Average DAT & Average GPA Support Group

[Coffeeisamust]

4th invite! UNE

3.36 overall 3.4ish sci 18AA 19TS 23PAT

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[mehrsadr]

Congrats!!! no offense, but i have a little better both GPA and DAT, but i have not even heard from them saying my application is complete or for them to ask for application fee!!! so jealous of you!!!!

 

[AMilman]

4th invite! UNE

3.36 overall 3.4ish sci 18AA 19TS 23PAT

What have you been putting in your coffee??? You're cleaning up..... super envious. You are single handedly keeping the "average" thread alive!

 

[tbond5]

2nd invite

Marquette
3.68 oGPA
3.52 BCP
19 TS
19 AA

Oct 4th
3 year applicant right here

 

[Coffeeisamust]

5th invite! Got the call yesterday! Western baby! I have done a lot if things outside of school that I think makes me stand out. I will share everything after dec 2nd

3.36 overall 3.4ish sci 18AA 19TS 23PAT

 

[Predent92]

I received my third invite yesterday from UNE! ~3.3 science and overall, 19/19/19/20RC DAT

 

[tbond5]

3rd invite

UW

 

[LFA20]

5 invites.
19/aa/ts
NOT URM OR NON-TRAD

 

[Kariwoozy]

First time posting

Overall 3.56
Science 3.5
AA 19
TS 20
PAT 18

UNE, LECOM, NOVA

 

[LFA20]

.

 

[Daneosaurus]

Wow...

No, I am not a "URM". However, I am a re applicant, completed my master's degree with a high GPA and I have 600+ hours of shadowing.

My friend that IS a URM has only received one interview which he is really grateful for. Being a minority is by NO MEANS a ticket into dental school.

We all sit on SDN hoping to find a way to get into dental school even if we have average stats.... and whenever there is a story of someone who is doing it, there is always one person who assumes that they have some "in" (i.e. URM, military, child of admissions committee member, etc.)

regardless, it's an exciting time and I know this thread is going to be filled with awesome stories in the coming weeks!

GOOD LUCK everyone!

Is military experience considered an "in"?

 

[akw921]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if we could have a thread for itnerviews , acceptances , and rejections for people with average stats. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the average GPA and average DAT for an average dental school would be 3.2-3.4 GPA and a 19-20 DAT AA/TS/PAT ? I'm actually right in that ballpark, and could use some encouragement and updates from others in the same boat~

Many thanks, and good luck to all my fellow brethren in this application cycle

The importance of academic scores should not be overvalued as an indicator of a good candidate. The desire to become a dentist and committing to doing what is necessary to achieve is far more important than academic stats. I think that just because a person has better academic stats doesn't make them more qualified to achieve in the program. It may take time but your desire to achieve will overshadow average academic performance. Admissions committees will see a persons strong motivation and gladly offer a position. I am certain that with my average stats receiving a acceptance letter is only a matter of time. Academic scores will not be the crucial factor when deciding my admissions. My desire to achieve will be why I'm chosen. I just have to convince people to ignore the scores and focus on my commitment to succeed. Good scores mean nothing without the willingness to work for the degree. I am fortunate enough to be able to wait as long as it takes, which I will gladly do. I keep reminding myself that my acceptance is only a matter of time. The ability to practice dentistry is worth the wait.

 

[toothexplore]

nothing wrong with avg theres no way a dental school could only take in overachievers. afterall, if the entrance gpa is 3.5, somebody's gotta balance out those rare 4.0s

 

[jdye]

Woot! I love average people!! I have a low gpa, but a higher dat. That makes me average, right?

Science GPA: 3.1
Total GPA: 3.3

DAT (round 1):
TS: 21, AA: 20, PAT: 21
DAT (round 2, retook bc RC was 16 first round... woops, haha):
TS: 20, AA: 21, PAT: 21

3 Interviews: BU, Buffalo, and unexpectedly Penn

I'm pretty sure I'm not getting in at Penn (didn't feel home at the interview, they didn't seem to like me either) but I'd sure as heck be happy at the other two

I just started browsing SDN because I want some company for the interview-to-decision period. Hopefully I can hang out in this thread for a while

 

[roziii68]

5th invite! Got the call yesterday! Western baby! I have done a lot if things outside of school that I think makes me stand out. I will share everything after dec 2nd

3.36 overall 3.4ish sci 18AA 19TS 23PAT

Do you mind sharing how the interview was? Thanks

 

[Coffeeisamust]

Do you mind sharing how the interview was? Thanks

I was accepted dec 2nd so I canceled my interview!

 

[Blake1e]

Someone should start a thread called "Above Average DAT, Below Avg (but above 3.0) GPA Support Group." Though I get the feeling it wouldnt be as popular as this one and that sub-3.0 one b/c not many are in a situation like this.

 

[cacajuate]

I have a sub 3.0 oGPa, 3.4 sGPA, 20/20/20 DAT and have recieved two interview invites this cycle. Certainly is possible to at least get your foot into the door. Now if I can just receieve an acceptance..

 

[northwestzag]

I have an interview at Indiana Monday, invited 1/31 with a 3.27 overall and 2.93 science, 19AA and 18TS, OOS

There is hope! This is my first also

 

[customx]

Can anyone chance me? I have a 3.35 oGPA, 3.39 sGPA, 22 AA, 22 TS and 19 PAT. I will be applying to UW as in state and about 15-20 other schools. I have 180 hours of shadowing which is increasing 15 hours a week, some volunteer work, not many EC as I work full time and am a non-traditional applicant. Thank you.

 

[darkkings13]

whos worried for this upcoming cycle? avg stats here with good extra curriculars.

3.353 GPA,

19AA,
20 TS
20 BIo
20 Chem
21 Ochem
19 QR
17 RC
20 PAT

really worried about my reading comp since it is a 17. What do you guys think? BU, Loma Linda, and Midwestern already told me to retake my DAT because of the 17 :'(

 

[customx]

A 17 requires a retake? Most schools have a cutoff of 15 or 16 for all sections. I've never heard of a 17 requiring a retake

 

[darkkings13]

this is what boston said..

Hello,

To answer your question, I would recommend retaking the DAT. Also, make sure to have some dental experience, whether it be shadowing, volunteering or actually working in a dental office. Please be aware that all successful applicants to the DMD program have some dental experience in their background.



DMD Admissions Coordinator


Loma Linda and Midwestern also said the same thing. How important is the reading comp section?

 

[gn4]

I hear that RC is somewhat important. However, I didn't know it was important enough to warrant a retake in your case. The rest of your scores seem ok average across the board. So, it depends on you. It's different for everybody...I'm trying to put myself in your shoes...I would probably retake because of the GPA as well. You can either retake and do really well and limit the number of places you apply to, or not retake, but probably have to apply to 10+ schools to give yourself a good chance to get accepted. I only say this because DAT and GPA are average. With average across the board, you can't really predict which side you will fall on. I've seen people with better scores not get accepted just as I've seen people with lower scores get accepted. So to not risk it, you'd probably have to apply to a lot of schools. If you have the money, you can do that and not have to retake. You may not even end up needing 10+ schools applications for 1 acceptance, you may just need your state school and they might be happy with your app. It's tough to predict. That's why this is kind of hard to decide. It also depends on the annual average scores of your state school.

Sorry for the long rant...just a hard question to answer.

 

[darkkings13]

*sigh I know..Its tough! If I took this quarter off, I would definitely retake it. But right now my goal is to boost my GPA to a 3.4+. If I dont get in next cycle, I will retake it for sure. I am just going to try and see what happens. :'(. I wish everything was not based on stats because I have an upward trend XD

 

[#kalel]

whos worried for this upcoming cycle? avg stats here with good extra curriculars.

3.353 GPA,

19AA,
20 TS
20 BIo
20 Chem
21 Ochem
19 QR
17 RC
20 PAT

really worried about my reading comp since it is a 17. What do you guys think? BU, Loma Linda, and Midwestern already told me to retake my DAT because of the 17 :'(

I would heed their advice. I mean they ARE the ones deciding if you're getting interviewed/accepted after all. Competition is getting tougher every year so keep that in mind.

Plus you can def take DATs while taking a full course load. GL

 

[Godspeedyou]

What would likely happen if someone got a 3.3/3.4 science (post-bacc 3.7>). GPA and 3.1/3.2 cumulative. But 25>DAT

 

[gn4]

What would likely happen if someone got a 3.3/3.4 science (post-bacc 3.7>). GPA and 3.1/3.2 cumulative. But 25>DAT

they'd be in great shape as long as ECs are in good shape

 

[Godspeedyou]

they'd be in great shape as long as ECs are in good shape

Last question, any idea if the schools that have >3.0 gpa cutoff, will look at students like the above that had <3.0 gpa in undergrad but brought it up significantly?

 

[gn4]

Last question, any idea if the schools that have >3.0 gpa cutoff, will look at students like the above that had <3.0 gpa in undergrad but brought it up significantly?

with a 25+ DAT and if he has been trending up with the GPA, he would still be ok at most schools.

 

[music24]

Guys, I need help.

Stat:
3.49 sGPA, 3.56 oGPA
DAT (2nd attempt): 20 PAT, 19 Bio, 19 Chm, 19 OChm, 18 RC, 17 Math, 18 AA, 19TS

Applied to 20+ schools this cycle and I even applied really early (like on the 1st day), got 4 interviews (1 rejected, 3 waitlisted). Not sure if I will get in this cycle so I am already prepping for the next. I really don't know whether or not if I should retake the DAT. I have ready tried twice and I am afraid that I might blow the last chance. Plus with the new bio section (not sure if ADA has changed it yet), I don't even know how to study for that. Talked to a couple friends and some suggested that I should retake while others said that I shouldn't. I am torn.. It's about 2 months from the next cycle and I really don't know what to do. What do you guys think?

 

[customx]

Guys, I need help.

Stat:
3.49 sGPA, 3.56 oGPA
DAT (2nd attempt): 20 PAT, 19 Bio, 19 Chm, 19 OChm, 18 RC, 17 Math, 18 AA, 19TS

Applied to 20+ schools this cycle and I even applied really early (like on the 1st day), got 4 interviews (1 rejected, 3 waitlisted). Not sure if I will get in this cycle so I am already prepping for the next. I really don't know whether or not if I should retake the DAT. I have ready tried twice and I am afraid that I might blow the last chance. Plus with the new bio section (not sure if ADA has changed it yet), I don't even know how to study for that. Talked to a couple friends and some suggested that I should retake while others said that I shouldn't. I am torn.. It's about 2 months from the next cycle and I really don't know what to do. What do you guys think?

I would retake. Study for the DAT like your life depends on it, because you won't get another shot at taking it. An 18AA and 19TS are below the average of an admitted student. If you applied to that many schools and you still didn't get an acceptance, there is something wrong with your app. How many shadowing hours do you have? What are your ECs like? Have you done any research? Do you have any dental related job experience?

 

[music24]

Yeah, it was very discouraging.. I applied to 20+ including a lot of OOS-friendly schools (NYU, Tufts, Boston, Creighton, Pitt, Buffalo, Midwestern in AZ and a bunch more), but I didn't hear anything from them. I thought I would at least get an interview from Tufts with my stats, but they rejected me right now. I am not sure what's going on there. As far as ECs go, while in school, I had many leadership positions ranging from President to webmaster. The main community service things that I did were Habitat for Humanity and Relay For Life. 150 hours with shadowing/volunteering hours with 2 general dentists. I also play a couple music instruments. As far as research goes, I started volunteering for my chemistry professor about 2 and a half years ago. I finished up with one project and she had me continue with the other one. So I am still doing that.

 

[Will 8wt2]

Hey guys,

Just received my Canadian DAT scores and feel a little bummed down by Bio. Could someone offer some input/suggestions? Should I rewrite?

Ogpa : 3.4-3.45 / Sgpa: 3.9-3.4

DAT:
Bio: 17
RC: 19
Chem: 22
PAT: 22
AA: 19
TS: 19

I have three strong letters of recommendation, 200+ hours of shadowing, strong EC's, research experience, captain varsity team at University.

The 17 in bio is worrying me, I knew it didn't go so well.

What are your thoughts?

I'll be applying to:
University of the Pacific
. 30 Indiana University
. 41 Boston University
. 44 U. of Detroit-Mercy
. 48 University of Minnesota
. 64 New York University
. 66 SUNY at Buffalo
. 74 Case-Western Reserve
. 80 Temple University
. 82 U. of Pennsylvania

 

[#kalel]

Hey guys,

Just received my Canadian DAT scores and feel a little bummed down by Bio. Could someone offer some input/suggestions? Should I rewrite?

Ogpa : 3.4-3.45 / Sgpa: 3.9-3.4

DAT:
Bio: 17
RC: 19
Chem: 22
PAT: 22

I have three strong letters of recommendation, 200+ hours of shadowing, strong EC's, research experience, captain varsity team at University.

The 17 in bio is worrying me, I knew it didn't go so well.

What are your thoughts?

I'll be applying to:
University of the Pacific
. 30 Indiana University
. 41 Boston University
. 44 U. of Detroit-Mercy
. 48 University of Minnesota
. 64 New York University
. 66 SUNY at Buffalo
. 74 Case-Western Reserve
. 80 Temple University
. 82 U. of Pennsylvania

What's the rest of your DAT scores? I suggest a retake.

NYU is your best bet. Case will be hard. Penn is a very far long-shot.

 

[Will 8wt2]

What's the rest of your DAT scores? I suggest a retake.

NYU is your best bet. Case will be hard. Penn is a very far long-shot.

These are all that is tested on the Canadian DAT, the schools I'm applying to are Canadian friendly

 

[#kalel]

These are all that is tested on the Canadian DAT, the schools I'm applying to are Canadian friendly

What's your AA and TS? Canadian DAT scores have that too.

And even though they're Canadian friendly, they're not too friendly to a 17 in Bio, especially Penn... You said it yourself, 17 in Bio is your weakness. So fix that and you should be good. Aim high

 

[Will 8wt2]

What's your AA and TS? Canadian DAT scores have that too.

And even though they're Canadian friendly, they're not too friendly to a 17 in Bio, especially Penn... You said it yourself, 17 in Bio is your weakness. So fix that and you should be good. Aim high

I know... I read somewhere that they look at AA/TS/PAT/GPA mainly.. not so much each one on its own. The next DAT write is in Nov.. so i'll probably apply with these marks and see how it goes.

 

[Loving123]

How does 20 AA 20 TS 19 PAT and 3.65 gpa looks like for U Penn? Also, which schools are my best bet?

 

[ugatno]

Science and overall gpa: ~3.3
AA 20, TS 19, RC 25, PAT 19
So my applications were complete the end of July, and all I've gotten is Florida's supplemental. Literally nothing else. No emails, nothing. I applied to ten schools, prob not the best schools for my stats. But I had a huge upward trend, or overall jump in my gpa since halfway through sophomore year. But should I have at least heard back rejections if they don't want to interview? I'm just really not a fan of this dang waiting game. Michigan, Ohio state, Louisville, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Baylor, gru, Florida, meharry.

 

[darkkings13]

3.45 gpa, 3.27 science

19AA, 20 TS, 20 PAT , 17 rc with 3 interviews. Western, lecom, and kentucky. Don't lose any hope guys!

 

[gatsby121]

3.5 cGPA 3.4 sGPA 20 AA which are "average"

6 interviews. it can be done!

 

[irunblue]

3.1 gpa (4.0 masters gpa), 20AA
5 interviews: Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, USC
Anything is POSSIBLE

 

[Loving123]

How bad is 20aa and 20 ts and 3.6 gpa for international student? Which schools should I select? (For next cycle)
I was thinking about all the Canadian friendly ones but some of them require high DAT scores..
(For example, U Penn..and NYU..)
I really want to go U Penn or Nyu since I have my relatives living there..

Thanks for the suggestion and good luck to all of you guys

 

[Macabalony]

I am a 3.2 SGPA and 3.4GPA with a degree in biochemistry and music. 20AA and 20TS.

I am praying that his will lead to a few interviews. That would be nice.

 

[Brosephbro]

3.4 cGPA ,3.7sGPA, 20AA 20PAT 21TS

5 interviews so far, but I think new readers may be confused into thinking its all about grades and test scores.
I think they really focus on well rounded people, with a decent amount of extra-curricular (at least for those of us who don't have really high grades).

 

[Spiceman]

Hey Guys,
I am looking to attend dental school in 2016 I am graduating in May 2015 and I have a Cumulative GPA of 3.144 and a science GPA of 3.312. I am a bit worried, but I really want to be a dentist. I have done a lot of volunteering in my community and two years of research in Brookhaven national lab and Cali,Colombia Any advice?

 

[deleted659902]

lol what are all these people with 3.5+ GPA and 20 DAT doing here?

 

[Slanka]

Hi everyone
This is my first post on sdn. I just wanted some opinions. I just took my dat at got AA 20 TS 21 and PAT 21. My gpa is 3.54 and my sgpa is 3.2. I have graduated from college and have been working as a dental assistant. I am going to apply next cycle. I do have 2 W on my transcript because I couldn't afford to pay for my summer classes. Do you guys think I'm on the right track/are my chances of acceptance pretty good?
Thank you ahead of time for your responses!

 

[Tonya]

4th invite! UNE

3.36 overall 3.4ish sci 18AA 19TS 23PAT

Where is UNE?