Bad first year? chances for dental?

[kernelguy5]

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Hi guys, i'm new to the forum and i'm just wondering if I'm out of the running for admission to dental school because of a pretty terrible freshman year ending with a gpa of 2.76. I probably should've studied harder and i just didn't adjust well to just relaxing in high school to all the distractions in college.
I basically got a bunch of b's with c's sprinkled in with occasional a's. Also ended up with a C- in calculus one quarter which scares me because I don't know if that is considered passing or not. I do feel like I can do much better and I have since changed my study habits since the start of school this year. Do you guys have any suggestions on what I should do? (extracurriculars, strategies, etc). Am I out of contention? Thanks so much for answering

 

[lmaozedong1]

You're not out of contention...but seriously dude, if you want it then man up and do it...seriously.

 

[kernelguy5]

thanks. i agree i need to shape up. thanks for the kick in the butt. is there a plan b if my efforts in the next 3 schoolyears don't end up in an acceptance? a master's program? postbaccalaureate? i'm a newbie in this

 

[Just Peachy]

You'll be ok if you step it up in the next 3 years. I ended my freshman year of college with a 2.4 and managed to pull it up in a BIG way and am now a 2nd year in dental school. You'll have to bust your butt, have good EC, and start volunteering ASAP to get a ton of hours - but you can totally do it.

 

[robpardee]

+1 on the voluteering. Look into a pre-dent club at your school.
Not to sound to harsh but habits are hard broken if you aren't able to shape up as soon as this quarter/semester I'd be worried at how much your habits are going to change. You really have to have the drive from the get-go.

Now that being said it is definetly not too late but you need as many A's as possible and good DAT scores.

 

[fishyfishy]

I had a 1.5 GPA my freshman year, was on probation. Next yr got a 3.0. Last 2 years got 4.0s. Got a high DAT score + did genetics research and got published. Got multiple interviews to d-schools.

You can do it. You need straight A's from now on, you need to destroy the DATs and you need research + shadow experience. Stop slacking, go get em.

 

[dentalWorks]

most dental schools don't look at a single poor performance (in this case, first year of undergrad) and toss your application on the rejection file.....

Dental schools will look at your OVERALL application, they will look at ALL your undergrad years and see your performance. IMO, the overall and science GPAs are the most important factors for an application.

Doing bad in 1 year isn't a big deal, just work hard in your upcoming years... You can easily bring that GPA to a more respectable level (3.3-3.5) by time you graduate

Good luck to ya

 

[artdent]

I'm on the same boat with you... maybe worse... 🙁 For me freshman year was a mess with bunch of drama that I couldn't handle all at once... WORST TIME OF MY LIFE !!!
I focused as hard as I could to just pass freshman year...
1st year
first semester
Bio - Q drop
Chem I - C
psychology - B
UGS class - A-

second semester (this is when things get really bad !!! )
Calculus - C
Bio I - C
Chem II - B-
Bioseminar - A
Another C for my major

sophomore year
Spanish Q drop ( couldn't be full time student because of my migraine disorder 🙁 that i developed from the emotion stress i went through freshman year... )
Bio - A
art history - C
Accounting - B+

next semester I'm just hoping that nothing would be in my way now... I'm working out hard to improve my sever migraine disorder...

I'll be taking summer, retaking science classes I got a C, and soon research with doctor shadowing...
Now I have a leadership position for an organization (not related to predent) and in nursery and finance ministry for my church.

All I have to do is learn from my experience and move on with a strong attitude...
CAN ANYONE PLEASE GIVE ME MORE ADVICE ??? I will not be able to do a post bacc program because I am not a science major... Anything more I can do to increase my chances in dent school?

 

[Canard]

I'm on the same boat with you... maybe worse... 🙁 For me freshman year was a mess with bunch of drama that I couldn't handle all at once... WORST TIME OF MY LIFE !!!
I focused as hard as I could to just pass freshman year...
1st year
first semester
Bio - Q drop
Chem I - C
psychology - B
UGS class - A-

second semester (this is when things get really bad !!! )
Calculus - C
Bio I - C
Chem II - B-
Bioseminar - A
Another C for my major

sophomore year
Spanish Q drop ( couldn't be full time student because of my migraine disorder 🙁 that i developed from the emotion stress i went through freshman year... )
Bio - A
art history - C
Accounting - B+

next semester I'm just hoping that nothing would be in my way now... I'm working out hard to improve my sever migraine disorder...

I'll be taking summer, retaking science classes I got a C, and soon research with doctor shadowing...
Now I have a leadership position for an organization (not related to predent) and in nursery and finance ministry for my church.

All I have to do is learn from my experience and move on with a strong attitude...
CAN ANYONE PLEASE GIVE ME MORE ADVICE ??? I will not be able to do a post bacc program because I am not a science major... Anything more I can do to increase my chances in dent school?

Normally, post-bacc is for someone who is not from science major background to finish all the pre-req for the dental school admission. But don't think about master program or post-bacc if you are still in sophomore year because there is still time to bring your GPA up within 2 and half years that you have left. But it seems like it is important to take care of personal side of business rather than continue taking classes. It looks better to have a good grades the first time around even if there is a break in between since you have REASON why you were on break. But again, I have no idea what your situation is.

My suggestion is that it is important to be full time to show adcom that you are able to handle the course load with EC. And make sure to pull straight A's from now on to become a competitive applicant. This is all up to you on how much you want it!!

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

I'm on the same boat with you... maybe worse... 🙁 For me freshman year was a mess with bunch of drama that I couldn't handle all at once... WORST TIME OF MY LIFE !!!
I focused as hard as I could to just pass freshman year...
1st year
first semester
Bio - Q drop
Chem I - C
psychology - B
UGS class - A-

second semester (this is when things get really bad !!! )
Calculus - C
Bio I - C
Chem II - B-
Bioseminar - A
Another C for my major

sophomore year
Spanish Q drop ( couldn't be full time student because of my migraine disorder 🙁 that i developed from the emotion stress i went through freshman year... )
Bio - A
art history - C
Accounting - B+

next semester I'm just hoping that nothing would be in my way now... I'm working out hard to improve my sever migraine disorder...

I'll be taking summer, retaking science classes I got a C, and soon research with doctor shadowing...
Now I have a leadership position for an organization (not related to predent) and in nursery and finance ministry for my church.

All I have to do is learn from my experience and move on with a strong attitude...
CAN ANYONE PLEASE GIVE ME MORE ADVICE ??? I will not be able to do a post bacc program because I am not a science major... Anything more I can do to increase my chances in dent school?

Aim for an A in every single class you take now, you can't get any more C's for sure. If you continue on like this, you're going to be a very tough sell. If your grades are truly due to personal/emotional issues and you believe they don't reflect your ability, I'd recommend taking a bunch of upper-division biology courses (maybe even major in MCB) and doing well in all of them to demonstrate just that.

On the extra-curricular side of things, get involved in all things dental. It looks like you haven't begun shadowing yet, so get on that. Join many dental outreach programs, demonstrate that you have a true passion for the field and that you are truly concerned about oral health in the community.

There is a lot of work ahead for you, so ask yourself if you're willing to make that commitment. Good luck.

 

[BoxerRumble]

To the OP, I think some schools might require a C or higher (C- won't cut it) for some pre-requisite classes. Might want to look into that by going to specific school's websites.