Very low GPA. What schools should I consider?

[vsa1991]

I know my stats are not great but I would really like some advice.
I live in Alabama, what schools do I have a chance at getting in to?
Major: Biology
GPA overall: 3.08
Biology GPA: 2.35
Havent taken the DAT yet but realistically plan on making about a 20 or 21
140 hrs of extracurriculars

-also, how can the dental schools check if my shadowing/volunteering info is accurate? Just wondering because I was having a hard time getting in touch with a few of the places I volunteered at so if the universities try to get a hold of them for confirmation they may not get a response.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[y3nd0]

Alabama has a dental school (University of Alabama at Birmingham) that accepts mostly instate applicants. It looks like you guys have great chances as well (125 apply, 74 are interviewed, and 52 of the interviewed get accepted). That would definitely be your best shot at dental school.

If you apply and don't get in, it's most likely due to your GPA as it's below the average at Alabama (average is around 3.5, but the range is listed as 3.0-4.0 for overall, and 2.9-4.0 for science). If you score high enough on your DAT, it may offset your low GPA. Also, is your biology GPA just biology classes? AADSAS calculates 3 GPA's: overall, science (all science classes including math), and BCP (biology, chemistry, physics). So your science GPA may be higher than just your biology GPA.

Listing your shadowing/volunteer hours is all based on the honors system. Schools normally don't check.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I really, really think you're going to have to raise that sGPA. As it stands, the blunt truth is that you're sort of looking for a miracle.

 

[sgv]

I know my stats are not great but I would really like some advice.
I live in Alabama, what schools do I have a chance at getting in to?
Major: Biology
GPA overall: 3.08
Biology GPA: 2.35
Havent taken the DAT yet but realistically plan on making about a 20 or 21
140 hrs of extracurriculars

-also, how can the dental schools check if my shadowing/volunteering info is accurate? Just wondering because I was having a hard time getting in touch with a few of the places I volunteered at so if the universities try to get a hold of them for confirmation they may not get a response.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

You're not getting in...What makes you think you have a shot?...i hope you're trollin' us

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

Your science GPA is extremely low. DO NOT apply with your current stats. Enroll in a master's program and try your very best at grabbing a 4.0. You must also do extremely well on your DAT, and when I say extremely well, I would shoot at a 25+ TS and AA. Good luck to you!

 

[Ionz]

I know my stats are not great but I would really like some advice.
I live in Alabama, what schools do I have a chance at getting in to?
Major: Biology
GPA overall: 3.08
Biology GPA: 2.35
Havent taken the DAT yet but realistically plan on making about a 20 or 21
140 hrs of extracurriculars

-also, how can the dental schools check if my shadowing/volunteering info is accurate? Just wondering because I was having a hard time getting in touch with a few of the places I volunteered at so if the universities try to get a hold of them for confirmation they may not get a response.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

That GPA has got to go way up. No amount of DAT score will make up for a 2.35 sGPA.

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

That GPA has got to go way up. No amount of DAT score will make up for a 2.35 sGPA.

If he gets a 4.0 in a Master's and gets an extremely high DAT score, they still may have a fighting chance.

 

[y3nd0]

OP has a low bio GPA, but maybe not science? Also, Alabama has a GPA range that covers the op's GPA (maybe, hopefully, if said biology GPA is not the science GPA).
I wouldn't recommend that they apply to schools outside of Alabama, I see little to no shot there.

OP, are you an URM?

 

[vsa1991]

OP has a low bio GPA, but maybe not science? Also, Alabama has a GPA range that covers the op's GPA (maybe, hopefully, if said biology GPA is not the science GPA).
I wouldn't recommend that they apply to schools outside of Alabama, I see little to no shot there.

OP, are you an URM?

Don't think I'm a URM. Russian second generation immigrant if that counts for anything.

Is there a way do find out what my science gpa is? Will it say it on aadsas once they calculate it?

So with these stats do you guys really think I can't get in anywhere? Not even an overpriced privet school?

Thank you for the honest opinions

 

[vsa1991]

Ok so I checked and according to AADSAS my overall gpa is 3.15, BCP is 2.62 and science is 2.76. Does that change anything? Do schools look at the BCP or the science?

 

[vsa1991]

You're not getting in...What makes you think you have a shot?...i hope you're trollin' us

I know my stats are low but there is no need to be an arrogant ass about it. I just asked for some honest opinions.

 

[IsaacYankem]

Are you still in school? If so, load up on upper level bio courses and hit a 4.0 in them. If you're not, look into a SMP program. Good luck

 

[sgv]

I know my stats are low but there is no need to be an arrogant ass about it. I just asked for some honest opinions.

It was a legit question. And if you can answer it maybe you'll find out what you need to fix. No one is going to tell you the straight truth in person. They're going to bend it and sugar coat it if they care about you. The internet wouldn't lie to you because it just doesn't care enough about you to lie. So expect the most honest answers, 100% unbiased by other people's feelings...

 

[y3nd0]

Ok so I checked and according to AADSAS my overall gpa is 3.15, BCP is 2.62 and science is 2.76. Does that change anything? Do schools look at the BCP or the science?

They look at both. Depends on the school, but generally, the BCP is most important.

And you are not an URM. It honestly looks like you may have to do some post-grad work to get those grades up... especially with the sciences. As IsaacYankem said, try upper division science courses and aim for a 4.0. Dental schools like upward trends. It'll take a lot of work in order to raise your GPA to one that is acceptable
(at least within the range of the GPA's for those accepted to Alabama)... but if you want to be a dentist, you'll have to suck it up and do it.

Also, to try and make up for your low GPA, try to score as high as possible on the DAT and increase your hours of volunteer work. 140 hours isn't enough to excuse the sub-3.0 GPA.

"So with these stats do you guys really think I can't get in anywhere? Not even an overpriced privet school?"
Your state school gives you the highest chance of being accepted. (Overpriced) private schools get the highest number of applications. They get plenty of people with higher stats/hours/good DAT scores that are willing to attend their school.

If you're itching to apply in the upcoming cycle, just stick with your state school.

 

[doc toothache]

What school would not jump at the opportunity?

 

[vsa1991]

It was a legit question. And if you can answer it maybe you'll find out what you need to fix. No one is going to tell you the straight truth in person. They're going to bend it and sugar coat it if they care about you. The internet wouldn't lie to you because it just doesn't care enough about you to lie. So expect the most honest answers, 100% unbiased by other people's feelings...

Answering my question is one thing. Kicking someone when they are already down is another. Notice that no one else who answered was as rude

 

[sgv]

Answering my question is one thing. Kicking someone when they are already down is another. Notice that no one else who answered was as rude

if i got kicked while im down, i would put up a helluva fight to prove them wrong,...your only shot now is aceing postbacc and getting over 95th percentile on dat...now that's one heck of a fight

 

[vsa1991]

What school would not jump at the opportunity?

What opportunity are you talking about?

 

[sgv]

What opportunity are you talking about?

lol there's no way you're not a troll

 

[vsa1991]

They look at both. Depends on the school, but generally, the BCP is most important.

And you are not an URM. It honestly looks like you may have to do some post-grad work to get those grades up... especially with the sciences. As IsaacYankem said, try upper division science courses and aim for a 4.0. Dental schools like upward trends. It'll take a lot of work in order to raise your GPA to one that is acceptable
(at least within the range of the GPA's for those accepted to Alabama)... but if you want to be a dentist, you'll have to suck it up and do it.

Also, to try and make up for your low GPA, try to score as high as possible on the DAT and increase your hours of volunteer work. 140 hours isn't enough to excuse the sub-3.0 GPA.

"So with these stats do you guys really think I can't get in anywhere? Not even an overpriced privet school?"
Your state school gives you the highest chance of being accepted. (Overpriced) private schools get the highest number of applications. They get plenty of people with higher stats/hours/good DAT scores that are willing to attend their school.

If you're itching to apply in the upcoming cycle, just stick with your state school.

Thanks so much for your advice.
How many hours of volunteer work you think would be enough to help out a bit?
What do you think about the SMP programs IsaacYankem was talking about and do you know how long they usually take?

 

[lookitisgood]

I think you should just focus on your GPA first.

 

[sgv]

GPA and DAT >>> personality >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything else...you need the whole package if you want to get into your state school
if your house was on fire, would it make sense for you to hose down your car? if your gpa and dat are the problem, dont go wasting time on volunteering hours. extracurriculars are for people who have at least met the minimum of being a decent applicant to set themselves apart from other decent applicants...since schools don't know your personality until they meet you, they just make stereotypical assumptions based on your extracurriculars and then they try to come up with an incoming class that is likely to have things in common with each other, based on the extracurriculars listed in the application

schools like good people...a sign that you're a good person is lots of volunteering hours
schools like interesting people...a sign that you're interesting is that you're involved in a lot of organized social activities and have accomplished many things in a variety of areas
schools like smart and hard working people...signs that you're smart and hard working are good grades and dat score
schools like people who are agreeable and can get along with classmates and professors...a sign that you're this kind of person is a good letter of recommendation, interview, and leadership positions
schools like people who show commitment...a sign that you're full of commitment is that you invest a lot of time in many activities or jobs intead of hopping from one job to the next or spending only a few hours here and there
schools like people who can deal with stress...a sign that you can deal with stress is your involvement in physical or productive leisure activity
some schools like people who are very passionate about science...a sign that you're passionate about science is research and publications

there you go, now go forth and tailor your application (how many of these signs will be shown on your application?)

 

[y3nd0]

Thanks so much for your advice.
How many hours of volunteer work you think would be enough to help out a bit?
What do you think about the SMP programs IsaacYankem was talking about and do you know how long they usually take?

Agreed with everyone else. Your GPA is your biggest problem now. Try to fix that first, then worry about your volunteer hours. The reason I brought up volunteering is because even if you manage to get your science GPA up to the minimum (say 2.9, which is very low anyway), you need something else that makes you very attractive to dental schools. If you apply to dental school with a low GPA, a 21 DAT, the 140 hours you have now won't help you any.

There is no magic number of volunteer hours that will "help you out". You're just going to have to get as many quality volunteer hours as you can, apply with higher grades, and hope for the best. The reason I said, "140 hours isn't going to excuse a sub 3.0 GPA" is because some people with great EC's experience small drops (like 0.1) in their GPA due to their time commitments. 140 hours is nothing compared to the hundreds or thousands of hours others complete while still maintaining a decent GPA.

I'm not very familiar with SMP programs. You'll have to do some research about those.

 

[vsa1991]

I understand that I need to focus on my GPA. I just asked about the EC hours since you brought it up and I was interested in your opinion that's all.

 

[sjv]

I'd look into doing a SMP in order to supplement your poor BCP/Science GPA.

 

[LaughingGas]

ECs should be better than regular candidates.

 

[vsa1991]

I'd look into doing a SMP in order to supplement your poor BCP/Science GPA.

Do you know any info on SMPs? How would I go about applying to one and how long are they?

 

[sjv]

Do you know any info on SMPs? How would I go about applying to one and how long are they?

https://services.aamc.org/postbac/

Just click search, it basically lists all of them in the US.

 

[Pillowcases]

current masters gpa could help unless some schools have gpa restrictions
good luck

 

[medp63]

There is a program at Mississippi College that suppose to be great. UA and UAB both have been said to have a one year Master's in health related fields. Best of luck!

 

[Mediumrare]

MC's program is good!!! But it was hard

 

[vsa1991]

There is a program at Mississippi College that suppose to be great. UA and UAB both have been said to have a one year Master's in health related fields. Best of luck!

kk


Those would both be great for me since Im from alabama. Thank you so much for the tip

 

[Mi64]

MC's program is good!!! But it was hard

I completed MC's program. It was definitely hard but very rewarding. I had an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.99 and my science GPA was even lower. I only had a 19 AA but I finished the program with a 3.74 GPA. I feel like this program helped me tremendously in getting accepted to all the three schools I interviewed at this cycle. I'm also asian and from Cali so I thought I would never get in, but if I can do it anybody who is motivated and hardworking can also do it. PM me if you have any questions about MC.