What are my chances? WAMC Dental Hygienist

[BuccalUp2020]

Hi! I know these posts are repetitive and no one can really answer this other than admissions committees, but since I am obsessing over my chances every day I figured I might as well reach out for opinions!

I am a dental hygienist of 4 years with a BS in dental hygiene. I have 4 years paid hygiene experience, 6 months paid dental assisting experience, 500+ volunteering hours and 500+ shadowing hours and quite a few awards/scholarships I was able to highlight in my application. I have 4 letters of recommendation which I can assume are pretty strong as they are from people who I am very close to. I have research experience and a strong personal statement (at least I think so.) While I think being a dental hygienist gives me a slight advantage, I feel like everything else about my "numbers" on paper are extremely average.

My Overall GPA is 3.5, my Overall science ranges from 3.3 to 3.5 depending on the specific breakdown of grouped sciences on the application, (They are grouped so many different ways- pre-bach, post-bach, the science pre-reqs alone, ugh.) My DAT scores are AA: 21. TS: 18. (Gen chem 21, O-Chem 18, Biology 16) PAT: 18. RC: 30 QR: 19 I am super bummed about my DAT because I dedicated the majority of my time to studying biology, felt most confident in that subject by far and completely bombed it. I have no idea what happened, I felt so familiar with the information and my questions were just not at all what I studied. I am so discouraged by it. I am planning to retake it in late December if I don't get accepted anywhere on December 15th and I feel confident that I can greatly improve my scores next time, as I have an 8 week study plan for October-November. However, I'm assuming those scores will only be used for the following cycle since December is so late to be taking it.

Anyways, I applied to LECOM, Nova, UF, South carolina, NYU, Temple, Tufts, Kentucky, Midwestern Chicago, ATSU (Arizona), and New England. I am really hoping to stay in Florida but obviously willing to go anywhere. I received an interview for LECOM which I am thrilled about and would be over the moon to get accepted to. I haven't heard back from anywhere else, my status just either says "under review" or "none".

I know there's still plenty of time to receive interviews, I am just so bummed by the biology score, I feel like if I would have performed how I know I am capable of in that one subject it would have helped me tremendously. I know everyone who applies wants in more than anything, but I feel like Ive never wanted anything this bad and I came so close to making it happen this year but potentially not close enough I mostly am just wondering if an outsiders perspective thinks I have a chance this year or not! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

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[Hi Just Lurking]

► TEMPLATE: How to Format your WAMC Thread ◄

How to format your WAMC thread: Suggested information to include when creating a WAMC thread are as follows: Date of submission: Overall GPA: Science GPA: Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: DAT score (include AA and all sections): It is very hard for people to give you feedback without a score. State of...

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[Hi Just Lurking]

Hello!

Yes your Biology is under 17, so just make sure you check the school pages to see if you have cutoffs. Your AA is good though. I believe if you put time into picking what DS fit your application, then you will have a decent chance at getting in this cycle.

Again, filling out the whole template gives us a better chance to interpret your application.

PS Your " Science with +/- " is listed on your application, and I believe that is usually what people use for their sGPA when they post.

 

[captainmike03]

I think you're pretty solid overall, but you may want to explore a DAT retake. Your 21 AA is pretty strong, but its being skewed a little bit by your outstanding RC score (awesome job on that 30 btw!). I've heard that some ADCOMs will actually "recalculate" your AA score with your highest component score dropped, and then again with your lowest component dropped in an effort to minimize the effects of outlier scores. Not sure how valid this is, but I guess it does make some sense. Your GPA and experience are really good though. Get that DAT up and I think you have the recipe for an acceptance letter.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Congratulations on the interview invite and it only takes one to get an acceptance. I would prepare for the interview as much as possible so you shine and look like a superstar. Practice with friends and or family. An interview is the place where they can accept or reject. I would have a response should it come up in the interview about the 16 in Bio. The 30 in reading in blazing and dental schools will definitely like that, there is a lot of reading in dental school. Hope this helps and knock it out of the ball park on the interview. You absolutely have a great chance at acceptance.

Wishing you the best...Nancy

 

[BuccalUp2020]

Congratulations on the interview invite and it only takes one to get an acceptance. I would prepare for the interview as much as possible so you shine and look like a superstar. Practice with friends and or family. An interview is the place where they can accept or reject. I would have a response should it come up in the interview about the 16 in Bio. The 30 in reading in blazing and dental schools will definitely like that, there is a lot of reading in dental school. Hope this helps and knock it out of the ball park on the interview. You absolutely have a great chance at acceptance.

Wishing you the best...Nancy

Congratulations on the interview invite and it only takes one to get an acceptance. I would prepare for the interview as much as possible so you shine and look like a superstar. Practice with friends and or family. An interview is the place where they can accept or reject. I would have a response should it come up in the interview about the 16 in Bio. The 30 in reading in blazing and dental schools will definitely like that, there is a lot of reading in dental school. Hope this helps and knock it out of the ball park on the interview. You absolutely have a great chance at acceptance.

Wishing you the best...Nancy

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I will definitely put time into preparing for the interview as much as possible. I really appreciate your input

 

[BuccalUp2020]

Hello!

Yes your Biology is under 17, so just make sure you check the school pages to see if you have cutoffs. Your AA is good though. I believe if you put time into picking what DS fit your application, then you will have a decent chance at getting in this cycle.

Again, filling out the whole template gives us a better chance to interpret your application.

PS Your " Science with +/- " is listed on your application, and I believe that is usually what people use for their sGPA when they post.

Thank you so much for the input & encouragement! If the “science with +\-“ is what they look at then mine is a 3.48. I really appreciate your feedback

 

[BuccalUp2020]

I think you're pretty solid overall, but you may want to explore a DAT retake. Your 21 AA is pretty strong, but its being skewed a little bit by your outstanding RC score (awesome job on that 30 btw!). I've heard that some ADCOMs will actually "recalculate" your AA score with your highest component score dropped, and then again with your lowest component dropped in an effort to minimize the effects of outlier scores. Not sure how valid this is, but I guess it does make some sense. Your GPA and experience are really good though. Get that DAT up and I think you have the recipe for an acceptance letter.

Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m going to start prepping now for a DAT retake and hoping I don’t have to do it! lol. I really appreciate the encouragement

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Yeah your overall profile is strong so it should make up for your 16 bio (unless a school has a score cutoff) and you chose your school list wisely, so I think you stand a good chance.