WAMC- High DAT, SMP, Too late to add schools?

[Exoticsky]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Date of submission: 8/27/2025, verified next day
Overall GPA: Undergrad: 3.03 SMP: 4.0 (10 credits, will have 12 more by December, done with program in May)
Science GPA: Undergrad: 2.81 SMP: 4.0
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Undergrad: 2.52 🙁 SMP: 4.0
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Retake: AA: 480 (23.5) SNS: 480 (23) BIO: 520 (26) Chem: 470 (23), Ochem: 440 (21), Reading: 520 (27) QR: 450 (21), PAT: 400 (19)
State of Residence: New York

Major: Health Science, Biomedical Sciences at my SMP
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 150 hours cosmetic dentist, 50 hours split between another general dentist and OMFS
Volunteering Experience: 150 hours dog shelter, 50 hours at soup kitchen (started here recently and will continue, this organization helped my family when we first came to the US so its a very strong story for me)
Employment: 350 hours as a physical therapist aide, 200 hours waiter/server, 66 hours as a DJ
Research: None
Other Extracurriculars: Pre-dental society, DJ club at my undergrad, Runner and Weightlifter
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? In person ASDA Pre-dental day at NYU, also attended informationals/ 1on1 sessions with Boston University and Tufts
Relevant Honors or Awards: Deans List 2x in undergrad
LOR type and strength: 1 from SMP professor from the class known as the hardest in the program, 1 from science undergrad professor, 1 from humanities undergrad professor, 1 from general dentist. All very strong except for the science undergrad letter which is probably vague
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: My uGPA is very low, also I just received my new DAT score yesterday. I also have interview linkages with both Boston area schools I applied to, BU and Tufts. Also not sure if this matters but I was an immigrant who is now a naturalized US citizen.

School list:
NYU- received Kira
MWU-AZ- rejected one day before I got my new DAT score
Buffalo- received email stating my GPA is too low for consideration
MWU-IL
Touro
Boston University
Nova
LECOM
Temple
Roseman
ATSU- ASDOH
Rutgers

I picked these schools due to proximity, as well as family ties to Arizona and Florida.

I also want to know if it is too late or if it is worth it to add the following schools, my DAT is in their upper-tier of accepted ones, but my undergrad GPA is below their 5th percentile:
Case Western
Maryland
Columbia (too much of a stretch?, DAT below average)
Louisville
Detroit-Mercy
UNE

Overall, I started undergrad as a very immature person and eventually realized I wanted to be a dentist, which led me to my SMP and to study a lot for my DAT retake. Thank you in advance for any responses!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Tell us what your SMP faculty say about adding schools at this time. I presume the schools you listed don't have imminent deadlines. Many won't consider your file until you are done with your SMP to show your academic readiness. Your SMP faculty should have told you this. Keep your linkage interview eligibility by continuing to excel in your courses.

 

[Exoticsky]

Tell us what your SMP faculty say about adding schools at this time. I presume the schools you listed don't have imminent deadlines. Many won't consider your file until you are done with your SMP to show your academic readiness. Your SMP faculty should have told you this. Keep your linkage interview eligibility by continuing to excel in your courses.

Thanks for the reply. I'll be speaking to my SMP directly about adding schools. The reason I applied now is because my SMP told me that students who perform very well (3.8+) usually get acceptances while still in the program. I'll be sure to keep working hard to maintain the linkage agreements. I also want to ask you if there are any glaring issues with any parts of my application, excluding the undergrad GPA?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If it's their experience that they have had students apply and get interviewed with a similar profile to yours, see what schools they suggest. For me, it depends on the enthusiastic support from your SMP faculty letter which has already been written about you. They should know where you need significant improvement in your profile aside from your undergraduate GPA. After all, it's in their best interests that most of their SMP students get offers.

As a NY resident, didn't you apply to Stony Brook?

 

[Exoticsky]

If it's their experience that they have had students apply and get interviewed with a similar profile to yours, see what schools they suggest. For me, it depends on the enthusiastic support from your SMP faculty letter which has already been written about you. They should know where you need significant improvement in your profile aside from your undergraduate GPA. After all, it's in their best interests that most of their SMP students get offers.

As a NY resident, didn't you apply to Stony Brook?

I wanted to apply to Stony Brook, but they require 3 science letters. I only have 2 unfortunately.