WAMC? Texan, U3 (Junior undergraduate)

[HopefulTexanDDS]

Date of submission: Hopefully by June 2022
Overall GPA: 3.458
Science GPA: 3.25 (aiming)
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Not yet taken
State of Residence: Texas

Undergrad Attending: Texas A&M
Major: Kinesiology, BEP
Minority? Yes
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: None
Volunteering Experience: 50 hours as a camp counselor for one summer
Employment: None
Research: Undergraduate research student in a neurology lab since January 2020, pending publication
Other Extracurriculars: Several student organizations and school's Pre-Dental Society
Relevant Honors or Awards: None
LOR type and strength: Not yet

Hello! Thank you for reading. Just straight off the bat, as raw as you can be, what are my chances going forward with (I assume has to be ample) shadowing hours added and a high, high DAT score? Would an AA score of 25 and RC of 25 be my best argument for dental school with what my resume has? I don't have much, but I do have a big heart in making things right and justified for my future dental school bid. Thank you.

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[macsak]

Date of submission: Hopefully by June 2022
Overall GPA: 3.458
Science GPA: 3.25
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Not yet taken
State of Residence: Texas

Undergrad Attending: Texas A&M
Major: Kinesiology, BEP
Minority? Yes
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: None
Volunteering Experience: 50 hours as a camp counselor for one summer
Employment: None
Research: Undergraduate research student in a neurology lab since January 2020, pending publication
Other Extracurriculars: Several student organizations and school's Pre-Dental Society
Relevant Honors or Awards: None
LOR type and strength: Not yet

Hello! Thank you for reading. Just straight off the bat, as raw as you can be, what are my chances going forward with (I assume has to be ample) shadowing hours added and a high, high DAT score? Would an AA score of 25 and RC of 25 be my best argument for dental school with what my resume has? I don't have much, but I do have a big heart in making things right and justified for my future dental school bid. Thank you.

just do what you can and improve over the next 2 years
it's not worth worrying about now

but no, you would not need a 25...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Be aware that a high DAT score sometimes draws more attention to your low GPA. We want to be sure your preparation for dental school makes sense with your upper-level science coursework.

You should be doing your best to network with dental schools high on your wish list, including those within the state. What really matters to these schools other than metrics? You should be able to figure that out talking to students representing SNDA and ASDA chapters.

 

[HopefulTexanDDS]

Be aware that a high DAT score sometimes draws more attention to your low GPA. We want to be sure your preparation for dental school makes sense with your upper-level science coursework.

You should be doing your best to network with dental schools high on your wish list, including those within the state. What really matters to these schools other than metrics? You should be able to figure that out talking to students representing SNDA and ASDA chapters.

Thank you for your reply. That was insightful on how a higher DAT score draws attention to a low GPA. May I ask why that would be bad? I assume it must be that an admissions board may think the student isn't/wasn't focused or serious with his/her science coursework. I am mostly interested in Texan dental schools, I will try to network with them. But networking, do you mean making my face and name familiar to each respective school's admissions board? Thank you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for your reply. That was insightful on how a higher DAT score draws attention to a low GPA. May I ask why that would be bad? I assume it must be that an admissions board may think the student isn't/wasn't focused or serious with his/her science coursework. I am mostly interested in Texan dental schools, I will try to network with them. But networking, do you mean making my face and name familiar to each respective school's admissions board? Thank you.

You won't be able to get your name/face familiar with everyone on an adcom; if you do, I don't think it would be for good reasons. There are usually rules about how adcoms are supposed to interact with possible applicants so I wouldn't focus networking on adcoms. Students and alumni though are fair game, and you should connect with them to dispel whatever myths or misconceptions you might have about going to a specific school.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Your overall gpa is ok. Your sgpa needs some improvement, so do your best to raise it while you’re still in school. I disagree with some of what is said above, scoring high on the DAT is a good way to offset a lower gpa. You don’t need to score in the top 1% either, just aim for 21+ in all categories.

 

[lcootl51]

Definitely gain more volunteering hours. Texas schools focus on volunteering and leadership experience a lot. Your GPA is good but since you have 2 years left, try your best to raise it!!