Applying to dental schools while doing SMP?

[shaken not stirred]

Hello everyone,

I will be applying this cycle. I am also trying to decide how to spend the upcoming academic year.
A little bit about me. I am a non-traditional applicant who has been out of school for 6 years now. I am currently working as a chemist in a pharmaceutical company.
I have 3.5 oGPA and 3.45 sGPA. But my GPA suffered a progressive decline with multiple semester GPAs as low as 2.0 and 1.5 in later semesters.

I do have a 26 AA DAT score, but knowing that some schools including my state school place a strong focus on GPA and GPA trend, I am looking for ways to strengthen my application.

So at the advice and suggestions from other SDNers, I am considering to do a 1 -year SMP this Fall.
However, I am worried that applying to dental schools while being in an SMP might give me less interview invites as I read in some posts that some schools won't extend invites unless SMP Fall grades come in. I worry that some schools that would otherwise give me interviews rather decide to wait or, due to seats being full by the time Fall grades come in, won't extend me interviews.

What are your thoughts? Much appreciated for all your input.

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[stuntdragon]

Hey, I did the same thing with 3.58 AADSAS GPA and 3.46 sGPA (both including +/-) but with a very strong upward trend and I thought I would get less interview invites too. I heard that if you're in such a program a lot of schools wait, but I got 11 pre-December and 2 post-December invites. I also got into my dream schools and accepted without any new grades on Dec 1st. In summary, I believe it depends on how strong your initial application is. You really can't go wrong with staying in school, just more work! One downside would be the cost of an SMP and not doing as well as you think you would.

 

[dudeethatsrad]

Hey, I did the same thing with 3.58 AADSAS GPA and 3.46 sGPA (both including +/-) but with a very strong upward trend and I thought I would get less interview invites too. I heard that if you're in such a program a lot of schools wait, but I got 11 pre-December and 2 post-December invites. I also got into my dream schools and accepted without any new grades on Dec 1st. In summary, I believe it depends on how strong your initial application is. You really can't go wrong with staying in school, just more work! One downside would be the cost of an SMP and not doing as well as you think you would.

Hey, I was curious to know how much you think SMPs helped? I had a 3.45 cGPA and 3.33 sGPA (with +/-) and upward trend, and ended up with a 4.11 (with +/-) in an SMP. I scored a 25AA on the DAT. What do you think of my chances at higher tier schools like UCLA or Penn? Thank you man!

 

[PAtoPharm]

Hey, I did the same thing with 3.58 AADSAS GPA and 3.46 sGPA (both including +/-) but with a very strong upward trend and I thought I would get less interview invites too. I heard that if you're in such a program a lot of schools wait, but I got 11 pre-December and 2 post-December invites. I also got into my dream schools and accepted without any new grades on Dec 1st. In summary, I believe it depends on how strong your initial application is. You really can't go wrong with staying in school, just more work! One downside would be the cost of an SMP and not doing as well as you think you would.

So your stats really weren't competitive enough to land you any interview invites/acceptances without having to complete an SMP? Seems like you would've been competitive with those stats.... ?

 

[stuntdragon]

So your stats really weren't competitive enough to land you any interview invites/acceptances without having to complete an SMP? Seems like you would've been competitive with those stats.... ?

I believe there is a misunderstanding: I got accepted without dental schools seeing my Masters GPA, thus my undergraduate stats were competitive enough.

 

[stuntdragon]

Hey, I was curious to know how much you think SMPs helped? I had a 3.45 cGPA and 3.33 sGPA (with +/-) and upward trend, and ended up with a 4.11 (with +/-) in an SMP. I scored a 25AA on the DAT. What do you think of my chances at higher tier schools like UCLA or Penn? Thank you man!

You'll be fine, you had a good undergrad GPA to begin with and your SMP grade and DAT provides even more evidence on your ability to succeed academically. The rest of the application should rest within your non-academic areas such as your ability to communicate and your empathy (which should be in your personal statement)

 

[dudeethatsrad]

You'll be fine, you had a good undergrad GPA to begin with and your SMP grade and DAT provides even more evidence on your ability to succeed academically. The rest of the application should rest within your non-academic areas such as your ability to communicate and your empathy (which should be in your personal statement)

Great, thanks man. I'm nervous lol