october said:
Hi,
As some of you already know I'm a canadian student at the University of Toronto. I'll be graduating this year with a Hon. BSc. I'm thinking of applying to the states for 2007 entrance. However my GPA isn't very good (only a 3.01 presently). My parents want me to apply to MAHE.
Since there are students that have gone through the BDS program in India, I was hoping for some opinions. Do you think it would be a good idea to go to MAHE (or any other indian dental school)? I know I would have to do a 2 year program in order to practice in Canada/US. How difficult is it to obtain admission for the 2 year advanced placement programs for foreign trained dentists?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Hey October (fellow Canuck
)
Okay, I promised myself that I wouldn't post much on the SDN nowadays since I need to concentrate on my preparation for the exam. However, seeing your post, I thought I'd make an exception and give you my $0.02
My honest advice is DO NOT GO OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA TO STUDY DENTISTRY IF YOU WANT TO SETTLE IN NORTH AMERICA!!! Going overseas should absolutely be your very last resort!!! I was an UofT student, too. I think your GPA is pretty much hopeless for the Canadian dental schools. However, I do think you have a relatively good chance of getting into a US school, provided you really kick $SS on the DAT ( ie. getting above 20s) and apply early. A GPA of 3 is the minimum for a lot of the American schools, and if you have great DAT scores, your low GPA will be overlooked, somewhat. So, apply to as many US dental schools as you can early. If you don't get in, take some upper science courses and some non-science courses that you're good at from UofT, or elsewhere if you think you can get higher grades, to improve your science and overall GPAs in the meantime, which I am sure you can do. Honestly, it is really a huge hassle to go back and do an Advanced Standing Program after obtaining a dental degree outside of North America because it's very competitive and the competition is only getting worse. A lot more money and time will go into this route compared to the US dental school route. I think, even if you have to do an extra 1 or 2 years of science to improve your GPA, it will be much more than worth it. For me, If I had known about the magnitude of the competition for the Advanced Standing Program back then, I would have definitely thought twice about going overseas (to England) to do dentistry. I mean, I had a fantastic experience in England and got an excellent dental education, but for the amount of money, time and effort I am paying because of it now, is just too much. Now, it's too late and I can't go back in time. Therefore, it's better that you face the competition now, trying to get into a 4-year regular program, than later into an Advanced Standing Program. You'll be safe and sound once you get into a US school. All you have to worry about is finish the program so that you may start practising. It just sucks big time trying to get into an Advanced Standing Program
.
You should definitely start applying to the US schools once your UofT exams are over in early to mid May. Best of luck on your exams.
Hope that helps.
Good luck with your decision.
