Where should I apply?

[arkgaldental]

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Hey guys! My stats are:

AA17
PA16
I had a 23 in RC

BCP 3.024
Physics 4.0
Science 3.23
Non science 3.698
Cumulative 3.535

Lots of dental shadowing, neurobiology research for a year, 1 publication, lots of activites with a leadership role in the largest student lead organization on my campus, good recs from professors and alumni of UTenn that I've shadowed

I'm an Arkansas resident. I plan on retaking the DAT and applying again next year. I had an interview at Memphis this year (the only place I applied...I know, dumb move). I haven't heard anything back from my Feb interview, so I'm still hoping but preparing for reapplying next year.

What should shoot for on the DAT? Is my GPA good enough? Where all should I apply besides UTenn?

 

[ummjoey]

check predents.com and the adea book for schools with statistics close to yours.

your BCP is a little low but i think you can pull it off with a good enough DAT score. what you should aim for on the DAT? the higher the better. 30!

you can also consider doing post bac to try to raise your gpa.

 

[Dan3223]

Try and get your DAT up to the 19-20 area at least (the higher the better, obviously).... and apply to a lot more schools 🙂

 

[tamkhan]

You need to raise your dat significantly. A score around 20s will be fine. Apply to at least 10-12 schools.

 

[arkgaldental]

My goal is to take the DAT in June, have my app in the first week it's out. I'm hoping I can get that DAT up to 20's across the board. I took it before I had Organic II (STUPID MOVE!). And I didn't study. I'm the classic case of what not to do the first time applying. I've begun studying now, so hopefully I'll be prepared by June. I'm a pretty good test taker, made a 33 on the ACT, so hopefully a high DAT can make up for the low science GPA. These are the schools I'm thinking about applying to. Any school I should add or delete? I've got a dental assisting job lined up for the year that I'm probably gonna have to sit out.

• BU
• Case
• Creighton
• Loma Linda
• Marquette
• NYU
• Tufts
• Detroit Mercy
• USC
• UoP
• LSU
• UMKC
• UT Memphis
• ASDOH

 

[Regmata]

Your list looks good to me, is there any other area you would like to live in? There are other schools you could have a shot at provided that you raise that DAT enough, e.g. IUPUI, Buffalo, Temple

 

[arkgaldental]

I don't really want to live in a small city. Getting out of Arkansas for four years sounds really appealing! My husband is in pharmaceutical sales and has pretty much agreed to follow me wherever. He's planning on going to seminary. A city which has both a dental school and a seminary would be nice so he could be taking a few classes while I'm in school.

 

[arkgaldental]

UT Memphis doesn't make you apply through aadsas, so I'm just now learning about calculating my science gpa and such. I have a double major in Speech Pathology and Biology and a minor in Chemistry. I'm thinking that a whole lot of my Speech Path classes can count towards my science gpa in aadsas (classes like hearing science, audiology, a&p of communication, neurological disorders, craniofacial anamolies, etc). This REALLY boosts my science GPA up to a 3.36. I also heard that math classes like calculus count. Do any of you guys have a copy of the classes that aadsas counts as science? I don't wanna have to wait til May 15th when the application opens up to figure out my gpa.

 

[arkgaldental]

My gosh this is complicated!!!! This is how my gpa breaks down through aadsas (I think....):

OVERALL GPA3.53SCIENCE GPA3.36BCP GPA3.2NONSCIENCE GPA3.78

I'm glad I don't have to deal with the whole A+, C- junk. It's already confusing enough.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

Do any of you guys have a copy of the classes that aadsas counts as science? I don't wanna have to wait til May 15th when the application opens up to figure out my gpa.

http://www.adea.org/WebDocs/AADSAS/AppAADSASInstructions.pdf
Scroll down to page 21. I think that's the same as what the application had.
Regarding your list of schools, for LLU I believe you'll need a LOR from some religous clergyman. I also think your personal statement needs to somehow signal your belief in a higher power. If someone knows this to be wrong, please correct me. But my application was rejected by them so fast (and my stats are better than their average), I can't think of any other reason. ASDOH weighs community service heavily, so if you aren't heavy in that area you might want to reconsider. Does UMKC have an agreement with your state? I know they're pretty restrictive to non-residents. Besides all that, you should add a few state schools that admit a fair percentage of out of staters and also allow you to pay in state tuition after 1 year. I know Buffalo and UNLV fall into this area. There's got to be others.

 

[blankguy]

Like some people suggested retake the DAT and raise your scores. It could make the difference between getting some interviews and getting none in your case. Having a strong GPA with 16s and 17s in the DAT could be a red flag. Adcoms may question your GPA. I could be wrong but you don't want to take any chances spending money to apply only to get a lukewarm response. At least 17-18 will be good but if you really want them to show that your strong GPA means something get at least a 19-20.