Advice on if there is a chance

[Dustin2207]

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Hello Everyone adn thank you ahead of time for reviewing.

I am 24 years old and somewhat of a non traditional student in Ohio. I was previously in the Army and out as of 2007. I have worked all through College as a Full-time General Manager for T-mobile and Sprint working 40-50 hours per week and a full class load.

My GPA is between a 3.2 -3.3 on the low end I know. I have a large list of extracurriculars and have not taken the DAT which I know will be a major factor.

My questions theoretical that if I do well on the DAT with the Life experience form the Army and working full time all through out college is this enough to make up for the poor GPA of a 3.2 to 3.3? I will also note that I have about 200 credit hours total from Wright state university.

All advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time

 

[bing12]

i think you have pretty good chances. even though your gpa might be on the low end ( mine was a 3.3 overall, so wasnt high either). I think your life experiences in the military as well as working that much will make up for it. if you score well on your DAT, and bring up your gpa just a bit by taking upper level bios, you will be fine.

 

[321931]

Yes, you have a good shot.

In my personal opinion, most 3.2-3.3 decent-avg DAT scores with no real life story do NOT have a good shot; however, most of the 3.2-3.3 decent-avg students that DO get in have a UNIQUE life story.

I think your story of being in Army, working full time, being non-trad definitely boosts your application. To have a solid shot, I would raise the GPA to a 3.3 and a score well on the DAT(20+). We aren't talking about 25+ but a 21-22 would be great.

I would definitely invest time towards applying. Good luck.

 

[7 Iron]

I agree, I think you have a good chance if you do well on the DAT. As a somewhat non-trad myself, I've found that dental schools were very interested in my life after college and they seemed to place an emphasis on those experiences. With full-time work and experience in the Army, you are in a good place.

 

[Dustin2207]

Thank you for everyones replys thus far. My career so far has made college a very rocky process so I am excited that people still think I may be competitive.

I will certainly invest a lot of time in the application process as well as the DAT.

My thoughts are with these credentials I have a slim chance of getting into my state school which is Ohio State. I know they are ranked fairly high in Dental schools. With that being said are you less likely to get accepted to an out of state school?

Once again thank you for your advice.

 

[Dustin2207]

7 iron:

I see you are from Ohio also.....Currently I go to Wright State.... when you say you have spoken to Dental Schools is Ohio State one of these? Also, have you been accepted etc?

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[AlexOdentchkin8]

Thank you for everyones replys thus far. My career so far has made college a very rocky process so I am excited that people still think I may be competitive.

I will certainly invest a lot of time in the application process as well as the DAT.

My thoughts are with these credentials I have a slim chance of getting into my state school which is Ohio State. I know they are ranked fairly high in Dental schools. With that being said are you less likely to get accepted to an out of state school?

Once again thank you for your advice.

Couple of things,

1) you do have a shot, but its important that you score well on the DAT and it it critical that you apply the earliest possible. This means find out when the date for AADSAS application cycle opens, usually early june, and be extremely organized about you transcripts, LOE, DAT score sent etc. It can get stressful trying to get all of those things together if you are not prepared.

2) I'm sure Ohio State is a fine school, but where did you hear that it is one of the best? There is no official ranking of dental schools like there is of other disciplines so what you heard or read could just be someones opinion. I think that because it is a state school and you are in-state, you stand the best chance of getting in compared to a private school that gets 1000's of applications. I know that I Maryland, that take a close look at all in-state applicants, no matter that GPA or DAT. If you have an interesting story, you will stand out among your fellow Ohioanites (???)

 

[bigbrightsmile]

OSU has very high standards for gpa and dat. Even with a good story it will be very difficult to get an interview with below a 3.5 Gpa without a stellar dat even being an Ohio resident. I would apply to lots of private schools and oos friendly state schools. Be careful and look at schools gpa and dat averages from the previous year in the current adea guide to dental schools.

 

[AlexOdentchkin8]

OSU has very high standards for gpa and dat. Even with a good story it will be very difficult to get an interview with below a 3.5 Gpa without a stellar dat even being an Ohio resident. I would apply to lots of private schools and oos friendly state schools. Be careful and look at schools gpa and dat averages from the previous year in the current adea guide to dental schools.

every school has high standards, and if OP puts him/her self in a good position academically from here on out, there is certainly a chance they can get into the school of his/her choice

oh, and btw, not to be nitpicky, but you're not really a dental student yet

 

[7 Iron]

7 iron:

I see you are from Ohio also.....Currently I go to Wright State.... when you say you have spoken to Dental Schools is Ohio State one of these? Also, have you been accepted etc?

Hi Dustin, yeah I was accepted to several schools including OSU. Actually OSU puts more emphasis on numbers than other schools; however if you have the numbers to make the cut and get an interview, then they were really interested in my life story, etc.

 

[coolrunner]

U can totally do this. Good luck and just make sure you get killer DAT scores.