What it takes to get into Dental School

My only qualification for this posting is that I am in Dental School, not that I figured out the secret of getting into Dental School.  My first year applying, 2008, I applied for 8 dental schools, got 2 interview invites and no acceptances.  The second year I applied for 8 schools, got 3 interview invites and 2 acceptances.  I did absolutely nothing different between the 1st and second years of applying.  I've talked to other students about the process and here are my takeaways.

It's a numbers game.  ASDOH, one of the larger private dental schools, receives over 5000 applications for their 100 spots.  They interview approximately 400.  There is less than a 10% chance if you apply, you'll get interviewed, and after that, there is only a 30% chance you'll be accepted.  There are 12,000 applicants/year for 4,000 dental school spots throughout the country.  Every single fellow applicant I met at interviews was a very personable, friendly, probably intellectually gifted person with a unique story.  All of this boils down to numbers, there is no way admissions committees pick the best 100 students out of an application pool of 5000 for their school.  Your DAT, GPA, extracurricular, and interview score will get you an acceptance into a school if they are high enough.

Here is what I currently think the minimum for getting into Dental School.

In state residents:
3.3 GPA Science
3.3 GPA Total
19 DAT
Extracurricular activities and dental shadowing

Out of state residents:
3.5 GPA Science
3.5 GPA Total
20 DAT
Extracurricular activities and dental shadowing and a compelling story

A person with these stats should be able to get into a dental school if they apply to 8 schools or more.