u/Agreeable-Mango9045

Hey guys! Formulating a list of schools to apply to and just wanted to gauge an opinion on how realistic these schools are or if they're a good/bad idea (NY resident):

Stonybrook, UBuffalo, NYU, Touro, Columbia, UConn, Temple, UPenn, Pitt, BU, Tufts, Rutgers

GPA/sGPA: 3.946

DAT: 500AA, 490TS, 550RC, 410PAT

Experiences:

~100 general shadowing, ~50 orthodontic shadowing/volunteering

~100 hours as a med assistant (switched to pre-dental junior year)

~2,400+ retail hours as a manager (current position)

~100 volunteering at nursing home

~70 volunteering on dental mission trip

~50 volunteering at hospital

For courses with obscure subjects (ex. my college required us to take "UNIV" first year experience courses), would you recommend putting "Orientation" as the subject? I'm sure they don't focus as heavily on the subjects but rather the course code, however I am still paranoid about making errors, and unfortunately there is no "other" option

When entering courses earned through AP credits, is it ok to put "T" for the grade? My undergraduate transcript lists AP credits as T for "Transfer", but I have heard others say to just use "CR" for credit. Thoughts?

I didn't decide on dentistry until my junior year, and prior to that I got a CNA certification and worked as a medical assistant. Do you think it's worth it to use part of my personal statement as a space to explain this? I think it might help to explain why I have less shadowing hours than most, but it also doesn't show a strong dedication to dentistry since day 1. Any advice you guys have is appreciated!