Admission Committee Consideration

[smalling]

This is more of a personal question pertaining to what Admission Committee's take into consideration. I have had to work between 35-40 hours the entire time I have been in college. I also started out as a business major. Well the major work load has affected my GPA a little bit. This last year I was able to change jobs where I could work less and maintain about the same income. The down side is that my mother has been put on in home health care because she is terminaly ill. This has caused a some focus problem with my studies. Problems that have lead to an unrespectable D in one of my classes last semester and I had to audit my Org II class this semester. I am taking the organic over this summer which is not that big of a deal. I am however a little concerned whether the admissions board takes things like that into consideration and not just looking at a persons GPA. If anyone has thoughts that would be insightful, I would appriciate them.


Thanks......

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[DeltronZ]

the UCLA secondary for example asks if you worked through college. They also give you an opportunity to explain if you have faced anything that might have made your case unique (such as working 40 hours a week). Many other secondaries ask similiar questions.

How much this is taken into consideration is another question entirely.

 

[Supernumerary]

The adcomms will definitely take that into consideration. Just remember that others have gone through similar situations and still managed to be very successful students. Many people work through school, and death and illness are part of life. These things also happen to people while they are in dental school or in practice. It is important that we are able to deal with the curves that life throws us.

I realize your situation must be very difficult, I am not trying to be mean. I just think that instead of using these things as an excuse for poor performance, maybe you should couch it more in terms of how you learned to focus on your goals and studies even in the face of difficult and adverse circumstances. Perhaps you learned this lesson a little late in the game, so your grades aren't what they could be, but eventually you DID learn how to manage your life and perform well under a great deal of stress.

In any case, don't focus on excuses for yourself with the adcomms; you DO NOT want to come across as a whiner.

I hope I don't come across as being too harsh, just offering my honest opinion. Best of Luck

 

[DesiDentist]

The AADSAS application gives you room to illustrate certain hardships you had to go through. it is very admirable that you worked full time and dealing with the emotional effects of your mother being ill. I wish you much success, and I will pray for your mother.

Also, I know that if you ace the DAT, sometimes that Admission committee will forgive low grades. I did bad in biology (it was the hardest weed out course) but I got a 24 on the bio section on the DAT and no one even questioned it.

God bless.

DesiDentist.