Dental School Application Status

With the month of September quickly waning, at what point should I start panicking about the status of my dental school applications?

I have no interview offers yet. The University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has placed my application on "continuing review". It sounds ominous, treading a fine line between hope and rejection.

How do I convey my passion for dentistry to the adcoms? How do I make them understand that I'm much more than just numbers? Is a decent DAT enough to compensate for a dismal science GPA?

The dentist I shadow at the community health clinic summarized my situation bluntly, though in a friendly/joking manner. "So you're smart enough to do very well on the DAT with only 3 weeks of studying but you slack off in school."

Now, I wouldn't really call myself a "slacker"...

Maybe by Asian standards I am a slacker?

The thing is, if I don't get into dental school I don't have an alternative plan. My major provides me with virtually no marketable skills. I walked by the career fair last Thursday and not surprisingly, there was nobody hiring a graduate with a B.S. in Kinesiology. It's not like I can even approach Price Waterhouse Cooper with my volunteer-based health-related resume and ask for an entry level job. "What sets me apart from your other candidates," I should tell the recruiting manager, "is that despite my nonexistent accounting skills, I am a pre-health major. This means that I am more ethical than any business majors on this campus, a compassionate soul who believes in volunteerism, and truly cares about making a positive impact in the community".

Seriously kids, when you go to college and fork out $20,000 per year, make sure you choose a major (i.e. Business administration, accounting, computer science, chemical engineering, etc) where you can find a decent job with a bachelor's degree. It's a financially sound backup plan.


Song of the Day
How to Love - Lil Wayne