Need advice for gap-year/masters/applying

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celtics-42

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Would it be recommended for me to apply to dental schools at the end of my senior year but apply to masters also so in case I don't get into dental school I can do a master's

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It depends on your statistics. Assuming they're lower, because you're asking this question, then yes apply to both.
 
usually a good chunk (read: Not all, make sure you know your program) of masters programs start applications around Jan/Feb so you should have a good idea by then if you will or will not be going to dental school
 
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usually a good chunk (read: Not all, make sure you know your program) of masters programs start applications around Jan/Feb so you should have a good idea by then if you will or will not be going to dental school

Wouldn't applying during that time be really late since the application cycle opens up in July? I just wanted to know if I could just do a masters and avoid another gap year since the gap year would consist of the masters? Also, do you know the programs that will allow me to do so since UMDNJ doesn't until a year of studies is complete.
 
There are lots of things to do in a gap year. If your GPA / DAT is on the lower side, go for a Masters / Postbacc
 
There are lots of things to do in a gap year. If your GPA / DAT is on the lower side, go for a Masters / Postbacc

I currently have a 3.15, what do you think and 18AA/18TS but retaking the DAT soon?
 
What about your sgpa? If it's also 3.15ish then acing the DAT may be all that's necessary if money is tight. As long as your have good ECs and a decent personal statement, you should be fine.
 
What about your sgpa? If it's also 3.15ish then acing the DAT may be all that's necessary if money is tight. As long as your have good ECs and a decent personal statement, you should be fine.

I have a 2.975 science but I still have around 6 science classes remaining to pull up my gpa if I can manage
 
I have a 2.975 science but I still have around 6 science classes remaining to pull up my gpa if I can manage
Do all that you can to pull that up past 3.0 so you can get past screening; I think 3.0 is a pretty important benchmark. Other than that, if you show a strong upwards trend your last year and a 22/23+ on your DAT I think you have a decent shot at select schools. If you're concerned that you need an extra push, I recommend taking some upper division science classes at a post bacc in order to further increase your sgpa while you apply.
 
Do all that you can to pull that up past 3.0 so you can get past screening; I think 3.0 is a pretty important benchmark. Other than that, if you show a strong upwards trend your last year and a 22/23+ on your DAT I think you have a decent shot at select schools. If you're concerned that you need an extra push, I recommend taking some upper division science classes at a post bacc in order to further increase your sgpa while you apply.

Would a post-bacc be better than a SMP or is there benefit to either and which would dental schools prefer more. I am an economically disadvantaged student but not URM so I just don't want to throw money at a smp or post-bacc but would like a sense of security. Thanks for helping, means a lot.
 
Would a post-bacc be better than a SMP or is there benefit to either and which would dental schools prefer more. I am an economically disadvantaged student but not URM so I just don't want to throw money at a smp or post-bacc but would like a sense of security. Thanks for helping, means a lot.

When I say post-bacc I also mean informal post-baccs as well. You can just pick up classes through a local university's extension program and ace those. The issue with a SMP is that it won't add to your undergrad gpa and some schools don't really care about grad school gpa. Unless the SMPs are linked to acceptance at a dental school, I don't really see the appeal. Neither of these programs can "secure" you interview slots on their own, but they will help. You don't absolutely need to improve your sgpa to get into a dental school (depending on your DAT), but doing so and demonstrating an upwards trend will give you more of a chance to have a better selection.

Also, my advice of whether or not you should apply to a masters would depend on how committed you are to going into dentistry; would you do your masters in order to have a better chance of applying to dental school at a later date? Or would you just go the masters route straight into a phd or the workforce? If it's the latter, then why not apply to both if you're not too committed?
 
When I say post-bacc I also mean informal post-baccs as well. You can just pick up classes through a local university's extension program and ace those. The issue with a SMP is that it won't add to your undergrad gpa and some schools don't really care about grad school gpa. Unless the SMPs are linked to acceptance at a dental school, I don't really see the appeal. Neither of these programs can "secure" you interview slots on their own, but they will help. You don't absolutely need to improve your sgpa to get into a dental school (depending on your DAT), but doing so and demonstrating an upwards trend will give you more of a chance to have a better selection.

Also, my advice of whether or not you should apply to a masters would depend on how committed you are to going into dentistry; would you do your masters in order to have a better chance of applying to dental school at a later date? Or would you just go the masters route straight into a phd or the workforce? If it's the latter, then why not apply to both if you're not too committed?

I am 100% committed on going into dentistry and you make great points of what I should do but others have told me to do master's programs such as the one in UMDNJ but I just wanted to mainly know what my best bet would be to avoid 2 missed years instead of a gap year before matriculating into dental school. Thanks
 
I think you just changed your question; let me see if I'm understanding correctly. You want to make it so that you only have a single gap year when you apply this coming cycle? That would mean only your following fall and summer grades would impact your gpa after you apply. The brevity of two quarters makes it difficult to have any impact on your application unless you were already continuing an upwards trend.

If you're committed to this next cycle (disregarding your plan for the following year/cycle), your best bet (financial-wise) would be to take individual science courses until your sgpa hits 3.0 and acing the DAT. hard (talking 24AA for most desirable results, but im sure 22+ is okay). Taking a SMP or formal post-bacc won't improve your gpa by much through the cycle. If you wanted to be safe and invest in a possible second cycle, then you'd have to do a little more math regarding how many science credits you already have and how much a year of undergrad courses would raise it and compare the price of that to a SMP. But all in all, neither of them will make too much of a difference in helping for this coming cycle.

Edit: sorry I made a lot of wordy errors and edited several times

Edit 2: To show the post-bacc side of things: my own stats before I went to a post-bacc were 2.97 sgpa and 3.2 ogpa. I did my post-bacc for a year (3.7) and brought it up to 3.17 sgpa and 3.3 ogpa. My DAT was 24AA 22TS and so far I've received 3 interviews, 2hold/waitlist for interview, and 0 rejections this cycle after applying late (batch 13). I've talked to a few school representatives, and their opinions of post bacc vs. grad school wildly vary.
 
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You're honestly not ready to apply. I know you hate hearing that and I hate telling someone that, but you need to get your science GPA over a 3.0 and then do a SMP before applying. I had a 3.35 overall GPA and a 3.12 science GPA this past cycle and I knew I wasn't ready to apply so I decided to wait. I've done hundreds of hours of research and have been going to this forum for the better part of the last four years. If you want to be a competitive enough applicant to gain an acceptance (even at the private schools that seem to be more academically forgiving), you need to do a SMP before you apply. I'm thinking I'll have a 3.4 oGPA and 3.2 sGPA when I apply, and even I'm doing a SMP during my gap year. I talked to the associate dean of my state's dental school who also is the director of admissions, and he highly recommended a post-bacc or SMP. He said that a master's looks drastically better when applying than a post-bacc. I know you're probably thinking "I can't wait. I have to get accepted NOW. I've spent too much time and too much money into this journey already." The hard reality is you're going to have to put more of both into it if you really want this. That means doing a SMP after you get both your oGPA and sGPA above a 3.0. If you can do that, maintain a 3.7+ in your SMP, and score a 20+ AA on the DAT with no sections below 18, you will be competitive. I really hope you don't give up and don't waste thousands of dollars applying this next cycle, but only you can make that decision. Good luck!
 
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You're honestly not ready to apply. I know you hate hearing that and I hate telling someone that, but you need to get your science GPA over a 3.0 and then do a SMP before applying. I had a 3.35 overall GPA and a 3.12 science GPA this past cycle and I knew I wasn't ready to apply so I decided to wait. I've done hundreds of hours of research and have been going to this forum for the better part of the last four years. If you want to be a competitive enough applicant to gain an acceptance (even at the private schools that seem to be more academically forgiving), you need to do a SMP before you apply. I'm thinking I'll have a 3.4 oGPA and 3.2 sGPA when I apply, and even I'm doing a SMP during my gap year. I talked to the associate dean of my state's dental school who also is the director of admissions, and he highly recommended a post-bacc or SMP. He said that a master's looks drastically better when applying than a post-bacc. I know you're probably thinking "I can't wait. I have to get accepted NOW. I've spent too much time and too much money into this journey already." The hard reality is you're going to have to put more of both into it if you really want this. That means doing a SMP after you get both your oGPA and sGPA above a 3.0. If you can do that, maintain a 3.7+ in your SMP, and score a 20+ AA on the DAT with no sections below 18, you will be competitive. I really hope you don't give up and don't waste thousands of dollars applying this next cycle, but only you can make that decision. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the insight! Which SMP will you be applying for or looking into, if you don't mind me asking? Also, will you be applying to dental schools upon the completion of your SMP during the gap year?
 
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I think you just changed your question; let me see if I'm understanding correctly. You want to make it so that you only have a single gap year when you apply this coming cycle? That would mean only your following fall and summer grades would impact your gpa after you apply. The brevity of two quarters makes it difficult to have any impact on your application unless you were already continuing an upwards trend.

If you're committed to this next cycle (disregarding your plan for the following year/cycle), your best bet (financial-wise) would be to take individual science courses until your sgpa hits 3.0 and acing the DAT. hard (talking 24AA for most desirable results, but im sure 22+ is okay). Taking a SMP or formal post-bacc won't improve your gpa by much through the cycle. If you wanted to be safe and invest in a possible second cycle, then you'd have to do a little more math regarding how many science credits you already have and how much a year of undergrad courses would raise it and compare the price of that to a SMP. But all in all, neither of them will make too much of a difference in helping for this coming cycle.

Edit: sorry I made a lot of wordy errors and edited several times

Edit 2: To show the post-bacc side of things: my own stats before I went to a post-bacc were 2.97 sgpa and 3.2 ogpa. I did my post-bacc for a year (3.7) and brought it up to 3.17 sgpa and 3.3 ogpa. My DAT was 24AA 22TS and so far I've received 3 interviews, 2hold/waitlist for interview, and 0 rejections this cycle after applying late (batch 13). I've talked to a few school representatives, and their opinions of post bacc vs. grad school wildly vary.

Thanks for your help! Which post-bacc did you do, the university? Also, I'm assuming you are just working currently since you have finished your post-bacc directly after completing undergrad?
 
Thanks so much for the insight! Which SMP will you be applying for or looking into, if you don't mind me asking? Also, will you be applying to dental schools upon the completion of your SMP during the gap year?
I'll shoot you a PM.
 
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