Are good grades enough to get in?

[superlite996]

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As of right now, I am beginning my senior year at my university (I've only been to university so far for three years)

I have a solid 3.80 overall GPA, and a 3.73 sci GPA. (I've finished all the require courses for all the dental schools that I have applied)
I have taken the DAT the end of my sophomore year and got a 21 (averaged out)
I have worked for my uncle's dental clinic since high school

I never did any community service, volunteer, no extracurricular, nor was I involved in my university or for anything of that matter because I spent all of my time studying. Plus I am Asian, and I feel that I have given crappy personal statements. All that I have done so far is applied to dental school. Will any of this affect me from getting into dental school?

 

[rav4182]

dental schools look for well-rounded applicants, not just high grades and test scores. you still got a shot but keep in mind there are pleny of ppl with high gpa's, dat scores, AND have tons of volunteer experience. there is a reason they want ppl who are actively involved, it builds character (not saying you dont have any, its just a trend). they dont want robots

 

[Chemboy23]

Ok, this is yet again another dumb question. Why would you post this? Yes you have a solid GPA, yes you have good DAT scores. You tell us yourself that your scores are good. What do you want? Someone to praise you or something? Good job...now go get ready for an interview and stop being stupid.

 

[rav4182]

this isnt a dumb question. he obviously realizes he's lacking in a important specific area and is wondering how much its gonna affect him.

 

[PreDent11]

I agree, it's obvious that he wasn't trying to show off his GPA, and it's a valid question. I myself am wondering the same thing. I have a very high cumulative and science GPA, and while I would consider myself to be well rounded (a couple ECs, volunteer&shadowing hours, patient-oriented work experience, a great TA-ish campus job), I don't have any spectacular extracurricular achievements, nor do I have hundreds of hours. Also my DAT scores are average at best. The point is, you can't do it all. You can try, and I have tried, but in order to have that spectacular GPA, you have to make sacrifices in other areas sometimes. My GPA is absolutely the best card I have to play, so I guess I'm wondering the same thing: HOW FAR can the number carry you? Will it most likely at least get you to the interview stage, at which point it's your chance to show them that you're more than just the number? Sorry if this is an annoying question, but most of the schools I applied to have not started sending out interviews/rejections and I'm going a little stir-crazy waiting.😕

 

[shahinc]

Ok, this is yet again another dumb question. Why would you post this? Yes you have a solid GPA, yes you have good DAT scores. You tell us yourself that your scores are good. What do you want? Someone to praise you or something? Good job...now go get ready for an interview and stop being stupid.

LOOL, Thank you.

 

[jat14]

As of right now, I am beginning my senior year at my university (I've only been to university so far for three years)

I have a solid 3.80 overall GPA, and a 3.73 sci GPA. (I've finished all the require courses for all the dental schools that I have applied)
I have taken the DAT the end of my sophomore year and got a 21 (averaged out)
I have worked for my uncle's dental clinic since high school

I never did any community service, volunteer, no extracurricular, nor was I involved in my university or for anything of that matter because I spent all of my time studying. Plus I am Asian, and I feel that I have given crappy personal statements. All that I have done so far is applied to dental school. Will any of this affect me from getting into dental school?

Have you sent out your AADSAS application already? If so, did you receive any interview invites yet? If you received interview invites already then dental schools probably won't care too much about the community service and volunteering. You could start doing some sortof involvement in your community or school, that way you have something to talk about during the interview.

just sit back and enjoy the rest of summer...cuz once your in dental school the summers become a little different with the boards 🙂

 

[sweetdaises2000]

Predent 11, I totally agree with you. I don't understand why people are so mean on here at times. Everyone keeps touting the well-rounded application but we all know grades and DAT are most important.And I will admit that I gave up quite a bit of time in extracurriculars to concentrate on my studies. The people I know who "tried to do it all" were always scared and unprepareds for midterms. Its not just going to class,it was also the info mentioned in office hours that was never mentioned in class, ta sessions,etc. So yes, at times I felt it was near impossible to do it all. To the op, just rock your interviews. And people, be nice to your fellow man!!

 

[yjdentist]

ive seen many stupid threads, but this is not one of them. i think he is asking a valid question.

although personal statements and EC are very important, i think you will get some interviews because of your above-avg gpa and your solid DAT score.

your top priority should be to prepare yourself well for the interviews. i dont mean, you will DEF get them, but meaning, when you do, you have to prepare to present yourself better to make up for those missing components of your application.

perhaps you can talk about a patient that made an impression on you for some reason during your time at your uncle's office, and what you did about it in the office.

 

[PreDent11]

Predent 11, I totally agree with you. I don't understand why people are so mean on here at times. Everyone keeps touting the well-rounded application but we all know grades and DAT are most important.And I will admit that I gave up quite a bit of time in extracurriculars to concentrate on my studies. The people I know who "tried to do it all" were always scared and unprepareds for midterms. Its not just going to class,it was also the info mentioned in office hours that was never mentioned in class, ta sessions,etc. So yes, at times I felt it was near impossible to do it all. To the op, just rock your interviews. And people, be nice to your fellow man!!

Thank you. Like you, I know people who have FAILED major exams because of ECs. Yes, ECs are great, but I believe that academics should come first, and I hope that schools feel that way too. And I don't know why people are so harsh on here either...sometimes after reading some of these posts I feel like I'm screwed for this cycle, yet I keep coming back...ahh addiction

 

[quillow]

I agree, it's obvious that he wasn't trying to show off his GPA, and it's a valid question. I myself am wondering the same thing. I have a very high cumulative and science GPA, and while I would consider myself to be well rounded (a couple ECs, volunteer&shadowing hours, patient-oriented work experience, a great TA-ish campus job), I don't have any spectacular extracurricular achievements, nor do I have hundreds of hours. Also my DAT scores are average at best. The point is, you can't do it all. You can try, and I have tried, but in order to have that spectacular GPA, you have to make sacrifices in other areas sometimes. My GPA is absolutely the best card I have to play, so I guess I'm wondering the same thing: HOW FAR can the number carry you? Will it most likely at least get you to the interview stage, at which point it's your chance to show them that you're more than just the number? Sorry if this is an annoying question, but most of the schools I applied to have not started sending out interviews/rejections and I'm going a little stir-crazy waiting.😕

I completely agree. I think this is a totally valid question and I am in the same situation. I have a good GPA and good DAT scores, but I don't have hundreds of hours of shadowing or community service. I'm also Asian too, so I know that's not gonna help! 😛 That's why I worried so much about my personal statement though. I also applied to a lot of dental schools (probably more than I should have). It's important to be well-rounded without letting any area suffer, which can be difficult. I don't think dental schools (or patients) want their future dentists to be robots.

To the OP, do you have decent LORs? How many hours have you worked at your uncle's dental clinic? This could provide a lot of material for you to talk about during your interview. Have you shadowed other dentists/offices? Since you've already applied, there's no point in worrying about what's happened (or not happened) in the past. If you find time, then maybe you could start doing some community service or extracurriculars. Since you already know that this is a potential weak area, be prepared to address this in interviews. Also think about positive parts of your application and try to highlight those during your interview.

Good luck!

 

[267862]

I don't think there's any excuse to have absolutely NO EC's, but you do have one more year to get some in.

 

[schen140]

I don't think there's any excuse to have absolutely NO EC's, but you do have one more year to get some in.

agreed. i would advise the op to look for community service in this upcoming year, and sacrifice a tiny bit of her grades if that's what it takes. most likely though, that will not be what it takes. you might lose some more points on exams due to not making office hours and learning all the secret tips, but ultimately if you manage your time well these points wont drop u from an A to an A-.

community service is the most important extracurricular in my opinion. if u just study all the time, u are showing ad coms the opposite of what they want to see, in that ur actions only revolve around urself and dont include helping others

 

[pinhi]

this isnt a dumb question. he obviously realizes he's lacking in a important specific area and is wondering how much its gonna affect him.

yes...i agree and calling people stupid and being demeaning is unnecessary. Let's keep it civil here. Thanks.

 

[DunStopBelievin]

You got this...I would trade all my ECs from grade school until now for your gpa. lol.

 

[AmpedUp]

welp...start calling up places who need volunteers and find several dentists to shadow. honestly, you're at the easy part. good job on the academic part! 👍

 

[ItalianPrincess]

Thank you. Like you, I know people who have FAILED major exams because of ECs. Yes, ECs are great, but I believe that academics should come first, and I hope that schools feel that way too. And I don't know why people are so harsh on here either...sometimes after reading some of these posts I feel like I'm screwed for this cycle, yet I keep coming back...ahh addiction

omg i feel the same way SDN is like a drug!

but yea i'll be the first one to admit all the ECs i got involved in effected my gpa, not quite to the extent you're talking about, i never FAILED anything and the only classes i did bad in were because of the material not the ECs, i am really good at managing my time but would i have gotten As in some classes that i ended up with A-s or B+s in...most likely, i don't regret my decisions now (if i dont get in i will haha 🙄)

OP, look for schools that REALLY favor the numbers and in the mean time do some volunteering

 

[Habbas]

Predent 11, I totally agree with you. I don't understand why people are so mean on here at times. Everyone keeps touting the well-rounded application but we all know grades and DAT are most important.And I will admit that I gave up quite a bit of time in extracurriculars to concentrate on my studies. The people I know who "tried to do it all" were always scared and unprepareds for midterms. Its not just going to class,it was also the info mentioned in office hours that was never mentioned in class, ta sessions,etc. So yes, at times I felt it was near impossible to do it all. To the op, just rock your interviews. And people, be nice to your fellow man!!

well its not mean, its just being real. if you have a solid GPA and DAT, the large factors in determining your chances of admission, just go with it, you dont ask people if they think you'll poop after a large meal, its just happens.
...seriously though i imagine youll be fine