Canadian Student Applying to US dental schools

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e3r4

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Hello everyone on SDN,

I'm a new user of this forum after my friend introduced me to it. I find SDN incredibly helpful for my situation as I am applying to American dental schools.

I'm applying this cycle for the 2014 intake. I'm hoping my application will be completed by June 12.

I'm starting this thread because I need help from other students who have had the same situation and stats as me and who have applied to American dental schools as a Canadian.

Here is my profile:

cGPA (based on AADSAS GPA table) is 3.87
sGPA is 4.116
BCP is 3.985

My American DAT includes:

PA 24
QR 21
RC 21
Biology 26
GC 24
OC 24
TS 25
AA 23

I wrote the American DAT only once.

I have 3 LOR from professors (excellent) and 1 LOR from dentist

My EC include hospital volunteering (116 hrs), Senior home (81 hrs), Dentist (150 hrs and still going), Peer mentor (96 hrs), and family physician shadowing and volunteering (50 hrs)

I have worked for 3 years of my undergrad (year 2 to 4) for about 2100 hrs

I did some volunteer research for one summer for a plant biologist professor, it was nothing special though (I didn't get published or anything) ... I just learned the basics (how to use several laboratory equipment and how to grow bacterial colonies) ... I did about 80 hrs .

I received two awards and two scholarships from university.I am graduating this summer from Biomedical Science program but will be returning to school in the fall to take a second English course (as it is required) and to do a research course.

As I am Canadian, I will be applying to the following schools:

University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (UOP)
University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry (USC)
Howard University College of Dentistry (HOW)
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (NSU)
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (MWU-IL)
Indiana University School of Dentistry (IND)
University of Louisville School of Dentistry (UL)
Boston University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry (UDM)
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry (MIN)
Creighton University School of Dentistry (CRE)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine (CASE)
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (PITT)
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University (TEMP)
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (PENN)
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (USN)

I was a full time student. First year had 40.5 semester hrs, second year had 33 semester hrs, third year had 36 semester hrs, and fourth year had 28 semester hrs (I know this is less than 30 semester hrs, which is considered the FULL LOAD but this occurred because of financial problems so I had to increase my work hours)
I do not know any Canadians applying to American dental schools (all my friends are applying to medical schools), so i'm pretty much alone here :). I would love to hear any replies from other students concerning my chances of getting in (or whether I will even make it to the interview as I know my profile has flaws lol) and whether my school list is okay. Thanks for the help upfront!

You're not going to get in anywhere. No interviews, no nothing. Happy?

Jokes aside, you already know. Pft, I give you 2/10 for effort.
 
I am a Canadian that applied last cycle with similar stats (I had a lower DAT/higher GPA).

First of all, your stats are fine and as long as there are no red flags in your PS and application, interviews are pretty much going to come. I don't think you need to apply to that many schools with your numbers (imo). I applied to only 10 and felt by the end of the cycle that it may have been too many. But I'd say 8-10 with your application is good. I'd recommend that you remove Howard, Nova, Midwestern, Louisville, Creighton, USC and Roseman. Unless any of those schools are one of your top choices, I don't see the need to apply. I'd question the 'Canadian-friendliness' of some of the schools I mentioned above as well. (Just as a reference I applied to Case, NYU, Penn, BU, USC, UoP, Temple, Buffalo, Detroit Mercy and Minnesota this past cycle.)

So to answer your question, your chances are good to get interviews. From that point on, its on you. But as long as you are prepared (but not over-prepared) for those interviews you'll be fine.

As for the issue with your course load, as long as you are able to explain it, it shouldn't be a problem, but I may be wrong. Others may be better able to comment on that.

Good Luck.
 
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Canadian university GPA scale is a joke...80% and above = A.

shoulda gone to college there
 
Canadian university GPA scale is a joke...80% and above = A.

shoulda gone to college there

I'm a Canadian and I have to agree with you, the scale is ridiculous. But to be fair, for example at UofToronto, some courses you can't get above 90%. Professors make it clear the very first 10 minutes of the first lecture of these courses (i.e. not just one). They put a mark cap on the entire course ("unofficially" of course).
 
I'm a Canadian and I have to agree with you, the scale is ridiculous. But to be fair, for example at UofToronto, some courses you can't get above 90%. Professors make it clear the very first 10 minutes of the first lecture of these courses (i.e. not just one). They put a mark cap on the entire course ("unofficially" of course).

Well................Isn't that conveniently misleading :rolleyes:
 
I'm a Canadian and I have to agree with you, the scale is ridiculous. But to be fair, for example at UofToronto, some courses you can't get above 90%. Professors make it clear the very first 10 minutes of the first lecture of these courses (i.e. not just one). They put a mark cap on the entire course ("unofficially" of course).

They tend to have a history of doing things like that don't they? Most undergrad science programs there can get hellish I've heard.
 
Well................Isn't that conveniently misleading :rolleyes:

It's true. I don't know why you're replying with a sarcastic tone, but it's 100% what happens here. I know of no other institutions in all of North America that has these stupid policies.

When a course class average goes above 65% for any science course, the professor must write to the dean and Faculty explaining why the students received such a high mark. If they write this letter multiple times, they are risking being replaced. Happened to my 3rd year physio prof and my embryology prof. Both got replaced for those reasons. I know because I am very close with my physio prof who told me about that situation.

The 90% cap is there to ensure that the 65% class average is almost always attained. Lower than that is perfectly fine, but any higher than that is a big no-no.
 
I'm a Canadian and I have to agree with you, the scale is ridiculous. But to be fair, for example at UofToronto, some courses you can't get above 90%. Professors make it clear the very first 10 minutes of the first lecture of these courses (i.e. not just one). They put a mark cap on the entire course ("unofficially" of course).

I have a solution for that: don't. go. to. Toronto. Go. To. Western. Or. McMaster.
 
I have a solution for that: don't. go. to. Toronto. Go. To. Western. Or. McMaster.

Again, I totally agree with you. I'm still kicking myself in the foot for not going with my gut instinct to go to Western when I had the chance way back in senior high school. I was blinded by the so-called "reputation" that UofToronto has in the international scene. In retrospect, all that rep was for research, they cater to prospective researchers very well. Not so friendly to the pre-meds and pre-dents.:mad::mad::mad:
 
Again, I totally agree with you. I'm still kicking myself in the foot for not going with my gut instinct to go to Western when I had the chance way back in senior high school. I was blinded by the so-called "reputation" that UofToronto has in the international scene. In retrospect, all that rep was for research, they cater to prospective researchers very well. Not so friendly to the pre-meds and pre-dents.:mad::mad::mad:

haha yup my thoughts exactly
 
I completely understand how you all feel about the Canadian GPA scale. That is one of the reason I was very confused about my chances at American dental schools because my GPA seems much higher than most of the American students getting accepted. I thought to myself something is definitely off lol!

Thanks to everyone who has posted a reply to my post. Please keep posting!! ... its very helpful to hear insights of other students who've gone through the same process i'm going through right now.
 
Canadian university GPA scale is a joke...80% and above = A.

shoulda gone to college there

Not all Canadian schools use that grading scheme. For those that do, perhaps the courses and exams are harder. If, at your American school, you can actually get 90% (A), then maybe your exams are too easy. "A's" - whether they're 60%, 80%, or 90% -- are made to be difficult to attain anywhere you go - that's why letter grades can be relatively standardized by AADSAS. :thumbup: .
 
Not all Canadian schools use that grading scheme. For those that do, perhaps the courses and exams are harder. If, at your American school, you can actually get 90% (A), then maybe your exams are too easy. "A's" - whether they're 60%, 80%, or 90% -- are made to be difficult to attain anywhere you go - that's why letter grades can be relatively standardized by AADSAS. :thumbup: .

Or they could have mastered the material.
 
Not all Canadian schools use that grading scheme. For those that do, perhaps the courses and exams are harder. If, at your American school, you can actually get 90% (A), then maybe your exams are too easy. "A's" - whether they're 60%, 80%, or 90% -- are made to be difficult to attain anywhere you go - that's why letter grades can be relatively standardized by AADSAS. :thumbup: .

harder? that's relative lol.
 
Why do you want to go to a US dental school? With a 3.87 GPA, you could get into a Canadian school.
 
Why do you want to go to a US dental school? With a 3.87 GPA, you could get into a Canadian school.

That's just around the average for some Canadian schools. And even then, Canadian applications are a bigger lottery than the American ones, spcifically in Ontario. Western and Toronto only look at your GPA and Dat scores. Nothing else, prior to interview invites. So there are bound to be statistically qualified applicants that don't even make it to the interview stage. I know people with 3.99 and moderately high DATs not get interviews in consecutive years. And with the low number of seats, it is ridiculously competitive.

(Apologies for any spelling/grammar errors. Typed this on the phone)
 
I'm not gonna lie, I DID find the canadian DAT harder than the american one strictly in terms of the quality of the questions (and because it was on paper...:thumbdown:) But I'm preeeetty sure that doesn't apply to school exams because they aren't standardized in any way. Saying that one country as a whole is harder than another is just ignorant. You're going to find exceptions on either side (e.g. the particular canadian DATs that I took that specific year happened to be harder than the american DATs, doesn't necessarily hold true for all years. Likewise Toronto university is not necessarily harder in all courses than its counterparts at all US universities)
 
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