Should I apply to dental school/chances? Master's?

Started by skident
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skident

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Hi everyone. First, great forum! Thanks to all of the contributors. I have definitely learned a great deal here about the career path I am pursuing.

So, here is my situation:

Cumulative GPA: 3.34
Science GPA: 3.00
Major (Biology) GPA: also 3.34 (not sure if it is relevant though)

One of the biggest problems with my transcript that I can see is that I retook three courses from freshman year (2 of which were Gen Bio I and II) and withdrew from another, also from freshman year. All of my grades increased significantly in later years. As for shadowing, I think I will be fine in that area. I have some volunteer work as well.

I just graduated with a B.S. and am hoping to be accepted to a Master's or post-bac program. That may not happen though, as I am applying quite late.

I plan on taking my DAT at the end of the summer (late August) so that I have the whole summer to prepare and focus on it completely.

I am thinking I might as well also send in my AADSAS around mid-June, and have my DAT scores sent right after I take the test in August (I'm not sure how long those scores will take to be submitted after my test date though). If I am able to get in to d-school then great! But if not, then hopefully I will still be doing some kind of Master's or post-bac work.

If I do not get into a graduate program, but am still not accepted to dental school, what would you recommend? Also, if I am able to pull off about a 19 on the DAT, do you think I have a shot at being accepted to dental school this time around? Money is also an issue for me, so if I can get in without any graduate work then it would be helpful.

Please feel free to ask me any questions that might help in responding to my post.
 
It made me do a double take for a sec, because your GPA is like identical to mine, as well as your situation. I had a 3.3something overall and a 3.01 sGPA (see my predents), and I was a little worried about being accepted. I also had to retake some classes I didn't do well on (ugh...ochem II I got a D), and had a good upward trend in my grades.

I then did better on the DAT than I expected, 22AA, and I think if I applied earlier (November 17th) I would have been accepted to more schools. So yes, I think if you apply early, and then do at least 20-22 on your DAT's, you'll still have a decent shot, and also be sure to apply to a LOT of schools then, just to up your chances. I applied to every out of state school that took more than like 40% out of state, so I ended up applying to 23 schools. Even if you don't do above 20 on the DAT, I'd still give it a shot, but that's up to you.

If you don't get into a graduate program or post-bac, I would still go take classes through extension, or take CC classes that you haven't taken before (like micro or anatomy for example). Keep active, maybe try to do some research or get a job at a dental office.

The odds are a tad against you, but it can still be done!

Good luck, and keep on keeping on.
 
Thanks for the input. It is actually pretty encouraging. I might be a little more behind in terms of ECs and shadowing than I originally thought though. I'll have to call around and see if I can get a position at a dentist's office.

Currently my volunteer work is not relevant to dentistry at all. It is more of a community service in helping the poor. Is this okay? Or should I ask to do volunteer work at a dentist's office?
 
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skident said:
Hi everyone. First, great forum! Thanks to all of the contributors. I have definitely learned a great deal here about the career path I am pursuing.

So, here is my situation:

Cumulative GPA: 3.34
Science GPA: 3.00
Major (Biology) GPA: also 3.34 (not sure if it is relevant though)

One of the biggest problems with my transcript that I can see is that I retook three courses from freshman year (2 of which were Gen Bio I and II) and withdrew from another, also from freshman year. All of my grades increased significantly in later years. As for shadowing, I think I will be fine in that area. I have some volunteer work as well.

I just graduated with a B.S. and am hoping to be accepted to a Master's or post-bac program. That may not happen though, as I am applying quite late.

I plan on taking my DAT at the end of the summer (late August) so that I have the whole summer to prepare and focus on it completely.

I am thinking I might as well also send in my AADSAS around mid-June, and have my DAT scores sent right after I take the test in August (I'm not sure how long those scores will take to be submitted after my test date though). If I am able to get in to d-school then great! But if not, then hopefully I will still be doing some kind of Master's or post-bac work.

If I do not get into a graduate program, but am still not accepted to dental school, what would you recommend? Also, if I am able to pull off about a 19 on the DAT, do you think I have a shot at being accepted to dental school this time around? Money is also an issue for me, so if I can get in without any graduate work then it would be helpful.

Please feel free to ask me any questions that might help in responding to my post.
Click to expand...
I do not want to say it but being a minority will help, and also graduated from an Ivy League school will help too.
 
If you feel prepared enough, I would suggest taking the DAT a little earlier. Late August is kind of late, and it takes like 3-4 weeks for schools to receive your paper score report. If you don't have any DAT scores on file, the admissions committee isn't going to look at your application until it is complete. The latest I would feel comfortable taking it is early August. If you don't get into a Masters or post-bac for next fall, I would take some more upper level science courses at your undergrad to boost your science gpa.
 
@Emmie Neither of those would apply to me, but I agree.

@4thMolar Good point, and actually something I was wondering. I'll schedule the DAT earlier and postpone it if I don't feel prepared. I guess the fee to push it back is worth it in this case. I hope all of June and July, plus part of early August, will be enough preparation time. It will really be my only task for that time period.
 
klemenc003 said:
Hi everyone,

I'm new here.
Click to expand...

Welcome!

To the OP, it really doesn't matter that your volunteering isn't dental work, it doesn't really have to be. Although my volunteer work was primarily as a dental assistant, the shadowing is really where the want to see the dental side. For the volunteering it's best to have a cause you're interested in. Also, remember that you have to wait 90 days between DAT retakes, so take that into account when you're scheduling your test. If you really have to retake it, you can still have a shot if you're submitting your test later - though granted a significantly less one. I took my first DAT on November 13th of this cycle, more or less the deadline to get the scores in before December 1st.
 
Another good point. I guess that for me right now it's a trade off between study time and time to retake. I hope I won't need to retake it, but it is seeming more and more like even serious studying all through June, July, and early August won't be enough.
 
Since AADSAS calculates GPA's based not on the undergraduate institution calculation, but instead based on their own policy of including even courses retaken, I guess my GPA is actually lower than in my original post. This is scaring me because the numbers I posted above are based on what it says on my undergraduate transcript, which does not factor in repeated courses. Am I looking at this correctly? Do dental schools focus more on what it says on your official transcript or on the AADSAS calculations?
 
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