What GPA do you need to shoot for for Dental school?

[surgeon_hopeful]

Hi,

I was wondering what GPA is usually needed (excluding DAT scores for now) to get into a dental school. I'm kind of worried right now because I have a couple of Bs, and could very easily end up with a 3.5 this semester (I'm a freshman btw) since my social sciences class is killing me, and I got a low B on my bio test, so that's why I'm wondering.

Also, what are some good ECs to participate in freshman year? I have been really confused about this, so I haven't joined any clubs yet (which is probably really bad since school has been going on for more than a month now!), so what should I do, because I'm really behind in terms of ECs.

thanks

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[heatwheat]

3.5 your first semester should be more than fine. Work on raising it steadily as the years go by. Dont worry, you have plenty of time.

 

[lphiewok]

first of all, i think you should relax.
i think 3.5 would be good GPA to have and anything above that will make you feel even safer (3.7+ would have no problem as far as GPA wise)

as far as clubs go, i would say join whatever clubs you want to participate. although you should definately join a pre-dent club or medical / dental fraternities to put some on your resume, it is also equally important that you have good social qualities (such as holding positions in different clubs other than pre-dents).
also try to find dentist offices where you can either shadow or even better work as dental assistants. (many places will want to see your resume, so you might need to start this later when you have something to put on your resume)

but not everything you do have to be 100% dental related (i worked at pharmaceutical company during college and during my interview they were very interested about that experience and my experience as a dental assistant)

you're a freshman in college. instead of worrying about getting a low B, you should learn more about yourself and have the most fun that you will ever have. once college is over, it's gonna be downhill from there on. enjoy while it lasts.

i think end of sophomore year (before starting junior year) would be good time to start researching about application process and etc. until then, find out who you really are and enjoy what you truly enjoy.

 

[stillhere858]

yeah, don't fret man. You're in good shape and it's good that you are thinking about it, but don't get too caught up in GPA yet! Enjoy the process, school is supposed to be enjoyable in my opinion and as you do enjoy it, you will naturally do better and better.

 

[doc3232]

4.0 and nothing less, if you drop anytime during the year then just give up on D-school.

3.8 to be above the average of all other schools. I am not even close haha.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=502682

 

[gogobruin]

I just feel that dental schools become more competitive, and even good GPA does not mean anything. I still donot think 3.8 is high enough if u did not do well on DAT and not enough shadowing.... I hate that, because most of undergrade life was fighting with grades.....even one point!

 

[yakuza]

If this is your first semester, seriously try your hardest to get a 4.0 your freshman year. You want that safety net to fall back on. So in case wind up partying really hard sophomore year and screwing up, your GPA won't fall below a 3.5 and you'll realize just in time you need to bring it back up

 

[playa2652]

I wouldn't worry at all with your gpa. I currently have ~3.4 gpa, when I applied I had a 3.37 sci gpa, 3.36 overall. Dental schools care more about improvement. I had a 2.9 gpa my first semester, and about for the first two years of college, I had about a 3.0 gpa. After my internship with the ADA, I realized that I really wanted to go into dentistry and I wasn't working hard enough. Since then, I haven't gotten a gpa lower than a 3.7 and my gpa last semester was a 3.92, and with the summer school courses I took (physio, histology, and psychology), I got two A- and one A. Btw, I'm not bragging or anything of that sort, I'm just saying that if you are determined and really want to become a dentist, your grades will improve. Plus, you have a long time before applying to dental school, so be active on campus and enjoy college life.

 

[Plopper]

I wouldn't worry at all with your gpa. I currently have ~3.4 gpa, when I applied I had a 3.37 sci gpa, 3.36 overall. Dental schools care more about improvement. I had a 2.9 gpa my first semester, and about for the first two years of college, I had about a 3.0 gpa. After my internship with the ADA, I realized that I really wanted to go into dentistry and I wasn't working hard enough. Since then, I haven't gotten a gpa lower than a 3.7 and my gpa last semester was a 3.92, and with the summer school courses I took (physio, histology, and psychology), I got two A- and one A. Btw, I'm not bragging or anything of that sort, I'm just saying that if you are determined and really want to become a dentist, your grades will improve. Plus, you have a long time before applying to dental school, so be active on campus and enjoy college life.

yes, but the best thing you can do from the start is to put in the effort in the beginning. if you know that this is what you want to do then make sure you get the grades to do it. i would say that 3.5 and above with a nice 20 or above will get you into most of the dental schools, so long as you have a good personality

it's a long time away, just keep taking it one day at a time. it will fly by, well at least it did for me