sophmore year (pre-dentistry)

[prettyprincess]

Hi. I'm an undergraduate and i just got done with my sophmore year. I have already taken general chemistry 1, 2, 3 (with GPA's 4.0,3.3 and 3.3) general biology 1,2,3 (with all 3.3's) and organic chemistry 1, 2, 3 (with 3.5, 3.0 and 3.5). I know i'm not doing good at all, no shadowing/volunteer work, not in any clubs and no research yet. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate it if some people could help me out!

1)What is the average GPA and DAT score that you need to get into a decent dental school? (i've an average GPA of 3.8 right now)
2)which books are good for preparing for DAT?
3)What kind of volunteer work and other activities should i be doing to get a better chance of getting into a dental school?
4)Worst thing i took calcII and i got a C in it.. thats the only C i ever got in my life.. i was just wondering is one C a bad thing and i should retake calc II or should i not worry about retaking it?

Thanks!!

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[jeffity]

1)What is the average GPA and DAT score that you need to get into a decent dental school? (i've an average GPA of 3.8 right now

This varies for each school. You can research these on each school's website. You can also look around on the forums as some users have compiled some of that information. If you have a pre-health office at your school, you can ask them if they have a copy of the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools which is packed with a lot of information about each school. Generically speaking, if you can carry on with >3.5 science GPA and average GPA and can pull 20+ on the DAT, then that should be sufficient for a wide array of schools.

2)which books are good for preparing for DAT?

There is a ton of information in the DAT forum. Look at some of the 'breakdown' threads to see what others have used. You'll quickly get a feel for some of the common books/methods people use.

3)What kind of volunteer work and other activities should i be doing to get a better chance of getting into a dental school?

I'm an advocate of doing things you enjoy. We all have our application in the back of our minds, but try not to just do stuff for the sake of filling in blanks on the application. If you're not sure where to start, you can look around at some campus organizations, research opportunities, local charities, etc. Keep in mind that volunteering and other extracurriculars do not need to be health-related. Dental exposure (aside form shadowing) is great, but by no means necessary. Don't feel like you're behind because you're not too involved in anything at this point. You still have time. Try to find some good long-term opportunities and stick with those.

4) Worst thing i took calcII and i got a C in it.. thats the only C i ever got in my life.. i was just wondering is one C a bad thing and i should retake calc II or should i not worry about retaking it?

You're fine. Don't retake. Just try not to rack up the Cs.