Which Schools To Apply

[rabi504]

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Hello every one,I am new, not really sure how to post this quistion.I am a non conventional student. Planing to apply to dantal school in 2005. I am in Texas, and completed BS in respiratory therapy in 2002. I do not have any friends or academic advisor to turn to.
I am 32, and getting older.I want to maximize my chance to get in.I do not care where,as long as I get in and can afford the school tuition, since I will be paying my fee with lone..no rich Dad.
I know there are 3 schools in Texas, but I have to apply more than 3 schools. Could some one help me or give me advice on how to choose schools to apply. Thankyou

 

[BeachLuvr]

The 3 in Texas are a good start because you have what I like to call "Resident-Status Protection" from the rest of the country 🙂

Outside of that, the private schools tend to accept many many people:

Boston University
New York Univ. College of Dentistry (and Nursing...tba)

these are both good schools 🙂 and they interview lots of people

I'd stay away from other state-friendly schools: Those who accept very small amounts of out of staters. It could wind up being a huge waste of money unless you have stellar stats, and even then...

If you're a minority especially, look at Meharry. They interview quite a many people and are known for over-accepting many as well (straight from the mouth of a student affairs advisor).

Btw, don't worry too much about affording the school tuition. Truth is, most folks can't. But the loan-repayment timeline of a dentist is fantastic. Unless you decide you need a BMW, a 5 bedroom house, and a horse for your daughter right after dental school, you should be able to pay it off if no time.

Once you see what your DAT scores are like and GPA, you can better decide...Be smart in where you decide to apply so you don't end up wasting lots of money ~

Best Wishes
Beachluvr

 

[DMD_hopeful]

Hello every one,I am new, not really sure how to post this quistion.I am a non conventional student. Planing to apply to dantal school in 2005. I am in Texas, and completed BS in respiratory therapy in 2002. I do not have any friends or academic advisor to turn to.
I am 32, and getting older.I want to maximize my chance to get in.I do not care where,as long as I get in and can afford the school tuition, since I will be paying my fee with lone..no rich Dad.
I know there are 3 schools in Texas, but I have to apply more than 3 schools. Could some one help me or give me advice on how to choose schools to apply. Thankyou

http://www.irandental.org/dental_schools.htm

This website gives links to all the DENTAL schools. Pick ones you think you'd like to attend and see if you meet their entrance criteria. The amount of schools you apply to is up to you. Depends on how strong of an applicant you are. I applied to 10 schools because I figured this is something you only do once and was sure I'd get into at least one of them.

Don't worry about age. I am aslo a non-traditional student (plenty more here as well). Also, I would think that many people here aren't going to have their dental school education paid for by Dad. Its pretty darn expensive. If anyone is out there with Daddy Warbucks as their father, do ya need an adopted brother???

Any way.... You don't need an advisor for anything.. Well, maybe except to write you a committee letter but in lieu of that you'll need letters from science professors (check out the school's websites for what exactly is needed). You have dental experience i.e. shadowing?

Best of luck to you

 

[gabrielmeraz]

you do not have to worry about your age. You can say I am also "nontraditional" since I'm 30 and married. But, then again, who isn't; I think many of us come from different backgrounds and are unique in their own respects. Schools tend to appreciate those students who want to return and fulfill their professional dreams. As far as not having many physical aids, you have come to the right place. In my own experience, I turned to this website for all my DAT preparation needs, (of course I used all the aids available like topscore, the kaplan book, acethedat, Schaum's Biology etc). I studied alone and had to go back to my school's pre-professional advisor for the necessary committee letter and ask some profs for letters of recomendation. I was able to pull out a AA/TS/PAT of 19/20/17. Believe me, if I could do it, ANYBODY and I really mean it ANYBODY! Can do it. Piece of advice: study really, really HARD. Good luck buddy! 👍

 

[J2AZ]

Go to the the ADEA website (adea.org) and look into purchasing the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools. This will have all the GPA and DAT information along with the number of instate and out of state students accepted. To maximized your chances you should apply to atleast 10 schools and send in your application in May or June. I applied to 16 and only got interviews at 6. However, my application was completed late (Oct 12th).

 

[sfdentist/PT]

I'm also a non-traditional student. I'll be hitting 27 pretty soon. Joined the Army after undergraduate, fullfilled my obligations, left the service. Attended PT school at Southern California..Realize in May 2004, that I no longer wanted to do PT...Submitted a leave of absence for PT school at the end of spring semester. Currently working on a second undergrad degree--Bio..

Study for DAT in Aug 2004 and took the exam in late September 2004.. I didnt do too well on it, 18AA,18TS, 16PAT (See, not too hot ). I plan to retake it in late Feb if I dont received any seats. I have an interview @UCLA, UCSF, AZ, UMKC, and Indiana in the coming weeks.

I applied to about 23 schools...yup...yup...I used the "shot gun" method..Then I realize, I wasted so much money for other out of states schools . It seems most out of state (state schools) schools require non-resident to have score at 20 across the board to even be given consideration. I should have did my reseach before wasting so much money.....Darned!!! I'm suprise UMKC will grant me with an interview. My overall GPA is 3.63, and science GPA is a low 3.3. I guess my military experiences helped out... 🙄

I suggest applying to all Texas school and your favorite private schools--where residency should not be an issue....If you score over 20s in all areas, apply to other out of state schools as well.

Good Luck

 

[wammmy]

Hello every one,I am new, not really sure how to post this quistion.I am a non conventional student. Planing to apply to dantal school in 2005. I am in Texas, and completed BS in respiratory therapy in 2002. I do not have any friends or academic advisor to turn to.

I was in the same boat as you. Same degree, age, everything, the advice given is great, and the only thing I can really add is seriously look at VCU, the $$ aren't too bad compared to private schools and their stats aren't way high either. Another one but more expensive is IUPUI, they accept a lot of non-residents.
The best advice is really study for the DAT and then you can go just about anywhere, also stress your experience and background and you should be fine, thats how I did it.
Given the similar situations, if you have any other questions, let me know.