Advice please!

[tlynguyen]

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Hi everyone! I applied to 10 schools this semester and only got one interview for USC so far. I've gotten 3 rejections. My overall gpa is 3.59 with a 3.29 science gpa. DAT: 18/19/20 with a 15 in QR. 🙁 I'm not very optimistic about this cycle. I know I need to retake my DAT, but I'm not sure what to do about my gpa. I'm not sure how it works. Can I just retake classes after I graduate or should I apply to a post-bac program? Also, in general, when you take a year off of school, what happens to your school loans? Thanks for your help!

 

[jmt1984]

Hi everyone! I applied to 10 schools this semester and only got one interview for USC so far. I've gotten 3 rejections. My overall gpa is 3.59 with a 3.29 science gpa. DAT: 18/19/20 with a 15 in QR. 🙁 I'm not very optimistic about this cycle. I know I need to retake my DAT, but I'm not sure what to do about my gpa. I'm not sure how it works. Can I just retake classes after I graduate or should I apply to a post-bac program? Also, in general, when you take a year off of school, what happens to your school loans? Thanks for your help!

You could retake the DAT, shoot for 20s across the board, maybe retake the science class that is bringing your sci GPA down. If you do a formal post-bacc program it will appear as a separate GPA, but your GPA overall will be calculated together. I would try to show an improvement trend.

Usually student loans come due 6 months after graduation (if you don't defer them), which typically is around Dec sometime. That 6 months is the best time to consolidate them if you have multiple loans at different rates and just want one easy (usually lower) monthly payment.

 

[Doctor Thriller]

Just retake the DAT. An 18 AA is not dismal, but won't open lots of doors for you especially before spring semester of the cycle. Is this your only DAT score?
About you GPA now; also, not dismal and could really be helped by making straight A's in upper level biology courses from here on out. I am not saying by doing this your gpa is going to shoot up tremendously, but school really respect the upward trend factor. Trust me thats the only thing I had going for me. My first 60 hours were not competitive at all, but my last 68 credit hours I had a 3.85. I personally do not think you need a post-bac program to gain admissions; just work on what I just told you this spring semester and go luck with your interview.

 

[tlynguyen]

Just retake the DAT. An 18 AA is not dismal, but won't open lots of doors for you especially before spring semester of the cycle. Is this your only DAT score?
About you GPA now; also, not dismal and could really be helped by making straight A's in upper level biology courses from here on out. I am not saying by doing this your gpa is going to shoot up tremendously, but school really respect the upward trend factor. Trust me thats the only thing I had going for me. My first 60 hours were not competitive at all, but my last 68 credit hours I had a 3.85. I personally do not think you need a post-bac program to gain admissions; just work on what I just told you this spring semester and go luck with your interview.

Yeah, that was was my first time taking the DAT. Unfortunately, this is my senior year and I'm taking 18 credits to finish off my requirements before graduation. I took two bio courses this semester and will probably get a B and an A-. I'm taking anatomy next semester.

I don't know if it would be worth it retaking the DAT soon because would dental schools still have time to consider those scores this cycle? I might just plan on retaking it this upcoming summer.

Thanks for the help everyone!