WAMC Help with school list

[Smile2thetop]

Date of submission: Will be applying 6/1 upcoming summer
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23AA 22TS 22PAT
State of Residence: CA

Major: BIO
Minor: Technical Writing and Chem
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes, worked for some years in publishing. Started my own non-profit and have good experience from that.

Shadowing Experience: 150 total, 20 specialists
Volunteering Experience: ~300, 80 Dental Assisting
Employment: 1,500+ hours
Research: 200 hours, 3 poster presentations
Other Extracurriculars: No
Relevant Honors or Awards: 2 Bio scholarship and 1 English. Dean's list
LOR type and strength: 2 science professors and 2 general dentists. Should all be pretty good
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: No
School list:

UCSF
UOP
UCLA
UMich
Loma Linda
University of Maryland
UNLV
Western U
U Detroit Mercy
Midwestern Arizona
Midwestern Illinois

Looking for schools that 1) Are on the cheaper side 2) Provide a quality basic science education to make the CBSE easier 3) Are in major cities.

Also wanted to know if not having my PI write an LOR would be considered a red flag. Since I haven't taken any classes with her I thought it was better to choose 2 science professors.

Thanks in advance!

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[macsak]

Date of submission: Will be applying 6/1 upcoming summer
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23AA 22TS 22PAT
State of Residence: CA

Major: BIO
Minor: Technical Writing and Chem
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes, worked for some years in publishing. Started my own non-profit and have good experience from that.

Shadowing Experience: 150 total, 20 specialists
Volunteering Experience: ~300, 80 Dental Assisting
Employment: 1,500+ hours
Research: 200 hours, 3 poster presentations
Other Extracurriculars: No
Relevant Honors or Awards: 2 Bio scholarship and 1 English. Dean's list
LOR type and strength: 2 science professors and 2 general dentists. Should all be pretty good
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: No
School list:

UCSF
UOP
UCLA
UMich
Loma Linda
University of Maryland
UNLV
Western U
U Detroit Mercy
Midwestern Arizona
Midwestern Illinois

Looking for schools that 1) Are on the cheaper side 2) Provide a quality basic science education to make the CBSE easier 3) Are in major cities.

Also wanted to know if not having my PI write an LOR would be considered a red flag. Since I haven't taken any classes with her I thought it was better to choose 2 science professors.

Thanks in advance!

take off the last 4
are you religious? can you get an LOR from a religious leader? if not, take off LLU
you should choose whomever knows you best
i would think your PI would know your work habits and intellectual ability better than a science professor...

 

[Ryxndek]

Agree with the above, need a religious leader LOR for Loma unless that's something that interests you. Remove one of the dentist's letters and yes, have the PI write you a letter. I had mine and it was probably one of the foundations of my app since I have done a lot of research in their lab. You need 2 science profs and then you can choose the other 2. One dentist and one PI will be best.

If you're looking for cheaper schools you could throw in UBuffalo, they offer IS tuition after the first year.

 

[Smile2thetop]

Thank you for the replies. I was keeping Loma Linda and Western there bc they're in California which is a plus for me. Ill probably just keep Western and knock off Loma Linda. I can probably knock off one of the Midwestern schools but I really like Chicago so Ill keep that there.

Updated list:
UCSF
UOP
UCLA
UMich
University of Maryland
UNLV
Western U
University at Buffalo
Midwestern Illinois

Is that enough schools? I am also contemplating adding Colombia but I know its expensive and Im not sure my stats are good enough...

 

[Ryxndek]

Midwestern-IL is a crazy expensive school so just keep that in mind. I think COA is around 140k a year. But otherwise, your list is solid. You could check out the Oregon Health Sciences D-School too. With your stats you're fine for Columbia, DAT maybe slightly below average or right at it, but it's expensive...very expensive. You only need a max of 8-10 schools. 8 will probably be enough if you do your research and all your classes meet the schools' prerequisites. Double-check this, I was going to apply to some schools but didn't have the classes and didn't want to take more.

Good luck!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It seems you really want to specialize and go into OMFS if you are thinking CBSE.

Big cities: sure, though it seems you avoided the Boston and Philadelphia schools. If you were thinking Columbia, you may as well think about those schools though COA may be high. Of course you are considering the SF schools so...

You are also missing the private Florida schools.

Ann Arbor is an awesome college town, but I'm not sure you would consider it a major city.

Anyway, metrics-wise you can be picky with your list but do your research on the schools.

 

[Smile2thetop]

Hello.

Preparing to press apply tomorrow but having last second doubts about applying to too few schools. My list so far has been the following ten schools:

UCSF
UCLA
UConn
UMich
UOP
Roseman
UNLV
University at Buffalo
Western
Harvard

Im wondering if ten are too few schools to apply to. Im considering adding some or all of the following schools:

Short list:
Maryland
Utah
OHSU

Iffy:
Upenn
Columbia
USC

Any suggestions? How many schools can be considered enough?

 

[macsak]

Hello.

Preparing to press apply tomorrow but having last second doubts about applying to too few schools. My list so far has been the following ten schools:

UCSF
UCLA
UConn
UMich
UOP
Roseman
UNLV
University at Buffalo
Western
Harvard

Im wondering if ten are too few schools to apply to. Im considering adding some or all of the following schools:

Short list:
Maryland
Utah
OHSU

Iffy:
Upenn
Columbia
USC

Any suggestions? How many schools can be considered enough?

we can't give you any answers without more info
plase fill out a full WAMC template...

 

[macsak]

we can't give you any answers without more info
plase fill out a full WAMC template...

my guess is california resident...

 

[Smile2thetop]

The template should be the first message here but heres an updated version.

Date of submission: 5/30
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23 AA 22 PAT 22 TS
State of Residence: California

Major: General Biology
Minor: Technical Writing, Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes. Would rather not elaborate but I have some unique experiences and leadership outside of dentistry

Shadowing Experience: 130 general, 20 specialists (Endo, Perio. Prostho)
Volunteering Experience: 80 Dental assisting at free clinics, 120 non-profit
Employment: 1000+ hours
Research: 400 hours, 4 poster presentations
Other Extracurriculars: Club leadership
Relevant Honors or Awards: 2 Bio scholarships and 1 English scholarship
LOR type and strength: 2 Professors, 1 PI, 1 Dentist, all strong.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I worked on my PS for a year and am still not 100% satisfied with it.
School list: see above posts

 

[macsak]

The template should be the first message here but heres an updated version.

Date of submission: 5/30
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23 AA 22 PAT 22 TS
State of Residence: California

Major: General Biology
Minor: Technical Writing, Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? Yes. Would rather not elaborate but I have some unique experiences and leadership outside of dentistry

Shadowing Experience: 130 general, 20 specialists (Endo, Perio. Prostho)
Volunteering Experience: 80 Dental assisting at free clinics, 120 non-profit
Employment: 1000+ hours
Research: 400 hours, 4 poster presentations
Other Extracurriculars: Club leadership
Relevant Honors or Awards: 2 Bio scholarships and 1 English scholarship
LOR type and strength: 2 Professors, 1 PI, 1 Dentist, all strong.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I worked on my PS for a year and am still not 100% satisfied with it.
School list: see above posts

oh snap
sorry, i lost focus for a second there and didn't realize this was a new post
10 would be ok, but 5 of your schools are amongst the 10 most difficult to get into
plus UConn and Buffalo don't make much sense on your list

PS is just a tiny portion of the app
and with your stats, it won't make much difference unless it is terrible...

 

[macsak]

oh snap
sorry, i lost focus for a second there and didn't realize this was a new post
10 would be ok, but 5 of your schools are amongst the 10 most difficult to get into
plus UConn and Buffalo don't make much sense on your list

PS is just a tiny portion of the app
and with your stats, it won't make much difference unless it is terrible...

why western?
why roseman?

 

[Smile2thetop]

Thank you for your reply.

Western and Roseman are my two safety schools at this point. I actually like SLC and the three year curriculum so Roseman is pretty appealing in general.

Most of the other schools are state schools that offer in-state. UConn is near the top of my list with P/F, low tuition and living costs, and high specialization rates.

That said, Im really just trying to get into UCSF or UCLA at this point. Any other school is a distant second.

Thanks again.

 

[Ryxndek]

You just have a lot of very top heavy schools. And with Roseman decreased to 3 years, they’ll be more competitive. I would add maybe 1-2 more safety’s just in case. Maybe ASDOH, Midwestern AZ, Creighton are ones that come to mind

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You need to be more confident in yourself. 4.0/23 is going to draw attention. You say you have "unique experiences".

I would be wary of exceeding 15 schools, but that's my preference. Network and make the schools want you.

In the end, you have to make the pitch why you will thrive at their school. To me, it is your money and time.

 

[macsak]

Thank you for your reply.

Western and Roseman are my two safety schools at this point. I actually like SLC and the three year curriculum so Roseman is pretty appealing in general.

Most of the other schools are state schools that offer in-state. UConn is near the top of my list with P/F, low tuition and living costs, and high specialization rates.

That said, Im really just trying to get into UCSF or UCLA at this point. Any other school is a distant second.

Thanks again.

you are pretty likely to get yield managed out of western (and MW az and asdoh from ryxn's list)...