WAMC???

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Date of submission: 06/01/2023 (plan to submit when everything opens)
Overall GPA: 3.7
Science GPA: 3.5-3.6ish
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Bio 1 & 2 - B average; Chem 1 & 2 - B average; Physics 1 & 2: A average
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 19 AA/18 TS/18 Bio/18 Chem/18 Organic/17 QR/22 Reading/21 PAT
State of Residence: AL

Major: Biomedical Science
Minor: none
Minority? No
Reapplicant? First time applicant
Nontrad? No - 2 gap yrs

Shadowing Experience: have around 50 something. Plan to get up to 100
Volunteering Experience: 292 (plan to do just a little more)
Employment: 1) PCT 1350 hrs; 2) Clinical research coordinator (CRC) ~1700-1800 hrs
Research: During undergrad, clinical research <1 yr and systemic review research 3 yrs. Did not publish but presented posters and won a grant. After undergrad as CRC, contributed to published paper as second author
Other Extracurriculars: President of undergraduate organization; volunteer for homeless shelter, clinic, and covid clinic (when covid broke out); worked as pharmacy tech before
Relevant Honors or Awards: 3 scholarships, poster presentation award, grant award
LOR type and strength: good strength for all 3 - have good connections with them
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: n/a
School list:
Tufts, UF, UAB, Boston University, Loma Linda, Western University

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Please be specific regarding your 292 hours of volunteering. What are you doing?
Why are you interested in dentistry? You have a ton of clinical exposure mostly in hospital settings (PCT, CRC). Where is your dental exposure? You say 50 hours, getting to 100... could you be specific what specialties you have shadowed? Without these answers, I am highly skeptical. You look like a late premed convert who hasn't done any homework.

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: 06/01/2023 (plan to submit when everything opens)
Overall GPA: 3.7
Science GPA: 3.5-3.6ish
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: Bio 1 & 2 - B average; Chem 1 & 2 - B average; Physics 1 & 2: A average
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 19 AA/18 TS/18 Bio/18 Chem/18 Organic/17 QR/22 Reading/21 PAT
State of Residence: AL

Major: Biomedical Science
Minor: none
Minority? No
Reapplicant? First time applicant
Nontrad? No - 2 gap yrs

Shadowing Experience: have around 50 something. Plan to get up to 100
Volunteering Experience: 292 (plan to do just a little more)
Employment: 1) PCT 1350 hrs; 2) Clinical research coordinator (CRC) ~1700-1800 hrs
Research: During undergrad, clinical research <1 yr and systemic review research 3 yrs. Did not publish but presented posters and won a grant. After undergrad as CRC, contributed to published paper as second author
Other Extracurriculars: President of undergraduate organization; volunteer for homeless shelter, clinic, and covid clinic (when covid broke out); worked as pharmacy tech before
Relevant Honors or Awards: 3 scholarships, poster presentation award, grant award
LOR type and strength: good strength for all 3 - have good connections with them
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: n/a
School list:
Tufts, UF, UAB, Boston University, Loma Linda, Western University

you need a better list, and a longer one
UF is extremely difficult OOS, even with a good DAT score
tufts/boston and LLU/western don't make much sense geographically
have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at UAB d school?

 

[Ryxndek]

I agree with my colleagues above. Your list is in dire need of improvement. With your DAT score, you should be aiming for 10-12 well-targeted schools at the least. Most of the schools don't match your application except UAB.

 

[OncePreDent]

Add Roseman; too tired to explain rn lol - I'll recommend some more tomorrow. Researched-based schools will be your friend.

For sure need to add more programs though, completely agree w/Ryxndex & Macsak.

 

[dfjdlfjkdjfkdf]

you need a better list, and a longer one
UF is extremely difficult OOS, even with a good DAT score
tufts/boston and LLU/western don't make much sense geographically
have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at UAB d school?

I haven't looked into schools I wanted to apply - I just listed a few that came to my head so that is why my list is short

 

[dfjdlfjkdjfkdf]

I agree with my colleagues above. Your list is in dire need of improvement. With your DAT score, you should be aiming for 10-12 well-targeted schools at the least. Most of the schools don't match your application except UAB.

Could you elaborate on why most of the schools don't match my application?

 

[dfjdlfjkdjfkdf]

you need a better list, and a longer one
UF is extremely difficult OOS, even with a good DAT score
tufts/boston and LLU/western don't make much sense geographically
have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at UAB d school?

I haven't looked into schools I wanted to apply - I just listed a few that came to my head so that is why my list is short. Could you elaborate on why the schools other than UAB do not make sense geographically?

 

[dfjdlfjkdjfkdf]

Please be specific regarding your 292 hours of volunteering. What are you doing?
Why are you interested in dentistry? You have a ton of clinical exposure mostly in hospital settings (PCT, CRC). Where is your dental exposure? You say 50 hours, getting to 100... could you be specific what specialties you have shadowed? Without these answers, I am highly skeptical. You look like a late premed convert who hasn't done any homework.

volunteering in homeless shelter and hiv clinic. I am beginning to start volunteering at a dental clinic. I was a pre-med but have completely transitioned towards dentistry last year. I am shadowing a general and primary dentist

 

[Ryxndek]

Could you elaborate on why most of the schools don't match my application?

You have schools listed that are all over the country which don't match where you reside. To have the best chances for schools that aren't near you, you should have some type of connection to the school or area. For UAB and being an Alabama resident, you'd want to apply to schools that are closer to you. Like UAB, LSU, NOVA, LECOM, Creighton, KCU, AT-Still MO would be a good start to some schools to look into which are more closely located to you.

Loma requires a religious advisor LOR and has religion integrated into their curriculum. Western is one of the most expensive schools in the country and it's also on the opposite end of the country. That's a couple of reasons why your list doesn't match your app. Now if you had ties to Western; went to school there, had family alumni, or worked there/conducted research, that would be different. You could maybe apply to a couple of east coast schools if you don't want to be regionally locked. Tufts, Touro, & UNE could be some options.

Your school list is important, it could be the difference between receiving multiple interviews or none. You want to find the best schools for where your application is the best fit to maximize your chances. I hope this helps answer some of your questions. This link may provide a good resource for you, use it wisely.

 

[macsak]

I haven't looked into schools I wanted to apply - I just listed a few that came to my head so that is why my list is short

Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!

 

[macsak]

I haven't looked into schools I wanted to apply - I just listed a few that came to my head so that is why my list is short. Could you elaborate on why the schools other than UAB do not make sense geographically?

what ryxn said...

 

[OncePreDent]

Add Roseman; too tired to explain rn lol - I'll recommend some more tomorrow. Researched-based schools will be your friend.

For sure need to add more programs though, completely agree w/Ryxndex & Macsak.

So I assume UAB would probably be your top choice for a program. Your GPA is good enough to get an acceptance, but I would be worried about your DAT. You don't necessarily need to retake it; definitely good enough to get accepted into another program, but you most likely won't get accepted at UAB w/your current DAT, which is by far your least expensive school. It might not be a bad investment if you want
UAB - tuition is only $30k a year x 4 years = $120k.
You're next least expensive program is UF, where the tuition will be more than doubled $64k x 4 = $256k
Western: $305k
BU & Tufts: $83k x 4 = $332k
Loma Linda: $345k
and that is only for tuition, there are fees, living expenses, etc. that you need to add in as well.

.

I would honestly retake the DAT for a higher chance of getting accepted into your state school. You grind for two months, spend $1k on resources and take the DAT and score a 21+ on it. What are a few months and $1k to save at least $130k on tuition alone? Plus, you could potentially get a scholarship at a different school w/a higher DAT or more acceptances/more options as well. You already have the gpa and the DAT is the easiest part of your application to change. I completely understand if you don't want to retake the DAT too. It is a grind but I think it would a good investment. One of my friends scored a 20AA but didn't think it was high enough, so he retook it and scored a 22AA. Which he needed for his state school and will be attending this fall. Your statistics should be decent enough to get an acceptance somewhere (maybe even your state school), but to maximize your chances at UAB, retaking the DAT wouldn't be bad.

Additionally: UF is the most difficult Florida school to get into. With your current DAT I don't think your chances are that high:

Beyond that:
Consider adding-
LECOM, NOVA, ATSU, Midwestern, Georgia, UTHSC, UNE (if you like the east coast) - all schools where your DAT is fine.
Maybe - UNC

Again all of these programs are going to cost double of UAB, but I would still add them.
Exception: LECOM is around $55k a year