What Are My Chances (2019-2020)

[Morose]

Overall GPA: 3.48 (Undergrad: 3.25, Grad: 3.91)
Science GPA: 3.34
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 21 AA, 17 QR, 23 RC, 25 Bio, 20 GC, 20 OC, 22 TS (this was my re-take, my first attempt was 3+ years ago w/ an 18 AA)
State of Residence: New York

Undergrad Attended: Boston University (B.S. Human Physiology)
Graduate School: Quinnipiac University (Master's in Health Science, Medical Laboratory Science)
Minority? No
Reapplicant? Yes
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 70 hours (still accumulating more) of general dentistry and oral surgery, I have roughly over 300+ hours of medical clinical experience as I did a rather lengthy internship with a pulmonary surgeon in Australia for a summer during my undergrad years, as well as the 2 years of clinical research
Volunteering Experience: Food pantry (7-8 years ago back in high school maybe 20-30 hours total), I did a community Reach Out program twice (it only included 2 full days of volunteer work) my freshman year.
Employment: Worked as a biology lab prep (prepared all of the materials for labs) for a little over a year during my 1st year of undergrad
Research: Did clinical research in an emergency department when I was still at BU for around 2 years, got my name as acknowledgment on one paper, and published as an author on one other
Other Extracurriculars: Previously licensed EMT-B, Knitting club (one year), PC gaming club (one year), A capella group (one year),
Relevant Honors or Awards: Nothing besides Dean's list a couple of times if you count that
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere: I've applied the past two years (with my old 18 AA DAT), but only to about 2-4 schools in and around NY to see whether or not I could get an interview, I didn't get any, but I also didn't get rejected outright by any, I was put on 'continued review' for each school until around February the following year when the rejections came in. Now (as of 2/16/19) I have a 21AA. I'm hoping with this new DAT score and my finishing a M.H.S. degree with a 3.9 in 2018 (which pulled my GPA up quite a bit) I'll stand a better chance, but I'm interested in what you guys might think I can improve upon before this next cycle. I'm currently attempting to find an interim job, as well as some fresh volunteer opportunities since I'm seriously lacking in that area.

Schools: (a preliminary list, definitely subject to change)
1. BU
2. Tufts
3. Buffalo (re-applicant)
4. Touro (re-applicant)
5. NYU
6. Pitt
7. Stony Brook (re-applicant)
8. Rutger's

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[AppalachianDentalBoy]

Couple of things and I don't mean for this to come off as an attack.

1. I would not mention the medical shadowing. It just makes you seem like a failed premed.
2. You basically didn't volunteer at all and that is a death sentence. High school volunteering doesn't count. Start volunteering and aim for 100+ hours.
3. Your shadowing is low. I'd aim for 150+ hours across several general dentists.
4. You are a low stat applicant so you need to be applying to more than eight schools. Applying to 2-4 schools was very risky, especially with your stats.
5. You better have a solid personal statement and practice interviewing ahead of time because you need all the help you can get.
6. Submit your app early. First or second week of June.

Good job on upping your DAT and I hope you're able to talk about your research and awards in an interview.

 

[Morose]

1. The medical shadowing was a time where I was unsure of whether or not I wanted to go into dentistry or medicine (years ago). The transition into full pre-dental is explained in my personal statement so I'm planning on keeping it, I imagine the admissions committee will understand within that context.

2. I'm definitely looking for some volunteer experiences, not sure what exactly I should be looking for at the moment, but I suppose anything will be better than nothing

3. I'm currently shadowing at my 5th practice and I'll definitely hit at least 150+ hours

4. That's the reason I tried my best to kill it with my Master's and why I re-took the DAT, I know that that doesn't necessarily undo all of my lower stat credentials, but I'm hoping that it at least shows them how serious I am at getting in.

5. I think my personal statement is pretty solid, I've had multiple eyes on it (friends who've successfully applied to professional schools, and others) and I've updated it a bit this year. Not sure even where to begin on 'practicing interviewing', but I suppose I'll make sure that I can speak about key points of my resume in a coherent manner.

6. Since I'm a re-applicant, my application is essentially done the second I open it back up. I will be submitting at the very least within the first week they open up.

I appreciate the feedback, it doesn't come off as an attack, I just want legitimate feedback since I feel as though my application is coming together. Also, I will be applying to at least 15 schools, I just quickly listed the ones I know that I want to apply to off the top of my head. The interim jobs I'm looking into are all in research so hopefully they'll provide some more talking points as well.

 

[Lab_lover]

I agree with most of what @AppalachianDentalBoy says.
Definitely up the volunteer hours. That’s your biggest weakness. Schools wanna know that you care about people. And yes, it can literally be anything. My favorite volunteer work has been serving regularly at soup kitchens.
Shadowing hours need to increase. You will most likely need at least 50 hours shadowing a general dentist. Check the schools you’re applying to to make sure you meet the shadowing requirements. Also, always aim to exceed a minimum requirement.
I think you did a great job at improving your DAT and gpa.
I would also suggest getting the adea dental school guide handbook and looking at the stats for which schools accept the most master’s students. Add those schools to your list.
If you have the money, def go to the adea conference in March. It’s in Chicago. I had friends go to the conference in Orlando last year and they met some good reps from schools that they contacted throughout the application cycle this year.
Submit your app early and pray for the best.

 

[DSchoolorBust202X]

Not sure even where to begin on 'practicing interviewing', but I suppose I'll make sure that I can speak about key points of my resume in a coherent manner.

Most schools have a Career Services department that help students with mock interviews. I highly recommend checking into it for your institution since mine helped me so much. You could also practice with current professors that you're comfortable with.

 

[Morose]

Most schools have a Career Services department that help students with mock interviews. I highly recommend checking into it for your institution since mine helped me so much. You could also practice with current professors that you're comfortable with.

Unfortunately I'm about 2 hours from my graduate institution and 3 1/2 hours away from BU now so that's probably not a realistic option (since I've graduated from both). I may or may not be moving back to the Boston area for a research job in the near future so I suppose if I do I can pay my old pre-professional office a visit for some interview help.

 

[Morose]

I agree with most of what @AppalachianDentalBoy says.
Definitely up the volunteer hours. That’s your biggest weakness. Schools wanna know that you care about people. And yes, it can literally be anything. My favorite volunteer work has been serving regularly at soup kitchens.
Shadowing hours need to increase. You will most likely need at least 50 hours shadowing a general dentist. Check the schools you’re applying to to make sure you meet the shadowing requirements. Also, always aim to exceed a minimum requirement.
I think you did a great job at improving your DAT and gpa.
I would also suggest getting the adea dental school guide handbook and looking at the stats for which schools accept the most master’s students. Add those schools to your list.
If you have the money, def go to the adea conference in March. It’s in Chicago. I had friends go to the conference in Orlando last year and they met some good reps from schools that they contacted throughout the application cycle this year.
Submit your app early and pray for the best.

Looks like I'll be volunteering and shadowing like a mad man for the next couple months before apps open up. I've taken a look at most of the school's shadowing minimum's and they range from 50-100 hours, so I think the prior recommended at least 150+ should help put me in a good place and I'll definitely hit that. I'll for sure grab the dental school guide handbook now, I didn't even think about looking into schools that accepted more than the average amount of Master's students, good idea. Hm, I didn't even know that such a conference existed, sounds like kind've a lot on top of the money for apps, but I'll see what I can do. I do have a friend in his 4th year at Tuft's dental at the moment so at the very least I'm going to contact him and see if he can put me in contact with anyone important there. Thanks for the advice!

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

Unfortunately I'm about 2 hours from my graduate institution and 3 1/2 hours away from BU now so that's probably not a realistic option (since I've graduated from both). I may or may not be moving back to the Boston area for a research job in the near future so I suppose if I do I can pay my old pre-professional office a visit for some interview help.

My college's career center has an online portal and has online practice interviews. You get recorded answering prompts and can get feedback or critique yourself. Your college probably has something similar or can skype interview you