WAMC - Too Many Schools?

[Mountain-Response768]

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Date of submission: 7/9/25 (not submitted yet)
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science GPA: 3.97
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.99
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 560/28 AA, 600/30 PAT, 590/30 TS, 600/30 Ochem, 590/30 Chem, 580/28 Bio, 530/26 Reading, 480/23 Quant
State of Residence: Utah

Undergrad Attended: Southern Utah Uni
Major: Human Nutrition
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 120, general dentist and some OMFS
Volunteering Experience: ~700 total: food pantries, health clinics in the Dominican Republic, summer camp counselor for children and families affected by cancer.
Employment: >1000 sales (door-to-door, phone), ~750 Direct care for individuals with disabilities,
Research: None :'(
Other Extracurriculars: Cadaver Practicum, school ambassador, pre-dental club president (only 25ish hours), Country Dance club secretary, leadership experience for over a year for church missionary service.
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered for 4 hours at a Uni of Utah health fair, didn't include on application. Attended tours at Utah and Roseman, as well as Utah's Predental Day (didn't include either on AADSAS app, will include if I get secondaries).
Relevant Honors or Awards: Outstanding Nutrition Student of the Year (faculty nomination), Dean's List all semester, department scholarships.
LOR type and strength: 1 strong from O-Chem, 1 okay from GenChem, 1 okay from Dietitian, 1 strong from dentist.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I have only been shadowing for about a year, and I'm worried schools may think I haven't shown commitment to dentistry for a long enough time.
School list:
Utah
Roseman
Creighton
LECOM
UF
SUI
Midwestern-AZ
Colorado(?)
UNLV
UNC(?)
Lyon(?)
All 4 Texas Schools (haven't started Texas App, should I?)

I am strong DAT/GPA-wise, but still worry about applying to enough schools. I feel like I have several "reach" schools, like UF, SUI, Utah, so I may not include UNC/Colorado. Are there other schools I could remove from this list? I am quite poor at the moment, and am looking to maximize my chances to get in, while keeping application/secondaries/interview costs low. Thank you

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: 7/9/25 (not submitted yet)
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science GPA: 3.97
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.99
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 560/28 AA, 600/30 PAT, 590/30 TS, 600/30 Ochem, 590/30 Chem, 580/28 Bio, 530/26 Reading, 480/23 Quant
State of Residence: Utah

Undergrad Attended: Southern Utah Uni
Major: Human Nutrition
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 120, general dentist and some OMFS
Volunteering Experience: ~700 total: food pantries, health clinics in the Dominican Republic, summer camp counselor for children and families affected by cancer.
Employment: >1000 sales (door-to-door, phone), ~750 Direct care for individuals with disabilities,
Research: None :'(
Other Extracurriculars: Cadaver Practicum, school ambassador, pre-dental club president (only 25ish hours), Country Dance club secretary, leadership experience for over a year for church missionary service.
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered for 4 hours at a Uni of Utah health fair, didn't include on application. Attended tours at Utah and Roseman, as well as Utah's Predental Day (didn't include either on AADSAS app, will include if I get secondaries).
Relevant Honors or Awards: Outstanding Nutrition Student of the Year (faculty nomination), Dean's List all semester, department scholarships.
LOR type and strength: 1 strong from O-Chem, 1 okay from GenChem, 1 okay from Dietitian, 1 strong from dentist.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I have only been shadowing for about a year, and I'm worried schools may think I haven't shown commitment to dentistry for a long enough time.
School list:
Utah
Roseman
Creighton
LECOM
UF
SUI
Midwestern-AZ
Colorado(?)
UNLV
UNC(?)
Lyon(?)
All 4 Texas Schools (haven't started Texas App, should I?)

I am strong DAT/GPA-wise, but still worry about applying to enough schools. I feel like I have several "reach" schools, like UF, SUI, Utah, so I may not include UNC/Colorado. Are there other schools I could remove from this list? I am quite poor at the moment, and am looking to maximize my chances to get in, while keeping application/secondaries/interview costs low. Thank you

utah is not a reach...

take off SIU, they take almost all in-state

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: 7/9/25 (not submitted yet)
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science GPA: 3.97
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.99
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 560/28 AA, 600/30 PAT, 590/30 TS, 600/30 Ochem, 590/30 Chem, 580/28 Bio, 530/26 Reading, 480/23 Quant
State of Residence: Utah

Undergrad Attended: Southern Utah Uni
Major: Human Nutrition
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 120, general dentist and some OMFS
Volunteering Experience: ~700 total: food pantries, health clinics in the Dominican Republic, summer camp counselor for children and families affected by cancer.
Employment: >1000 sales (door-to-door, phone), ~750 Direct care for individuals with disabilities,
Research: None :'(
Other Extracurriculars: Cadaver Practicum, school ambassador, pre-dental club president (only 25ish hours), Country Dance club secretary, leadership experience for over a year for church missionary service.
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered for 4 hours at a Uni of Utah health fair, didn't include on application. Attended tours at Utah and Roseman, as well as Utah's Predental Day (didn't include either on AADSAS app, will include if I get secondaries).
Relevant Honors or Awards: Outstanding Nutrition Student of the Year (faculty nomination), Dean's List all semester, department scholarships.
LOR type and strength: 1 strong from O-Chem, 1 okay from GenChem, 1 okay from Dietitian, 1 strong from dentist.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I have only been shadowing for about a year, and I'm worried schools may think I haven't shown commitment to dentistry for a long enough time.
School list:
Utah
Roseman
Creighton
LECOM
UF
SUI
Midwestern-AZ
Colorado(?)
UNLV
UNC(?)
Lyon(?)
All 4 Texas Schools (haven't started Texas App, should I?)

I am strong DAT/GPA-wise, but still worry about applying to enough schools. I feel like I have several "reach" schools, like UF, SUI, Utah, so I may not include UNC/Colorado. Are there other schools I could remove from this list? I am quite poor at the moment, and am looking to maximize my chances to get in, while keeping application/secondaries/interview costs low. Thank you

take off LECOM and MW-AZ...

 

[Mountain-Response768]

utah is not a reach...

take off SIU, they take almost all in-state

I considered Utah as a reach because they usually only accept ~10 in-state men.

SIU accepted 7 OOS, all Texas schools are less than that. It's a long shot but so are the Texas schools. I'm including them because of how cheap they are, but you are totally right. Still weighing if the cost right now is worth the potential benefit (though the chances are very small).

 

[Mountain-Response768]

take off LECOM and MW-AZ...

I'd take off MW-AZ, cost is insane. Why LECOM? One of the cheaper privates, I thought

 

[macsak]

I'd take off MW-AZ, cost is insane. Why LECOM? One of the cheaper privates, I thought

yield management...

 

[macsak]

I considered Utah as a reach because they usually only accept ~10 in-state men.

SIU accepted 7 OOS, all Texas schools are less than that. It's a long shot but so are the Texas schools. I'm including them because of how cheap they are, but you are totally right. Still weighing if the cost right now is worth the potential benefit (though the chances are very small).

don't look at OOS tendencies, look at how many from Utah they accepted recently...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You also don't need to attend a brand-new dental school (Lyon). Applying in July for TMDSAS is a dice roll, but I suppose you have a shot with your metrics and articulation of a strong mission fit. I'm a little surprised you aren't going for California programs (Pacific, UCSF, UCLA) though perhaps your minimal dental hours are holding you back there. And I guess you're trying to save money.

 

[macsak]

why would you not apply to colorado?

Date of submission: 7/9/25 (not submitted yet)
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science GPA: 3.97
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.99
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 560/28 AA, 600/30 PAT, 590/30 TS, 600/30 Ochem, 590/30 Chem, 580/28 Bio, 530/26 Reading, 480/23 Quant
State of Residence: Utah

Undergrad Attended: Southern Utah Uni
Major: Human Nutrition
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 120, general dentist and some OMFS
Volunteering Experience: ~700 total: food pantries, health clinics in the Dominican Republic, summer camp counselor for children and families affected by cancer.
Employment: >1000 sales (door-to-door, phone), ~750 Direct care for individuals with disabilities,
Research: None :'(
Other Extracurriculars: Cadaver Practicum, school ambassador, pre-dental club president (only 25ish hours), Country Dance club secretary, leadership experience for over a year for church missionary service.
Have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at any dental schools? Volunteered for 4 hours at a Uni of Utah health fair, didn't include on application. Attended tours at Utah and Roseman, as well as Utah's Predental Day (didn't include either on AADSAS app, will include if I get secondaries).
Relevant Honors or Awards: Outstanding Nutrition Student of the Year (faculty nomination), Dean's List all semester, department scholarships.
LOR type and strength: 1 strong from O-Chem, 1 okay from GenChem, 1 okay from Dietitian, 1 strong from dentist.
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: I have only been shadowing for about a year, and I'm worried schools may think I haven't shown commitment to dentistry for a long enough time.
School list:
Utah
Roseman
Creighton
LECOM
UF
SUI
Midwestern-AZ
Colorado(?)
UNLV
UNC(?)
Lyon(?)
All 4 Texas Schools (haven't started Texas App, should I?)

I am strong DAT/GPA-wise, but still worry about applying to enough schools. I feel like I have several "reach" schools, like UF, SUI, Utah, so I may not include UNC/Colorado. Are there other schools I could remove from this list? I am quite poor at the moment, and am looking to maximize my chances to get in, while keeping application/secondaries/interview costs low. Thank you