Considering dentistry, need advice

[MYQ]

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Hi,

I have recently finished my undergraduate degree in Applied Health Sciences from University of Waterloo (Canadian) and due to a number of reasons have just started to consider going into dentistry in the US.
But before I completely delve into this, I have a few questions that I hope could be answered (since I’m completely new to this area) so I could evaluate whether it is worthwhile for me to pursue this path and if I actually have a chance. Note that I am missing a few courses and would have to do an extra year to get all the pre-reqs.

First, like all pre-dental students, I am worried about my GPA. I have horrible marks for first year (which is also when I took some of my pre-requisites). I am not sure how much emphasis dental school place on pre-reqs, but my marks have been increasing and are not bad for my last 2 years. My cumulative GPA is 3.33 and recent 2 years is 3.69. I have seen the term science GPA being thrown around in this forum and I tried to calculate it, but I am not sure where all my health related courses fit. If it is just BCP, then my GPA is realllllyy low (2.92) since I screwed up first year which is when I took all those courses. I haven’t really looked into how dental schools evaluate your marks, but basically I didn’t take much upper level (pure) science courses and lower level courses are not good =( How important is BCP or science GPA when they evaluate your marks?

This brings me to my second question. If I were to take an extra year for courses, would I need a full course load? I’d imagine that it would be better to, especially since I probably need some upper level science courses to boost that BCP GPA. But I only need two or three courses to complete pre-reqs (namely Orgo I&II), so it would be nice if I didn’t have to take unnecessary courses alongside it.

I wasn’t sure where to start gathering information, but I figured this forum would be a good starting point. So what do people think? Should I go for it? I really think I would enjoy being a dentist and I love the aspect of working with my hands and the one-on-one interaction with patients. But I want to be practical too, I don’t want to spend an extra year and waste a few thousand dollars going for this if there is not much of a chance =( To be honest, I think I could do well on the extra year and the DAT (which I haven’t taken yet), but I am fairly confident I could do well enough. I still want honest opinions though.

Thanks in advance (and thanks for reading this, sorry it’s so long!)

 

[doc toothache]

But I want to be practical too, I don’t want to spend an extra year and waste a few thousand dollars going for this if there is not much of a chance =( To be honest, I think I could do well on the extra year and the DAT (which I haven’t taken yet), but I am fairly confident I could do well enough. I still want honest opinions though.

You want a career in dentistry with pre conditions. Check.

 

[MYQ]

Sorry? I don't understand what you mean by that.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hi,

I have recently finished my undergraduate degree in Applied Health Sciences from University of Waterloo (Canadian) and due to a number of reasons have just started to consider going into dentistry in the US.
But before I completely delve into this, I have a few questions that I hope could be answered (since I’m completely new to this area) so I could evaluate whether it is worthwhile for me to pursue this path and if I actually have a chance. Note that I am missing a few courses and would have to do an extra year to get all the pre-reqs.

First, like all pre-dental students, I am worried about my GPA. I have horrible marks for first year (which is also when I took some of my pre-requisites). I am not sure how much emphasis dental school place on pre-reqs, but my marks have been increasing and are not bad for my last 2 years. My cumulative GPA is 3.33 and recent 2 years is 3.69. I have seen the term science GPA being thrown around in this forum and I tried to calculate it, but I am not sure where all my health related courses fit. If it is just BCP, then my GPA is realllllyy low (2.92) since I screwed up first year which is when I took all those courses. I haven’t really looked into how dental schools evaluate your marks, but basically I didn’t take much upper level (pure) science courses and lower level courses are not good =( How important is BCP or science GPA when they evaluate your marks?

They are the most important criteria (GPA wise).

This brings me to my second question. If I were to take an extra year for courses, would I need a full course load? I’d imagine that it would be better to, especially since I probably need some upper level science courses to boost that BCP GPA. But I only need two or three courses to complete pre-reqs (namely Orgo I&II), so it would be nice if I didn’t have to take unnecessary courses alongside it.

IMO, I don't think 1 year of post-bacc will be enough. Canadian applicants (applying to US schools) are at an automatic disadvantage. Yet alone one with low science / BCP.

Now if you were to do a 2 year post-bacc (with uncompleted pre-reqs and a bunch of upper level sciences), along with a sub 4.0 performance, thats a different story and I think you'll be at a greater position to land something.

I wasn’t sure where to start gathering information, but I figured this forum would be a good starting point. So what do people think? Should I go for it? I really think I would enjoy being a dentist and I love the aspect of working with my hands and the one-on-one interaction with patients. But I want to be practical too, I don’t want to spend an extra year and waste a few thousand dollars going for this if there is not much of a chance =( To be honest, I think I could do well on the extra year and the DAT (which I haven’t taken yet), but I am fairly confident I could do well enough. I still want honest opinions though.

Thanks in advance (and thanks for reading this, sorry it’s so long!)

The only thing to consider is, the US schools that could accept you are MOST LIKELY going to be private, meaning close to 350-400k tuition. I am not entirely sure (someone correct me plz), but I think canadian applicants can't just get federal loans without a USA co-signer. Do you have someone to co-sign for u?

 

[MYQ]

Thanks for this down to earth info, even though its a bit discouraging. I gather that in my position, since my BCP is that low, it would be a tough uphill battle for me to get into a competition position for applications. I guess I need to research/rethink this some more...