Current HS Senior

[Nocturnal Doc]

Hello,

I am writing this thread to seek a few answers for some questions I have. I’ll try to keep the questions short and sweet.

My first question: Do dental schools care about the prestige of your undergraduate school? Or is it more about your overall gpa and science gpa.

I go to a really top notch high school, and a lot of my peers are all getting accepted into likewise top notch schools; however, their major is computer science as opposed to my intended career - dentistry. My school counselors don’t really have any experience either anything health related, so I was also instructed to just apply to top universities. My state school has a really bad grading system, as opposed to colleges that are lesser known elsewhere that have a more normal grading system.

Second question: I was wondering what are some good materials and test prep I can use to get started with the DAT and the required pre-requisite courses for dental schools (o-chem, chem, bio, etc.)

Third question: What kind of GPA and DAT score should I shoot for, obviously the highest possible, but I’m talking within a threshold so I know if I dip below I need to really step up my game.

Thank you for your time in reading and responding,

Nocturnal

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[Punished Angeleno]

1) Might play a tiny role but I'm sure admissions would prefer a 3.6 student from an average university than a 3.3 student from a prestigious one. I wouldn't think too much about this. Just take a comfortable amount of units per semester/quarter and keep your GPA high.

2) I would read up on a bunch of DAT breakdowns here on SDN. Most popular tools are DAT Bootcamp and DAT Destroyer. It's way too early for you to be worrying about the DAT though. One step at a time! With regard to your prerequisites, I'm not sure what you're asking for, exactly. Everything you're going to need to pass those courses with stellar grades will be written in your syllabi. Manage your time wisely and always reach out to your professor for help when needed. By doing so, you can 1) do well in class 2) establish a relationship with your professor, which can land you a letter of recommendation.

3) You said it yourself. Highest possible. You'll be competitive for most programs if you can maintain a 3.6+ oGPA/sGPA, assuming you've got good ECs and an above average DAT score (21+).

 

[IdleKoala]

1). This is a difficult question to answer, and the answer will probably vary person to person and institution to institution. For me, I didn't go to a prestigious undergrad by any means and I still got several interviews and acceptances. I would personally say that GPA is by far the most important factor regardless of school, however, admission committees are also aware that a 3.9GPA is not the same from every institution, hence why community college credits are often not accepted for certain science requirements. I would personally say that if you attend a well established university, and do well, you should be fine.

2). DAT Bootcamp is the best all around study resource imo. However, it is a subscription and only has 10 full length practice tests. So I would recommend using Bootcamp in the 90 days before your DAT. Right now, you could purchase the DAT Destroyer books and start working through problems if you want to be really ahead, but honestly, the DAT isn't super hard. You should focus on doing well in your undergrad science classes, and then study real hard for 60-90 days for your DAT you'll be fine. PAT is something you could start working on now, it's something that progressively gets easier with time and repetition.

3). Personally, I would say above a 3.7GPA and 21AA. Of course people get accepted with lower scores, but if you study hard getting a 21AA should be very attainable. The GPA is a little more difficult, because its so many different classes/teachers, plus its hard to be consistent over 4 years. Making sure you have a good adviser and the correct attitude when approaching college classes will greatly benefit you. Best of luck. God bless.

 

[lwergod]

1. prestige of UG does not matter. GPA>>>prestige. Think about it, dental ADCOM's review hundreds of applications each year, do you really think they're going to waste time determining how prestige factors into your overall application? Probably not.

2. DAT destroyer, and Bootcamp are the gold standard (+ supplementals notes. i.e. cliff's, Baron's, Romano's notes) You can achieve a solid score with those materials alone. I wouldn't not worry too much on the DAT now. Most people take it summer of their sophomore or junior year after completing ochem II.


3. The GPA for public dental schools is ~3.6. To be competitive applicant, aim for no less than 3.6. i'd avoid most private dental colleges, generally the tuition is greater and the quality of education is questionable (looking at USC/BU/TOURO etc).

 

[nightowl54]

This is ultimately why the DAT exists and why it’s so important. The DAT standardizes all applicants, no matter what undergrad they went to. For perspective, I currently attend my state school, but I will still be attending Columbia Dental in the fall. I also know people who went to a “prestigious” undergrad and still ended up at a “prestigious” dental school.

What matters a lot too are your experiences. If you go to a “prestigious” undergrad but don’t have much shadowing and EC experience, you won’t be seen as favorably as someone who went to a state school but had lots of shadowing hours and great ECs.

I’m sure a 3.7 at a “prestigious” undergrad holds a tiny bit more weight than a 3.7 at a state school, but your application is more than just your academics.

Hope this helps!

 

[princeafrica]

Hello,

I am writing this thread to seek a few answers for some questions I have. I’ll try to keep the questions short and sweet.

My first question: Do dental schools care about the prestige of your undergraduate school? Or is it more about your overall gpa and science gpa.

No. At my interviews there was a range of different undergrad schools. Your GPA and DAT is what is looked at closely.
Some of the more "prestigious" schools have grade inflation and so do many other undergrad schools. The DAT sort of helps equalize.

My state school has a really bad grading system, as opposed to colleges that are lesser known elsewhere that have a more normal grading system.

What do you mean by bad grading system? I would recommend going to the cheapest state school or college/university in your state

Second question: I was wondering what are some good materials and test prep I can use to get started with the DAT and the required pre-requisite courses for dental schools (o-chem, chem, bio, etc.)

I would recommend you look through the DAT discussion threads. DAT Bootcamp (they have a fb group as well), DAT Destroyer, CracktheDAT, PATbooster are some great programs! @artist2022 has also compiled a great list of DAT breakdowns I would recommend you check these out to see how many studied and you may get a good idea on how to study. But I would not worry about this right now since you are still a high school senior. You need to get the majority of pre-reqs done first before you start thinking about taking the DAT since these study materials are for review and you need to learn the material first in your science courses.

Third question: What kind of GPA and DAT score should I shoot for, obviously the highest possible, but I’m talking within a threshold so I know if I dip below I need to really step up my game.

Pretty much keep your grades up and keep an upward trend in grades. When it comes time to study for the DAT, I would recommend going in with a mentality that you are shooting for a 30 and study like you are shooting for a 30 and your score won't fall too far down. Don't sell your self short.

Good luck!

 

[artist2022]

Moving to hSDN.

The prestige of your undergrad doesn't matter, I went to a state school and did fine. Keep your GPA as high as possible, but the DAT will be important in showing how "accurate" your GPA is. A high GPA + a high DAT shows you know your stuff. A high GPA + a low DAT means there was some sort of grade inflation going on at your undergrad and you weren't able to perform well on the DAT. A low GPA + high DAT means that your undergrad was pretty hard, but you know your stuff as you were able to do well. Contrary to what another one of these threads turned into, the DAT is still an equalizer. They change questions up all the time, and are actually looking for people to write questions constantly too. It's scored on a bell curve, and there's no way to "beat" a bell curve. Sure, resources are getting better and better at mimicking the test, but the DAT test makers are aware of this and change the test accordingly.

Anyways, I would focus on doing well in your prereq classes and maintaining your GPA before you start to think about the DAT. Take good notes and do well, so that you're able to use that knowledge in a couple years when you're studying for the DAT. When you're close to done with sophomore year, you can look through breakdowns and start studying for the DAT and take it before you finish your junior year, so that you can apply the summer after junior year and interview throughout your senior year and start right in the fall after you graduate rather than have to take a gap year.

So the average DAT of matriculated applicants is about a 20.4, the average overall GPA is around 3.6, and the average science GPA is around 3.5. But again, the DAT is the equalizer and average GPAs don't matter because they are just really dependent on how easy/hard your undergrad is.

Good luck!

 

[macsak]

Hello,

I am writing this thread to seek a few answers for some questions I have. I’ll try to keep the questions short and sweet.

My first question: Do dental schools care about the prestige of your undergraduate school? Or is it more about your overall gpa and science gpa.

I go to a really top notch high school, and a lot of my peers are all getting accepted into likewise top notch schools; however, their major is computer science as opposed to my intended career - dentistry. My school counselors don’t really have any experience either anything health related, so I was also instructed to just apply to top universities. My state school has a really bad grading system, as opposed to colleges that are lesser known elsewhere that have a more normal grading system.

Second question: I was wondering what are some good materials and test prep I can use to get started with the DAT and the required pre-requisite courses for dental schools (o-chem, chem, bio, etc.)

Third question: What kind of GPA and DAT score should I shoot for, obviously the highest possible, but I’m talking within a threshold so I know if I dip below I need to really step up my game.

Thank you for your time in reading and responding,

Nocturnal

start here:
How to Get Into Dental School: A Free Admissions Guide • SDN
and here:
Get Into Dental School | ASDA
and here:
Dental Education Schools and Programs

 

[macsak]

forgot this one:
2017-2018 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools

mahalo to princeafrica for bringing it up in another thread