WAMC: Good GPA with a terrible start, wondering about DAT

[mancinn]

Overall GPA: 3.53
Science GPA: 3.5
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA: 3.6
DAT score (include AA and all sections): Plan to take DAT in summer

Undergrad Attended: n/a
Major: Biology
Minor: n/a
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: 240 hours at my general practice family dentist; 80 hours at general practice/implant dentist and lab
Volunteering Experience: Over 250 hours at various hospitals, ministries, hospice centers, and a mission trip
Employment: Was employed at Enterprise rent a car for sophomore and junior year; over 500 hours
Research: 150 hours at Organic Chemistry Research Lab; plan to be published next semester; will have a presentation semester after that
Other Extracurriculars: Pre-dental cub(all throughout college), Ultimate frisbee captain and secretary(2 years), Organic Chemistry tutor (2 years), christian summer camp counselor and administrator (3 years and more prior to college), running, tennis, baseball, lock-sport (lock-picking),
Relevant Honors or Awards: dean's list for past 5 semesters
LOR type and strength: OChem Prof that I do research with (strong); Family Dentist (moderate); implant dentist (extremely strong); christian summer camp director (strong?)
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags: This is the tricky part, I went to a different college my freshman year and had a very mediocre GPA (I believe a 2.9) due to mental health problems where I made a D in Bio 1 and a C when I retook it the following semester. I transferred to a different college and made a B in Bio 2. I have made As in every single course since that semester after getting my mental health where it needs to be. I have 2 more semesters (graduating a semester late due to transfer credit errors) and I believe I can make As in all my future classes as well which are exclusively upper level Biology courses.

If I perform well on the DAT and raise my GPA to around a 3.7, do you think Dental Schools will overlook my terrible start?
Do I have enough on my resume to overcome my GPA?
Will graduating late and transferring from a school be seen as a negative in my application?

Thank you all so much!

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[PerioDont]

Yes you can overcome a bad start. transferring/graduating late is not a problem.

update this when you have a DAT score, most other things look fine

 

[smiletiger98]

Yes adcoms will overlook a rough start as long as you show improvement. I was in a similar position my freshmen year (2.3 GPA) and transferred to a different school and had an up trending GPA (also I’m doing a 5th year). I got accepted to my top choice IS school 2 days ago. Moral of the story: don’t worry about the past and focus on what you can control, like knocking the DAT out of the park!

 

[mancinn]

I have returned! I took the DAT on the 8th and received a 22AA, 23TS 22 PAT (27 Bio, 21 GC, 22 OC, 23 RC, 19 QR); I am in my last semester of college and if I have a 4.0 for this semester, I should finish at a cGPA of 3.7.

 

[macsak]

I have returned! I took the DAT on the 8th and received a 22AA, 23TS 22 PAT (27 Bio, 21 GC, 22 OC, 23 RC, 19 QR); I am in my last semester of college and if I have a 4.0 for this semester, I should finish at a cGPA of 3.7.

whoa
congrats!
have you submitted yet?
what is your school list?

 

[mancinn]

whoa
congrats!
have you submitted yet?
what is your school list?

Thank you so much! I didn't plan to submit my app this cycle, because I haven't finished my personal statement and I have a lot of experiences (getting published for OC research, going to Puerto Rico to present said research, other club leadership positions, etc) that are occurring late in this semester/year that I wanted to include. I really only have DCG because that would be the most plausible as far as IS acceptance rate and it would be the cheapest, but I have started to make an excel spreadsheet of all the schools that I think I would be interested in applying to. These include Creighton, Louisville, UK, Iowa, Colorado, and others. I am very open to adding/removing schools, I just have not done the research yet. Isn't the ADEA explorer very helpful?

 

[macsak]

Thank you so much! I didn't plan to submit my app this cycle, because I haven't finished my personal statement and I have a lot of experiences (getting published for OC research, going to Puerto Rico to present said research, other club leadership positions, etc) that are occurring late in this semester/year that I wanted to include. I really only have DCG because that would be the most plausible as far as IS acceptance rate and it would be the cheapest, but I have started to make an excel spreadsheet of all the schools that I think I would be interested in applying to. These include Creighton, Louisville, UK, Iowa, Colorado, and others. I am very open to adding/removing schools, I just have not done the research yet. Isn't the ADEA explorer very helpful?

have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at DCG?0

 

[mancinn]

have you volunteered/shadowed/attended events at DCG?0

I have attended the virtual "Impressions Day" program that they established for future prospective dental students. This was during the pandemic so it was held via Zoom. Do you think I should do something else with them to put my name out there in the time-being?

 

[macsak]

I have attended the virtual "Impressions Day" program that they established for future prospective dental students. This was during the pandemic so it was held via Zoom. Do you think I should do something else with them to put my name out there in the time-being?

yes, you should be doing all you can...

 

[mancinn]

yes, you should be doing all you can...

I will definitely get on that and see what I can be doing. Thank you for the help!