WAMC Ivy League 3.97 GPA; 24AA DAT

[klhollar]

Hey yall, I submitted my AADSAS application the first day it opened and just finished with all the secondaries on July 9th. I was just wondering what my shot is at some of the more competitive schools on my list like Columbia, Penn and the OOS schools like UNC and Michigan. Also, does anyone know how private schools handle scholarship? I don't think I would want to go into that much debt paying full tuition at some of the more expensive schools and would rather stay in state.

Date of submission: 6/16/2020
Overall GPA: 3.97
Science GPA: 3.95
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.94
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
PAT: 24 QR: 21 RC: 25 BIO: 22 GC: 26 OC: 26 TS: 23 AA: 24
State of Residence: Texas resident

Undergrad Attended: Honors college at the University of Arkansas
Major: Biology
Minor:
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 194 Hours total split between general dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics
Volunteering Experience: 140 hours, most are from dental mission trips, veterans hospital, and volunteering at a free dental clinic
Employment: Had an internship with a periodontist for a semester, worked as a house boy at a sorority house for a year and a delivery driver for several months
Research: 80+ hours of research in ecology. Working on a senior thesis focused on conservation of fish species in Arkansas. Will be published by graduation
Other Extracurriculars: President of the Neuroscience Organization, Honors greek organization Order of Omega, Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, Spent a summer shadowing medical doctors in Spain, Dental mission trip.
LOR type and strength: Strong letter of rec from a dentist I worked for, then had a strong committee letter too from my research mentor, biology professor, and finance professor.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere: Got a grant for my research lab I had to apply for through the University of Arkansas. Also got an award for my volunteer work. Been on the Chancelor's list 5/6 semesters I've been on campus.

School List:
Harvard
Columbia
University Of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
Tufts
UNC
University of Colorado
University of Texas, San Antonio
University of Texas, Houston
Texas A&M
Texas Tech, El Paso

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[HKSZYU]

You're a strong applicant. Good scores, good experiences, no red flags. Obviously there's no guarantees in this process, but I think you've got as good a chance as anyone.

That said, if your goal is to avoid debt, I'd probably focus on your Texas options. Being a Texas resident in dental/medical school applications is a real blessing, because Texas schools provide a solid education and are super cheap in comparison to the rest of the country. Even if you were to win a [very competitive] scholarship to an ivy school, your Texas options are probably going to be cheaper.

For example, your average total cost of attendance at a Texas school is $65k/year, so $260k overall. According to Penn's website, the estimated cost of attendance is $125k/year, or $500k overall. Penn's biggest scholarship (at least during my application year) was $40k/year, which would bring total COA to $85k/year. So, even with the biggest merit scholarship possible, Penn is still more expensive than your Texas options. Columbia would be similar to Penn. Harvard, to my knowledge, doesn't give significant merit scholarships. None of the aforementioned private schools are terribly generous with need-based aid either outside of loans.

Basically, every school on your list will provide a similar education and similar exit opportunities. As a Texas resident, you have access to some of the best value schools in the country. If I were you, I would probably focus on those as your top choices.

 

[Gustavo dos Santos]

You’ll have just as good of shot as all of the other high-stats applicants as long as the rest of your app is in order. When it comes down to the top schools, everyone is going to have solid stats and ECs. Your interview is what will differentiate you, so start focusing on your interview skills if you haven’t already.

Also, Texas is your best option for low debt. And anything you could do from an Ivy you could do from a Texas school.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

State of Residence: Texas resident

If you’re taking out loans, you’d be out of your mind to choose UPenn, Columbia, or Harvard over a Texas school. For serious.

Big Hoss

 

[deleted903013]

You'll be very competitive for Texas and Texas schools are some of the cheapest in the country. I'd take a Texas school over any of the ivies.

 

[klhollar]

You're a strong applicant. Good scores, good experiences, no red flags. Obviously there's no guarantees in this process, but I think you've got as good a chance as anyone.

That said, if your goal is to avoid debt, I'd probably focus on your Texas options. Being a Texas resident in dental/medical school applications is a real blessing, because Texas schools provide a solid education and are super cheap in comparison to the rest of the country. Even if you were to win a [very competitive] scholarship to an ivy school, your Texas options are probably going to be cheaper.

For example, your average total cost of attendance at a Texas school is $65k/year, so $260k overall. According to Penn's website, the estimated cost of attendance is $125k/year, or $500k overall. Penn's biggest scholarship (at least during my application year) was $40k/year, which would bring total COA to $85k/year. So, even with the biggest merit scholarship possible, Penn is still more expensive than your Texas options. Columbia would be similar to Penn. Harvard, to my knowledge, doesn't give significant merit scholarships. None of the aforementioned private schools are terribly generous with need-based aid either outside of loans.

Basically, every school on your list will provide a similar education and similar exit opportunities. As a Texas resident, you have access to some of the best value schools in the country. If I were you, I would probably focus on those as your top choices.

Thank you for the reply! I've thought a lot about it and being a Texas resident it would be hard to turn down such low student debt, assuming I will be taking out loans.

 

[klhollar]

You’ll have just as good of shot as all of the other high-stats applicants as long as the rest of your app is in order. When it comes down to the top schools, everyone is going to have solid stats and ECs. Your interview is what will differentiate you, so start focusing on your interview skills if you haven’t already.

Also, Texas is your best option for low debt. And anything you could do from an Ivy you could do from a Texas school.

Great to hear, I am interested in specializing and could see myself going that route in the future. Only reason I would choose any Ivy's is if it would give me an advantage applying for specializations. I feel like it may give me some advantage but I'm not sure if that would be worth how much extra debt I would be accumulate.

 

[axiumgod]

Don’t be weird at the interviews and you’ll be fine

 

[Alpha Centauri]

If you’re taking out loans, you’d be out of your mind to choose UPenn, Columbia, or Harvard over a Texas school. For serious.

Big Hoss

Looks like they are actively seeking out the competitive (400k+) schools before their state schools too

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Looks like they are unwisely seeking out the competitive (400k+) schools before their state schools too

There, I fixed it for you.

Big Hoss