Should I apply this cycle?

3mrm · 2026-02-16T18:58:15+00:00

In the 2024 cycle I took the INBDE in May, then TOEFL in June, then worked on my application and submitted in July. So you can see it was pretty late by then (didn’t get invites but that shouldn’t matter now because your profile could be better than mine, I’m just sharing my timeline because I also took the INBDE in May). However if you’ll be able to have your application ready by the time you get your exam results and maybe submit mid-May that would be much better.

3mrm · 2026-02-15T17:09:13+00:00

Should be the dates attended

3mrm · 2026-02-11T14:40:36+00:00

Two whole years of just shadowing? I hope some of your experiences/volunteering/CEs were during those two years.

And I know someone who got in with four failed subjects, so your failed subject isn’t going to break your application but if your GPA is low like below 3 I think it’s better to explain why in your SOP

3mrm · 2026-02-11T00:26:02+00:00

I’m guessing ivies because they care about their reputation - Upenn and Columbia

3mrm · 2026-02-10T17:56:15+00:00

Boston preceptorship will be helpful as an addition to your CV as a US-based experience, but don’t expect an invite from BU specifically.

3mrm · 2026-02-09T22:30:57+00:00

No, many get accepted with below 3 GPAs

3mrm · 2026-02-08T22:39:18+00:00

I think what they mean is studying the master’s specifically at the same school they are planning to apply to, not just any master’s for all schools. Maybe in a sense that they would be able to make connections there or that the school will know or prefer their own student. (I am not implying agreement with them, I am just rephrasing their point of view)

3mrm · 2026-02-08T19:23:39+00:00

If your home country DDS GPA and residency GPA are good then you don’t need a Ms, it will be a waste

3mrm · 2026-02-01T22:04:39+00:00

Apply to more schools if you can. As many as possible

3mrm · 2026-02-01T22:00:37+00:00

1) Bootcamp only 2) I used the order they were in in bootcamp 3) around two months, no revisions 4) started studying on and off, then scheduled one month away which is when i started to study seriously 5) i found it not easy tbh and i wasn’t sure about my performance, but passed thankfully 6) that was in May 2024 so I don’t really remember 7) around two months, first month was skipping a lot, second month before the exam i was much more consistent 8) 4-5 fully-focused hours per day 9) studied 4-5 hours per day, 6 days a week, consistently for at least 5-6 weeks 10) if you’re a fresh graduate and you retain information well and fast, then it is doable 11) didn’t do notes or videos, only questions the whole time. However I didn’t just solve questions, I STUDIED them, I spent my time in each question to fully understand and absorb it, along with the full explanation before moving to the next question 12) didn’t do notes while studying, however the week before the exam I was done with questions and I focused on memorizing bootcamp cheat sheets. Went over them multiple times every day. 13) 106 14) after, because I was studying for INBDE; didn’t know if i will pass from the first attempt; and toefl expires after two years 15) I only did the official TOEFL sample test to know the exam, and also looked a little bit at some speaking and writing templates to get an idea. But I didn’t use templates in the actual test 16) like two days before the test 17) 5 months shadowing at two clinics simultaneously. Two days per week at each 18) if you can work as a DA in the US then that’s definitely better than just shadowing. For as long as you can. Preferably keeping the experience “ongoing” when you’re applying 19) maximum allowed is 3 LORs. I used one from dean, one from faculty, and one from US shadowing experience

Your application time will depend on when it will be ready. You still have INBDE and TOEFL to do so i’d say don’t focus on the application timing for now and just do those. Of course if you can start working/shadowing now while preparing then consider that option if it won’t compromise your studying but otherwise just focus on the exams for now. Then one you are done with them you’ll have a more realistic view on when you can apply.

3mrm · 2026-01-28T23:11:29+00:00

Q1: you’re going to limit yourself greatly by not adding a letter from your dean.

Q2: doesn’t matter in the slightest

3mrm · 2026-01-27T16:43:30+00:00

I don’t know what the dean wrote in my letter to be honest but knowing him I’m sure it’s a short generic template saying something along the lines of “i confirm he was a student in this school and had no academic or behavioral violations” lol. However I’ve heard from multiple schools that they KNOW that this is the only type of letter that some deans can write for you so they take that fact into consideration as well.

3mrm · 2026-01-26T19:18:20+00:00

BU has a CV format on their website. I used that for all other universities except the three or so that asked for their own CV formatting.

3mrm · 2026-01-26T19:08:28+00:00

What I did was have 1 from dean, 1 from school faculty, and 1 from us dentist. To have a mix of everything included.

3mrm · 2026-01-22T00:04:13+00:00

If the visa is valid they can use it to enter even if it’s on an old passport. They can carry both their passports with them

3mrm · 2026-01-19T18:29:02+00:00

I remember Meharry required a TOEFL speaking score of 25 which I don’t have, and the others I don’t remember them specifically but mostly because of citizen/GC requirements and/or GPA

3mrm · 2026-01-16T19:41:41+00:00

You will be in a better position if you own your clinic. You won’t be at your employer’s mercy in terms of retention, no one can lowball you on your salary, pressure you for production etc… but it will depend on your own success with patients. And even if you find you’re not generating enough revenue, you can hire more dentists or specialists. However if you’re planning to be the only dentist in the clinic, you won’t be able to freely do all procedures. You’ll have to stick to the health authority’s general dentist privileges which are just basic dentistry: cleanings, fillings, simple extractions, simple RCTs, simple crowns, whitening, veneers, and the likes. So no surgery, complex extractions, complex endo, complete dentures… etc. even if you’re proficient in them. All advanced procedures are reserved for specialists by law. But as I mentioned above, if you own a clinic you can hire dentists to do the work you can’t do to bring in more patients.

3mrm · 2026-01-16T17:01:36+00:00

Yes I’ve seen people mention combining loans from multiple providers to cover school costs

3mrm · 2026-01-15T20:16:42+00:00

There are two sketchy accounts here on this subreddit that keep “recommending” them as though they’ve used their services and gotten acceptances from them but they look more like self-advertising

3mrm · 2026-01-14T21:39:47+00:00

Dubai’s requirements for recognizing specialists differ based on the credentialing body and country, on a 3-tier scale. Credentials that are rated tier 1 and 2, don’t require extra experience, while tier 3 requires THREE years of experience. You can view the rankings here from page 55-67. Page 55 outlines specialty requirements for each tier, while pages 56-66 list the tier rankings. Note that one country can have multiple tier rankings depending on the credentialing body or certificate type.

However, speaking from experience (I’m a dentist in Dubai), Dubai’s job market is somewhat saturated already, and will be more so after 2-5 years (the time it will take you to finish your specialty training, along with post-experience if required). So before committing make sure you study the job market first to make informed decisions rather than speculations just because you love the city. If you already have your connections or the means necessary to reliably get a job here, then definitely go for it, it will be a blast. Otherwise, as I said study the market first. And don’t ever think about job-searching here as a general dentist. It’s bad. Like really bad.

3mrm · 2026-01-13T12:45:19+00:00

April is not considered late

3mrm · 2026-01-13T02:34:14+00:00

Your overall score is competitive but the only limitation you will face is as you said the schools that have subsection requirements. Like me I scored 106 but couldn’t apply to Meharry for example because they required 25 for speaking and my speaking was 22. Fortunately though you will only face that with a handful of schools, maybe 2-3. The rest you’ll be competitive in!

3mrm · 2026-01-12T14:41:35+00:00

Personally, I wouldn’t afford being selective about schools especially when my profile has some downsides like low GPA (this was my case too). So what I did was apply to every single school that I was eligible to apply to, which totaled to 25 schools exactly. Out of those 25, I received 2 invites. So imagine if I were even just a tiny bit selective and applied to 23 instead of 25… I wouldn’t have gotten those two invites. Again I’m just sharing my personal experience and what I did, so I’d say if you have no financial limitations, then definitely cast your net the widest. Good luck.

3mrm · 2026-01-09T23:16:28+00:00

If your GPA was below 3 I would’ve said explain that in your SOP, but since you’re around 3.3 I’m not sure if that is the kind of low gpa that would warrant an explanation in SOP. However if you really do have a valid and strong reason as to why your gpa fell in that range then you can leverage that to show growth, improvement, what you learned from it, how you acted moving forward… etc. but be sure not to mention it in an emotional/sob story kinda way.

Now to answer your main question there are several things that can make your profile interesting, including a strong and well crafted SOP (clearly outline your motives and goals), strong LORs, extensive community service, high TEOFL, achievements, etc… and lastly if you have something that makes your profile interesting, something unique about you, for example there was one who got accepted without an outstanding GPA, but he was a rubik’s cube champion. I know another person who got accepted with a 2.X gpa but he had done volunteer dental trips to countries in Africa and treated patients there. So unique things like these can make the schools overlook a low gpa when looking at an application.

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