What are my chances?

[ktbb]

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Hi everyone!

Dental school applications are just around the corner and I would love to get input on what you all think my chances are for dental school. I am graduating this June with a B.S in Biology. I am a Washington resident. My academic stats are:
Cumulative GPA: 3.71
Science GPA: 3.67
Non-Science GPA: 3.83

PA: 19
QR: 17 (eek...)
RC: 20
Bio: 19
GC: 19
OC: 21
TS: 19
AA: 19

I didn't do as well as I hoped on the DAT. I am even considering retaking it this summer because I know a lot of threads have said at least an AA of 20 is needed to be a competitive applicant.

As for extracurricular activities, I have always worked 30-35 hours a week while being a full-time student. I also sing in the church choir twice a week. My volunteer work includes organizing two clothing drives at school, and volunteering occasionally at local homeless shelters and park clean-ups. This amounts to about 120 non-dental volunteer hours total.

As for dental experience, I have volunteered at a dental clinic for the special needs and developmentally disabled (130 hours), worked alongside licensed dentists and fourth-year dental students in providing free dental care to patients in Jamaica (90 hours) and shadowed, interned and am now working for a private practice dentist (1000 hours). In the end, all of my dental and non-dental volunteer work is about 1,340 hours.

My physics professor, microecon professor, and the dentist that I work for have agreed to do my LORs. I am still waiting to hear back from my biology professor.

I was thinking of applying to the following schools:
Arizona School of Dentistry
Baylor College of Dentistry (Recently read that this is very OOS unfriendly?)
Boston University
Midwestern University
Nova Southeastern University
USC
Tufts School of Dentistry
University of Washington (of course)
University of California-San Francisco
University of Connecticut
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas
University of Utah
Temple University

And last, but not least...
Is there anything that I'm lacking in my application?
Will my DAT scores really be that big of a setback this application cycle?
Are there any schools that I should add/remove to my list?

I'm super sorry for the lengthy post. I'm very antsy and nervous about applying, and this is my first thread. Can't wait to hear from everyone!

 

[clutchfans]

UT has two schools, UT Houston and UTSA. Since you're not a Texas resident, it will be very difficult to get into a Texas school.

 

[customx]

ECs look great, as does your GPA. I wouldn't even bother to apply to any Texas schools since you're out of state. Your TS, AA, and PAT are all below average for UW, so you may want to consider a retake if that's your #1 school.

 

[gn4]

with that GPA, if you retook the DAT, you'd open yourself up to many schools. However, that score is still decent enough that you'd be able to at least get into a school if you apply early and broadly. As has been stated, if you don't have any connections to Texas, you might as well not apply there. However, I have seen stranger things. So if that's where you really want to go, maybe you will get lucky and get in.

 

[ktbb]

Thanks everyone! Is it possible to schedule and retake the DAT by this summer? Are there any schools that I should look into since Texas is a no-go?

 

[xatlasb]

I'd consider replacing the Texas schools with some OOS-friendly private schools, including NYU and Western. Also, UConn tends to not be OOS friendly, so you may be better off removing it from your list. I think your chances there are a LOT higher than Texas schools. Also consider adding Temple as well.