WAMC 26-27 Cycle

[predent050110]

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Date of submission: Planning on first day applications open.
Overall GPA: 3.96 (1 B in non-prereq class)
Science GPA: 3.96 (Do CS classes count as sGPA?)
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 510AA/510TS/490 PAT

State of Residence: IL

Undergrad Attended: don’t wanna dox myself lol

Major: Biology

Minor: Computer Science, Math

Minority? No

Reapplicant? No

Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 60 - General Dentist (Suburban PP), 40 - General Dentist (Free clinic for underserved), Planning on shadowing a specialty for ~30-50 hours before applying.

Volunteering Experience: 250 - DA for underserved population, 150 - Tutoring underserved elementary kids, 100 - Coaching kids in sports, 15 - Student Government

Employment: 1500 - part time job as IT support since freshman yr, 500 - employed as a mentor for residence halls (tutoring and academic/professional help)

Research: 200 - Wetlab with 1 poster presentation, 75 - semester-long CS project with 1 poster presentation

Other Extracurriculars: Student government (leadership), Cultural club (leadership), two different sports club (1yr), Conduct Committee(leadership), pre-dental club

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered at a dental school event.

Relevant Honors or Awards: University leadership award, Deans list, best volunteer award

LOR type and strength: Dentist(strong), 2 science (moderate), 1 associate dean (moderate/strong)

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: Academic misconduct 2nd semester freshman year in CS class. I was undergoing a very difficult time in my life and resorted to exchanging answers to finish a project in time. Got 0 in project, B in class, nothing in transcript but internally documented.

School list:
Very long list but unsure what schools I should remove. I really want to get in in one cycle… advice on school list would be greatly appreciated!

UIC
SIU
Midwestern-IL
Midwestern-AZ
Creighton University
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
Indiana University
University of Iowa
University of Louisville
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
Marquette University
LECOM
University of Colorado
Nova Southeastern
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland
Columbia University (DAT might be too low)
UPenn
Harvard
Touro
Case Western
Temple University
Roseman
Ohio State University
UNLV
UCSF

I think overall my application is solid, but my biggest regret is my academic dishonesty. I know I've grown and learned from my mistake, and I've tried my best demonstrate my growth through my ECs. I serve on a committee that hears academic misconduct cases, and I tutor notoriously hard classes at my undergrad to ensure others don't feel like they need to resort to cheating to pass hard classes. I'm worried that I won't be able to display my growth and reflection in my application well enough. Any advice regarding this is greatly appreciated...

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: Planning on first day applications open.
Overall GPA: 3.96 (1 B in non-prereq class)
Science GPA: 3.96 (Do CS classes count as sGPA?)
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 510AA/510TS/490 PAT

State of Residence: IL

Undergrad Attended: don’t wanna dox myself lol

Major: Biology

Minor: Computer Science, Math

Minority? No

Reapplicant? No

Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 60 - General Dentist (Suburban PP), 40 - General Dentist (Free clinic for underserved), Planning on shadowing a specialty for ~30-50 hours before applying.

Volunteering Experience: 250 - DA for underserved population, 150 - Tutoring underserved elementary kids, 100 - Coaching kids in sports, 15 - Student Government

Employment: 1500 - part time job as IT support since freshman yr, 500 - employed as a mentor for residence halls (tutoring and academic/professional help)

Research: 200 - Wetlab with 1 poster presentation, 75 - semester-long CS project with 1 poster presentation

Other Extracurriculars: Student government (leadership), Cultural club (leadership), two different sports club (1yr), Conduct Committee(leadership), pre-dental club

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered at a dental school event.

Relevant Honors or Awards: University leadership award, Deans list, best volunteer award

LOR type and strength: Dentist(strong), 2 science (moderate), 1 associate dean (moderate/strong)

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: Academic misconduct 2nd semester freshman year in CS class. I was undergoing a very difficult time in my life and resorted to exchanging answers to finish a project in time. Got 0 in project, B in class, nothing in transcript but internally documented.

School list:
Very long list but unsure what schools I should remove. I really want to get in in one cycle… advice on school list would be greatly appreciated!

UIC
SIU
Midwestern-IL
Midwestern-AZ
Creighton University
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
Indiana University
University of Iowa
University of Louisville
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
Marquette University
LECOM
University of Colorado
Nova Southeastern
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland
Columbia University (DAT might be too low)
UPenn
Harvard
Touro
Case Western
Temple University
Roseman
Ohio State University
UNLV
UCSF

I think overall my application is solid, but my biggest regret is my academic dishonesty. I know I've grown and learned from my mistake, and I've tried my best demonstrate my growth through my ECs. I serve on a committee that hears academic misconduct cases, and I tutor notoriously hard classes at my undergrad to ensure others don't feel like they need to resort to cheating to pass hard classes. I'm worried that I won't be able to display my growth and reflection in my application well enough. Any advice regarding this is greatly appreciated...

how did you come up with this list?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Tell me more about this IA. Why was "exchanging answers" not allowed for this particular assignment? What is the exact citation, as internally documented by your home institution?

What will you list as your fine manual dexterity skills?

I agree... how did you come up with this list? Where was this dental school recruitment event? Did you attend the ADEA GoDental Recruitment Fair (this March it will be in Montreal)?

If you aren't doxxing yourself in naming your institution, are you the only predental person at your school who will apply in June?

 

[predent050110]

Welcome to the forums.

Tell me more about this IA. Why was "exchanging answers" not allowed for this particular assignment? What is the exact citation, as internally documented by your home institution?

What will you list as your fine manual dexterity skills?

I agree... how did you come up with this list? Where was this dental school recruitment event? Did you attend the ADEA GoDental Recruitment Fair (this March it will be in Montreal)?

If you aren't doxxing yourself in naming your institution, are you the only predental person at your school who will apply in June?

The project was assigned to be an independent project as stated in syllabus. The documentation states "On manual review, we noticed identical naming and program structure, along with some repeated comments in various places... they(me and a peer) admitted to sharing code due to real-life stressors. We have zero'd both of their Project 4 grades."

my manual dexterity skills include watchmaking, dental assisting, laboratory work (dissecting mice and working with their hearts)

I listed schools that are regionally close to IL, schools that are private and oos-friendly, in-state after first year, and a couple reach schools.

The dental school event I volunteered at was at UIC and i go to UIC. I have not attended ADEA GoDental Recruitment Fair, but it seems like a super cool event that I'll plan on attending!

 

[predent050110]

how did you come up with this list?

I listed schools that are regionally close to IL, schools that are private and oos-friendly, in-state after first year, and a couple reach schools.

 

[macsak]

I listed schools that are regionally close to IL, schools that are private and oos-friendly, in-state after first year, and a couple reach schools.

you get interview invites and acceptances from having mission fit
the things listed above are not mission fit

your GPA and DAT are super high, you are likely to experience yield management at many schools
especially these:
Midwestern-AZ
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
University of Louisville
University of Detroit Mercy
LECOM
University of Colorado
University of Kentucky
Nova Southeastern
Touro
Case Western
Roseman
UNLV

 

[predent050110]

you get interview invites and acceptances from having mission fit
the things listed above are not mission fit

your GPA and DAT are super high, you are likely to experience yield management at many schools
especially these:
Midwestern-AZ
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
University of Detroit Mercy
LECOM
University of Colorado
Nova Southeastern
Touro
Case Western
Roseman
UNLV

Would it be worth applying to these schools even if I might experience yield protection? I know some of the schools you've listed (ASDOH, UDM, UColorado) place importance on serving the underserved communities, which I have experience with and plan to do post-dental school.

 

[macsak]

you get interview invites and acceptances from having mission fit
the things listed above are not mission fit

your GPA and DAT are super high, you are likely to experience yield management at many schools
especially these:
Midwestern-AZ
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
University of Detroit Mercy
LECOM
University of Colorado
Nova Southeastern
Touro
Case Western
Temple University
Roseman
UNLV

which leaves:
UIC
SIU
Midwestern-IL
obvious IS choices

Creighton University
Marquette University
Case Western
Temple University
safeties (choose 1 or 2)

Indiana University
University of Iowa
University of Minnesota
University of Maryland
Ohio State University
in-range (choose 2 or 3)

Columbia University (DAT might be too low)
UPenn
Harvard
University of Michigan
UCSF
reaches (choose 2 or 3)

your stats are excellent, you only need to apply to 8-10 schools depending on how many reaches you apply to
have you considered cost of these schools?

 

[macsak]

Would it be worth applying to these schools even if I might experience yield protection? I know some of the schools you've listed (ASDOH, UDM, UColorado) place importance on serving the underserved communities, which I have experience with and plan to do post-dental school.

"worth" is in your mind, not mine
your chances at those schools i listed are low because they will assume you will go to a closer, cheaper school
or ucla/ucsf/uop/unc/umich/ivy...

 

[predent050110]

which leaves:
UIC
SIU
Midwestern-IL
obvious IS choices

Creighton University
Marquette University
Case Western
Temple University
safeties (choose 1 or 2)

Indiana University
University of Iowa
University of Minnesota
University of Maryland
Ohio State University
in-range (choose 2 or 3)

Columbia University (DAT might be too low)
UPenn
Harvard
University of Michigan
UCSF
reaches (choose 2 or 3)

your stats are excellent, you only need to apply to 8-10 schools depending on how many reaches you apply to
have you considered cost of these schools?

First off, thank you for your help. This has been extremely helpful.

For safeties, I think marquette for sure considering they take a lot of IL residents and is relatively cheap. Temple is cheaper than the others so most likely Temple as well. I may also add LECOM because they COA is very low.

Targets are definitely Iowa and Ohio state... not super sure about the others because cost is very high.

Reach would likely be Upenn, UCSF, UMich. Not sure if I even stand a chance at harvard/columbia lol.

What do you think about applying to more than 8-10 schools, considering my red flag? I feel like without my red flag, 8-10 would be the perfect number, but with it I may not even be considered at many of these schools.

 

[macsak]

First off, thank you for your help. This has been extremely helpful.

For safeties, I think marquette for sure considering they take a lot of IL residents and is relatively cheap. Temple is cheaper than the others so most likely Temple as well. I may also add LECOM because they COA is very low.

Targets are definitely Iowa and Ohio state... not super sure about the others because cost is very high.

Reach would likely be Upenn, UCSF, UMich. Not sure if I even stand a chance at harvard/columbia lol.

What do you think about applying to more than 8-10 schools, considering my red flag? I feel like without my red flag, 8-10 would be the perfect number, but with it I may not even be considered at many of these schools.

will your AI show up if a school asks for your record?

 

[predent050110]

will your AI show up if a school asks for your record?

Yes. It was internally documented and will show up on a dean certificate.

 

[macsak]

Yes. It was internally documented and will show up on a dean certificate.

oh
i think you should try and ask schools on your list
but yeah, you prob need to have a longer list...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a little more optimistic with your fit with Arizona SDOH, but you need more insight with your list. Would you be okay with the externship rotations to community health centers? Do you intend to apply to NHSC?

Many of the Ivy schools on the original list integrate basic science courses with medical students, so you can get a bit more overwhelmed in a much larger class. I don't know if you have visited the schools to check out their student clinic spaces, but understanding how each is managed and how they get patients is a big consideration.

You only describe working with underserved populations in dental clinical contexts (I don't know what a DA to underserved communities means). I don't see any non-clinical community service where you involve yourself with community needs that aren't related to their health unless somehow you argue coaching underresourced kids in sports. "Underserved" is a very big umbrella; are you able to handle floating at community health centers giving care as you would with Arizona. Maybe if you had taken a gap year in AmeriCorps... but I don't have details on what you have accomplished and what students would learn from you.

I'm sure for doxxing reasons you are leaving out important things like your impact to your clubs and communities. If you are serving your Student Conduct Committee, make sure you craft a statement with your administrators to answer any questions about the IA and only use it for all disclosure statements.

 

[predent050110]

I'm a little more optimistic with your fit with Arizona SDOH, but you need more insight with your list. Would you be okay with the externship rotations to community health centers? Do you intend to apply to NHSC?

Many of the Ivy schools on the original list integrate basic science courses with medical students, so you can get a bit more overwhelmed in a much larger class. I don't know if you have visited the schools to check out their student clinic spaces, but understanding how each is managed and how they get patients is a big consideration.

You only describe working with underserved populations in dental clinical contexts (I don't know what a DA to underserved communities means). I don't see any non-clinical community service where you involve yourself with community needs that aren't related to their health unless somehow you argue coaching underresourced kids in sports. "Underserved" is a very big umbrella; are you able to handle floating at community health centers giving care as you would with Arizona. Maybe if you had taken a gap year in AmeriCorps... but I don't have details on what you have accomplished and what students would learn from you.

I'm sure for doxxing reasons you are leaving out important things like your impact to your clubs and communities. If you are serving your Student Conduct Committee, make sure you craft a statement with your administrators to answer any questions about the IA and only use it for all disclosure statements.

Thank you for your response! I think doing external rotations to community health centers is something I am excited to do; considering I am currently volunteering as dental assistant at a community health center. I actually am planning on applying to NHSC, but since I'm not from a disadvantaged background; I may be at disadvantage.

Could you explain what volunteer work qualifies as non-clinical community service? I was under the impression that tutoring low-income kids that reside in communities with poorer quality of education would count as non-clinical community service.

I understand that all IAs are serious, but severe would you categorize my IA? Is this something that will require me to put my application on hold for a couple more years?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Could you explain what volunteer work qualifies as non-clinical community service? I was under the impression that tutoring low-income kids that reside in communities with poorer quality of education would count as non-clinical community service.

I understand that all IAs are serious, but severe would you categorize my IA? Is this something that will require me to put my application on hold for a couple more years?

Tutoring and teaching are very common among prehealth applicants, so it's not enough to stand out. Usual activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation.

I presume you haven't done it since freshman year, and you say you are on the student conduct judicial committee.

 

[predent050110]

Tutoring and teaching are very common among prehealth applicants, so it's not enough to stand out. Usual activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation.

I presume you haven't done it since freshman year, and you say you are on the student conduct judicial committee.

Yes, the IA from freshman year is the only time i've cheated and I will have served on the committee for ~2 years when the cycle opens. I'm still unsure how adcoms will perceive my IA though which honestly makes me wonder if I even have a shot at getting in this upcoming cycle...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As long as you are upfront about it and not make excuses, you should be fine. Just stay disciplined with describing what happened.

 

[predent050110]

As long as you are upfront about it and not make excuses, you should be fine. Just stay disciplined with describing what happened.

This gives me some sense of relief; I'll be sure to incorporate your advice into my explanation. Thank you for all that you do... i've probably read every single IA post you've given advice to on sdn lol.