WAMC? First Cycle, Low GPA, Good DAT

[zmust4]

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Date of submission: Hopefully June 2nd.

Overall GPA: 3.44
Science GPA: 3.26
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.26

DAT score (AA and sections):
AA: 450
PAT: 440
QR: 470
RC: 550
BIO: 430
GC: 410
OC: 410
SNS: 420

State of Residence:
Illinois

Undergrad Attended:
University of Illinois Chicago (Transferred from College of DuPage)

Major:
Integrated Health Studies

Minor:
None

Minority?
No (ORM)

Reapplicant?
No

Nontrad?
No

Shadowing Experience:
~150+ hours total (General Dentistry)
~30+ hours of Ortho Shadowing

Volunteering Experience:
~250+ hours free dental clinic volunteering
~1,700+ hours non-clinical/community volunteering (Mosque Volunteering)

Employment:
~2,380 hours of healthcare employment (Pharmacy Technician)

Research:
None

Other Extracurriculars:
~120+ hours leadership/student government

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools?
Volunteered at a Dental Research Symposium at UIC Dental
Pre-Dental Day at UIC
Pre-Dental Day at MDW-IL

Relevant Honors or Awards:
PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician

LOR type and strength:

• 2 Science Faculty
  • Both Strong
• 1 Dentist
  • Very Strong
• 2 Pharmacist LOR's
  • Both Strong

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:

• Graduating one semester early (Dec 2026)
• Struggling upward trend of GPA
• Applying first cycle
• 3 C's
  • 1 C in Calc at CC
  • 1 C in Orgo 2 at Uni
  • 1 C in Physics 2 at Uni

School list:

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine–Illinois
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine
Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine
Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College
University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine–Arizona
Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Dentistry
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry
The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics
University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
Lincoln Memorial University College of Dental Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: Hopefully June 2nd.

Overall GPA: 3.44
Science GPA: 3.26
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.26

DAT score (AA and sections):
AA: 450
PAT: 440
QR: 470
RC: 550
BIO: 430
GC: 410
OC: 410
SNS: 420

State of Residence:
Illinois

Undergrad Attended:
University of Illinois Chicago (Transferred from College of DuPage)

Major:
Integrated Health Studies

Minor:
None

Minority?
No (ORM)

Reapplicant?
No

Nontrad?
No

Shadowing Experience:
~150+ hours total (General Dentistry)
~30+ hours of Ortho Shadowing

Volunteering Experience:
~250+ hours free dental clinic volunteering
~1,700+ hours non-clinical/community volunteering (Mosque Volunteering)

Employment:
~2,380 hours of healthcare employment (Pharmacy Technician)

Research:
None

Other Extracurriculars:
~120+ hours leadership/student government

Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools?
Volunteered at a Dental Research Symposium at UIC Dental
Pre-Dental Day at UIC
Pre-Dental Day at MDW-IL

Relevant Honors or Awards:
PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician

LOR type and strength:

• 2 Science Faculty
  • Both Strong
• 1 Dentist
  • Very Strong
• 2 Pharmacist LOR's
  • Both Strong

Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:

• Graduating one semester early (Dec 2026)
• Struggling upward trend of GPA
• Applying first cycle
• 3 C's
  • 1 C in Calc at CC
  • 1 C in Orgo 2 at Uni
  • 1 C in Physics 2 at Uni

School list:

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine–Illinois
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine
Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine
Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College
University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine–Arizona
Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Dentistry
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry
The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics
University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
Lincoln Memorial University College of Dental Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry

how did you come up with this list?

 

[zmust4]

how did you come up with this list?

Looked through DAT Booster's Stats list to come up with an initial OOS Friendly List, and then crossed out schools I couldn't go to based on the fact that I have 54 CC Credits. These schools line up with my goals and where I aim to live.

The outliers are UNC, UofP, and Case Western, which I've added as reach schools more or less.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your list seems to disregard your sGPA. Are you sure this is what they come up with as OOS friendly? You have never used the DSE?

I'm also not sure that your mosque volunteering alone is enough community service.

You also realize you only have 4 LOR slots on AADSAS. Having 2 Pharmacy letters isn't going to help.

Your list should not exceed 10 schools. You are frivolously spending more money than you should.

 

[macsak]

Looked through DAT Booster's Stats list to come up with an initial OOS Friendly List, and then crossed out schools I couldn't go to based on the fact that I have 54 CC Credits. These schools line up with my goals and where I aim to live.

The outliers are UNC, UofP, and Case Western, which I've added as reach schools more or less.

you get interview invites and acceptances by having mission fit with schools
and to a lesser extent, geography
"aim to live" is not mission fit
you have mission fit with 25 schools? are you willing to spend all the time and money for all these applications?
have you checked Illinois acceptances in the past at these schools?
are you aware Meharry is an HBCU?
why roseman? UOP? arizona schools? colorado?
UOP interviews mainly very high dat/gpa applicants, you can leave it on your list as long as you are willing to spend the $$$ to apply and recognize how much of a reach it is
UNC and MUSC are EXTREMELY IS biased, and OOS acceptances are rare and generally high stats...

 

[zmust4]

@macsak @Mr.Smile12

Thanks for the insight. I reworked my school list and attached the updated version below. I’d really appreciate any honest thoughts if you have time.

For the LOR point, I do realize AADSAS only allows 4 letters. One of the pharmacy letters was more of a backup in case another didn’t come through. I had listed everything available rather than what I actually plan to submit.

Regarding the Arizona schools and Midwestern AZ, those stayed because I felt they still aligned with what I’m looking for. Midwestern in particular appealed to me because of the similarities in curriculum structure and clinical model between campuses, and ATSU’s service/community-oriented approach seemed to fit well with my interests.

I also realized my original post undersold some of my experiences. Beyond the mosque volunteering, I have additional community and healthcare involvement including hospital volunteering and volunteering as a dental assistant at two free clinics.

I also ended up purchasing DSE and used it to revisit the list. I tried to focus more on schools that appeared more realistic for my academic profile and that seemed to align better with my experiences.

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health

A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois

Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine

Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine

Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine

Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College

University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry

University of Kentucky College of Dentistry

University of Louisville School of Dentistry

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona

Creighton University School of Dentistry

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics

University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry

Lincoln Memorial University College of Dental Medicine

University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry

 

[macsak]

@macsak @Mr.Smile12

Thanks for the insight. I reworked my school list and attached the updated version below. I’d really appreciate any honest thoughts if you have time.

For the LOR point, I do realize AADSAS only allows 4 letters. One of the pharmacy letters was more of a backup in case another didn’t come through. I had listed everything available rather than what I actually plan to submit.

Regarding the Arizona schools and Midwestern AZ, those stayed because I felt they still aligned with what I’m looking for. Midwestern in particular appealed to me because of the similarities in curriculum structure and clinical model between campuses, and ATSU’s service/community-oriented approach seemed to fit well with my interests.

I also realized my original post undersold some of my experiences. Beyond the mosque volunteering, I have additional community and healthcare involvement including hospital volunteering and volunteering as a dental assistant at two free clinics.

I also ended up purchasing DSE and used it to revisit the list. I tried to focus more on schools that appeared more realistic for my academic profile and that seemed to align better with my experiences.

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health

A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois

Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine

Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine

Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine

Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College

University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry

University of Kentucky College of Dentistry

University of Louisville School of Dentistry

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona

Creighton University School of Dentistry

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics

University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry

Lincoln Memorial University College of Dental Medicine

University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry

thank you for putting in the effort
most people give up because they are not being told specifically which schools to add or subtract

you cut your list down pretty well
but are you willing to spend the $$$ to apply to 18 schools?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I also realized my original post undersold some of my experiences. Beyond the mosque volunteering, I have additional community and healthcare involvement including hospital volunteering and volunteering as a dental assistant at two free clinics.

Breakdown the hours. I am sure you have an interest serving the underserved, but my question is do you have the experience to match ATSU's service experience.

Seek schools with lots of students AND patients from Muslim backgrounds, if you have that many hours on your application. I am waiting for a dental analog of the AMMSA to be formed, but look where those chapters are.

I still think 18 is too many. Admissions is very geographic-focused. Southern Illinois mostly favors applicants outside Chicago. That leaves you with UIC, MW-IL, Marquette, Case, UDM, Louisville, and LECOM as most likely targets. Perhaps Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Creighton to cover the rest of the Midwest. That's 11. Mission fit helps narrow it down, but your sGPA could limit your IIs.