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- Oct 22, 2020
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Hi everyone! I've recently become interested in applying to dental school, and I'm trying to piece together my application. I'm unsure if I should apply this cycle or wait until next cycle and do a postbacc.
For context, I was interested in medicine in college but my heart wasn't really in it. I overworked myself and was burnt out by the end, got C's last semester senior year. Became depressed for a bit postgrad, was always interested in dental and currently working as a DA at an endo office and loving it, I could see myself doing this for sure. Unsure whether it's worth applying this cycle or waiting/postbacc, I think I have a few red flags but also areas of strength.
Date of submission: Would submit after taking DAT mid-June, likely early July
Overall GPA: 3.33
Science GPA: 3.0, this was 3.7 going into senior year, really messed up
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Aiming for 500/24AA+. Hoping to compensate for low GPA, I'm a good test taker and am confident I can do well
State of Residence: NY
Undergrad Attended: Private LAC in NY
Major: Neuroscience
Minority? No, Asian
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No
Shadowing Experience: 100+ GD, 20 perio, 30 endo
Volunteering Experience:
60 hours hospital transport volunteer
40 hours community nonprofit in local city
Employment:
3 mo-present, endo office DA
6 months New York City EMT, cemented that I wasn't interested in medicine
4 years library IT Help Desk, 4 years Media Services
4 semesters Peer Tutor for Neuroscience
3 semesters TA, Intro Biology, Gen Chem
Research:
1.5k+ hours, haven't calculated. Developmental neuroscience fruit fly lab, independent research project, senior thesis
1 authorship included on Nature Communications, 1 international conference, 1 state conference 2 local presentations
2 semesters, behavorial neuroscience lab
2 semesters, developmental neuroscience lab, zebrafish
Other Extracurriculars:
Asian Organization, president 1y, treasurer 2y, organized conferences, many events, rallied through covid. Very meaningful experience
Student Government, 1.5 yrs
Residential Assistant, 2 yrs
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? None
Relevant Honors or Awards:
President's Award (leadership)
Student Government Senior Leadership Award
Dean's List 3x (earlier on)
LOR type and strength:
1 from neuro research PI (very strong, great relationship)
1 from other neuro prof (strong)
1 from endo I'm working with (good, worked at office for 3 months)
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
Studied abroad in Copenhagen in 2022, did not do well due to taking too many credits, C's. They don't appear on my college transcript though, so I'm unsure if these get factored in?
Took biochem course after graduating/while burnt out, crashed and burned and got a D. Was depressed for a year afterwards
I loved the exploration and research part of neuroscience, but I knew I wanted to work with patient populations. I'm really interested in development and pain, and interested in doing dental-related research. I was offered a job as a RA after graduation, but declined because I knew I didn't want to do a PhD (looking back, thank goodness)
My project involved me doing micro-dissections of nervous systems, I did a lot of dissections and looked up my own protocols, designed instructional videos, and took a lot of initiative. I loved the manual dexterity aspect so much and became very skilled, which was a hard requirement for a future career.
I graduated May 2023/Jan 2024. Decided I'd like to apply to dental schools and get back on track professionally a few months ago. If I had a gap year, I would do a postbacc, do more volunteering/shadowing, also attend events at dental schools, make sure I crush the DAT, do a bit of research on the side, and apply in the 26-27 cycle. I'm hoping to demonstrate to adcomms that I'm capable of the academic rigor by doing extremely well on the DAT, since my GPA was fine before senior year.
School list (some that I'm thinking about):
NYU (Dr's encouraged me to apply here)
Tufts (sister attends here, in Boston where I'm from)
University of Buffalo
Stony Brook University
Please be honest! I acknowledge I have my work cut out for me. I'm deciding if I should crush the DAT and apply this cycle, or if that's a waste of my time and I should take a step back, take a postbacc and take another year. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you in advance.
For context, I was interested in medicine in college but my heart wasn't really in it. I overworked myself and was burnt out by the end, got C's last semester senior year. Became depressed for a bit postgrad, was always interested in dental and currently working as a DA at an endo office and loving it, I could see myself doing this for sure. Unsure whether it's worth applying this cycle or waiting/postbacc, I think I have a few red flags but also areas of strength.
Date of submission: Would submit after taking DAT mid-June, likely early July
Overall GPA: 3.33
Science GPA: 3.0, this was 3.7 going into senior year, really messed up
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Aiming for 500/24AA+. Hoping to compensate for low GPA, I'm a good test taker and am confident I can do well
State of Residence: NY
Undergrad Attended: Private LAC in NY
Major: Neuroscience
Minority? No, Asian
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No
Shadowing Experience: 100+ GD, 20 perio, 30 endo
Volunteering Experience:
60 hours hospital transport volunteer
40 hours community nonprofit in local city
Employment:
3 mo-present, endo office DA
6 months New York City EMT, cemented that I wasn't interested in medicine
4 years library IT Help Desk, 4 years Media Services
4 semesters Peer Tutor for Neuroscience
3 semesters TA, Intro Biology, Gen Chem
Research:
1.5k+ hours, haven't calculated. Developmental neuroscience fruit fly lab, independent research project, senior thesis
1 authorship included on Nature Communications, 1 international conference, 1 state conference 2 local presentations
2 semesters, behavorial neuroscience lab
2 semesters, developmental neuroscience lab, zebrafish
Other Extracurriculars:
Asian Organization, president 1y, treasurer 2y, organized conferences, many events, rallied through covid. Very meaningful experience
Student Government, 1.5 yrs
Residential Assistant, 2 yrs
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? None
Relevant Honors or Awards:
President's Award (leadership)
Student Government Senior Leadership Award
Dean's List 3x (earlier on)
LOR type and strength:
1 from neuro research PI (very strong, great relationship)
1 from other neuro prof (strong)
1 from endo I'm working with (good, worked at office for 3 months)
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
Studied abroad in Copenhagen in 2022, did not do well due to taking too many credits, C's. They don't appear on my college transcript though, so I'm unsure if these get factored in?
Took biochem course after graduating/while burnt out, crashed and burned and got a D. Was depressed for a year afterwards
I loved the exploration and research part of neuroscience, but I knew I wanted to work with patient populations. I'm really interested in development and pain, and interested in doing dental-related research. I was offered a job as a RA after graduation, but declined because I knew I didn't want to do a PhD (looking back, thank goodness)
My project involved me doing micro-dissections of nervous systems, I did a lot of dissections and looked up my own protocols, designed instructional videos, and took a lot of initiative. I loved the manual dexterity aspect so much and became very skilled, which was a hard requirement for a future career.
I graduated May 2023/Jan 2024. Decided I'd like to apply to dental schools and get back on track professionally a few months ago. If I had a gap year, I would do a postbacc, do more volunteering/shadowing, also attend events at dental schools, make sure I crush the DAT, do a bit of research on the side, and apply in the 26-27 cycle. I'm hoping to demonstrate to adcomms that I'm capable of the academic rigor by doing extremely well on the DAT, since my GPA was fine before senior year.
School list (some that I'm thinking about):
NYU (Dr's encouraged me to apply here)
Tufts (sister attends here, in Boston where I'm from)
University of Buffalo
Stony Brook University
Please be honest! I acknowledge I have my work cut out for me. I'm deciding if I should crush the DAT and apply this cycle, or if that's a waste of my time and I should take a step back, take a postbacc and take another year. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you in advance.
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