Aadsas

[Kittyp]

Lets start a thread for this year AADSAS cycle for Canadians. I am planning to submit my application most likely by tomorrow but definitely before 5th. Got PS and LORs ready but have to take American DAT on 30th June. My sGPA is 4.19 and cGPA is 4.20. I have 120+ hrs of shadowing. I have decided to apply to these schools-

 

1. UoP

2. Nova

3. Indiana University

4. University of Louisville

5. University of Maryland

6. Harvard

7. University of Michigan

8. Mercy Detroit

9. Columbia

10.Buffalo

11.Case

12.UPenn

13.Marquette

14.Tufts

 

Perhaps, I will add UNC and Baylor after DAT if get very good scores. Lets stay in touch and keep each others informed about the interviews and he process. Good luck to everyone who is applying.

[herragge]

With a GPA like that, you are pretty much a shoe in for Canadian schools no? Is there a particular reason why you're applying down south?

[Kittyp]

With a GPA like that, you are pretty much a shoe in for Canadian schools no? Is there a particular reason why you're applying down south?

 

Just to increase my chances. Although Canadian schools will always be my first choice.

[CanadaDent]

That is going to be expensive, if you included UNC and Baylor the application, the fee alone will be $1095 to apply

[Kittyp]

That is going to be expensive, if you included UNC and Baylor the application, the fee alone will be $1095 to apply

 

I know it is going to be expensive but I don't want to miss any chance for choosing the best possible school for me and don't want to wait another year. Anyone else who is applying this cycle lets share the experiences and also if anyone has interviewed at any of these schools please share your experience. I think it can be quite helpful.

[Contach]

That is going to be expensive, if you included UNC and Baylor the application, the fee alone will be $1095 to apply

 

This is the PRIMARY fee only. Then you have to send DAT scores to all these schools.. 25$ per school. And on top of that, each school on that list has a secondary fee which is like $50-70 USD. This adds up quickly. Not to mention, interviewing isn't cheap. I dare you, kittyp, to estimate how much you will spend, then double that and that's what you'll actually spend on applications this year.

[Contach]

I know it is going to be expensive but I don't want to miss any chance for choosing the best possible school for me and don't want to wait another year. Anyone else who is applying this cycle lets share the experiences and also if anyone has interviewed at any of these schools please share your experience. I think it can be quite helpful.

 

This is going to sound like a broken record... but I dont want others to make the same mistake as I did and I'm not sure if you read my previous posts.. so...Here's my experience:

 

I also applied to 11ish American Schools (a lot) with better than average stats. And if I had to do it over again, I'd only apply to 5, maybe less. All the schools are essentially very similar. And during the interview day, you will be impressed by what each school has to offer and want to go there. But at the end of the day, my heart was never set on American schools, just one or two.

It takes a lot of effort to attend so many interviews as well, assuming you will get interviews at most of those places, which I think is fair to say. I ended up getting 7 interviews in the USA, and only attended 3. What a waste eh? Ironically, those schools that admit students with generally lower DAT/GPAs were the ones that didn't ask me to interview: Boston, Temple, UPitt, NYU. You may want to think about removing Tufts and Case from the list. Do IU, UL and Marquette admit International Students?

 

You can find a lot of information about these schools on their websites and the studentdoctor.net pre-dent forums. But really, I don't see anything special about Nova (unless you really like hot weather), Louisville, Indiana, Marquette, and Detroit Mercy (unless you want to be close to Canada).

[stresso]

This is the PRIMARY fee only. Then you have to send DAT scores to all these schools.. 25$ per school. And on top of that, each school on that list has a secondary fee which is like $50-70 USD. This adds up quickly. Not to mention, interviewing isn't cheap. I dare you, kittyp, to estimate how much you will spend, then double that and that's what you'll actually spend on applications this year.

 

I agree. I'm just applying to US schools since my gpa is quite low. I'm applying to 20 schools and sending both canadian and american DAT...that alone was $1000CDN...then the AADSAS application fees will be like $1700 USD NOT including the secondary fee

 

Kittyp, you seem to have a pretty good chance at canadian schools. Maybe you should just apply to like 3 US schools?

[xylem29]

I'm applying also guys!

 

I am a bit worried about the whole Tufts Syndrome thing, since I also have a pretty solid gpa...

 

Anyway, I have a question - do we need to write anything for the section asking about activities we are proficient in that require hand-eye coordination? It just seems kinda strange - I mean, I used to play goal in hockey and that requires hand-eye coordination but all I can think to write is:

 

"I play goal in hockey"

 

How are you guys approaching this?

[colos]

Hey contach you seem to generally know quite a bit about the American schools....I was wondering, which schools in your opinion to you believe stand out.

I'm trying to only pick 3 schools to save money, but can only think of Buffalo/Columbia/NYU/Penn right now to remain somewhat close to home....what do you think of these schools as well?

[Kittyp]

This is going to sound like a broken record... but I dont want others to make the same mistake as I did and I'm not sure if you read my previous posts.. so...Here's my experience:

 

I also applied to 11ish American Schools (a lot) with better than average stats. And if I had to do it over again, I'd only apply to 5, maybe less. All the schools are essentially very similar. And during the interview day, you will be impressed by what each school has to offer and want to go there. But at the end of the day, my heart was never set on American schools, just one or two.

It takes a lot of effort to attend so many interviews as well, assuming you will get interviews at most of those places, which I think is fair to say. I ended up getting 7 interviews in the USA, and only attended 3. What a waste eh? Ironically, those schools that admit students with generally lower DAT/GPAs were the ones that didn't ask me to interview: Boston, Temple, UPitt, NYU. You may want to think about removing Tufts and Case from the list. Do IU, UL and Marquette admit International Students?

 

You can find a lot of information about these schools on their websites and the studentdoctor.net pre-dent forums. But really, I don't see anything special about Nova (unless you really like hot weather), Louisville, Indiana, Marquette, and Detroit Mercy (unless you want to be close to Canada).

 

Thanks Contach! I have been reading your posts and you seem to be really helpful. I think you are right. I thought about it when I was actually picking up schools and felt it would be too hard to attend about 10-15 interviews in just 3-4 months. And then sending supplementary information to so many schools will make me crazy. I have cut it down to 12 schools which are

 

Nova (just feel it can act as backup), UoP (its a 3 year program so attractive), IU ( my family lives in Indy), Louisville (very close to Indy and can go there frequently), Case (heard its a very good clinical program), Columbia (heard very good about it), UPenn ( same thing heard a lot of good things about it), Univ of Michigan (Univ reputation), Detroit Mercy (backup), Buffalo (heard its a good clinical program and also considering its fee which is lower than other American schools), Marquette (private school close to Indy), Tufts(backup). I am not able to reduce it further but really just want to select 8. What is your opinion about these schools? If you have to apply which 5 American schools will you choose? I have also heard that NYU, Temple, BU dont invite those with high scores on interview. I am not sure about UL and Marquette but IU do accept 4-5 Canadian students every year. Now I am totally confused as I know if I get accepted at Canadian school I will definitely go there, just don't want to miss the boat and wait another year.

[syr2008]

I am applaying to the following schools:

 

Buffalo (Low tuition)

VCU (Low tuition)

Detroit Mercy (Can go there for an interview so easily, I have a huge family and community there)

Columbia (Good school, I guess)

 

and maybe I will add West Virginia and UPenn.

[syr2008]

How bad is it if I e-submit my application before the end of June Compared to submitting it next week (Mid of June)?

[stresso]

I'm sure it won't make that much of a difference. It's still pretty early.

[Jinnysw]

So Contach, you're saying the easier schools choose higher GPAs??? So then which schools are better to choose in terms of those with low GPAs, yet high DATs?

[tiny]

you should take Buffalo and VCU off your lists.. they are cheaper because they are state schools, but you wouldn't be paying state prices anyways, you would be paying international tuition... state schools accept mostly in-state students, you would have to have really good stats to get accepted out of state... you should focus on private schools, most have no in-state preference

 

BU, Case, NYU, Nova, UDM and UoP are generally Canadian friendly

[juba]

I would also take Columbia off the list, I have only heard bad things about their dental school even from their own students! I would add the university of Maryland, I got accepted there and I'm Canadian.

 

I love Case though if I was to go to the states that would be my school of choice:)

[Contach]

Thanks Contach! I have been reading your posts and you seem to be really helpful. I think you are right. I thought about it when I was actually picking up schools and felt it would be too hard to attend about 10-15 interviews in just 3-4 months. And then sending supplementary information to so many schools will make me crazy. I have cut it down to 12 schools which are

 

Nova (just feel it can act as backup), UoP (its a 3 year program so attractive), IU ( my family lives in Indy), Louisville (very close to Indy and can go there frequently), Case (heard its a very good clinical program), Columbia (heard very good about it), UPenn ( same thing heard a lot of good things about it), Univ of Michigan (Univ reputation), Detroit Mercy (backup), Buffalo (heard its a good clinical program and also considering its fee which is lower than other American schools), Marquette (private school close to Indy), Tufts(backup). I am not able to reduce it further but really just want to select 8. What is your opinion about these schools? If you have to apply which 5 American schools will you choose? I have also heard that NYU, Temple, BU dont invite those with high scores on interview. I am not sure about UL and Marquette but IU do accept 4-5 Canadian students every year. Now I am totally confused as I know if I get accepted at Canadian school I will definitely go there, just don't want to miss the boat and wait another year.

 

I would only apply to your top 5 schools in America, for each of us, that list will be different. With your stats, I am confident you will get in. My 5 would probably be something like: Harvard, Columbia, UCSF, UNC and UPenn. No point in applying to 'backups" as essentially they are your backups to your backups, and that can be easy to overlook when you are applying to Canadian schools foremost, and American schools aswell. Always remember that.

[Contach]

So Contach, you're saying the easier schools choose higher GPAs??? So then which schools are better to choose in terms of those with low GPAs, yet high DATs?

 

No, I'm saying 'easier schools' will not interview Canadians with good stats. It has happened to me, and it's happened to two other Canadians I know. There is other good documentation of this on Student Doctor Network.

 

What may be considered a low GPA in Canada is a pretty decent GPA in America, what kind of GPA are you talking about?

[Contach]

I would also take Columbia off the list, I have only heard bad things about their dental school even from their own students! I would add the university of Maryland, I got accepted there and I'm Canadian.

 

I love Case though if I was to go to the states that would be my school of choice:)

 

I hear Maryland is top notch. Congrats, are you attending?

 

What is appealing about Case University?

[Contach]

you should take Buffalo and VCU off your lists.. they are cheaper because they are state schools, but you wouldn't be paying state prices anyways, you would be paying international tuition... state schools accept mostly in-state students, you would have to have really good stats to get accepted out of state... you should focus on private schools, most have no in-state preference

 

BU, Case, NYU, Nova, UDM and UoP are generally Canadian friendly

 

Buffalo IS the cheapest American school for an International Student to attend. But this doesn't mean that Buffalo is a "cheap school." For international fees, 4 years ends up being $230k USD. I looked into it because I got accepted. Tiny is wrong once again when he says that Buffalo is a state-school taht accepts mostly in-state students. This is false, at the interview they said they only give slight preference to NY State residents, they are in a funny position, where for the last few decades they haven't given any preference to their state students, you can understand it as a Private University. It accepts many more international students than other notorious "state schools," for example UNLV, UW, or any of the texas schools (just off the top of my head). Buffalo is a good school to apply to for these reasons.

[Kittyp]

you should take Buffalo and VCU off your lists.. they are cheaper because they are state schools, but you wouldn't be paying state prices anyways, you would be paying international tuition... state schools accept mostly in-state students, you would have to have really good stats to get accepted out of state... you should focus on private schools, most have no in-state preference

 

BU, Case, NYU, Nova, UDM and UoP are generally Canadian friendly

 

Buffalo accepts a lot of out of state residents ( I believe its around 40) and though fee for OOS is more than IS but still its far less than other schools.

[Kittyp]

How bad is it if I e-submit my application before the end of June Compared to submitting it next week (Mid of June)?

 

Instead of starting getting interviews from mid of Aug it will start in end of September.

[Kittyp]

I would only apply to your top 5 schools in America, for each of us, that list will be different. With your stats, I am confident you will get in. My 5 would probably be something like: Harvard, Columbia, UCSF, UNC and UPenn. No point in applying to 'backups" as essentially they are your backups to your backups, and that can be easy to overlook when you are applying to Canadian schools foremost, and American schools aswell. Always remember that.

 

Thanks Contach

[juba]

I applied in mid June and all of my interviews were in February. Every interview that I went to they kept asking me why I was interviewed so late. I got my interview invite for Case in August but the interview date was February. I was kinda glad in a way because I found out about Canadian schools before I paid any deposits!!