WAMC?

[midwesternis]

Date of submission: June 20
Overall GPA: 3.88
Science GPA: 3.6
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.71
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23AA; PAT: 20 QR: 23 RC: 25 BIO: 21 GC: 21 OC: 24
State of Residence: IL

Undergrad Attended: Small, reputable, but non-'elite' LAC
Major: Philosophy
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No (Indian)
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 100 hrs, 4 general dentists
Volunteering Experience: 150 hrs free medical clinic front office, 50 hrs working with a disabled student
Employment: Resident Assistant
Research: N/A
Other Extracurriculars: Several hundred hrs in residence life/dorm activities, Pre-dental society cabinet
Relevant Honors or Awards: Dean's list
LOR type and strength: Very strong dental letter; 2 average science letters
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: N/A; only 'red flag' I can think of is I took bio and physics at a CC before entering my 4-year
School list:
UIC
SIU
Marquette
Midwestern
Indiana
Iowa
Detroit
Michigan
Creighton
AT Still
Louisville
Kentucky

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ryxndek]

I don't see anything that really stands out to me based on what I'm seeing here. I do think you could maybe get one more LOR from a non science person - supervisor at your volunteer clinic, or the personal who employs/employed you for your resident assistant. Since some schools would require that. I don't necessarily think you need to have 12 schools, however the list is solid and focuses regionally around IL. If you wanted, I'd swap Detroit with Minnesota unless you'd consider living in Detroit if accepted...which most don't just due to safety.

Overall I think you should be fine. Try to focus on your IS schools if you can, tuition will be cheapest there. Good luck!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I don't see any significant flags. I wonder about your campus involvement outside of being an RA.

 

[midwesternis]

I don't see anything that really stands out to me based on what I'm seeing here. I do think you could maybe get one more LOR from a non science person - supervisor at your volunteer clinic, or the personal who employs/employed you for your resident assistant. Since some schools would require that. I don't necessarily think you need to have 12 schools, however the list is solid and focuses regionally around IL. If you wanted, I'd swap Detroit with Minnesota unless you'd consider living in Detroit if accepted...which most don't just due to safety.

Overall I think you should be fine. Try to focus on your IS schools if you can, tuition will be cheapest there. Good luck!

Thank you - this is very helpful! By 'nothing stands out,' do you mean that this is a pretty average application in general or pretty safe application with regards to actually getting accepted?

 

[midwesternis]

I don't see any significant flags. I wonder about your campus involvement outside of being an RA.

The year prior, I spent several hundred hrs on a team organizing dorm events (including some campus-wide ones), facilitating floor community, assisting my RA, etc. I also am in a band, which is more for fun, but we perform at a lot of campus events.

 

[Ryxndek]

Thank you - this is very helpful! By 'nothing stands out,' do you mean that this is a pretty average application in general or pretty safe application with regards to actually getting accepted?

I wouldn't say average because your metrics are higher than averages, but you don't have anything that screams red flags or a massive hook to your app like research with publications, starting an organization, or something along those lines. It's a relatively safe application I think, and you should get some looks from schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Right.... we don't have your application, so what you disclose is what we go on. There's nothing I see that should exclude you, but I don't see anything that excites me about wanting to interview you either.

 

[midwesternis]

Right.... we don't have your application, so what you disclose is what we go on. There's nothing I see that should exclude you, but I don't see anything that excites me about wanting to interview you either.

I see, thanks! So, in other words, this application is one that, despite solid stats/no red flags, could easily get ignored simply due to being uninteresting. In that case, even stats aren't necessarily enough to get you in the door/get an interview?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I see, thanks! So, in other words, this application is one that, despite solid stats/no red flags, could easily get ignored simply due to being uninteresting. In that case, even stats aren't necessarily enough to get you in the door/get an interview?

All dental schools espouse "holistic review," which means that metrics alone are insufficient to earn an offer to the school. You need to show appropriate passion and pre-professional skills/attributes that match the mission of the schools you want to attend. Many schools aim to ensure that their graduates serve patients in their local or state-wide communities. Others focus on research and innovation.

We don't have your personal statement, your response to "fine manual dexterity", or a sense of service orientation (working with the local community outside of just being a science or health expert). We don't know how well you would do on interviews. We don't know if you would fit "our" curricula or be excited about our community service activities.

Getting into dental school can't just be done with a computer and a spreadsheet filtering for the top GPA's and DAT's. You have to be someone our faculty want to mentor/teach/guide as a future colleague with a real passion for becoming a dentist.

It's up to you to give us that information. Otherwise, this is the response we can reasonably give you.

 

[macsak]

Date of submission: June 20
Overall GPA: 3.88
Science GPA: 3.6
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.71
DAT score (include AA and all sections): 23AA; PAT: 20 QR: 23 RC: 25 BIO: 21 GC: 21 OC: 24
State of Residence: IL

Undergrad Attended: Small, reputable, but non-'elite' LAC
Major: Philosophy
Minor: Chemistry
Minority? No (Indian)
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 100 hrs, 4 general dentists
Volunteering Experience: 150 hrs free medical clinic front office, 50 hrs working with a disabled student
Employment: Resident Assistant
Research: N/A
Other Extracurriculars: Several hundred hrs in residence life/dorm activities, Pre-dental society cabinet
Relevant Honors or Awards: Dean's list
LOR type and strength: Very strong dental letter; 2 average science letters
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: N/A; only 'red flag' I can think of is I took bio and physics at a CC before entering my 4-year
School list:
UIC
SIU
Marquette
Midwestern
Indiana
Iowa
Detroit
Michigan
Creighton
AT Still
Louisville
Kentucky

what was your TS on the DAT?