So I've held off posting on here for a long time, mostly because I didn't want to write an entire book on what i've done to get into dental school, but I figured it's time to write it out...hopefully it'll be helpful to someone.
I first went to undergrad full-time from 1996-99 and majored (eventually) in exercise science. To sum up my time in school, I went to college because I grew up hearing from my parents that "you go to college after high school," so I went. Had no idea what I wanted to do. Left in Dec. '99 with a 2.291 GPA over 103 hours. Came back home with a specific goal of opening my own business, but took some courses at my in-town university just to keep my parents happy. The result: 22 credit hours over 3 semesters with a cGPA of 0.00. (impressive, no?) AADSAS calculated cGPA at that point was 1.89.
My last time in a classroom was 9/11/01. No, I didn't enter the military...my mother told me she had been diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 breast cancer and she needed me to help at the family business. Went to work full-time and worked my way into an equal 1/3-partnership with my parents. Sold the biz in summer '05 and bought my own retail operation the next month. It was a horrible decision that cost me roughly $300k, and I closed my doors Sep. '09. During that fall I met with the dean of admissions at my local D-school and with his suggestions, I returned to school full-time Jan. '10. In the ~10 years since leaving school, I had run 3 different businesses, partly or completely owned 2 of them, gotten married, had 2 kids (my 3rd would be born in the summer of 2010, while I was in school), bought a house (not necessarily all in that order), and seen my bank account go from a strong 5 figures down to 1 figure at the worst point.
In any case, I went back to undergrad full-time. SIDE NOTE: Since I had never technically graduated my first time, I still qualified for full financial aid. It was probably the only way I could have ever afforded going back to school full-time. SO HERE'S A LESSON: If you are close to graduating but know you need to take more courses to up your GPA, you can hold off on your graduation, pick up another major, and continue to take the courses you need. You are eligible to receive full aid up to 180 credit hours without exception.
So, back to school: I basically got my B.S. in biology from scratch. Started all the way back at CHEM101 and BIO101. Over the next 5 semesters (+ 1 summer session) I completed almost 100 credit hours with a cGPA of 3.89. I could count the # of B's I got on one hand and still have a couple fingers left over. Took the DAT 7/7/11 and earned scores that "most applicants would kill for" according to my home D-school's dean of admissions (ironic that he rejected me twice, but that's for another post).
Applied during the '11-12 cycle since I had completed all the requirements laid out by said dean a full year quicker than he had planned. Applied to 16 schools...rejected from every single one. I had figured there would be a reasonable chance I might not get in, but I had never thought that I wouldn't even get a single interview offer. In any case, spring of '12 was not a good time to be around me. I was f^*king livid.
BUT, I went back and padded up my AADSAS app. Filled up all the "awards and embellishments" categories to the max, even if it was with something from 10 years ago. Re-wrote my personal statement. Got new letters of rec after explaining everything to my prof's and my shadowed dentist that I had asked the first time (all of whom had the same reaction of "What the hell?"). I never got to read any of them, but all of them told me afterwards that there was "no way I wouldn't get noticed now." My ochem prof even told me he couldn't remember ever writing so strong a letter.
In any case, I submitted my AADSAS the first week it opened up this summer and crossed my fingers with a LOT of anxiety. I knew that few candidates could hold a candle up to what I had done in the 2 years since returning to school, averaging just shy of 18 credit hours a semester with almost a 3.9. But my biggest fear were my AADSAS-calculated GPAs:
cGPA: 2.73
sGPA: 2.83
BCP: 3.08
Still applied to 16 schools. Changed up a few of them. Didn't do my research well enough because I was rejected right off the bat from 4 (NOVA, both Midwesterns, and Kentucky) because I didn't reach their magic 3.0. Wouldn't review my app even after I submitted written appeals stating my case for consideration. In any case, my first interview invite came early Oct. Interviewed early Nov. Accepted to UMSoD Dec.1. Interviewed at Tufts Dec. 3. Accepted Dec. 7.
SO HERE'S MY ADVICE FOR THOSE IN THIS GROUP:
1) We'll start with the obvious: Your mediocre grades are KILLING you.
Even if you re-take a course, AADSAS still considers your first grade as well. Withdrawing because of a poor grade is even worse. DON'T LET IT GET TO THAT POINT.
2) If you're trying to show an "upward trend," go all out.
At this point, when I see people posting saying they've "brought up their GPA's with 3.4/3.5 semesters," all I can think is that kid is STILL being a lazy ****. Really, people. It's not that hard to make an A when you've got your priorities straight AND PLACE YOUR FOCUS ON SCHOOL.
3) My one rant: All of you young kids are ridiculously entitled and spoiled.
How many of you have a smartphone? A flat-panel TV in your apartment? An XBox360 or PS3? An iPad? NONE OF THAT HELPS YOU GET A BETTER GRADE. Especially now, with this downturned economy, older graduates are going back to school in droves and will demolish you in the classroom with minimal effort, all because you let them. DO NOT GET LAZY. I can guarantee you that if you don't bust your butt while you're in school now, you will sorely regret it within 2 years of graduating because then you'll realize just how many doors are closed off to you, all because you were lazy and thought it was "too hard to get up for my 8am lecture."
4) Time will get you a pass...sort of.
I had 10 years between school1.0 and school2.0. I was able to show that I had grown and matured from an immature selfish boy to a prioritized man. But I still had to battle with my academic mistakes from back then. I didn't have dental schools lining up with offers for me. I had to sit and beg and pray for a chance.
MY POINT: When I read these posts of people saying "Well I've been working since I graduated 2 years ago and I've grown so much" and blah blah blah, the only thing that comes to mind is "Horsesh*t." Unless you've had some sort of monumental or tragic life experience in those 2 years, you haven't learned a thing other than "God, this whole work thing sucks. I want more money." I can guarantee you that if you start on in your PS about how you've "matured so much in these past 2 years" the admissions officer reading it is going to chuckle to himself and write you off. Want to know why? Because by the time you're 40 or 50 (or even 34), 2 years is nothing but a flash in the pan. Life rarely molds you that much in 2 years; and if it does, then you'll have something much more compelling to write about than "I've learned so much about myself while working in a dead-end job for the past 2 years." This is all the more reason why you need to take point #2 to heart.
5) If you are a "traditional" student, in your early twenties, you have an incredible opportunity to set yourself up FOR LIFE.
You have an opportunity to enter an industry with a practically limitless income ceiling. Listen, all these people on here talking about "how difficult it is to commit to dentistry because of the cost and debtload" don't know a single thing about money. Having a $300k school loan when you're potentially making $100k+ after 4 or 5 years is nothing. You know who you DON'T hear complaining about it? The non-trads. You know why? Because they understand about money. I won't get in to how you guys need to change your spending lifestyle and shift your view on income and monetary worth, because I might as well be having a conversation with a freshly-laid pile of dog$%*t. Nobody will understand that until they've put themselves in a hole and have to dig themselves out. But all I can say is that if you understand the value of a dollar then you most likely WON'T come out of dental school with $300k of debt because you'll have a priority on minimizing your unnecessary expenses.
I say this last point because it'll be important when you get into D-school. And I am certain that just about anyone can get into dental school. It's all just a matter of how badly you want it and how much time you're willing to wait. It may take 10 years of stepping away from the game, but it's always possible.
So there it is. Entering University of Michigan School of Dentistry class of 2017 with a 2.73 cumulative GPA.......
...and it only took 17 years. 🙂
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