With June 1st approaching quickly... best options

[NRG]

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I received 2 interviews last cycle from the 2 in-state schools that I wanted to attend. So i think thats a big plus in my book. unfortunately no acceptances.

my DAT was 18 and sGPA was 3.1. not the best by any means. but i took a shot in applying anyways.

I was notified of my rejections late and im kinda upset about it since it only leaves me with a few months to do anything major.

So ive been out of school since 2006 and took the DAT last june after trying to re-teach myself everything I learned in school. which wasnt the easiest.

One of the schools I interviewed said "try to boost your DAT, it may be tough with the 3 months you have left, but give it a try(we'll accept your highest score if you happen to score lower)".

The other school said "I wouldnt necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since theyre strong , but i would focus more on volunteer/shadowing (btw I have more shadowing hours that I do work hours )" This school will will only accept my latest score, so if i do worse, i might be screwed.

Neither school mentioned much about my GPA since Im already out of school with a lot of hours done. They said Im better off doing a masters if i really wanted to try to boost my GPA

Im in the process of emailing some of my out of state schools and seeing what they think. i want other professional opinions, and some non-professional opinions as well.

What would you guys do?

Would you take the DAT around June and try to get a higher score (while doing more volunteer)?

Would you focus more on volunteering and the community and ignore DAT?

Would you take 2 summer classes for the heck of it while volunteering and ignore DAT?


thanks

 

[bing12]

I received 2 interviews last cycle from the 2 in-state schools that I wanted to attend. So i think thats a big plus in my book. unfortunately no acceptances.

my DAT was 18 and sGPA was 3.1. not the best by any means. but i took a shot in applying anyways.

I was notified of my rejections late and im kinda upset about it since it only leaves me with a few months to do anything major.

So ive been out of school since 2006 and took the DAT last june after trying to re-teach myself everything I learned in school. which wasnt the easiest.

One of the schools I interviewed said "try to boost your DAT, it may be tough with the 3 months you have left, but give it a try(we'll accept your highest score if you happen to score lower)".

The other school said "I wouldnt necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since theyre strong , but i would focus more on volunteer/shadowing (btw I have more shadowing hours that I do work hours )" This school will will only accept my latest score, so if i do worse, i might be screwed.

Neither school mentioned much about my GPA since Im already out of school with a lot of hours done. They said Im better off doing a masters if i really wanted to try to boost my GPA

Im in the process of emailing some of my out of state schools and seeing what they think. i want other professional opinions, and some non-professional opinions as well.

What would you guys do?

Would you take the DAT around June and try to get a higher score (while doing more volunteer)?

Would you focus more on volunteering and the community and ignore DAT?

Would you take 2 summer classes for the heck of it while volunteering and ignore DAT?


thanks

THat, a DAT of 18 might be fine for one school, but its not fine for most schools. It will be tough to get in with an 18, it has been done, im just saying its pretty tough. Deff retake it while doing far more volunteering and you will be golden.

 

[doc toothache]

I received 2 interviews last cycle from the 2 in-state schools that I wanted to attend. So i think thats a big plus in my book. unfortunately no acceptances.
my DAT was 18 and sGPA was 3.1. not the best by any means. but i took a shot in applying anyways.
I was notified of my rejections late and im kinda upset about it since it only leaves me with a few months to do anything major.
So ive been out of school since 2006 and took the DAT last june after trying to re-teach myself everything I learned in school. which wasnt the easiest.
One of the schools I interviewed said "try to boost your DAT, it may be tough with the 3 months you have left, but give it a try(we'll accept your highest score if you happen to score lower)".
The other school said "I wouldnt necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since theyre strong , but i would focus more on volunteer/shadowing (btw I have more shadowing hours that I do work hours )" This school will will only accept my latest score, so if i do worse, i might be screwed.
Neither school mentioned much about my GPA since Im already out of school with a lot of hours done. They said Im better off doing a masters if i really wanted to try to boost my GPA
Im in the process of emailing some of my out of state schools and seeing what they think. i want other professional opinions, and some non-professional opinions as well.

You were given plenty of hints but you apparently chose to ignore them and now you are upset because you weren't notified in time for alternative plans. It seems interesting that you bought the line about an 18 and a 3.1 being "strong" stats.

 

[psychoboylol123]

What are those 2 state schools you're talking about?
http://www.adea.org/publications/Documents/OG_2010/OG2010_ch3.pdf
Spend your time to go over that link, you will have an idea where you're at.
Enrollee DAT (mean): AA/TS/PAT 19.00/19.19/19.40
GPA (mean): Overall/Science 3.54/3.46 🙂

"I wouldn't necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since they're strong"
Does it make sense to you ? 😎

My advice to you:
1) Retake your DAT and try to score 20+ in each section
2) Improve your GPA especially sGPA

 

[NRG]

You were given plenty of hints but you apparently chose to ignore them and now you are upset because you weren't notified in time for alternative plans. It seems interesting that you bought the line about an 18 and a 3.1 being "strong" stats.

i dont get it...

there were no hints.

all this was said to me AFTER i got rejected and spoke to the schools.
I received two interviews, and like any other student who received interviews I thought I had a chance.

I admit, i wasnt thinking about studying for the DAT while i was waiting on a response from these schools after my interview. I dont think anyone does.

I didnt buy any lines from the school... i was kind of confused when they said to focus more on volunteering. As if that weighed more than DAT/GPA in their eyes.

like i said, after i received notification that I was rejected, I setup time to talk to the schools about what I can do to improve with the limited amount of time I have.

1 school said DAT.
1 school said more volunteering.

 

[dentalWorks]

I received 2 interviews last cycle from the 2 in-state schools that I wanted to attend. So i think thats a big plus in my book. unfortunately no acceptances.

my DAT was 18 and sGPA was 3.1. not the best by any means. but i took a shot in applying anyways.

I was notified of my rejections late and im kinda upset about it since it only leaves me with a few months to do anything major.

So ive been out of school since 2006 and took the DAT last june after trying to re-teach myself everything I learned in school. which wasnt the easiest.

One of the schools I interviewed said "try to boost your DAT, it may be tough with the 3 months you have left, but give it a try(we'll accept your highest score if you happen to score lower)".

The other school said "I wouldnt necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since theyre strong , but i would focus more on volunteer/shadowing (btw I have more shadowing hours that I do work hours )" This school will will only accept my latest score, so if i do worse, i might be screwed.

Neither school mentioned much about my GPA since Im already out of school with a lot of hours done. They said Im better off doing a masters if i really wanted to try to boost my GPA

Im in the process of emailing some of my out of state schools and seeing what they think. i want other professional opinions, and some non-professional opinions as well.

What would you guys do?

Would you take the DAT around June and try to get a higher score (while doing more volunteer)?

Would you focus more on volunteering and the community and ignore DAT?

Would you take 2 summer classes for the heck of it while volunteering and ignore DAT?


thanks

I would take 1 year off from applying, do 30 credits of hard post-bacc with very high marks (mostly A's and some A-'s), retake the DAT in May of 2012 and apply June 2012.

Your sGPa and DAT are on the lower end, no matter how much shadowing and volunteering you do, its not going to make you more competitive.

 

[NRG]

dentalworks, thats another option.

but I was told by the dean a post bacc just averages your GPA with your undergrad GPA. If i wanted a separate gpa Id have to do a masters program.

ive been trying to find 1 year masters programs as well. ive found a MPH degree at a local university.

 

[Impulse155]

I didnt read anyone elses posts however if I was you I wouldnt take anymore classes. I would study up for the DAT and retake that and aim for 20's this way you are more competitive. Or call the two schools you got interviews and tell them you were really interested in attending and your curious as to how to get accepted next round.

 

[John Durian]

but I was told by the dean a post bacc just averages your GPA with your undergrad GPA. If i wanted a separate gpa Id have to do a masters program.

ive been trying to find 1 year masters programs as well. ive found a MPH degree at a local university.

Postbac means you graduated and are going back to take undergrad classes. Unless I'm mistaken, it will be averaged (as it's still undergrad coursework). This will be to your benefit unless you have tons and tons of undergrad credits where a postbac would hardly dent/change your GPA.

If that's the case, then search for SMPs. Good luck 🙂

 

[dentalWorks]

dentalworks, thats another option.

but I was told by the dean a post bacc just averages your GPA with your undergrad GPA. If i wanted a separate gpa Id have to do a masters program.

ive been trying to find 1 year masters programs as well. ive found a MPH degree at a local university.

if you can swing 20s into your dat, then I am with Impulse155, you won't need a masters nor post-bacc. But you will need to apply to a great number of schools (15-20)

On the other hand, if you stay within the 18-20 range, then your best option is the post-bacc PARTICULARLY to increase your undergrad GPA (averaging them together will bring up your GPA ~ assuming you rock the post-bacc). When it comes to dental school admission, this is one of those things that goes without saying, the undergrad GPA matters the most (its favored more than masters).....

Since your undergrad GPA is at a decent level (sGPA of 3.1 is not bad), some post-bacc will fix it.

 

[dental8485]

NRG, after your interviews at both schools, were you waitlisted first and then rejected? How did you do on the interviews? If one school tell you to retake DAT and the other tell you to do more shadowing, then I don't know why they invite you for an interview and then reject you. They must have liked something on your application to give you an interview.

 

[doc toothache]

all this was said to me AFTER i got rejected and spoke to the schools.
I received two interviews, and like any other student who received interviews I thought I had a chance.
I didnt buy any lines from the school... i was kind of confused when they said to focus more on volunteering. As if that weighed more than DAT/GPA in their eyes.
like i said, after i received notification that I was rejected, I setup time to talk to the schools about what I can do to improve with the limited amount of time I have.

1 school said DAT.
1 school said more volunteering.

Even better. You were given solid advice on how to improve your chances but it sounds like you were not too happy with the response. There is no dilemma here; you can take the advice given by both. Moreover, the more volunteering excuse may have been just that. Incidentally, rushing is not going to help.

dentalworks, thats another option.
but I was told by the dean a post bacc just averages your GPA with your undergrad GPA. If i wanted a separate gpa Id have to do a masters program.
ive been trying to find 1 year masters programs as well. ive found a MPH degree at a local university.

It makes absolutely no difference whether the post grad grades are lumped together or not. The whole purpose behind an intensive post bac or a graduate degree is to provide some evidence that the applicant may be capable of withstanding the rigors of dental school curriculum.

 

[NRG]

All around great advice. I'm thinking applying early July is atleast somewhat early. So that gives me some time.

 

[Vaiyoretto]

Definitely boost your DAT and don't ignore it. Try to at least get a 20.
But you can also do volunteering too, even if it is only 10 hours a week.

 

[lmaozedong1]

The competition gets more fierce every year, so I think you're gonna need to raise the GPA and DAT regardless of whatever path you choose. Personally, I think you're gonna need to raise that GPA to even have a shot. But that's just my two cents.

 

[yappy]

OP: I also think that you should apply this application cycle. Though, not because of the competition, it's a debate but I dont think numbers will budge that much in the future.

I think you should apply IF you do well on the DAT. Really work through a bunch of materials and get a good score - like your acceptence depended on it!

I think that will give you the best shot at some interviews for this next cycle.

 

[tmac001]

hey look into this UCSF/UOP post bac program. a lot of my friends did it for a year and they were able to boost up their gpa in addition to making connections at those 2 schools. good luck! i would suggest retaking ur dat and get at least 22-23+. it is tough but u can do it if u really want it. i wish u the best of luck!

 

[beeho]

retake the DAT definitely and reapply! i would disregard the one post about skipping this year's application cycle. you got interviewed for two schools which means you caught on to their radar. persistence is key. you never know what could happen.

 

[LaFleur]

I would retake the DAT and try to improve my GPA by doing a master's such as one of the ones at UMDNJ, MWU, or BU that are for "oral biology" (basically for predents who want to raise their stats). Do not ignore the facts.

 

[hamptongirl]

I received 2 interviews last cycle from the 2 in-state schools that I wanted to attend. So i think thats a big plus in my book. unfortunately no acceptances.

my DAT was 18 and sGPA was 3.1. not the best by any means. but i took a shot in applying anyways.

I was notified of my rejections late and im kinda upset about it since it only leaves me with a few months to do anything major.

So ive been out of school since 2006 and took the DAT last june after trying to re-teach myself everything I learned in school. which wasnt the easiest.

One of the schools I interviewed said "try to boost your DAT, it may be tough with the 3 months you have left, but give it a try(we'll accept your highest score if you happen to score lower)".

The other school said "I wouldnt necessarily mess with your DAT/GPA since theyre strong , but i would focus more on volunteer/shadowing (btw I have more shadowing hours that I do work hours )" This school will will only accept my latest score, so if i do worse, i might be screwed.

Neither school mentioned much about my GPA since Im already out of school with a lot of hours done. They said Im better off doing a masters if i really wanted to try to boost my GPA

Im in the process of emailing some of my out of state schools and seeing what they think. i want other professional opinions, and some non-professional opinions as well.

What would you guys do?

Would you take the DAT around June and try to get a higher score (while doing more volunteer)?

Would you focus more on volunteering and the community and ignore DAT?

Would you take 2 summer classes for the heck of it while volunteering and ignore DAT?


thanks

NRG, when did you apply? If you applied late in the cycle, maybe you can increase your chances applying early. Also, are you an URM? If you are, applying early with your current stats would get you in.