Masters programs and where to take them

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jaf004

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Got a 19 AA and 18 TS, 3.3 GPA and 3.21 sGPA. Looking into one year masters incase I don't get in to dental school. Really interested in St. George's because I would love to go to the carribean for school for a year. Anyone know anything about this? Other suggestions? I have already applied to tufts masters in biomedical sciences.

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Is it not better to do a post bac to enhance your GPA, retake the DAT and then apply to both dental schools and SMP's? I hear the one at BU is good at getting people into dental school (the MS in Oral Health). I heard from someone who went there that it's also pretty much a back door to get into BU Dental School.
 
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Is it not better to do a post bac to enhance your GPA, retake the DAT and then apply to both dental schools and SMP's? I hear the one at BU is good at getting people into dental school (the MS in Oral Health). I heard from someone who went there that it's also pretty much a back door to get into BU Dental School.
I am taking Biochemistry in the spring, and I have applied to the Tufts masters in biomedical sciences. Another person pm'd me about all of the master's programs that they applied to, and I will probably take a serious look in to that. I really don't want to retake the DAT if I don't have to. At least not for another year. I spent 2 months studying all day for that thing, and I just finished it last week. I am probably just going to continue working towards dental school and masters programs. If anyone else out there who has taken a masters program and knows why some might be better than others, then that would be highly appreciated!
 
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I am taking Biochemistry in the spring, and I have applied to the Tufts masters in biomedical sciences. Another person pm'd me about all of the master's programs that they applied to, and I will probably take a serious look in to that. I really don't want to retake the DAT if I don't have to. At least not for another year. I spent 2 months studying all day for that thing, and I just finished it last week. I am probably just going to continue working towards dental school and masters programs. If anyone else out there who has taken a masters program and knows why some might be better than others, then that would be highly appreciated!

Would you mind sharing that with me? I may be in the same situation as you.
 
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I am taking Biochemistry in the spring, and I have applied to the Tufts masters in biomedical sciences. Another person pm'd me about all of the master's programs that they applied to, and I will probably take a serious look in to that. I really don't want to retake the DAT if I don't have to. At least not for another year. I spent 2 months studying all day for that thing, and I just finished it last week. I am probably just going to continue working towards dental school and masters programs. If anyone else out there who has taken a masters program and knows why some might be better than others, then that would be highly appreciated!

Will you be willing to share the list with me as well?
 
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Sure:
George Mason/Georgetown Advanced Biomedical Sciences Certificate Program (9 month certificate program with an option to receive a Masters from Georgetown in Physiology if you complete an extra semester during summer )
http://georgesquared.gmu.edu/graduate-cert-adv-biomed-sci-curriculum/

Rutgers Masters in BioMedical Science/Dental Scholars Program
http://njms.rutgers.edu/gsbs/prospective_students/info/masters_degree_requirements.htm
*They admit students for both fall and spring semesters

Masters in Pharmacology at Tulane University
http://tulane.edu/som/departments/pharmacology/masters/index.cfm

Masters of Science in BioMedical Science at Barry University(Dental Track)
http://www.barry.edu/biomedical-sciences/

Tufts University Masters in Biomedical Science
http://publichealth.tufts.edu/Academics/MBS-Microsite

Masters of Science in Oral Health Sciences at Boston University
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/oral-health-masters/ohs-prospective-students/oral-health-admissions/

This is what was given to me. I also know that midwestern has a BMS program and that LECOM has some type of program. I wouldn't consider the pharmacology program, but thats just because I am trying to go to dental school. I have talked to people who are currently at Tufts, Boston, and Rutgers and have only heard good things
 
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I had around a 3.4 out of undergrad and I ended up doing a master's at my undergrad school, and working with a research advisor (my micro professor) in a lab the day after I graduated. I applied and already have two interviews, one at my state school. Honestly, I don't think it really matters where you do the masters.. although the ones with direct entry into a school (rutgers? BU?) are obviously nice... but as long as you take some graduate classes that aren't total BS and do well in them, and maybe even manage to get some research experience (my interviewers were really interested in my research!) I'm sure it will look great on your application. Good luck!!
 
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A lot of schools like Barry. Me and a few other classmates have 3+ interviews so far.
 
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Sure:
George Mason/Georgetown Advanced Biomedical Sciences Certificate Program (9 month certificate program with an option to receive a Masters from Georgetown in Physiology if you complete an extra semester during summer )
http://georgesquared.gmu.edu/graduate-cert-adv-biomed-sci-curriculum/

Rutgers Masters in BioMedical Science/Dental Scholars Program
http://njms.rutgers.edu/gsbs/prospective_students/info/masters_degree_requirements.htm
*They admit students for both fall and spring semesters

Masters in Pharmacology at Tulane University
http://tulane.edu/som/departments/pharmacology/masters/index.cfm

Masters of Science in BioMedical Science at Barry University(Dental Track)
http://www.barry.edu/biomedical-sciences/

Tufts University Masters in Biomedical Science
http://publichealth.tufts.edu/Academics/MBS-Microsite

Masters of Science in Oral Health Sciences at Boston University
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/oral-health-masters/ohs-prospective-students/oral-health-admissions/

This is what was given to me. I also know that midwestern has a BMS program and that LECOM has some type of program. I wouldn't consider the pharmacology program, but thats just because I am trying to go to dental school. I have talked to people who are currently at Tufts, Boston, and Rutgers and have only heard good things

Thank you!
 
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Are these special masters programs really worth it? I mean I looked at the tuition for a couple of those, it's crazy high. Why not just get a full masters in a research field that'll give you coursework, a thesis, and more marketable job skills if dental doesn't work out? SMP's don't make up for DAT sccores either.....seems like such a huge investment to bump up a GPA a little.
 
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Are these special masters programs really worth it? I mean I looked at the tuition for a couple of those, it's crazy high. Why not just get a full masters in a research field that'll give you coursework, a thesis, and more marketable job skills if dental doesn't work out? SMP's don't make up for DAT sccores either.....seems like such a huge investment to bump up a GPA a little.
i agree 100%. I got paid to do my research during my master's... multiple job oppurtunities for after graduation, and teaching experience (among other things). AKA lots of things to talk about on my interviews.. I wouldn't give that up for a one year super expensive master's program with a small chance of getting into their school directly without 100% assurance.
 
I don't know what "small" chance you guys are talking about. If you look at ADEA guide to dental schools, I am sure if you calculate it then you have about a 20% chance to get in to dental school straight from college. Both of the SMPS I applied to claim that over 80% of their students get accepted immediately after their program. This means that they applied to dental school BEFORE there SMP even began, without the grades on the transcript, and just because they were enrolled in an SMP they were interviewed and granted acceptance with probably one semester of SMP grades on the application.

I am willing to bet that most of the 20% that don't go right away after SMP are students that had abysmal undergrad GPAs. Actually, one guy I talked to who is at NYU right now said had this exact same problem. He applied before SMP but his undergrad GPA of 3.0 and sGPA of 2.8 didn't get him any interviews. He said it was discouraging to see his classmates get accepted, but he reapplied right after SMP was over with a masters GPA of 3.8 and got accepted to all but one of the schools he applied to the following year.

I think it just comes down to how bad do you really want to be a dentist? From what I hear, doing an SMP shows a lot more dedication to the field because its really only marketable for Dentistry. Thus, the schools realize how much risk you are taking and how bad you want to be there.

On the other hand, maybe some schools like a rational person who decided to take the two year regular masters program in order to play it safe.... But for me personally, there is no other career, there is no giving up and picking up some random job. I just gotta keep doing this until I get there
 
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Why would you think a Caribbean school when you have so many amazing options in USA? Some of which are direct links into the dental school.

I suggest a postbac over a masters.
 
Why would you think a Caribbean school when you have so many amazing options in USA? Some of which are direct links into the dental school.

I suggest a postbac over a masters.
Yeah I gave up on the caribbean school idea. I just thought it'd be a sweet life experience, but St. George's doesn't really apply much to dentistry.

What is a "postbac" ? A lot of people keep saying that. But a lot of these special masters programs I applied to are only one year programs and you get a masters. Plus, both tufts and Boston say that 80% of people that graduate from their masters programs get accepted.
 
Why would you think a Caribbean school when you have so many amazing options in USA? Some of which are direct links into the dental school.

I suggest a postbac over a masters.

Why do you suggest the post bac over a masters? Most people would say otherwise so I'm curious.
I have dismal 2.56 sGPA and 2.6 BCP so would you say its still better to a post bacc if I have taken all the prerequisites and gotten C or above? Would taking upper level biology courses be better than doing a masters? I was a psychology major in college so only did the prerequisites plus biochem and cell biology.
 
Why do you suggest the post bac over a masters? Most people would say otherwise so I'm curious.
I have dismal 2.56 sGPA and 2.6 BCP so would you say its still better to a post bacc if I have taken all the prerequisites and gotten C or above? Would taking upper level biology courses be better than doing a masters? I was a psychology major in college so only did the prerequisites plus biochem and cell biology.

Because a masters degree isn't going to "make-up" for a poor GPA in the essential pre-req classes that determine your admission into dental school. Admissions people know that in a masters degree, everyone has a very high GPA, and getting a 4.0 in a masters is quite common, and expected.

In your case, I would suggest a solid 1 year post-bac program, repeating what you did poor in. Post-bac programs are expensive. The other option you have is to re-take these classes at your own pace and time informally through an extension or through a JC.

I repeated about 3 of my courses at a JC and about 4 through a university extension. My masters GPA was a 3.4. Undergrad was 3.59. I had about 7 C's on my undergrad transcript. All the courses I repeated were biology courses and one chemistry course that were all grades of a C.

I had a 17AA 17TS first DAT attempt and I got into UCSF. I retook the DAT and got a 19AA and 19TS, but UCSF woudn't take this. Univ of Pitt and NYU did, and I got in last minute in February. I am white, and I am not a URM.

Moral of story: Numbers are not everything but in your case, your GPA is just too low. Even a 28AA will not get you in. You need to show admissions you have a solid foundation and understanding of these sciences prior to matriculation.

Good luck!
 
You may have to even do a 2 year post-bac, because I don't know how many more units of 4.0GPA it will take to get your overall back in the ball park of a 3.4 to stand a chance.
 
You may have to even do a 2 year post-bac, because I don't know how many more units of 4.0GPA it will take to get your overall back in the ball park of a 3.4 to stand a chance.
So what about me? According to AADSAS I have a 3.33 GPA and 3.21 sGPA. In the dental school prerequisites, I made a C in Organic I, and a C in physics II.

I like the idea of doing a special masters program. At some of these schools, you take classes WITH the dental school students. Wouldn't that be enough to prove you have what it takes?
 
Yes but is it worth the 60-90k price tag? No.
 
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