Hey everyone, you have probably seen me around here lately. Unfortunately I have only got 1 interview invite (at UNLV) so far and that is set for January.. so it's not looking too great for me. I'm trying to stay positive and am hoping that I will do well on that interview and maybe even get more invites in the coming months.
Additionally, I am trying to be smart and plan ahead for the next cycle, just in case I don't get in this cycle. So what I ask all of you is.. Which aspects of my app MUST I improve within this next year if I plan to apply again next cycle?
AADSAS Submitted: July 29
AADSAS Mail-out: August 12th
Secondaries completed: Early September (immediately after they were originally sent to me)
Current Stats listed on AADSAS:
-Major: Kinesiology
-GPA: 3.69 (oGPA), 3.72 (sGPA), 3.70 (BCP GPA). All grades from a "CSU" and GPA's are with +/-. Also, a huge upward trend of 3.9 average GPA for every semester other than my freshman year.
-DAT: 21 AA, 20 TS, 20 OC, 22 GC, 19 BIO, 22 RC, 21 QR, 21 PAT
-Shadowing: 550 total hours. 300 hrs at General Dentist (220 of those hours from my father and uncle with the same last name), 100 from Oral Surgeon, 150 from Orthodontist.
-Non-Dental Volunteering: 220 hours at my old Saturday School (stopped participating in 2014)
-Dental-Related Volunteering: 160 hours (80 hours from UCLA School of Dentistry volunteer program, 80 hours from many multi-day dental outreach events in California)
-Research: 9 months with a microbiology lab at my CSU university.
-LOR's: 7 strong letters (1 from each: Health Professions Committee, Oral Surgeon, Chemistry Professor, Math Professor, Research Lab P.I., UCLA School of Dentistry [from volunteer program I completed], and a priest)
-Personal Statement: Strong with no red flags (got it checked out by current dental students and health professions counselors).
-Clubs/Honor Societies: Student Health Professions Association member for 4 years (just started to serve as Dental Chair leadership position), Pre-Dental Society member for 3 years (just started to serve as Dental Chair leadership position), Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society for the Health Sciences for 4 months, Pre-Dental ASDA member for 1 year
-Manual Dexterity: Extensive proof of proficient manual dexterity, including playing guitar for 10+ years, actively doing playing card magic tricks for 10+ years, and taking a tooth waxing/denture setup course at UCLA.
-Work: Father's Dental Office as Receptionist/Front Desk Clerk, Car Dealership Customer Relations Manager, Hollister Sales Associate
-Awards/Honors: Dean's Honor List (last 6 semesters), Kappa Omicron Nu Sciences Honor Society Invitation, Outstanding Volunteer Award (at Saturday School), Pre-Dental Society Member of the Month, Intramural Basketball Champion
Now that you have seen the stats for my application which I submitted above.. What can I do to improve my application for the start of next cycle? I will give some starting suggestions of what I have thought of so far.
*If you agree with some of my suggestions or disagree completely and think it is a waste of time, PLEASE TELL ME!
*If you think of something completely different that I should do which would help me out PLEASE TELL ME!
*By the way, assume next year I will apply to MANY more schools (at least 15), since this year I only applied to UCLA, WesternU, USC, UOP and UNLV. Also, I will apply on June 1st!
Suggestions which I am not sure about:
-Shadowing?: I want to shadow more dentists, specifically general dentists who do not share my last name. I already have about 80 hours with a general dentist not related to me, but I am assuming more would be better?
-DAT Retake?: I already have a 21AA, 20TS, 21 PAT, with my lowest score being a 19 QR. Like I said, I am going to apply to about 15 schools next cycle, but my top choices are UCLA and WesternU. Is it worth retaking in this case?
Suggestions which I am sure about:
-Improve GPA: Since I am still taking classes, by the time I apply again I should improve my oGPA from 3.69 to a 3.76, my sGPA from a 3.72 to a 3.81, and my BCP GPA from a 3.70 to a 3.72).
-Volunteering: I want to participate in many hours of volunteering (both dental and non-dental) with ONE specific organization for each category. I specifically say "with one specific organization" because the AADSAS app only has a limited number of places to put volunteer experiences. If I stack on a lot of hours at one dental organization or something like a food shelter, I can list many more hours in fewer slots on the application.
-Research: I want to continue my microbiology research at my university. By the time I apply again I will have 1 year and 8 months of research experience if I continue until next cycle. Also, I might even be a co-author on a publication by then.
Please let me know what you guys think! Thank you in advance for all of your help
Additionally, I am trying to be smart and plan ahead for the next cycle, just in case I don't get in this cycle. So what I ask all of you is.. Which aspects of my app MUST I improve within this next year if I plan to apply again next cycle?
AADSAS Submitted: July 29
AADSAS Mail-out: August 12th
Secondaries completed: Early September (immediately after they were originally sent to me)
Current Stats listed on AADSAS:
-Major: Kinesiology
-GPA: 3.69 (oGPA), 3.72 (sGPA), 3.70 (BCP GPA). All grades from a "CSU" and GPA's are with +/-. Also, a huge upward trend of 3.9 average GPA for every semester other than my freshman year.
-DAT: 21 AA, 20 TS, 20 OC, 22 GC, 19 BIO, 22 RC, 21 QR, 21 PAT
-Shadowing: 550 total hours. 300 hrs at General Dentist (220 of those hours from my father and uncle with the same last name), 100 from Oral Surgeon, 150 from Orthodontist.
-Non-Dental Volunteering: 220 hours at my old Saturday School (stopped participating in 2014)
-Dental-Related Volunteering: 160 hours (80 hours from UCLA School of Dentistry volunteer program, 80 hours from many multi-day dental outreach events in California)
-Research: 9 months with a microbiology lab at my CSU university.
-LOR's: 7 strong letters (1 from each: Health Professions Committee, Oral Surgeon, Chemistry Professor, Math Professor, Research Lab P.I., UCLA School of Dentistry [from volunteer program I completed], and a priest)
-Personal Statement: Strong with no red flags (got it checked out by current dental students and health professions counselors).
-Clubs/Honor Societies: Student Health Professions Association member for 4 years (just started to serve as Dental Chair leadership position), Pre-Dental Society member for 3 years (just started to serve as Dental Chair leadership position), Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society for the Health Sciences for 4 months, Pre-Dental ASDA member for 1 year
-Manual Dexterity: Extensive proof of proficient manual dexterity, including playing guitar for 10+ years, actively doing playing card magic tricks for 10+ years, and taking a tooth waxing/denture setup course at UCLA.
-Work: Father's Dental Office as Receptionist/Front Desk Clerk, Car Dealership Customer Relations Manager, Hollister Sales Associate
-Awards/Honors: Dean's Honor List (last 6 semesters), Kappa Omicron Nu Sciences Honor Society Invitation, Outstanding Volunteer Award (at Saturday School), Pre-Dental Society Member of the Month, Intramural Basketball Champion
Now that you have seen the stats for my application which I submitted above.. What can I do to improve my application for the start of next cycle? I will give some starting suggestions of what I have thought of so far.
*If you agree with some of my suggestions or disagree completely and think it is a waste of time, PLEASE TELL ME!
*If you think of something completely different that I should do which would help me out PLEASE TELL ME!
*By the way, assume next year I will apply to MANY more schools (at least 15), since this year I only applied to UCLA, WesternU, USC, UOP and UNLV. Also, I will apply on June 1st!
Suggestions which I am not sure about:
-Shadowing?: I want to shadow more dentists, specifically general dentists who do not share my last name. I already have about 80 hours with a general dentist not related to me, but I am assuming more would be better?
-DAT Retake?: I already have a 21AA, 20TS, 21 PAT, with my lowest score being a 19 QR. Like I said, I am going to apply to about 15 schools next cycle, but my top choices are UCLA and WesternU. Is it worth retaking in this case?
Suggestions which I am sure about:
-Improve GPA: Since I am still taking classes, by the time I apply again I should improve my oGPA from 3.69 to a 3.76, my sGPA from a 3.72 to a 3.81, and my BCP GPA from a 3.70 to a 3.72).
-Volunteering: I want to participate in many hours of volunteering (both dental and non-dental) with ONE specific organization for each category. I specifically say "with one specific organization" because the AADSAS app only has a limited number of places to put volunteer experiences. If I stack on a lot of hours at one dental organization or something like a food shelter, I can list many more hours in fewer slots on the application.
-Research: I want to continue my microbiology research at my university. By the time I apply again I will have 1 year and 8 months of research experience if I continue until next cycle. Also, I might even be a co-author on a publication by then.
Please let me know what you guys think! Thank you in advance for all of your help