What to do during a denied gap year?

[JackM255]

So as the application cycle slowly is ending and as I and im sure others have interviewed and have yet to hear anything about acceptances. I was curious what people would recommend doing during this year before reapplying? I personally plan to retake the DAT as that was my biggest weak point. Other than that, I was very involved and had quite a range of experiences in the dental field. Are there specific things people would recommend doing during this year off?

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[Stanelz]

Assist

 

[thenextcarnegie]

So as the application cycle slowly is ending and as I and im sure others have interviewed and have yet to hear anything about acceptances. I was curious what people would recommend doing during this year before reapplying? I personally plan to retake the DAT as that was my biggest weak point. Other than that, I was very involved and had quite a range of experiences in the dental field. Are there specific things people would recommend doing during this year off?

Like you said reassess your application. See where you need to improve. Maybe call up or email a dean, see if they are willing to discuss your application (most don't but I have been lucky and I know where I have to improve because I reached out.) But, most importantly be honest with yourself. Either you can dental assist, help manage an office (network administrator), work at a dental lab, retake your DAT, take some classes to improve your overall/science GPA or do a masters/post-bacc if your GPA is too low. You can also volunteer in your community: build/improve homes (via habitats), volunteer at local shelters, soup kitchens, political campaigns, etc. I hope this helps.

 

[The Flossoraptor]

Depending on which program(s) you're applying to, I would look into taking more course work.

I applied to the Texas programs as I am a resident and Texas A&M didn't even interview my because I wasn't enrolled in coursework this past fall semester even though I am in two courses this spring. (Graduated in Dec. 2016 with 165 hours).