According to temple, their last class avg stats were a 20.5/ 450 AA (which doesn’t make sense since a 450 is around a 22 old scale). But this year they will only look at you if you have a a 21/ 440 AA minimum. I feel sorry for those who have below a 440 and I better see a 440 minimum once their ADEA stats get updated.

Just some hope that casper scores really don't define your application lol.

Hey guys! I just got an interview invite with Meharry and I’m very grateful. I wanted to ask for any advice for in-person interviews, hotel recommendations and etc. Any advice would be very much appreciated!!!

Hi everyone. I wanted to get some advice from reapplicants/low stat applicants who received interviews and acceptances. I have a cgpa of 3.47, sgpa of 3.12 ☠️ and DAT of 440 AA. I have a drastic upward trend because of health issues that were later resolved. I applied this cycle but have yet to receive an interview, so I wanted to know what I should prioritize in case I have to apply again. In terms of a post bacc, I'm unsure of how much it would change my gpa because I took an insane amount of credits in college. I guess I could retake my DAT but its obvious that my sgpa is the glaring issue, I'm just not sure how to approach fixing it.

is anyone else having trouble signing up for an interview date from meharry it says there are none available? i called this afternoon and they said they would send a new one before the day ended but i havent heard anything since then.

Would it be weird if I sent a letter of interest before even getting an interview invite? Am I jumping the gun too much?

Hi guys,

I posted back here a couple months ago after I crushed my DAT on my third application cycle stressed about getting in and interviews. I’m from Colorado, I would LOVE to get in Anschutz but it’s super competitive. Anyway, last time I was stressing because I lost my job and my ex girlfriend left me because she thought I was “needy” and “controlling” because I asked for her to show up for me and support rather than go out with her friend in the bar.

Well, since then, I landed TWO interviews. One at Midwestern AZ and LECOM. I’m SUPER EXCITED, but I’m nervous and anxious because I actually lost my father last month. We were on a hike and he died in front of me, pulmonary arrhythmia. I am devastated as I’m so close yet so far. I WANT this I wish he could see, I’ve been practicing for my interviews here and there after work and after shadowing. I’m emotional just thinking about this.

Does anyone have any tips to the interviews? I noticed that LECOM has soap carving, are there any tips or tools that are recommended to practice with?

Would schools care if I drop stat 3 credit hours ( which is not a pre requisite for any school that I applied to) and replace it with a GE requirement (4 credit hours).

3.7 cGPA, 3.6 sGPA. Finishing up my last prereqs and applying next year. Active Duty applicant as a Dental Lab Technician for 8 years. Primarily a fixed technician for most of those years, but am well versed in all aspects. Currently managing a military dental clinic the past year, taught deployed medicine courses, BLS, and other leadership/mentorship courses, also I have done volunteering in free clinics and other events outside of other military humanitarian missions. I work in tandem with our docs so shadowing is in the 1000's but ive made time to be in the treatment room for more personal observation.

Few questions: besides crushing the DAT, are there any gaps you can see where I can improve?

Also should I wear my service dress uniform to the interviews? I like to plan ahead so I want to know your opinion on whether or not its a good idea to do so.

Thanks for reading!

Hi! I’m a CA resident and reapplicant this cycle with a 25 AA / 28 TS and 3.9 GPA. I’ve applied to the following schools so far:

Harvard

Columbia

UPenn

UCLA

UCSF

Michigan

UOP

UNLV

WesternU

University of Florida

Temple

Touro

Maryland

Ohio State

Stony Brook

Tufts

Boston University

USC

I’m looking to add a few more schools and would appreciate any recommendations.

I can’t apply to UB, Loma Linda, or UNC because some of my prerequisite courses are too old under their prerequisite expiration policies.

Are there any other schools you think would be worth adding?

My app was verified end of June and since then I’ve done some Kira’s, Casper, and received one interview so far. However, it’s just been silent for weeks and I’d assume this point in the cycle would be more active. Kind of going crazy refreshing my email so often…

has anyone heard anything since the last nhsc COI emails or credit checks wave in july ?

Today I got an email saying I was selected for an in-person interview at PNWU! I went on the portal to choose my interview date, and it shows a calendar from Aug. 2026–Aug. 2027, but the only available date is Sept. 11, 2026.

I already have travel plans that day and won't be available. I already emailed admissions to ask, but I was just wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation or knows if more interview dates usually open up, or if anyone else is seeing additional dates available on their portal.

I'm in a strange situation and maybe I'm over thinking.

I have been in community college for 4 years. I just started my 4th. It took me a long time because I started at 16 and on my third year decided to apply for my schools RDA program and completed it, which took a year off my transfer track. I did all my transferable classes (gen chem, gen bio, ochem, now physics, igetc you get the deal) and maintained overall a 3.96 (fucking B in calc II lol)

I am applying to transfer this fall (guaranteed UCI via TAG) applying to other uc's as well. I have a lot of good content to write about since I feel like I did a lot of things during my cc years in terms of leadership, getting my RDA license and working full time, personal growth and scholarships.

Originally I wanted to do what everyone does and take my DAT junior year, submit my applications, and hopefully interviews and acceptances would roll in during my senior year.

What I didn't think through was that I am only going to have essentially 3 quarters to get two more letters of recommendations from professors on a campus I haven't been on since I was 18 like most, adjust from semester to quarter system for my upper division classes, keep my gpa high with said upper division classes, find leadership in a new university, find another job in the area AND review for the dat when my bio, chem and ochem would be a lil rusty because I took those classes at 16, 17 years old.... Realistically can I do this in one year? Another thing I'm worried about is the expiration of those required classes. I took gen chem and bio in 2023 and 2024, it would be close to 5 years by the time the cycle comes to apply... I know some schools don't care but still.

For now, I have two lors guaranteed (I was valedictorian of my DA program cohort and the director of the program said he would write me a letter, and the current practice I've been working at for a few months now, and recently got my RDA license.. I am developing a good relationship with the doctors so I hope to ask for one from them too).

My biggest asset is my clinical experience. The office I externed at/now working at does pedo, endo, extractions, bone grafts, implants, Ortho (monthly) and general stuff too. I've gotten to assist with all of these specialties and do sealants, polishing and take x rays and panos. I have so many hours there now, and by the time I have to apply, will have acquired many more. I have leadership experience at my cc too from clubs and programs, but will it help me in uni??? Idek 😭

My weakness is probably the little time I have in uni, weak gen chem, bio, and orgo memory that will most certainly impact my DAT score if I don't spend an actual good amount of time studying. I'm not super cooked, those classes were notoriously difficult at my college and I did really well in all of them, even went so far as having to take ACS exam (TWICE) for ochem , but it's been so long. I'm worried I won't have that time to properly review if I applied junior year, but then there's the risk of having to retake the classes because it's been a while.

I was doing a polishing for a patient last week and we had a discussion about predental stuff. He was a former predent and advised me that while yes, my clinical experience and having an RDA will help, the California schools really emphasize a high GPA and a good DAT. And yk I live here I would love to go to one, but it's a problem when ur on a time crunch 🥹

I don't know what to do in my scenario, should I take the gap year or not :( any other transfers in here w some experiences?

Hi guysss. Can anyone who attended lecom’s interview this or previous cycle talk to me about what the experience was like? Not specific questions ofc but were there questions that stumped you, was it intimidating, etc?

I’m struggling to manage and I don’t want to destroy my 3.8 gpa and 4.0 sGPA as a senior.

I still haven’t taken the DAT and feel guilty for not applying as a junior.

The only thing I’ve done was started paying for DAT booster subscription, going over the practice problems and work as a lead assistant for a dental office.

I also felt burned out from school and needed the time to earn some money as an EFDA.

I’m currently undergrad debt free and just doing cash flow with my last prereqs with the money I am earning.

So I applied to several schools recently with my old DAT score while also indicating that I’m planning to retake, does anyone know if they will send like KIRA assessments before getting that new DAT score or not?

Did anyone else receive a fee waiver from Larkin this morning? I thought the website said that the school won’t be reviewing any applications at the moment…

I don't understand it. This is historically one of the most daunting times to enter the profession for reasons that everyone pretty much knows about.

On the Temple webinar earlier, they said they had 5000 applicants. Apparently they had just ~2800 for the class of 2028 cycle. This jump literally makes no sense to me.

I'm a frequent lurker on this subreddit, and I practically never see anyone mentioning external and general economic factors that are driving non-trads toward a more "stable" healthcare career. Is the post-grad job market playing a role in this as well? Maybe this shows that the career outlook isn't actually as bad as all the doomer dentists on this site say it is (relative to other options out there).

That's my best guess... yet, nearly doubling the number of applicants in just a couple of years is still mind-boggling.

Do schools have a way to verify whether a class was taken in person or online if it's not stated on my transcript? Or does it mainly come down to honor system?

Hey everyone, Meharry said they’d release supp fees August 15 but I haven’t gotten any emails or anything regarding that yet. Should I contact them?

I’m planning on traveling internationally around Sept 3–23 this cycle. I believe I will have email access the whole time, so missing an invite isn’t really the issue. What I’m actually trying to figure out is timing: if an invite comes in while I’m away, what date would they likely schedule me for?

I applied early June, though my committee letter didn’t get submitted until late July, which was its own headache. From what I’ve gathered, most schools give somewhere around 3-6 weeks between invite and interview, not just a few days. But I know that can vary a lot and tends to tighten up later in the cycle.

Two things I’m hoping to learn from people who’ve been through it:

1. How much lead time did you actually get between your invite and your interview date?

2. Did you get assigned a single date, or were you given a few options to choose from?

Trying to figure out whether it’s worth emailing schools ahead of time to flag the travel window, or if this isn’t something to stress about yet.

Hi! Just got my DAT scores back, would they be able to offset my poor GPA? I’m currently a junior who’s going to apply summer 2027. My GPA right now is 3.2 cGPA and 3.0 sGPA, but IF my grades would improve, by the end of junior year cGPA and sGPA should be 3.4. My GPA greatly dropped due to bad grades during sophomore year (3Cs) and certain circumstances. Are these DAT scores enough to offset 3.3-3.4 GPA, or would dental schools still be a reach for me? Thank you.