Low GPA Junior / do i still have a shot?

[bmllyn]

Hi all. I am gonna be a junior the next fall, and my grades are terrible since covid. I had an oGPA of 3.69 at the end of freshman year, and now it is around 3.2. I got C's in physiology, evolutionary bio, orgo1 and 2. I will be retaking my orgo1 next fall since it is only a c-.

My experiences are 1. team project award in the engineering department
2. 150hrs shadowing
3. 1 semester worked in a biology lab
4. full-time job as a tutor this summer

I know this sounds irresponsible, but Covid really messed up my mental health, and I had to go to a therapist every other week just for me to have a nice sleep. Anyways, I am considering taking a gap year and apply in the summer of my senior year. Do I still got a chance or should I start to consider a plan B? I wanted to go to Buffalo, Stony Brook or Rutgers before, but I don't think my GPA will ever get back to 3.6. Anyone can share some wisdom?

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[2thPirate🦷]

Well a downward trend is never good, so I would suggest really grinding your last couple semesters to correct that. Pair that with a great DAT (21+) and you should be relatively competitive as long as your PS and extracurriculars check out. How are your volunteering hours looking?

 

[1942]

What’s your sGPA?
You have a reasonable chance to get in with a 3.2 if you pair it with a 21+ DAT and apply very strategically.

Rutgers and especially Stony Brook would be a long shot with that GPA.

 

[bmllyn]

Well a downward trend is never good, so I would suggest really grinding your last couple semesters to correct that. Pair that with a great DAT (21+) and you should be relatively competitive as long as your PS and extracurriculars check out. How are your volunteering hours looking?

What volunteering hours? I thought we only need shadowing. I will go shadowing this summer too. At the end of the summer, I would have 300+hrs. I also get a full-time job in a summer youth employment program funded by New York City this summer to teach pre-k kids. I'm not sure if these are what you asking.

 

[1942]

What volunteering hours? I thought we only need shadowing. I will go shadowing this summer too. At the end of the summer, I would have 300+hrs. I also get a full-time job in a summer youth employment program funded by New York City this summer to teach pre-k kids. I'm not sure if these are what you asking.

Community service hours....

 

[bmllyn]

What’s your sGPA?
You have a reasonable chance to get in with a 3.2 if you pair it with a 21+ DAT and apply very strategically.

Rutgers and especially Stony Brook would be a long shot with that GPA.

I think my sGPA is only 2.7, those C's really hurts. I just talked to my pre-health advisor and she said as long as I'm showing a strong academic performance the next two years, then it won't be terrible. As for schools, I'm really just aiming for the east coast area, but dental schools here all seem pretty competitive.

 

[2thPirate🦷]

What volunteering hours? I thought we only need shadowing. I will go shadowing this summer too. At the end of the summer, I would have 300+hrs. I also get a full-time job in a summer youth employment program funded by New York City this summer to teach pre-k kids. I'm not sure if these are what you asking.

Lol you need far more than just shadowing, might wanna start volunteering around the city wherever you can if you don't have any hours. Jobs are nice but they aren't the same as volunteering

 

[2thPirate🦷]

I think my sGPA is only 2.7, those C's really hurts. I just talked to my pre-health advisor and she said as long as I'm showing a strong academic performance the next two years, then it won't be terrible. As for schools, I'm really just aiming for the east coast area, but dental schools here all seem pretty competitive.

Yeah you need to get that above 3.0 or close to it tbh, it not impossible to get in with a sGPA below a 3.0 but it does not help.

 

[dentschool101]

i think it might be too late, your gpa is too low and most dental schools look at that the most heavily even if you have like 1000 hours of volunteering it still wouldn't matter. Since it demonstrates whether you can handle the workload in dental school, it really is the most crucial aspect in applying