COVID-19 and AADSAS

I know what you’re thinking, I’m a rising senior in undergraduate, I was supposed to be finishing up my finals, and complete my studying for the DAT so I could take it soon. How am I going to fare with this incoming admissions cycle? How can I take the DAT if the Prometric site is closed? What if I am so late, I have no shot? How is this going to affect my bachelor’s degree? Will I even be able to graduate on time and begin dental school? If all my courses are online, will that impact my learning ability, or will it be looked at as unfavorably?
Let me be one of the many to tell you to STOP, and BREATHE.

Let me tell you some facts that will calm you down:
1) We are all experiencing this together-so whether you’re a dental student, a pre-dental student, a dentist, or a hospital resident, we are all literally navigating through this. This means you won’t be unfairly looked at because we’re all in the same boat, regulations and rules will change after this pandemic is controlled.
2) We haven’t ever seen anything like this, so governing bodies, whether it’s ADA, AAMCAS, CODA, The National Dental Board, etc will have to conform as we move through towards the end.
3) Prometric sites nationwide will be open on May 1st, as of right now. I say that this is tentative because they’ve already pushed it back from April 16th. There are no rescheduling fees during this obviously trying time, but I personally feel it will open closer to June. As of right now, CDC and Dr. Fauci (our nation’s leading ID physician) have claimed that we can see a partial re-opening in our nation sometime in May/June.
4) The good news is that we are finally at the beginning of the end.
5) You will not be considered “late” in the application cycle, because believe it or not, there will be thousands of students who are struggling with DAT test dates, just like you.
6) In my past 4 years of consulting experience, I have seen students with average to above-average grades apply sometime in August, and still get a handful of interviews. Being early is great, but being late (think September and beyond) is what you want to avoid. Now, with that being said, because this has been a completely unforeseen event, admission committees will likely be a lot more lenient. Logically, they will have to, there will be a significant number of students with superb grades that due to no error of their own, will end up applying closer to July/August after sitting for the DAT test.
7) If you just happen to be part of the cohort that has taken the DAT already, and are readying your application to be one of the first to apply, good for you! You’re taking the right step at a time where you’ll be more than ready by the time June rolls around.
8) A lot of people have asked me how to navigate due to not being able to fulfill the quote for shadowing/volunteer hours? Well, a lot of dental clinics are likely now closed, or certainly won’t be allowing any mentees to come in; however, you can definitely still volunteer! There are tons of online therapy websites which you can volunteer to help out in, another big one is text-based crisis hotlines. The opportunities are out there!

COVID will change the way we live our lives forever, it may very well have a second wave, and we hopefully will have a vaccine and/or palliative treatment coming our way within 12-18 months-but what I want you to remember is you’re NOT alone. You will still get into dental school, and you will still be able to navigate through this admissions cycle. It will be challenging, it will be a little tricky, but remember, you’re not fighting this battle by yourself. Good luck to all you future dentists!