Can we hear from some Nontrad dental students/dentists?

[futuremrsDr<3]

To begin...
I have wanted to be a dentist since I was 10!
I am a minority and come from very humble beginnings. Trying hard to get to this point has felt like reinventing the wheel multiple times. But no more, I would love some advice!

So my GPA suffered through 3 particular semesters that had to do with family/sickness.
I graduated w/BS in 2016, have since had 2 children while working on a computer-related degree online.
But life is too short, I know I need to chase my dream.
So:
I will be taking upper-level prereqs and courses as well.
If you can share ANY:
...Advice,
..."Don't Forget"s,
...Success Stories,
...Tips on managing school as a parent,
...or Interview tips.
(then THANKS so much!! )

Here's my Tip :
I have recently found that reaching out to schools is GREAT. I was able to attend a Dental-Career exploration-style seminar all online (going over specialties, school-life, and other basic information ).
I have also recently learned that there are Dentists/Students out there who want to help! Hear their stories, and then share yours.

Thank you in advance, future Dr.Mom

 

[2TH MVR]

You'll find plenty of related threads on this forum.
Just curious why you have to classify yourself as a minority. You mentioned it twice. Why is there even a reason for bringing that into a conversation? For the record .... I am half Asian. But I don't consider myself half a minority lol. Just curious.


Anyway. Good luck with your future career. Dentistry is a great career as long as you can keep the debt to a minimum.

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

You'll find plenty of related threads on this forum.
Just curious why you have to classify yourself as a minority. You mentioned it twice. Why is there even a reason for bringing that into a conversation?

Anyway. Good luck with your future career. Dentistry is a great career as long as you can keep the debt to a minimum.

Hmm, I attended a conference for minorities, so it's been on my mind. Before then, I had no idea there were Dentists who had similar backgrounds.

My intention is to pass that along to others as well.
My family loves this country, and are very patriotic, however they did start off with very little.

I had absolutely no guidance on college and want to help others who are minorities or parents find a support group. We may have additional challenges, but I know we can succeed. So looking for any of those opinions.

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

You'll find plenty of related threads on this forum.
Just curious why you have to classify yourself as a minority. You mentioned it twice. Why is there even a reason for bringing that into a conversation? For the record .... I am half Asian. But I don't consider myself half a minority lol. Just curious.


Anyway. Good luck with your future career. Dentistry is a great career as long as you can keep the debt to a minimum.

I think another reason is we don't readily hear stories of parents in school, or people who have stumbled repeatedly. I'd love to hear those.

I believe there comes a point where you begin to realize it's powerful to share experiences. In order to find that support ☺ thanks!

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Follow this format so we can more adequately help you:

Date of submission:
Overall GPA:
Science GPA:
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA- , PAT- , QR- , RC- , BIO- , GC- , OC- , TS-
State of Residence:

Undergrad Attended:
Major:
Minor:
Minority?
Reapplicant?
Nontrad?

Shadowing Experience:
Volunteering Experience:
Employment:
Research:
Other Extracurriculars:

School list:

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

Follow this format so we can more adequately help you:

Date of submission:
Overall GPA:
Science GPA:
DAT score (include AA and all sections): AA- , PAT- , QR- , RC- , BIO- , GC- , OC- , TS-
State of Residence:

Undergrad Attended:
Major:
Minor:
Minority?
Reapplicant?
Nontrad?

Shadowing Experience:
Volunteering Experience:
Employment:
Research:
Other Extracurriculars:

School list:

Great idea
Date of submission:
current Overall GPA: 3.0 (if schools could look past 3sems with family issues I would be a 3.5)
current Science GPA: 2.7
after 2sems Overall GPA: 3.2
after 2sems Science GPA: 3.1 (a school I am applying to takes the latest retake only= 3.4)

DAT: not taken yet
State of Residence: GA

Major: B.S. Health Science
Minor: Public Health
Minority?: yes
Nontrad?: yes

Shadowing Experience: 25 hrs (covid...)
Volunteering Experience: church service mission 100% unpaid, for a year helping minorities. (4000+ hrs), minority-outreach women's clinic health coach (260 hrs), preemie-baby health fair (10 hrs), institute committee president for youth (60 hrs)
Employment: home health care, migrant-student elementary tutor,

Other Extracurriculars: health awareness runs, latin-dance instructor, pre-dental society...


(P.S.) I will be taking OChem I & II, Biochem, Microbio, a math and Physics I

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

So I’m confused, what is your current sgpa in the aadsas calculation? Or are you not applying this cycle?

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

So I’m confused, what is your current sgpa in the aadsas calculation? Or are you not applying this cycle?

not applying this cycle. So just looking for advice & insights to prepare better.
thanks !

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

not applying this cycle. So just looking for advice & insights to prepare better.
thanks !

Your sGPA is lower than average as you probably know. What they do is take the failed classes and retake classes and average them when you apply, so you’re calculation will be lower than you projected unless I’m misreading. It seems like you’re saying you’re in a post bacc taking science courses? If so, and can significantly raise your sGPA this way then great, do so. If you cannot do it this way you’ll likely need a masters in science in which you do well (3.7+) to be more competitive. Your extracurrics and the fact that you’re a non trad student are pluses. Be sure to do as well as possible on your DAT to make up for your GPAs, this will rule out some doubt as to whether you can handle the rigor of dental school science courses. I have attached my thread below which gives you an idea of where your numbers should be in order to be “competitive.”

Opinion: Here’s where your GPA and DAT should be at to get in

Here are just some general guidelines, in my opinion. Of course, there are many more factors that are considered by adcoms than just gpa/dat: Science GPA- 3.5+ (you’re fine) 3.0-3.2 (apply broadly and consider masters or post bacc if not admitted) below 3.0(consider a masters or post bacc)...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[futuremrsDr<3]

Your sGPA is lower than average as you probably know. What they do is take the failed classes and retake classes and average them when you apply, so you’re calculation will be lower than you projected unless I’m misreading. It seems like you’re saying you’re in a post bacc taking science courses? If so, and can significantly raise your sGPA this way then great, do so. If you cannot do it this way you’ll likely need a masters in science in which you do well (3.7+) to be more competitive. Your extracurrics and the fact that you’re a non trad student are pluses. Be sure to do as well as possible on your DAT to make up for your GPAs, this will rule out some doubt as to whether you can handle the rigor of dental school science courses. I have attached my thread below which gives you an idea of where your numbers should be in order to be “competitive.”

Opinion: Here’s where your GPA and DAT should be at to get in

Here are just some general guidelines, in my opinion. Of course, there are many more factors that are considered by adcoms than just gpa/dat: Science GPA- 3.5+ (you’re fine) 3.0-3.2 (apply broadly and consider masters or post bacc if not admitted) below 3.0(consider a masters or post bacc)...

forums.studentdoctor.net

I've been taking classes not as a set "Post bacc" but just as open matriculation.
I was just trying to get all the pre-reqs done.
It looks to me that the Post-bacc program is doing less than I will be doing on my own.
Would that be okay?
I see the benefit of "graduating a post-bacc" with a high GPA too though.
The way I'm doing it, everything just averages all out together...

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I've been taking classes not as a set "Post bacc" but just as open matriculation.
I was just trying to get all the pre-reqs done.
It looks to me that the Post-bacc program is doing less than I will be doing on my own.
Would that be okay?
I see the benefit of "graduating a post-bacc" with a high GPA too though.
The way I'm doing it, everything just averages all out together...

If you have not completed all of your prereqs, of course this is most important so obtain these with good grades first!

Then at the end of completing your prereqs, if your sgpa is still below 3.0 then (heck even below a 3.3), you’ll likely need a masters in science in which you do well (3.7+) to be more competitive. Yes, post bacc grades go into the average with your previous undergrad grades. If you have only taken a few science classes in the past, then it won’t be difficult to raise up your sgpa, and in this case it may be easier to stick with taking more science classes in a non degree fashion, like you’re doing, to raise your sgpa. If you have already taken many science classes and you’re finding it difficult to significantly raise your sgpa, it would be better to do a science masters which doesn’t get averaged into your undergrad gpa, in order to bring your sgpa category up to a competitive level. That’s why I attached that thread in the last message, it shows what are competitive gpas, and what you should do if you have a certain gpa.