Honesty required...

[Christine Kao]

Hi guys...

I'm wondering if my grades are good enough to get into an American (or Canadian) dental school. I'm from Canada, and I wish I could help you Americans when you ask these questions, but I don't know how strict your universities are.

Anyways, my first year was 3.75, second year 3.95, and third year 4.33. This averages to be about 3.95 for all three years (the degree is pharmacology, but in Canada the degree is irrelevant; I don't know about the US).

Thanks guys...appreciate any feedback. : )

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[bigsilvo]

Hi guys...

I'm wondering if my grades are good enough to get into an American (or Canadian) dental school. I'm from Canada, and I wish I could help you Americans when you ask these questions, but I don't know how strict your universities are.

Anyways, my first year was 3.75, second year 3.95, and third year 4.33. This averages to be about 3.95 for all three years (the degree is pharmacology, but in Canada the degree is irrelevant; I don't know about the US).

Thanks guys...appreciate any feedback. : )

doubtful, you need 4.0 across the board.

 

[armorshell]

A 3.95 gpa is about as competitive as you can get.

Also, you should really put on an asbestos suit, because you're about to catch some serious flame.

 

[INFNITE]

what kind of f'n question is this? (unless the GPA system in Canada is different from the GPA system in the US)

 

[Christine Kao]

You know...I know nothing about American dental schools. I have heard of people with 3.9's getting waitlisted. I've heard of those with 3.4's getting accepted.

And you know what? This exact question, with someone with nearly identical grades, was posted on a Canadian dentistry forum...and they said (with honesty) that they were DOUBTFUL. This proves our GPA conversion is indeed different.




I'm sorry but this really was an honest question. I guess I'll take it to mean that they are okay enough. If it makes you feel any better I just won't post my own questions and only help other people out about studying for the DAT or something, since I don't know enough about American admissions.

Thank you for your time.

 

[tinman831]

You are the person with the highest GPA to ask for advice here on SDN. You seem to be in great shape GPA-wise.

 

[prez_al]

Igniting my flamethrower... Infinite should dish out some PAIN!!!! Note: This intense paranoia could be due to the asian tendency to freak out about EVERYTHING!!!

You'll be fine... 3.9 is insane. You'll def get into a Canadian school like Toronto.

 

[CorneliusFudge]

Doesn't Canada work on a 5.0 scale. A canadian 3.9 is NOT a US 3.9.

 

[prez_al]

Doesn't Canada work on a 5.0 scale. A canadian 3.9 is NOT a US 3.9.

Nope... The Canadian system basically is like this:

A+ = 4.0, A = 3.9, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B- = 2.7 and so forth.... 5.0 scale is only in one province I think.

 

[INFNITE]

you were talking about how people with 3.9 getting waitlisted....Maybe the person got like a 15 on the DATs? Maybe that person submitted their applications the day before the deadline? There's alot more to the dental application process than the GPA. You could maybe clarify a bit on how GPA conversion is carried out to get you a 3.95 GPA. Do you have mostly A's for letter grade? If not, then the conversion probably is different.

 

[Angle Jr.]

I just found a Canadian GPA Conversion Table. This data is from p.14 of “The Black Book on Canadian Medical Schools” by Dr. Brett L. Ferdinand, MD:

Canadian American
7 4.00
6 3.70
5 3.30
4 2.70
3 2.30
2 1.70

In the U.S., you need at least 3.3 GPA to be competitive, which is about 5.00 in the Canadian scale. I would suggest taking more upper year science courses, or possibly doing postbac coursework, in order to improve your cumulative GPA to at least 5.00. Fortunately, your GPA has an upward trend, which is looked upon favorably by the admission committees. Good luck!!!

 

[Christine Kao]

Thank you, everyone. Angle's comment was closest to what I meant to say.

I will take your advice. : )

 

[Leeuwenhoek]

Hi guys...

I'm wondering if my grades are good enough to get into an American (or Canadian) dental school. I'm from Canada, and I wish I could help you Americans when you ask these questions, but I don't know how strict your universities are.

Anyways, my first year was 3.75, second year 3.95, and third year 4.33. This averages to be about 3.95 for all three years (the degree is pharmacology, but in Canada the degree is irrelevant; I don't know about the US).

Thanks guys...appreciate any feedback. : )

Well, one thing everyone is overlooking is the other stuff aside from GPA. How are your DAT scores? Do you have any dental experience or job shadowing? I mean if you have 14s on your DAT, it would be doubtful you'll get in anywhere. Job shadowing is more important for US schools although job shadowing is a good idea in any case so you know what you're getting yourself into.

 

[Christine Kao]

Well, one thing everyone is overlooking is the other stuff aside from GPA. How are your DAT scores? Do you have any dental experience or job shadowing? I mean if you have 14s on your DAT, it would be doubtful you'll get in anywhere. Job shadowing is more important for US schools although job shadowing is a good idea in any case so you know what you're getting yourself into.

To be honest, I have not written the DAT. I asked this question because I've been studying for the DAT for about a month, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my time applying to American schools.

The people in this thread are right...an American GPA is not the same as a Canadian GPA. See? I'm not so smart after all. Not even smart enough to remind you of the different scales. -_-;;

When you say job shadowing, you mean at a dentist's office, right? I have spent time doing that, yes. Thanks for the concern.

 

[prez_al]

Yeah, I guess a Canadian GPA is different, aside from Alberta and Manitoba, I didn't think there's any other places that has a system other than the 4 point scale. But isn't it kinda early to be studying for the DAT considering its in November??

 

[Leeuwenhoek]

To be honest, I have not written the DAT. I asked this question because I've been studying for the DAT for about a month, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my time applying to American schools.

The people in this thread are right...an American GPA is not the same as a Canadian GPA. See? I'm not so smart after all. Not even smart enough to remind you of the different scales. -_-;;

When you say job shadowing, you mean at a dentist's office, right? I have spent time doing that, yes. Thanks for the concern.

Well, I'm a Canadian applicant and to be honest, American GPA is not necessarily different than a Canadian GPA. If your school grades on a 4.0 GPA scale then it would be generally looked at the same as American GPA. No conversion necessary. I can tell yours is not based on a 4.33 grade. There are some school which gives A+ as 4.33 so if you are on a different scale such as this, then you would need to convert your GPA to the 4.0 scale and see how you compare.

Yes, Job shadowing is spending time at the dentists office observing various procedures and sometimes assisting in cleaning or sterilizations. Some schools like Tufts require a dentist letter stating you spent the appropriate number of hours shadowing.

If you have some specific questions, especially about the Canadian Dat (Soap Carving and whatnot) or even about applying to Canadian or US dental schools, fell free to PM me.

 

[Christine Kao]

If you have some specific questions, especially about the Canadian Dat (Soap Carving and whatnot) or even about applying to Canadian or US dental schools, fell free to PM me.

Heh thanks! Makes me feel welcome here at SDN.

Oh, and to prez_al, I feel I'm tight for time because I have a full time job...

Going to go now though...good night~

 

[puncho]

Haven't read all the replies so excuse me if I'm repeating someone. Assuming your school is on a 4.0 scale, An A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0. If your school does +/- system, they're a bit different (my school didn't so I'm not sure about that). I know canadian schools work in percentages, so each school should have a conversion from percentage to letter grade somewhere.

Now, usually ~3.3 you can make it into American schools but you'll need a decent/good DAT. For Canadians, you need ~3.7 and great DATs from what I've seen. Good luck.

 

[Angle Jr.]

Well, actually I thought that the OP started this thread as kind of a sarcasm or something (e.g. to encourage people to do a little more research on their own so as not to be misinformed)... I am very sorry if I was mistaken. It was very difficult to believe that someone who has the intelligence to get a 3.95 GPA would seriously believe a rumor that people with 3.95 GPA have a DOUBTFUL chance getting into dental school.…

The conversion table I quoted was just one of the 7 different scales shown in the book, and actually most Canadian schools use a 4.0 scale just like U.S. schools. Unless you went to Alberta, your AADSAS GPA should be indeed around 3.95. Then you obviously don’t need to improve your GPA. My honest advice is to carefully read the sticky “Links of Interest” thread, which is an excellent starting point. Also, you should always take things on the internet with a grain of salt.