMED: 300 Hours Volunteer EMT w/ Fire department
PREMED: 500 Hours ED volunteer

Employment: 600 hours 1 year Part time Unreg DA

PREMED: 300 hours CalHOPE warmline
PREMED: 300 hours EMT

Research: 600 hours 2 years Parkinson’s research, no pubs

Other Extracurriculars:
500 hours 2 years Toastmasters, 1 year secretary

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Impressions days, school tours at UCSF, USC, UOP

Relevant Honors or Awards: Deans list

LOR type and strength:
1 Ochem prof: Presumed strong
1 Physics Prof: Strong
1 History Prof: pending, presumed strong
1 Lab PI: pending, presumed strong
1 Dentist: pending, presumed strong

Hand Technique:
Crochet
Model-building
Cooking

Other Info:
GPA Upward trend
Lack dental experience years 2-3 because of family health issues and resulting responsibilities.

School List:
UCSF
UCLA
UOP
WesternU
USC
ATSU
MWU-AZ
UNLV

Roseman?
Utah?
Colorado?

I much prefer Western schools due to aforementioned family responsibilities but will take recommendations for East Coast schools if you think I need a broader spread.

I know I will get the recommendation to remove USC, but I’m in the very fortunate financial position to have my family pay for my education so I am willing to apply. Not that I’d like to spend that much but having the option is okay by me.

As you can tell from my list, i’m a former premed. i’ve heard conflicting things about whether or not to list stuff like ED volunteering. I’ve listed them just for your information. I’d like some advice on this. please let me know if any particular ones are worth keeping.

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[macsak]

Date of submission: June 2024
Overall GPA: ~3.85
Science GPA: 3.78
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.78
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
Bio: 30
Chem: 22
OChem: 26
RC: 24
QR: 30
PAT: 23
TS: 25
AA: 26

State of Residence: CA

Undergrad Attended: UC
Major: History
Minor: Global Health
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 150 across General, Ortho, OMFS
Volunteering Experience: 400 hours Meals on Wheels, food bank, nonprofit thrift shop.
100 hours Asia Pacific Health Corps: organize health fairs around LA area for underserved AAPI communities, including dental
300 hours 1 year MEDAL UCLA, teaching English remotely to medical professionals in Vietnam, including dentists. Outreach Chair
150 Hours CSC Dental Clinic: Volunteer Assistant
400 hours Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities: Political Advocacy and community outreach for underserved Chinese needing MH care in SF bay

PREMED: 300 Hours Volunteer EMT w/ Fire department
PREMED: 500 Hours ED volunteer

Employment: 600 hours 1 year Part time Unreg DA

PREMED: 300 hours CalHOPE warmline
PREMED: 300 hours EMT

Research: 600 hours 2 years Parkinson’s research, no pubs

Other Extracurriculars:
500 hours 2 years Toastmasters, 1 year secretary

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Impressions days, school tours at UCSF, USC, UOP

Relevant Honors or Awards: Deans list

LOR type and strength:
1 Ochem prof: Presumed strong
1 Physics Prof: Strong
1 History Prof: pending, presumed strong
1 Lab PI: pending, presumed strong
1 Dentist: pending, presumed strong

Hand Technique:
Crochet
Model-building
Cooking

Other Info:
GPA Upward trend
Lack dental experience years 2-3 because of family health issues and resulting responsibilities.

School List:
UCSF
UCLA
UOP
WesternU
USC
ATSU
MWU-AZ
UNLV

Roseman?
Utah?
Colorado?

I much prefer Western schools due to aforementioned family responsibilities but will take recommendations for East Coast schools if you think I need a broader spread.

I know I will get the recommendation to remove USC, but I’m in the very fortunate financial position to have my family pay for my education so I am willing to apply. Not that I’d like to spend that much but having the option is okay by me.

As you can tell from my list, i’m a former premed. i’ve heard conflicting things about whether or not to list stuff like ED volunteering. I’ve listed them just for your information. I’d like some advice on this. please let me know if any particular ones are worth keeping.

yes, you should put colorado and utah
and ohsu
you will likely get yield managed out of the super expensive privates...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I am impressed. You can pick the schools where you think you want to go that leverage your experience. I pretty much agree with your list. Keep UNLV in mind since there is a large Asian community there though I don't know what clinical experiences targeting that population are offhand. Same thing with OHSU. But you should get attention from the in-states.

Western has their interprofessional reputation. As long as you are fine with your dental education being around the medical students...

 

[Ryxndek]

I like what others have said. I’ll add this;

You’re only allowed 4 letters unless your school does a committee packet. Don’t use the dentist LOR to upload as your other letters satisfy school requirements better. Have the dentist personally send the letter to your top choices if they accept a 5th LOR. Or swap out the non stem prof for the dentist.

 

[etky2107]

Thank you for your replies. What do you guys think about UW? I know they favor PNW applicants but it seems similar in population and philosophy to the CA schools.

Any East Coast schools that you guys know of that are involved with Asian communities?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Apply with your eyes wide open to the fact that UW is committed to PNW and doesn't tend to accept anyone else outside of that region typically. Mission fit is the key, not just your grades/DAT. See...

Check-in on Refugee Project in Washington State - DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health

Washington state ranks third in the United States in the number of refugees it accepts and is a leader in the resettlement of refugees.

research.dental.uw.edu

You have to do your homework. Of course there are Asian communities at East Coast schools. I would look at the Philadelphia to Boston corridor. You can try any of the privates including the Ivies (Penn, Columbia, Harvard). If you don't mind taking the cross-country trips to go to school and can handle the weather. You can see what LECOM does if you don't mind Florida, though I suspect some yield protection could come into play.

Penn Dental Medicine steps up to care for Afghan refugees

Penn Dental Medicine students stepped up to create a pop-up dental clinic in December for more than 60 Afghan refugees awaiting permanent placement in the Philadelphia area., , .

adanews.ada.org

U of U School of Dentistry provides dental education for refugees

The IRC in Salt Lake City’s health team works hard to aid the people that we serve with holistic health services. Prior to arrival in the U.S., refugees are at particularly high-risk for dental infection due to a number of reasons. In this article with the U of U School of Dentistry, we share...

www.rescue.org

 

[Smile2thetop]

Speaking as a CA resident with slightly lower stats:

Honestly I don’t see a need to apply to too many schools. I would probably emphasize quality over quantity and only apply to schools that 1) I would be happy to attend 2) I have a good shot at.

Also refrain don’t be concerned about numbers of interviews/acceptances. Ultimately you only need one good acceptance. Some lot of the people who get 4-6 offers do so because they have perfectly middle tier stats and they applied to a bunch of lower tier programs that they get into. Someone I know this cycle got 7 interviews and 4 acceptances but is ultimately going to Tufts. Another applicant have 11 interviews and 9 acceptances and is going to their state school which would have taken them anyways. Both mentioned regretting spending all of that money and time in applications and interviews.

So anyways that’s all to say that I would prioritize researching individual schools and seeing if you fit in and only applying to those. I personally wouldn’t apply to more than 10 good schools.

As for your list
UCSF/ UCLA
I think one or both of these will interview/accept you. Especially UCLA because they like high stats. Just do well in the interviews!
UOP
Good program to apply to but their selection criteria can be hard to pinpoint.
WesternU/USC
You might want to apply to these for geography alone which makes sense. However be prepared to potentially not hear anything back from either. YIELD MANAGEMENT
ATSU/MWU-AZ
Both of these schools are dramatically different. I don’t think you have a good shot of getting anything at MWU. Your stats are def too high so I personally wouldn’t bother. For ATSU they emphasize community involvement. You might have enough to get in?
UNLV
This is a great program. Curriculum is intense and Vegas has its cons but it’s worth applying to
Roseman
Only apply here if you are interested/ok with the following
1) This is a big private school which keeps adding more students and chairs and is undergoing active changes
2) The school doesn’t have a good reputation didactically
They have a unique learning experience so only apply here if you are genuinely interested in doing so. It’ll be an easier and quicker route to dentistry but if you want a better reputation, more tried and tested program, or more direct opportunities for networking/specializing don’t even bother
UTAH/OHSU
Both of these schools have great reputations, excellent education, and are state schools with similar tuition. However the similarities end there as they couldn’t be more different from my experience. Consider red state/blue state, small bs larger class size, pass/fail vs ranked, newer vs older program. I honestly would choose one of the two here, whichever you feel most comfortable with after looking into either.
Colorado
I don’t know much about this school but geographically you are now moving pretty far East. I would rather straight apply to east coast schools

I don’t like the idea of LECOM because that is a school better suited for people on a budget and with lower stats that yours. If Florida is an option for you than UF might be a better choice

I think if you go east coast you should just go all ivies. Your DAT will get you a Colombia interview which I believe is online (save money on interview travels) so that is a good safety school. UPenn and Harvard would be good additions as well.

Good luck!

 

[macsak]

Speaking as a CA resident with slightly lower stats:

Honestly I don’t see a need to apply to too many schools. I would probably emphasize quality over quantity and only apply to schools that 1) I would be happy to attend 2) I have a good shot at.

Also refrain don’t be concerned about numbers of interviews/acceptances. Ultimately you only need one good acceptance. Some lot of the people who get 4-6 offers do so because they have perfectly middle tier stats and they applied to a bunch of lower tier programs that they get into. Someone I know this cycle got 7 interviews and 4 acceptances but is ultimately going to Tufts. Another applicant have 11 interviews and 9 acceptances and is going to their state school which would have taken them anyways. Both mentioned regretting spending all of that money and time in applications and interviews.

So anyways that’s all to say that I would prioritize researching individual schools and seeing if you fit in and only applying to those. I personally wouldn’t apply to more than 10 good schools.

As for your list
UCSF/ UCLA
I think one or both of these will interview/accept you. Especially UCLA because they like high stats. Just do well in the interviews!
UOP
Good program to apply to but their selection criteria can be hard to pinpoint.
WesternU/USC
You might want to apply to these for geography alone which makes sense. However be prepared to potentially not hear anything back from either. YIELD MANAGEMENT
ATSU/MWU-AZ
Both of these schools are dramatically different. I don’t think you have a good shot of getting anything at MWU. Your stats are def too high so I personally wouldn’t bother. For ATSU they emphasize community involvement. You might have enough to get in?
UNLV
This is a great program. Curriculum is intense and Vegas has its cons but it’s worth applying to
Roseman
Only apply here if you are interested/ok with the following
1) This is a big private school which keeps adding more students and chairs and is undergoing active changes
2) The school doesn’t have a good reputation didactically
They have a unique learning experience so only apply here if you are genuinely interested in doing so. It’ll be an easier and quicker route to dentistry but if you want a better reputation, more tried and tested program, or more direct opportunities for networking/specializing don’t even bother
UTAH/OHSU
Both of these schools have great reputations, excellent education, and are state schools with similar tuition. However the similarities end there as they couldn’t be more different from my experience. Consider red state/blue state, small bs larger class size, pass/fail vs ranked, newer vs older program. I honestly would choose one of the two here, whichever you feel most comfortable with after looking into either.
Colorado
I don’t know much about this school but geographically you are now moving pretty far East. I would rather straight apply to east coast schools

I don’t like the idea of LECOM because that is a school better suited for people on a budget and with lower stats that yours. If Florida is an option for you than UF might be a better choice

I think if you go east coast you should just go all ivies. Your DAT will get you a Colombia interview which I believe is online (save money on interview travels) so that is a good safety school. UPenn and Harvard would be good additions as well.

Good luck!

i totally agreed with everything you said up until you said colorado is too far east
and then columbia as a safety school ???

 

[Smile2thetop]

Well Colombia seems to give everyone an interview with a 24 DAT and higher. So it might just be the most guaranteed interview for the above applicant

Or am I wrong…

 

[macsak]

Well Colombia seems to give everyone an interview with a 24 DAT and higher. So it might just be the most guaranteed interview for the above applicant

Or am I wrong…

what is your sample size for "everyone"?

 

[dynamo72]

I got an interview (26AA 28TS 23PAT). I had a friend who also applied to Columbia and had a 29 AA 28TS 25PAT and like a 3.9 (I had a 3.75). He got rejected, I got accepted. So, I don't think it's all the DAT score, as so many people seem to assume (i definitely think its a big part of the application as a whole though, moreso to get your foot in the door)

 

[Smile2thetop]

I got an interview (26AA 28TS 23PAT). I had a friend who also applied to Columbia and had a 29 AA 28TS 25PAT and like a 3.9 (I had a 3.75). He got rejected, I got accepted. So, I don't think it's all the DAT score, as so many people seem to assume (i definitely think its a big part of the application as a whole though, moreso to get your foot in the door)

Did he get an interview at least?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I got an interview (26AA 28TS 23PAT). I had a friend who also applied to Columbia and had a 29 AA 28TS 25PAT and like a 3.9 (I had a 3.75). He got rejected, I got accepted. So, I don't think it's all the DAT score, as so many people seem to assume (i definitely think its a big part of the application as a whole though, moreso to get your foot in the door)

DSE (and my own knowledge) says their adcom emphasizes community service and non-cognitive factors to keep pace with the med students taking classes side-by-side. Of course, who wouldn't want to meet someone who had the top of the top percentile on the DAT?

 

[dynamo72]

Did he get an interview at least?

No. Declined outright. Got an interview at Harvard though. As I understand, he had nearly perfect grades and obviously a crazy DAT, but his extracurriculars were nothing to sing to home about.

Consequently, this is sort of my anecdotal evidence that the DAT score / GPA simply get your foot in the door, but the rest of your application holistically (i.e writing, extracurriculars, letters of rec [in my experience, these carry a ton of weight. Of all the interviews I had, only one didn't talk about my letters of rec, and that was because it was a closed file interview]) is what gets you over the line to an ultimate offer of acceptance.

 

[dynamo72]

DSE (and my own knowledge) says their adcom emphasizes community service and non-cognitive factors to keep pace with the med students taking classes side-by-side. Of course, who wouldn't want to meet someone who had the top of the top percentile on the DAT?

What does DSE mean? I definitely think community service is the one thing that every pre-dental applicant should have on their application in some facet. I feel like the only reason I got the look over some more qualified people (in terms of academics) is because of my passion for direct community service (I run a food bank at my university).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

DSE (every predental applicant should access this before applying, like the MSAR for AMCAS/MD schools)

ADEA Dental School Explorer

dentalschoolexplorer.adea.org

this is sort of my anecdotal evidence that the DAT score / GPA simply get your foot in the door, but the rest of your application holistically (i.e writing, extracurriculars, letters of rec [in my experience, these carry a ton of weight.

Yep, that's what most of us say. Granted, some of the schools are a bit more "holistic" than others as you still have to show why dentistry is what you want to do.