acceptances and GPA DAT score

[LauraFairlie]

Hi guys!!

First off, congradulations on all those who will be starting dental school coming fall! I wish I could be you!

I'm going to be applying this summer, but was wondering if my GPA is good enough to get accepted or if I should go into post-bac. I looked up the avg. GPA for dental schools like UCLA, etc on Predents.com and they seem really high...like 3.8 or higher. I just, wanted to get some insight and hope into what dental schools are looking for as far as GPAs and DATs.

Those of you who got accepted to dentals schools this year (esp. Columbia, UCLA, USC, UCSF, and UoP), can you guys post the name of the school you got accepted to, your GPA, and DAT score? My GPA is 3.59 and DAT is yet to be taken.
By the way, when should I take the DAT and how much did you guys study for the DAT?
Thanks in advance, everyone!!

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[ummjoey]

predents.com tells you what school we got into and our gpa and dat. why not just look there since you already know about it?

i study spread out for 3 months. i think i would have done better if i studied a lot for 1 month because i sort of forgot the stuff i studied in the beginning of the 3 months............

i thought i could have studied more...........

 

[airsimon]

Hi guys!!

First off, congradulations on all those who will be starting dental school coming fall! I wish I could be you!

I'm going to be applying this summer, but was wondering if my GPA is good enough to get accepted or if I should go into post-bac. I looked up the avg. GPA for dental schools like UCLA, etc on Predents.com and they seem really high...like 3.8 or higher. I just, wanted to get some insight and hope into what dental schools are looking for as far as GPAs and DATs.

Those of you who got accepted to dentals schools this year (esp. Columbia, UCLA, USC, UCSF, and UoP), can you guys post the name of the school you got accepted to, your GPA, and DAT score? My GPA is 3.59 and DAT is yet to be taken.
By the way, when should I take the DAT and how much did you guys study for the DAT?
Thanks in advance, everyone!!

A lot will depend on your DAT score. I got accepted to a couple schools (none of which are on your list) and I have the same GPA as you. I didn't do too hot on my DAT either.
Best of luck!

 

[doc3232]

To all future posters, Don't go off on the op for being a pre-med.
as first poster said: predents.com
3.7-3.8 for best D-schools and about a 22-24 DAT.

GOOD LUCK

 

[dentaldentist]

Your GPA puts you just above the average GPA of accepted dental students at most schools, so you should feel fairly comfortable. Just make sure you put in some good study time to do well on the DAT and you will have a great shot at most schools. Shoot for 20's on the DAT. Since you are interested in lots of california schools, I'm assuming you are from California - if you are an out of state applicant, admissions will be a bit harder for the public dental schools. I would say you should spend a good 8 to 12 weeks of really good studying to prepare for the exam. Ideally you want your application and test scores submitted as early as possible because interview offers and accepttances go on a rolling basis. The application becomes available on May 15th and I would try to have that submitted by the end of June for sure. It takes a good 6 weeks after you submit your application through AADSAS before it is actually delivered to your selected schools. You can take your DAT after you submit your application, but I would take the DAT by the end of July so that schools have all of your materials by early August. Also, you should sign up for your test date early to make sure you get your prefered day and time to take the test at your nearest location as some testing centers fill up several weeks in advance.

To see some stats on admission averages at different schools go to this link:
Dental school statistics

 

[ought2sleep]

I also suggest checking out predents for basic stats (GPA and DAT).

Just for a slightly different experience, here is what happened with me and UCSF.

I was accepted to UCSF on Dec1st out-of-state, and since my stats were pretty average to slightly above average, I'm 90% sure this was due to my writing on their secondary application. They have 4-5 additional essay questions. They asked me a lot about my answers in the interview too.So, if you are interested in UCSF, really spend some time on their secondary, and show them that you know about their school.

It is hard to say what makes a school take interest in you. When I applied to UCSF I wasn't even expecting a secondary. For all the time we all spend checking stats, in the end you really never know.

Best of luck and if you want it enough, I am sure everything will work out =)