WAMC? Non-traditional applicant, Texas schools

[Say Cheeze]

Hey guys! So I will be applying to dental school for the fourth time this cycle. I am a non-traditional applicant (27yo), graduated from undergrad in 2015. I was hoping to get some advice on how to proceed with this next application cycle.

I'm a Texas resident, and ideally I would like to stay in state for dental school. There are many factors which keep me from applying OOS (cost, fiancé, are to name a few). For me personally, dental school is not worth a 500k+ debt. So instead, I've been patient and taken steps to become a more competitive applicant for my in-state schools every cycle.

Since undergrad, I went back and retook classes I got a grade of C in. I also completed my SMP in biomedical science last May (4.0 GPA). And this past October I retook my DAT and scored a 23AA/23TS (previous attempt was a 20AA/20TS).

I've also been working as a dental assistant for four years now. I have fairly good shadowing and volunteering hours, and a publication on research I did after undergrad. My LOR's are really strong (I have read 2/3 of them).

This last cycle I applied in July and interviewed at UTSD-Houston in December and was recently waitlisted.
I also think a factor could be that I retook my DAT late last cycle and the schools didn't receive my official score until mid November.

overall GPA: 3.26
sGPA: 3.06
masters GPA: 4.0
DAT: 23

So my question is, what else can I do to become a more competitive applicant for Texas schools?
I have my application ready to send out, so I'll be applying early this year. I was also thinking of taking post-bacc class(es) this fall to raise my science GPA, but I'm not sure how helpful that would be. I'm going to continue working as a dental assistant and volunteering, but I wanted to know what else I could do at this point.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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[Mr.Smile12]

Your SMP will suffice, so don't worry about going backwards with a DIY postbac. Since all grades are locked, you probably will be in a good position to get some attention from schools that won't mind rewarding a high SMP GPA with your DAT score. Hopefully you have kept your contacts among admissions recruiters informed. You don't really give numbers for your experience hours, so I can't comment beyond this.

 

[Say Cheeze]

Your SMP will suffice, so don't worry about going backwards with a DIY postbac. Since all grades are locked, you probably will be in a good position to get some attention from schools that won't mind rewarding a high SMP GPA with your DAT score. Hopefully you have kept your contacts among admissions recruiters informed. You don't really give numbers for your experience hours, so I can't comment beyond this.

Thank you for the reply!
I have been keeping in touch with the Texas dental school advisors for a of couple years now (going over previous applications, sending updates, etc).
My shadowing hours are approx ~75 but my hours working as a dental assistant are ~3,075 (and counting).
And volunteer is ~490 hours since my freshman year of college.