**What Schools Should I Apply To? / What Are My Chances?** (Read if this is you)

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Hello friends. I live in CA and I am taking the prerequisite courses for dental schools. If any body has considered it is indicated in the UCLA website that no prerequisite courses should be taken online. Because of my situation I have to take some courses online this semester. If not I have to wait one more semster for my situation to go away before I can take these courses traditionally. Does it worth to wait one or two more semesters to take them traditionally in order to meet the requirements of UCLA dental school or it is better to take them online now. I asked the other dental schools in CA. Most of don't care about the prerequisite courses be taken online or traditionally. What is my chance to get accepted in UCLA? I have Master's degree in engineering and my BS GPA is 3.72 and my Master's GPA is 3.71
Thanks,

You answer your own question here. UCLA said that no pre-reqs should be taken online (online courses are MUCH easier than traditional and there is no arguing that fact). UCLA will not take online course credits. If you really want to get accepted to UCLA, you will have to wait and take the course at your university in a classroom. Message me if you have questions.

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So based off the pervious question, is it possible to get accepted to most schools with online completed pre-reqs? I fly a lot for my job and it's almost impossible to do a full semester due to my frequent traveling. Online would be the best option for me. Is it something you could still get accepted with if you had a good reason for it in your personal essay?
 
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I know that most of the dental schools in CA don't care if the prerequisite courses have been taken online or traditional. My question is that should I delay going to the dental school because of waiting for the prerequisite courses? What is my chance to get accepted in UCLA?
 
This post is mostly to help add to my list of schools. Still researching them and its turning out to be a bit more consuming than I thought.

NY resident
Overall GPA- 3.52
Science - 3.44(hopefully 3.5 after this semester).
20AA, 21 TS, 10 PAT.

Buffalo
StonyBrook
NYU
NJ
Ucon.
Maryland?


I was looking at tufts/boston but those seem to be a bit overly expensive. Anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated, especially from schools that accept OOS.
 
Some of the people in this thread:
overall 4.0
science 4.0
dat average 27
10000 hours of shadowing
100000 hours volunteering
LOR from the president

will i get in?!?!?!?!!?
 
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Some of the people in this thread:
overall 4.0
science 4.0
dat average 27
10000 hours of shadowing
100000 hours volunteering
LOR from the president

will i get in?!?!?!?!!?

Haha no kidding. That's hilarious
 
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If you are wondering "What Schools Should I Apply To?" or "What Are My Chances?" you've come to the right place!

There's no reason to have a ton of individual threads about this in the forum, and since we don't have a subforum for this, everyone, you just need to educate yourselves with the wealth of information that is already out there. If you're on these boards, you're an intelligent person; this stuff isn't rocket science, you can figure it out.

Start by going to www.PreDents.com, and go to Ranking > Sort Schools By > xxxxx
You can arrange them by GPA, DAT, or more importantly, % Out-of-State students; the higher the better. If the Out-of-State (OOS) percentage is lower than 30%, generally it would be a waste to apply to those places (note that NYU, Western, and Midwestern are mistakenly 0%, because there is no current data for those schools; these schools are OOS friendly.
Kentucky may be the exception to the 30% rule). Some percentages can be deceiving though: Washington's OOS and OHSU's OOS is almost entirely WICHE, UMKC's OOS is almost entirely Kansas residents, Minnesota's OOS is entirely regional and Wisconsin residents, UMDNJ's and WVU's OOS numbers are deceptively high, Colorado's OOS is entirely regional, Tennessee's OOS is mostly Arkansas residents, and Alabama's OOS is entirely Georgia and regional residents. Also, unless you are URM (African-American, Latino/a, Native American), ignore all data for Howard and Meharry, although Howard does accept a good number of Asians.

Obviously, if you have an In-State public school (and your scores are within a reasonable range), apply there. However, eliminating OOS unfriendly state schools (as well as Howard/Meharry), you end up with the following schools to choose from (number of OOS seats in parenthesis, based on 2009 ADEA figures):

1. NYU (168)
2. Tufts (121+52, they are gradually adding 52 additional seats by 2011 as part of the Vertical Expansion Initiative.)
3. Temple (98)
4. Boston University (91)
5. Midwestern AZ(82)
6. Creighton (79)
7. Louisville
(76, they added 35 more OOS seats this year)
8. Pittsburgh (72)
9. Western (64
total)
10. Maryland (57)

11. USC (55)
12. Case Western (50)
13. Buffalo (48)

14. Virginia Commonwealth (45)
15. Nova (43)

16. Michigan (42)
17. Marquette (40)
18. Indiana (30)
19. Detroit Mercy (27)
20. Midwestern IL(Unknown)

21. UConn (19, Has very few seats, and tends to accept OOS students with higher stats than their average would indicate)
22. Kentucky
(17, I consider this school to be OOS friendly based on anecdotal evidence. I will remove it if that evidence is refuted.)
23. UNLV (33, This is a school that will give you a chance OOS only if you apply early.)
24. ASDOH (46, Do you have hundreds of hours of community service and volunteering? If so, you should apply here.)
25. Loma Linda (44, Are you heavily religiously inclined? More specifically, are you of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church? They will ask you about it in the secondary application, and it is very difficult to get in if you're not SDA
.)

The following schools have a DAT average of 21 or higher, thus if you have a 19 DAT forget it, if you have a 20 DAT you perhaps have an outside chance of getting in, and if you have 21+ DAT, these schools might be for you. (UCLA, UW, and Stony Brook are in this category but were eliminated for not being OOS Friendly).

26. Penn (48)
27. University of Pacific (46)

28. Columbia (44)
29. Harvard (35)
30. UCSF (25)

I have no information about the new or proposed dental schools of Eastern Carolina University, University of New England in Maine, the University of Southern Nevada in Utah, and the University of Utah. I would assume that being new schools with no reputation and no accreditation that these may be less competitive schools to get into, so if your GPA and DAT is on the lower side these are definitely schools to research and consider. I would also assume that the Utah schools would have a strong preference for LDS students, but I may be wrong. If anyone has any information on these schools, especially if they accept mainly in-state or are private institutions, feel free to post them.

So essentially, if you do not have an in-state public school and are not URM, you have these 30 schools to choose from when applying, 30 out of 58 total schools. If you're too lazy to read the rest of the guide in detail, and you have average or reasonably competitive stats, you could apply to the first 20-23 schools I listed as well as your state schools and you might be alright, though I recommend against this...

The next thing you want to do is to read Doc Toothache's 2010 Ranking of DAT/Other Selection Criteria by US DS (which is more accurate than PreDents.com): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t= 657139

(This is last year's guide from Doc Toothache) Doc Toothache's 09 Ranking of Dental Schools Based on DAT/GPA : http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=602109

Also, make sure you check out Fodog's Every Statistic About Every Dental School, a guide based on the figures from the 2010 ADEA Guide To Dental Schools and the 2008-2009 Survey of Dental Education, compiled by Fodog (02-08-2010). It's amazing, very useful, I highly recommend using it: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=700459

Here's the working link for the ADA Survey of Dental Education: Tuition, Admission, and Attrition (link provided by peanutb123) ADA Survey of Dental Education: Tuition, Admission, and Attrition

Based on your GPA/DAT, choose schools that fit your range of scores. If you're not sure if you are competitive, you could use the modified UTHSCSA formula by plugging your numbers into: Science GPA x ([DAT AA/30]x4 + Overall GPA, and compare your values with the values in Doc Toothaches chart for UTHSCSA formula. For example, if you had a 3.5 GPA, 3.4 Science GPA, and 19 AA, you would calculate: 3.4 x ([19/30]x4 + 3.5 = 12.11, which is your UTHSCSA value, and says that you are competitive for schools that are below this value (if these are your scores, there are 15 schools within your range, not including Howard-Meharry-Puerto Rico, and prior to eliminating public schools which you are out-of-state). The formula does neglect the PAT score (check PreDents for that), and does not take into account individual sections (which many schools have a cut-off of 17 for each individual section). The formula itself has no real validity or meaning, but it is a tool to help you choose schools that are within your range. Generally, you want to apply to schools that have DAT averages of less than 1 point over your DAT, and at most 0.2 GPA points from your overall GPA and Science GPA (not a hard and set rule, just some parameters to consider).

[The following charts were compiled by Doc Toothache] For DAT/GPA, you can also look at the DAT-GPA trends and Range of DAT scores. Also, different schools value different DAT/GPA/other selection criteria. In general, schools tend to look the most heavily for AA/TS/RC/scienceGPA/overallGPA/Interview, and not so much on QR & non-scienceGPA, with half the schools looking specifically for high PAT and good LORs. If your undergrad GPA is low, consider an SMP (Special Masters Program), a 1 year Masters with no thesis (Barry University in Miami offers an SMP, there are others.. you can often use your DAT to apply in lieu of a GRE), and many schools favor an applicant with a Masters Degree. If you are wondering how much your Race plays into particular schools (as well as choice of Major and Gender), check out these charts on the Affirmative Action Myth and Minority Acceptance in Dental Schools. As you can see, some schools are almost all white (06 Data: Louisville-85%, Marquette-85%, Indiana-84%, Buffalo-80%, Pitt-76%), and some schools accept very few Asians (06 Data: UConn: 1/211 Asian applicants accepted, Marquette:1/179 Asian applicants accepted, Louisville:1/151 Asian applicants accepted). If you're wondering about how much Age plays a factor, over 200 older "Non-Traditional" applicants were accepted last year. Also, the number of Shadowing Hours Required by Schools is different. In general, you want at least 30 Hours, with 100 Hours being ideal. Applying early is so important. Take a look at the Acceptances with Pre and Post Dec. Interviews 2009.

Another thing to consider is the course requirements (Pre-Reqs). Some schools require 1 year of English, others, 1 semester. Some schools require 1 year of Calculus, others, 1 semester. Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry II, Microbiology, Physiology, and Anatomy are also courses that some schools may require and others may not; check the school's websites or consult the ADEA 2010 Official Guide to Dental Schools for this information. If you are applying as a college Junior, you may be able to take these school-specific required courses during your second semester Senior year, after finding out what school you are going to after December 1st (hopefully). As long as you finish these school-specific required courses before attending that dental school, you'll be fine. Also, keep in mind that some schools DO NOT accept Pre-Reqs from Community College, such as Tufts, NYU, BU, and Temple. In fact, Tufts won't accept any CC credits, so you can effectively remove it from your list if you went to CC before you went to a 4-year institution.

So at this point you know which schools are Out-of-State friendly, know which schools match your stats and would give you the maximum chance at acceptance, and know which schools you can't apply to because of school-specific required courses. Your list still might be over 20 schools at this point, and you want to narrow it down more. Consider things like: Location (Urban, Suburban, Rural), Region (Northeast, South, West, Midwest), Cost (Buffalo is one of the best values), Facilities (Maryland and Detroit-Mercy have some of the best facilities), Overall Reputation (do you care if it's an Ivy League or UC?), Clinical Reputation for producing the best General Dentists (GPs) (UoP, Temple, Tufts, Detroit-Mercy, UIC), Best Chances to SPECIALIZE(Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, UCLA, UCSF, Stony Brook), class size (NYU, Tufts, and USC have the largest classes), PBL curriculum (USC, Indiana, Case, Harvard, soon-to-be UIC), possible religious undertones (Loma Linda, Marquette, Creighton), racial diversity (Midwestern AZ, Marquette, and Louisville are known for their lack thereof), research opportunities (UConn, Michigan, Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, Maryland, Pittsburgh, UCSF), safety of the area (Temple, Detroit, Case), proximity to home and family, ect. ect… Ultimately it is up to you to decide what factors are most important, and to choose your schools based on that.

You can disregard the most important consideration, Cost, if you are getting the scholarship for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) or the US Military's Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). The full scholarship pays for all of your tuition and living expenses, and for the HPSP, gives you a $1,900 monthly stipend and a $20,000 signing bonus as well. Each requires a pay-back period of 4 years if you take the full scholarship, meaning that you will serve as a military dentist for 4 years with HPSP, or serving a high-need area such as a prison or Indian reservation with NHSC. For the military HPSP, you can join Army, Navy, or Air Force, with the Air Force being the most competitive (Read the following guide for the HPSP). If you have a 3.5 GPA and 20 DAT, you automatically qualify if there are still scholarships available (apply early), but if your scores are lower you can still apply. The NHSC is competitive as well. These are especially popular options for those going to expensive private schools such as NYU, USC, Tufts, or Penn. Another option, if you like laboratory research, is a fully funded 7 or 8 year DMD/PhD program, which will pay for some or all of your dental school tuition, as well as provide a stipend. I do not have a list of these programs, but I do know of 7-year programs at UConn and Michigan. They are highly competitive; my friend who got into the UConn program had a 21 AA, 22 TS, and over a 4.0 GPA.

One more thing to consider about Cost is a repayment plan called Income Based Repayment. President Obama passed this into law in 2009, and it is a fairly new repayment option. Essentially, you commit to paying the federal government 15% of your salary for 25 years, and after 25 years you pay the taxes on the remaining balance and the rest will be absolved. This is a great deal for those who are going to an expensive private school like Tufts or NYU and if you don't plan on making over $200,000 per year (most of us won't). If you plan on owning and running a multi-million dollar chain of practices, obviously 15% is not a good deal for you. Also, starting next year I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), the incoming class of dental students will only have to pay back 10% of income earned after 20 years, an even better deal! So while I used to be worried about the size of my Tufts loans, I am not anymore because of IBR. Makes me feel better about choosing an expensive private school over my state school haha.


For the Canadian/International applicant, your choice of schools is very limited. For the most part, you will bank on the large expensive private schools (or should I say, they will bank on you, zing!). This list is not comprehensive, but to my knowledge, the schools that are Canadian applicant friendly are: NYU, Tufts, BU, USC, UoP, Temple, Buffalo, Detroit Mercy, Pitt, Penn, Case, Nova, Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, and Midwestern AZ (no information on the new schools Western and Midwestern IL is available). If you are a Canadian applicant, I'd recommend further investigation into these particular institutions. Also, if you have only taken the Canadian DAT, check with each school individually to see which schools will only accept the American DAT.

Thanks to Doc Toothache and PDizzle for compiling so much information for the benefit of dental school applicants on SDN. Let me know (by PM) if any of this information is outdated and I will update it.

Good luck this cycle everyone!

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When I get a chance I'll add a DAT section, to complete my magnum opus :p
[under construction...]


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After You Get Interviews:

Make sure you read Burton117's ***Official: Can you answer these questions about your dental school?*** thread, it provides some deeper insight on the inner workings of each school.

Also, before your interview you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ SDN INTERVIEW FEEDBACK!!!
It presents the most common interview questions from the schools you are interviewing at to help you prepare, and also presents some useful data.

New SDN Interview Feedback: http://www.studentdoctor.net/schools/
Old SDN Interview Feedback: http://more.studentdoctor.net/schoollist.php?type=3


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Disclaimer: I am not, nor do I claim to be, an expert on dental school admissions. Take any advice you hear, from anyone, with a grain of salt. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see. Ultimately, you'll have to trust your instincts ;)
Hi- The link Predents.com doesn't work :(
 
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Wow. Most schools aren't state of the art or anything like that, but this is just horrible. Considering the huge amount of money you are paying to attend that school. Don't they show you around during the interview ?


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You answer your own question here. UCLA said that no pre-reqs should be taken online (online courses are MUCH easier than traditional and there is no arguing that fact). UCLA will not take online course credits. If you really want to get accepted to UCLA, you will have to wait and take the course at your university in a classroom. Message me if you have questions.
Oh, really? Many schools offer online versions of the prereqs. It's the same teachers, same tests; all of which must be completed in your school's "testing center." They show up on your transcript with identical course names/descrptions. Also, with the sciences, the lab compenent must be completed on campus. So, I'd say not only are they not easier (double negative much?) - they are the exact same class.
 
There are all kinds of REASONS to decide which school to apply to — stats, speciality acceptances, etc.

After you watch this video, there will be only one school you will WANT to do go to. See and find out.

 
Average dental school debt is $250,000. That figure includes all those that had help form parents. If they were excluded, the figure would be higher. I know many dentists with well over $400,000 in debt. If your not careful, you could easily rack up $1,000,000. I know very few dentists that are able to fill their schedules with patients. Despite this, the Pew Charitable trust has decided the profession needs 10,000 more dentists in the country.

I am an orthodontist. It was a long, hard, and expensive road to get here. The profession is nice but the money isn't. I'm sure most of you are very smart and motivated. I encourage you to do you own research. I just listened to people that said, don't worry about the debt, you'll pay it off no problem. Wow, were they wrong and I was wrong to listen to them.

My point is that when trying to decide which school to go to, perhaps you should include the option of furthering your education in a non-medical field where your intelligence and determination would yield greater rewards.
 
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Average dental school debt is $250,000. That figure includes all those that had help form parents. If they were excluded, the figure would be higher. I know many dentists with well over $400,000 in debt. If your not careful, you could easily rack up $1,000,000. I know very few dentists that are able to fill their schedules with patients. Despite this, the Pew Charitable trust has decided the profession needs 10,000 more dentists in the country.

I am an orthodontist. It was a long, hard, and expensive road to get here. The profession is nice but the money isn't. I'm sure most of you are very smart and motivated. I encourage you to do you own research. I just listened to people that said, don't worry about the debt, you'll pay it off no problem. Wow, were they wrong and I was wrong to listen to them.

My point is that when trying to decide which school to go to, perhaps you should include the option of furthering your education in a non-medical field where your intelligence and determination would yield greater rewards.
I appreciate your input on these boards, even if it is a viewpoint that many dont want to embrace. I owe a lot of my success this cycle to the advice and wisdom I've garnered here, but I do think there is a distinct lack of practicing professionals that are active in this sub-forum.

In order to get a better sense of your particular circumstances, would you mind sharing where you went to to school and what your tuition was at the time? After some, albeit brief, digging, I gathered you completed your ortho residency at St. Barnabas? Was that a paid program or did you have to shell out more tuition dollars? Did you choose to practice around the bronx/NYC boroughs after graduation?
 
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Regarding my background, I was raised in a single parent household. My mother was wonderful but I knew early on to expect no help with educational expenses. My father was not able to contribute to my education either. Perhaps it was good life preparation. I worked hard and managed to get a scholarship to undergrad. After getting my B.S. in biology, I worked for a couple of years before deciding to pursue dentistry. I was shocked by the high tuition of private schools and I had heard that state schools only accepted their own (with a few exceptions). So, I only applied to my own state school (a relatively inexpensive school in the south). Looking back, I think I didn't realize how risky a move that was. I had no idea how particular and even petty selection boards could be.

After dental school I associated for a year. Actually, I associated twice because my first employer decided he didn't need me before I even started working. Given that I had already moved to the area and put a deposit down on an apartment I begged the guy to keep me on. It was a bad move. He treated me like dirt. I was paid strictly on commission and there were months I only made about $1000 because he would just give me walk-in emergency patients. I stayed on about 3 months before I couldn't take it anymore.

After that, the best job I could find paid me $50,000 per year. It was depressing but at least the guys I worked for were honest and genuinely nice caring people. However, the poor income and a longing to see the world led me to join the Navy about a year later. It remains one of the best decisions I have ever made. The Navy did not pay for my school but did give me a $30,000 signing bonus. I had just started paying on my loans and the money couldn't have come at a better time as I was flat broke and living on credit cards. I had a one bedroom apartment that was disgusting. I learned a lot while in the Navy and made great friends with which I still remain in contact. By the way, I never made over $100,000 as a general dentist. Of course, I never owned a practice either.

I had always had an interest in orthodontics and finally decided to give it a shot. I took no chances and applied to many schools. It still took more than one attempt. The year I was accepted several programs which either paid or had low tuition had given me interviews. I was accepted to St. Barnabas Hospital Orthodontic Residency program which received GME funding and paid us like medical residents, about $50,000 per year. As a veteran, I was also able to take advantage of the GI Bill. It paid me an additional $2700 per month. I also served in the Navy Reserves while in residency. They gave me a$75,000 signing bonus and paid me about $800 per month for a three year commitment. Some may say I was lucky. Frankly, I earned every dime I got.

I now practice full time as an orthodontist and teach part time. It was not easy to get these jobs. People weren't knocking down the door trying to hire me. I must say that I love being an orthodontist but as I have said before it is a long, hard, and expensive road. I still don't own a home. I drive a Ford. No BMW. No McMansion. I save my money because I hope to retire one day. My financial story is better than most who had no parental help. I have several friends with debt around $500,000. I don't know what the monthly payment is but it's likely to be thousands of dollars per month. Remember too that they have spent at least four years making no money and not saving for retirement.

I offer a sober reality about dentistry without irresponsible optimism. Don't get me wrong, a positive outlook is important but this is your life we're talking about. If you make the wrong decision now, you may be too far down the rabbit hole to change course when you realize you have made a mistake.

What am saying? Do your research. People spout off about the state of dentistry with no more than anecdotes to back them up. If people say there is a shortage of dentists. Ask them how they know that. Do they have facts?

Here are some indisputable facts. There are more dentists and dental schools now than ever in the history of the United States. The dentist to population ratio is at an all-time high. These stats come from the US census and the American Dental Association. If someone tells you there is a shortage, ask for proof. Ask where the shortage is. Then look it up. Is there really not a dentist there? If there is not a dentist, check if the population is enough to warrant a dentist. If it's a town of 500 people, then it's not likely to offer enough security for a dentist to invest half a million dollars on a practice. If you do find a dentist in the area, call him or her. Ask if you can get an appointment within a month. If you can, there is no shortage. There may be people that aren't getting the dental care they need but it is not because there are not enough dentists.
 
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I plan on applying this coming cycle, but I'm unsure of what to do. The problem is that I'm sitting at a 3.28 overall GPA and around a 3.1 science GPA with one more quarter of grades to come (I go to a quarter system school). I go to a well-respected school, but I am unsure if I should wait for my spring grades to apply and bring my GPA above a 3.3 or go ahead and apply right when the cycle starts on June 1st with my current sub-3.3 GPA. My DAT scores are all around 21 with nothing below 20. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
I plan on applying this coming cycle, but I'm unsure of what to do. The problem is that I'm sitting at a 3.28 overall GPA and around a 3.1 science GPA with one more quarter of grades to come (I go to a quarter system school). I go to a well-respected school, but I am unsure if I should wait for my spring grades to apply and bring my GPA above a 3.3 or go ahead and apply right when the cycle starts on June 1st with my current sub-3.3 GPA. My DAT scores are all around 21 with nothing below 20. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Assuming you'll have your grades by mid June, wait for them and then apply.
 
I don't want to be a paranoid person about my stats but here they are up to now in my Sophomore year at a USWNR Top
GPA overall: 3.7 Science 3.5
DAT: N/A Sophomore or Junior Year? When should I take it?
Shadowing: 83 hours (not including working/shadowing at my dad's practice)
Volunteering: 70 hours
Leadership: VP/Co-founder of Operation Smile, Campus Tour Guide, Orientation Leader, Big Brother Big Sisters
Recommendation Letters: Good (Dentist that works at a dental school, Head of Chemistry department, biology professor)

Worries: May have 2 C's by the end of this semester in Physics and Orgo 2. If this is the case to I retake these courses, or just crush the orgo sections and if I do get a C it may be disregarded to some extent?

Suggestions?
 
Hello there!

GPA Overall: 3.50
GPA Science: 3.20
I have a lot to vent as of right now so let me just start off by saying that I'm a student in New York City, and have a psychology major. My utmost worry is that I have only 1 year left until I graduate (class of 2015) and haven't taken any upper level sciences yet. I desperately want to get into NYU College of Dentistry post-graduation but am wondering if I'll have a chance?

Science Grades:Fall 2011 - Chem I: W (Withdrawal)
Spring 2012 - Chem I: C+
Spring 2012 - Pre-Calculus: A-
Fall 2012 - Chem II: B
Fall 2012 - Bio II: B
Spring 2013 - Orgo II: B+
Spring 2013 - Orgo II Lab: B
Summer 2013 - Psych Stats: A-
Fall 2013 - Bio I: A
Fall 2013 - Calculus I: A-

Calculating it all out, I roughly have a 3.2 science GPA, with Orgo II, Orgo II lab left for Spring 2014; (DAT will be taken over the summer) then followed by Physics I in Fall 2014, and Physics II in Spring 2015... then graduation! My overall GPA is at a 3.50 as of right now.

I realize I have an upward trend in my favor but wanted to get some more feedback from all you wonderful SDN members, :). What other courses should I consider taking? What schools should I look into applying? Where should my DAT scores and GPA by application time?

200+ hours volunteering at outpatient physical therapy/rehab clinic
100+ hours volunteering at an emergency department
100+ hours (combined) shadowing general dentist and oral surgeon (received a letter of recc. from this dentist as well!)

Thank you!
 
long post

with so few science courses on your record you can move the needle if you buckle down. mix in a biochemistry (as many schools are upgrading it from recommended to required) and things like micro, or anatomy if your school offers it. things like that.

it sounds like you live in nyc and really, really want to stay there. maybe you'll want to apply only to nyu, stony, and rutgers. only you can define your geographic comfort zone.

oh, and your dat and gpa should be as high as you can get them by the time you apply. shoot for 20+ in your subsections. good luck.
 
with so few science courses on your record you can move the needle if you buckle down. mix in a biochemistry (as many schools are upgrading it from recommended to required) and things like micro, or anatomy if your school offers it. things like that.

it sounds like you live in nyc and really, really want to stay there. maybe you'll want to apply only to nyu, stony, and rutgers. only you can define your geographic comfort zone.

oh, and your dat and gpa should be as high as you can get them by the time you apply. shoot for 20+ in your subsections. good luck.
Thank you!
Do you think my W and C+ would hinder my application a lot?
 
Thank you!
Do you think my W and C+ would hinder my application a lot?

they'll be noticed. you can reduce the impact they'll have by acing additional, and more advanced, science courses.

it's up to you.
 
If you are wondering "What Schools Should I Apply To?" or "What Are My Chances?" you've come to the right place!.

There's no reason to have a ton of individual threads about this in the forum, and since we don't have a subforum for this, everyone, you just need to educate yourselves with the wealth of information that is already out there. If you're on these boards, you're an intelligent person; this stuff isn't rocket science, you can figure it out..

Start by going to www.PreDents.com, and go to Ranking > Sort Schools By > xxxxx.
You can arrange them by GPA, DAT, or more importantly, % Out-of-State students; the higher the better. If the Out-of-State (OOS) percentage is lower than 30%, generally it would be a waste to apply to those places (note that NYU, Western, and Midwestern are mistakenly 0%, because there is no current data for those schools; these schools are OOS friendly. .Kentucky. may be the exception to the 30% rule). Some percentages can be deceiving though: Washington's OOS and OHSU's OOS is almost entirely WICHE, UMKC's OOS is almost entirely Kansas residents, Minnesota's OOS is entirely regional and Wisconsin residents, UMDNJ's and WVU's OOS numbers are deceptively high, Colorado's OOS is entirely regional, Tennessee's OOS is mostly Arkansas residents, and Alabama's OOS is entirely Georgia and regional residents. Also, unless you are URM (African-American, Latino/a, Native American), ignore all data for Howard and Meharry, although Howard does accept a good number of Asians..

Obviously, if you have an In-State public school (and your scores are within a reasonable range), apply there. However, eliminating OOS unfriendly state schools (as well as Howard/Meharry), you end up with the following schools to choose from (number of OOS seats in parenthesis, based on 2009 ADEA figures):.

1. NYU (168).
2. Tufts (121+52, they are gradually adding 52 additional seats by 2011 as part of the Vertical Expansion Initiative.).
3. .Temple .(98).
4. .Boston. University .(91).
5. Midwestern AZ.(82).
6. Creighton. (79).
7. .Louisville. (76, they added 35 more OOS seats this year).
8. .Pittsburgh .(72).
9. Western .(64 .total.).
10. .Maryland. (57).
11. USC (55).
12. Case Western .(50).
13. Buffalo. (48).
14. .Virginia. Commonwealth. (45).
15. Nova .(43).
16. .Michigan .(42).
17. .Marquette. (40).
18. .Indiana .(30).
19. .Detroit. Mercy .(27).
20. Midwestern IL.(Unknown).

21. UConn .(19, Has very few seats, and tends to accept OOS students with higher stats than their average would indicate).
22. .Kentucky. (17, I consider this school to be OOS friendly based on anecdotal evidence. I will remove it if that evidence is refuted.).
23. UNLV .(33, This is a school that will give you a chance OOS only if you apply early.).
24. ASDOH (46, Do you have hundreds of hours of community service and volunteering? If so, you should apply here.).
25. Loma Linda (44, Are you heavily religiously inclined? More specifically, are you of the .Seventh-day. Adventist .Church.? They will ask you about it in the secondary application, and it is very difficult to get in if you're not SDA..).

The following schools have a DAT average of 21 or higher, thus if you have a 19 DAT forget it, if you have a 20 DAT you perhaps have an outside chance of getting in, and if you have 21+ DAT, these schools might be for you. (UCLA, UW, and Stony Brook are in this category but were eliminated for not being OOS Friendly)..

26. Penn (48).
27. .University. of .Pacific. (46).
28. .Columbia. (44).
29. Harvard .(35).
30. UCSF .(25).

I have no information about the new or proposed dental schools of Eastern Carolina University, University of New England in Maine, the University of Southern Nevada in Utah, and the University of Utah. I would assume that being new schools with no reputation and no accreditation that these may be less competitive schools to get into, so if your GPA and DAT is on the lower side these are definitely schools to research and consider. I would also assume that the Utah schools would have a strong preference for LDS students, but I may be wrong. If anyone has any information on these schools, especially if they accept mainly in-state or are private institutions, feel free to post them..

So essentially, if you do not have an in-state public school and are not URM, you have these 30 schools to choose from when applying, 30 out of 58 total schools. If you're too lazy to read the rest of the guide in detail, and you have average or reasonably competitive stats, you could apply to the first 20-23 schools I listed as well as your state schools and you might be alright, though I recommend against this....

The next thing you want to do is to read Doc Toothache's 2010 Ranking of DAT/Other Selection Criteria by US DS[url]http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=657139[/url] (which is more accurate than PreDents.com): [url]http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t= 657139[/URL].

(This is last year's guide from Doc Toothache) Doc Toothache's 09 Ranking of Dental Schools Based on DAT/GPA : [url]http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=602109[/URL].

Also, make sure you check out Fodog's Every Statistic About Every Dental School, a guide based on the figures from the 2010 ADEA Guide To Dental Schools and the 2008-2009 Survey of Dental Education, compiled by Fodog (02-08-2010). It's amazing, very useful, I highly recommend using it: [url]http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=700459[/URL].

Here's the working link for the ADA Survey of Dental Education: Tuition, Admission, and Attrition (link provided by peanutb123) ADA Survey of Dental Education: Tuition, Admission, and Attrition.

Based on your GPA/DAT, choose schools that fit your range of scores. If you're not sure if you are competitive, you could use the modified UTHSCSA formula by plugging your numbers into: Science GPA x ([DAT AA/30]x4 + Overall GPA, and compare your values with the values in Doc Toothaches chart for UTHSCSA formula. For example, if you had a 3.5 GPA, 3.4 Science GPA, and 19 AA, you would calculate: 3.4 x ([19/30]x4 + 3.5 = 12.11, which is your UTHSCSA value, and says that you are competitive for schools that are below this value (if these are your scores, there are 15 schools within your range, not including Howard-Meharry-Puerto Rico, and prior to eliminating public schools which you are out-of-state). The formula does neglect the PAT score (check PreDents for that), and does not take into account individual sections (which many schools have a cut-off of 17 for each individual section). The formula itself has no real validity or meaning, but it is a tool to help you choose schools that are within your range. Generally, you want to apply to schools that have DAT averages of less than 1 point over your DAT, and at most 0.2 GPA points from your overall GPA and Science GPA (not a hard and set rule, just some parameters to consider)..

[The following charts were compiled by Doc Toothache] For DAT/GPA, you can also look at the DAT-GPA trends and Range of DAT scores. Also, different schools value different DAT/GPA/other selection criteria. In general, schools tend to look the most heavily for AA/TS/RC/scienceGPA/overallGPA/Interview, and not so much on QR & non-scienceGPA, with half the schools looking specifically for high PAT and good LORs.. If your undergrad GPA is low, consider an SMP (Special Masters Program), a 1 year Masters with no thesis (Barry University in Miami offers an SMP, there are others.. you can often use your DAT to apply in lieu of a GRE), and many schools favor an applicant with a Masters Degree. If you are wondering how much your Race plays into particular schools (as well as choice of Major and Gender), check out these charts on the Affirmative Action Myth and Minority Acceptance in Dental Schools. As you can see, some schools are almost all white (06 Data: Louisville-85%, Marquette-85%, Indiana-84%, Buffalo-80%, Pitt-76%), and some schools accept very few Asians (06 Data: UConn: 1/211 Asian applicants accepted, Marquette:1/179 Asian applicants accepted, Louisville:1/151 Asian applicants accepted). If you're wondering about how much Age plays a factor, over 200 older "Non-Traditional" applicants were accepted last year. Also, the number of Shadowing Hours Required by Schools is different. In general, you want at least 30 Hours, with 100 Hours being ideal. Applying early is so important. Take a look at the Acceptances with Pre and Post Dec. Interviews 2009..

Another thing to consider is the course requirements (Pre-Reqs). Some schools require 1 year of English, others, 1 semester. Some schools require 1 year of Calculus, others, 1 semester. Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry II, Microbiology, Physiology, and Anatomy are also courses that some schools may require and others may not; check the school's websites or consult the ADEA 2010 Official Guide to Dental Schools for this information. If you are applying as a college Junior, you may be able to take these school-specific required courses during your second semester Senior year, after finding out what school you are going to after December 1st (hopefully). As long as you finish these school-specific required courses before attending that dental school, you'll be fine. Also, keep in mind that some schools DO NOT accept Pre-Reqs from Community College, such as Tufts, NYU, BU, and Temple. In fact, Tufts won't accept any CC credits, so you can effectively remove it from your list if you went to CC before you went to a 4-year institution..

So at this point you know which schools are Out-of-State friendly, know which schools match your stats and would give you the maximum chance at acceptance, and know which schools you can't apply to because of school-specific required courses. Your list still might be over 20 schools at this point, and you want to narrow it down more. Consider things like: Location (Urban, Suburban, Rural), Region (Northeast, South, West, Midwest), Cost (Buffalo is one of the best values), Facilities (Maryland and Detroit-Mercy have some of the best facilities), Overall Reputation (do you care if it's an Ivy League or UC?), Clinical Reputation for producing the best General Dentists (GPs) (UoP, Temple, Tufts, Detroit-Mercy, UIC), Best Chances to SPECIALIZE(Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, UCLA, UCSF, Stony Brook), class size (NYU, Tufts, and USC have the largest classes), PBL curriculum (USC, Indiana, Case, Harvard, soon-to-be UIC), possible religious undertones (Loma Linda, Marquette, Creighton), racial diversity (Midwestern AZ, Marquette, and Louisville are known for their lack thereof), research opportunities (UConn, Michigan, Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, Maryland, Pittsburgh, UCSF), safety of the area (Temple, Detroit, Case), proximity to home and family, ect. ect… Ultimately it is up to you to decide what factors are most important, and to choose your schools based on that..

You can disregard the most important consideration, Cost, if you are getting the scholarship for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) or the US Military's Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). The full scholarship pays for all of your tuition and living expenses, and for the HPSP, gives you a $1,900 monthly stipend and a $20,000 signing bonus as well. Each requires a pay-back period of 4 years if you take the full scholarship, meaning that you will serve as a military dentist for 4 years with HPSP, or serving a high-need area such as a prison or Indian reservation with NHSC. For the military HPSP, you can join Army, Navy, or Air Force, with the Air Force being the most competitive (Read the following guide for the HPSP). If you have a 3.5 GPA and 20 DAT, you automatically qualify if there are still scholarships available (apply early), but if your scores are lower you can still apply. The NHSC is competitive as well. These are especially popular options for those going to expensive private schools such as NYU, USC, Tufts, or Penn. Another option, if you like laboratory research, is a fully funded 7 or 8 year DMD/PhD program, which will pay for some or all of your dental school tuition, as well as provide a stipend. I do not have a list of these programs, but I do know of 7-year programs at UConn and Michigan. They are highly competitive; my friend who got into the UConn program had a 21 AA, 22 TS, and over a 4.0 GPA.

One more thing to consider about Cost is a repayment plan called Income Based Repayment. President Obama passed this into law in 2009, and it is a fairly new repayment option. Essentially, you commit to paying the federal government 15% of your salary for 25 years, and after 25 years you pay the taxes on the remaining balance and the rest will be absolved. This is a great deal for those who are going to an expensive private school like Tufts or NYU and if you don't plan on making over $200,000 per year (most of us won't). If you plan on owning and running a multi-million dollar chain of practices, obviously 15% is not a good deal for you. Also, starting next year I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), the incoming class of dental students will only have to pay back 10% of income earned after 20 years, an even better deal! So while I used to be worried about the size of my Tufts loans, I am not anymore because of IBR. Makes me feel better about choosing an expensive private school over my state school haha.
.

For the Canadian/International applicant, your choice of schools is very limited. For the most part, you will bank on the large expensive private schools (or should I say, they will bank on you, zing!). This list is not comprehensive, but to my knowledge, the schools that are Canadian applicant friendly are: NYU, Tufts, BU, USC, UoP, Temple, Buffalo, Detroit Mercy, Pitt, Penn, Case, Nova, Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, and Midwestern AZ (no information on the new schools Western and Midwestern IL is available). If you are a Canadian applicant, I'd recommend further investigation into these particular institutions. Also, if you have only taken the Canadian DAT, check with each school individually to see which schools will only accept the American DAT..

Thanks to Doc Toothache and PDizzle for compiling so much information for the benefit of dental school applicants on SDN. Let me know (by PM) if any of this information is outdated and I will update it..

Good luck this cycle everyone!.

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When I get a chance I'll add a DAT section, to complete my magnum opus :p
[under construction...] .


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After You Get Interviews:.

Make sure you read Burton117's ***Official: Can you answer these questions about your dental school?*** thread, it provides some deeper insight on the inner workings of each school..

Also, before your interview you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ SDN INTERVIEW FEEDBACK!!! .
It presents the most common interview questions from the schools you are interviewing at to help you prepare, and also presents some useful data..
New SDN Interview Feedback: [url]http://www.studentdoctor.net/schools/[/URL].
Old SDN Interview Feedback: [url]http://more.studentdoctor.net/schoollist.php?type=3[/URL]..

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Disclaimer: I am not, nor do I claim to be, an expert on dental school admissions. Take any advice you hear, from anyone, with a grain of salt. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see. Ultimately, you'll have to trust your instincts ;)
..






really nice job, thank you. really helpful
 
What's a better criteria to filter through oos schools? Percentage of OOS students in the school or percentage of OOS students accepted?
 
Hello all!

I am looking to apply this cycle and was hoping for some advice and input from all those who have had experience! Stats are:

Residence: CA
oGPA: 3.12 (upward trend taking all upper division bio courses: 3.83 final year of undergrad)
sGPA: 3.08

DAT:
GC: 25
OC: 25
Bio: 23
QR: 20
RC: 21
PAT:21
AA: 23

Shadowing hours: ~ 120 hrs
Worked as a front desk administrator in periodontics office for 5 months.

What are my chances into getting in/schools in CA? Any input would be wonderful and appreciated!

Thanks!!
 
Nice thread


Posted using SDN Mobile
 
oGPA: 3.34
bcpGPA:3.42
sGPA:3.473
I take the DAT in the next month, so i will have plenty of time to study. Im hoping to get above 20 on all sections and crush the PAT. (Maybe wishful thinking, i know...)
Anyways, i have some good extracurriculars, and plenty of service and shadowing hours. I am planning on applying to Creighton, Roseman, UNLV, Louisville, Ohio State, Arizona, pitt, midwestern, and a few others.
My question is, what other schools should i plan on applying to, and which schools should i rule out right now due to GPA, etc??
Im super nervous to apply and really would like to get in this go-around, so any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
I have a 3.464 overall GPA and 3.195 science GPA, planning to take the DATs early August.
I suffered a personal tragedy in my freshman year that took a toll on my grades (when I took Gen Chem I and II, as well as my math courses). However, since then, I retook Chem I (with an A) and Chem II (with a B+) I got straight A's in Bio I and II, Orgo I and II, Biochem, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, and three 4.0 semesters. I also have a publication coming out based on my research. Do you guys think this upward trend will be considered, or will they scrap my application based on the numbers I present? Without freshman year, both my science and overall GPAs would be upwards of 3.7.
Any advice on which schools I should apply to with my stats would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!
 
Hey guys, I've recently been accepted and wanted to give my two cents on some strategy for where to apply. A dentist I worked for gave me the "ADEA Guide to Dental Schools" book and I spent a good amount of time reading about each school. It breaks down every statistic you can imagine for every school. It is very helpful and I would strongly suggest investing in one! Good luck guys!!
 
Hello all!

I am looking to apply this cycle and was hoping for some advice and input from all those who have had experience! Stats are:

Residence: CA
oGPA: 3.12 (upward trend taking all upper division bio courses: 3.83 final year of undergrad)
sGPA: 3.08

DAT:
GC: 25
OC: 25
Bio: 23
QR: 20
RC: 21
PAT:21
AA: 23

Shadowing hours: ~ 120 hrs
Worked as a front desk administrator in periodontics office for 5 months.

What are my chances into getting in/schools in CA? Any input would be wonderful and appreciated!

Thanks!!
Dope DAT scores. Real talk.
 
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Does anyone know which schools are heavily clinical based? I know Marquette is since it is my state school but I had a hard time finding other schools that are also clinical based right off the bat (example freshman year you are doing a lot of hands on work).
 
Does anyone know which schools are heavily clinical based? I know Marquette is since it is my state school but I had a hard time finding other schools that are also clinical based right off the bat (example freshman year you are doing a lot of hands on work).

UOP, Temple, UDM.
 
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Kind of scared that you'll be a competitor this cycle. What schools are you applying to , if you dont mind me asking?
Oh no, don't be scared haha! We are all in the same boat! I am applying to several schools (around 20) but mainly CA schools other than UCLA :) A few out of state would include NYU, Temple, LECOM, Midwestern, Mercy Detroit, Michigan... Hoping to have a chance at any school! :) How about you?
 
Oh no, don't be scared haha! We are all in the same boat! I am applying to several schools (around 20) but mainly CA schools other than UCLA :) A few out of state would include NYU, Temple, LECOM, Midwestern, Mercy Detroit, Michigan... Hoping to have a chance at any school! :) How about you?
UM Ann Arbor and UDM (Detroit Mercy) are my number 2 and number 1 school respectively, but i have yet to take the DAT...its all riding on my DAT scores, so its a work in progress!
 
UM Ann Arbor and UDM (Detroit Mercy) are my number 2 and number 1 school respectively, but i have yet to take the DAT...its all riding on my DAT scores, so its a work in progress!
I am sure you will do wonderfully! Its all about the time you put in and how confident you are! Confidence is key! If you have any questions about it, please feel free to PM me :) !
 
I need some advice... I've been coming on SDN for the past few weeks and I finally got up the courage to put myself out there.... I am a pre-dental student at a small HBCU in the south. I started at this school my sophomore year due to my time on active duty in the US Air Force for 5 years prior to that where I was a dental assistant in every field of dentistry. During those years I did some night schooling and kinda had a mediocre GPA of 2.85 with 32 credits (only 5 science). Since becoming a full time student I've maintained a 3.4 Ogpa and about 3.15 Sgpa.

I have done research for 2 full summers, I volunteer 2hrs a week for the past 2 years at a underprivileged community center, I have almost 7 years work experience and I am very active on my campus. I am a African-American and a GA resident as well. Please give me your best advice on where to apply. ( I take my DAT Aug 21, 2014) Also should I send my app in without a DAT score?
 
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I need some advice... I've been coming on SDN for the past few weeks and I finally got up the courage to put myself out there.... I am a pre-dental student at a small HBCU in the south. I started at this school my sophomore year due to my time on active duty in the US Air Force for 5 years prior to that where I was a dental assistant in every field of dentistry. During those years I did some night schooling and kinda had a mediocre GPA of 2.85 with 32 credits (only 5 science). Since becoming a full time student I've maintained a 3.4 Ogpa and about 3.15 Sgpa.

I have done research for 2 full summers, I volunteer 2hrs a week for the past 2 years at a underprivileged community center, I have almost 7 years work experience and I am very active on my campus. I am a African-American and a GA resident as well. Please give me your best advice on where to apply. ( I take my DAT Aug 21, 2014) Also should I send my app in without a DAT score?

Fellow HBCU grad. Please PM me for suggestions
 
I'm a Canadian student, applying to US Dental schools. Based on my scores, do I have any chance at any US dental schools? Any recommendations? I have a pretty good GPA, magna cum laude student. Willing to go anywhere so long as the university is accredited.

GPA: 3.7/4 Sciences: 3.6/4
DAT:
PA: 21
GC: 20
OC: 17
Bio: 18
QR: 16
RC: 17
AA: 18
 
Are there any glaringly obvious schools I should remove from my list with my scores?

AA 20 | OC 20 | GC 20 | Bio 18 | RC 21 | QR 22 | Pat 25


UCLA
USC
UCSF
UoP
UC (denver)
Arizona State
Temple
Nova
UF
Lecom
Harvard
UoMaryland
NYU


I know some of these might be out of my reach, especially since I have no GPA (I go to a school with pass/fail credits) so I'm not sure if I should just save myself $93 with any of these schools?
 
Are there any glaringly obvious schools I should remove from my list with my scores?

AA 20 | OC 20 | GC 20 | Bio 18 | RC 21 | QR 22 | Pat 25


UCLA
USC
UCSF
UoP
UC (denver)
Arizona State
Temple
Nova
UF
Lecom
Harvard
UoMaryland
NYU


I know some of these might be out of my reach, especially since I have no GPA (I go to a school with pass/fail credits) so I'm not sure if I should just save myself $93 with any of these schools?

Take Harvard off the list!
 
Ok just harvard?

What is your residence status? If it isn't CA, then get rid of those schools. Otherwise, keep those! Maybe add Midwestern AZ? Western? I would probably try and reconsider UF. I can't say if they are OOS friendly or not but that might be a waste of money.
 
What is your residence status? If it isn't CA, then get rid of those schools. Otherwise, keep those! Maybe add Midwestern AZ? Western? I would probably try and reconsider UF. I can't say if they are OOS friendly or not but that might be a waste of money.
I'm not but I really want to go to UoP so I'm going to keep it. I was thinking of getting rid of UCLA
 
I'm not but I really want to go to UoP so I'm going to keep it. I was thinking of getting rid of UCLA

If you aren't a CA resident I would definitely consider taking UCLA and UCSF off the list. Also, if you aren't in a WICHE state you could take CU-denver off the list.
 
If you aren't a CA resident I would definitely consider taking UCLA and UCSF off the list. Also, if you aren't in a WICHE state you could take CU-denver off the list.

WICHE state? I have my colorado residenccy still so if I get accepted I will have that but otherwise I qualify for florida residency.
 
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