Worried about chances and high DAT posts on SDN

[DozingDentist]

I know it's easy to say to just relax, but I'm extremely stressed and I find myself hitting refresh on email day after day and it is agonizing. I have 2 interviews so far but they are both at schools that tend to send out a lot of interview invites (based on previous years and other threads). Just wondering how to handle the situation/stress better. Any advice?

As a reference, my stats are:
oGPA: 3.34
sGPA 3.18
DAT: 21AA, 21TS, 22PAT, 21RC, 22QR

I realize that my DAT is seemingly average for matriculates, but it seems that nearly every person revering multiple invites has DATs of 23 and up. I was hoping for a higher DAT to make up for my lower GPAs. Additionally, my GPAs plummeted because AADSAS included a failed course from first semester of college. Otherwise would be 3.5, 3.4. I would really appreciate any advice/chances/ general thoughts. Thank you all in advance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Arthur Jeffries]

its august 8th......interviews go out as late as march or april relax. i wouldve been more than happy with 2 at this point its still early

 

[JohnDoeJR]

The anxiety is all a part of the process. You have a great DAT score, you should be fine. That being said, you have 2 interviews!? Why are you worrying? Go to they gym, hang out with friends, and take a deep breath. Oh and don't worry about people with 23's, they are in the top 2% of people who take the DAT. Plus, people lie on this forum all the time, take everything with a grain of salt and kill your interviews.

 

[artist2022]

You're fine! Many of the people that post on SDN on a regular basis are those with high scores. The ones that are average tend not to as much, plus not every applicant uses SDN. Two interviews are great! Just focus on preparing for them and acing them so that you have options when Dec 3rd* rolls around. Also, not every school has sent invites out yet, so those could come in the next week or two.

* There are actually quite a few people that don't have 23+ but are still getting plenty of interviews. I made this post for another thread, but I could just as easily make one using your stats!

Best of luck! All you need is one acceptance to become a dentist, and you already have two chances at that! Be proud!

* EDIT: First day for offers is Dec 3rd, 2018.

 

[artist2022]

Really appreciate you taking the time to post all of that. And yeah you’re right about using this as a best chance kind of thing. I did see in another thread you mentioning December 5th for acceptance. Is it changed for this cycle since June 5th was opening day for the cycle versus June 1st previously?

Yeah exactly. Last year, we submitted June 1st, and heard back Dec 1st. I think there was some talk that since first day of submission this cycle was June 5th, first offers will be given out Dec 3rd*. There's been a bunch of changes this cycle.

* EDIT

 

[artist2022]

Mind if I asked what went wrong for you last cycle or stats last cycle?

Nothing went wrong! I took my DAT 8/9 (25AA/24TS), applied 8/24 last cycle, ended up getting 8 interview invites (2 pre-Dec, and 6 post-Dec), attended 4 interviews (SoCal only), and got into all 4! Will be starting at UCLA in about 6 weeks

 

[future_nostalgia]

Yeah exactly. Last year, we submitted June 1st, and heard back Dec 1st. I think there was some talk that since first day of submission this cycle was June 5th, first offers will be given out Dec 3rd*. There's been a bunch of changes this cycle.

* EDIT

Some of the schools on the Dental School Explorer still say they start giving offers Dec. 1st this year! I think UCLA and UMD are both Dec 3rd though. I was a little confused because the 1st is a Saturday but that's what some of their own websites/emails have said too

 

[artist2022]

Some of the schools on the Dental School Explorer still say they start giving offers Dec. 1st this year! I think UCLA and UMD are both Dec 3rd though. I was a little confused because the 1st is a Saturday but that's what some of their own websites/emails have said too

There's supposed to be a "pact" between the dental schools that they can't offer acceptances until after a certain date, and for the past couple of years it was Dec 1st (unless it was during the weekend. Then it would be moved to Monday).

With all the changes that have occurred this cycle though (soft open, two academic periods, etc), I'm not sure when offers will come out but the AADSAS instructions says Dec 3rd. I think this year is a transition period, so some may let applicants know (via portal/email) on Dec 1st and while others may wait until Dec 3rd. Guess we'll have to wait and see!

 

[BatedPenguin]

Average DAT score for matriculation is a 20 don't let SDN overachieversfool you. You should be fine.

 

[Bingwen]

That is what I’ve been told by many. Just hard to come to terms with it when all I see is 23/24/26 and 4.0s haha

Even if there are 500 people on here with those stats remember there are about 12,000 people applying to dental school. It still comes out to a pretty small percentage.