Need an honest opinion of my chances

[dentaldylan]

Hello, I just wanted peoples honest opinion if I have any shot of getting into any dental school or should I maybe just switch career paths to optometry or something else.

Major in Bio with a concentration in Physio and minor in chem with 3.31 cGPA and 3.2 sGPA
DAT: 21 TS/21 AA/21 PAT
100+ Hours of shadowing dentists
100+ Hours of Volunteer Work.
3 Good LOR with the a LOR from a dentist who went to NYU, I have no clue if that sort of thing helps my chances with NYU or not, but would like to know.

The negatives are though I didn't go to any big school, I went to San Francisco State University because I had to help my family with the business since both my parents have health problems, so ended up working a lot trying to help with the business and monetary reasons.

I've also looked on a bunch of the threads here already with some claiming your undergrad school matters while others claim it doesn't matter. Also freshman and junior year I did lose my grandparents, so thats where my gpa dropped. Don't know if the adcom will care about the working or loss of loved ones part since I'm sure a lot of applicants deal with the same adversity.

With that being said the last two semester I took 17 units each time with 4 science classes plus 1 GE class and was able to receive a 3.5 gpa each semester.

In the summer I will be applying to: UoP, Western, USC, BU, Meharry, NYU, Loma Lind and some other schools where the GPA is lower so I might have a slim chance. I just want peoples take of if I have a chance or should just move on because lately I have been feeling depressed thinking I have no shot from what people are telling me.

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[MechZZ]

You're good.

Believe me, you're good. lol GPA is a tad low but your DAT more than makes up for it.

edit:
lemme clarify. You're competitive enough to get in. If you get interviews you're going to have to sell your self to the school. Worst case scenario is that you might have to do some post-bac in order to raise your GPA.

There is always a path to your goal. It may not be the path that is the most luxurious or the one you originally intended to take, but there's a path.

 

[HillsNayyr]

As long as you apply early, apply to many schools and have good essays I think you'll be fine. Your GPA is a tad low, but just a tad.
if you want an example

I was 20ts/20AA
3.71 overall gpa 3.75 sci gpa
30 hours shadowing

and I got accepted to 3 schools on the first. I think you'll be just fine with those stats.

 

[iDreamofDent]

you look good man, do something worthwhile in the mean time like volunteering or go on a dental mission or something. That would give you a solid interview!

 

[dentalWorks]

Apply early June. Aim to 15-20 schools and pick your schools wisely.... do this and I see you getting at least one acceptance (if not more)

 

[spearmint]

Your stats look fine. Go for it. If you have time, you might want to consider taking additional classes to bring your GPA up a tiny bit...just to cover all bases. But I think you have a good shot regardless.

 

[UCSFDentistry]

I think your good if you apply early and discuss in your application about the hardships that you faced in school affecting your gpa.There is a special section on the application for this. Your stats arnt to bad

 

[Osity]

Like just about everyone else has said, while your GPA is just a little bit low, your DAT is awesome. Apply the first day the application is open, make sure your letters of recommendation are in your hand and ready to submit so you don't have any delays. Keep shadowing/volunteering to build up your resume, and apply to >15 schools (especially private schools) and you will have a couple acceptances as long as you interview well.

One other thing, it does NOT matter where you do your undergrad. I am at a little university of <7,000 students, and five of the seven of us applying got in on December first. The other two have a little bit lower DAT, but they are still interviewing and will probably have good shot of getting in.

 

[dctim211]

Like just about everyone else has said, while your GPA is just a little bit low, your DAT is awesome. Apply the first day the application is open, make sure your letters of recommendation are in your hand and ready to submit so you don't have any delays. Keep shadowing/volunteering to build up your resume, and apply to >15 schools (especially private schools) and you will have a couple acceptances as long as you interview well.

One other thing, it does NOT matter where you do your undergrad. I am at a little university of <7,000 students, and five of the seven of us applying got in on December first. The other two have a little bit lower DAT, but they are still interviewing and will probably have good shot of getting in.

I agree. I don't think that it matters where you go to school. While adcoms may look favorably on someone that went to MIT and got a 3.9 GPA as an electrical engineering major (just an example), in general, I don't think it makes a difference where you went to school...

I also agree with the general consensus that your numbers put you in a good position in terms of getting interviews. That being said, SDN is littered with posts about OPs having solid/great stats, getting multiple interviews, and not getting any acceptances. The take home lesson of all these posts/situations is that the interview is a very important component to the D school adcom reviewing process. Make sure you prepare sufficiently for your interviews (without stressing out too much) and you should be fine. SDN Interview Feedback is a great resource to prep, btw.