Dangerous waters

[higijif]

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Hey guys, current application cycle not looking so good. No interviews and a few rejections/soft rejections so far. 22 DAT, 3.2 GPA, 3.0 SGPA. Its not that I did particularly bad in any class (except orgo with a C and a D retook to a B), I just didn't do particularly well.

Ive begun searching for an alternative path towards dental school for one last shot. I know this question may have been asked many times already but as someone with a BA in Biology, I know formal post-bacc programs are out of the question for me. So it comes down to an SMP, Masters, or Post-bacc at a local college.

Is my GPA at the point where it is beyond repair through taking a few classes at a local college? If I do an SMP, will the degree be useful to me if I don't get into dental school again? I am leaning towards a masters because it is more flexibile and offers a better job opportunity if I don't get into dental school.

Any thoughts are appreciated,
thank you.

 

[ChewyDrop]

How did you know you got rejections?

 

[doktorinprogres]

SMP will not be useful to you outside of health professional schools. Your gpa is historically not unrecoverable but it is a gamble and a costly one at that. You basically have to decide how badly you want dental/can you see yourself happy with alternate careers. That answer may change the longer it takes. Along with deciding on continuing your educational endeavors consider work experience in dentistry (assisting, dental lab tech etc). Also make sure you reach out to schools and find which ones are open to having an ongoing conversation with you about your app and things to do to improve. i believe Louisville is one such school there are others though quite a few will indicate to you only minimal involvement in your ongoing efforts.

 

[DMD.DDS.2016]

Plenty of people I know get acceptances with your stats. It depends on where you applied and to how many schools.

Also, you may have something missing in your app for a particular school? Did you follow up with all the schools?

 

[higijif]

How did you know you got rejections?

I was notified by schools

 

[higijif]

SMP will not be useful to you outside of health professional schools. Your gpa is historically not unrecoverable but it is a gamble and a costly one at that. You basically have to decide how badly you want dental/can you see yourself happy with alternate careers. That answer may change the longer it takes. Along with deciding on continuing your educational endeavors consider work experience in dentistry (assisting, dental lab tech etc). Also make sure you reach out to schools and find which ones are open to having an ongoing conversation with you about your app and things to do to improve. i believe Louisville is one such school there are others though quite a few will indicate to you only minimal involvement in your ongoing efforts.

I was considering going into dental hygiene but im not quite sure if its impressive to dental schools in terms of GPA improvement. Any thoughts? I am definitely going to reach out at one point to some schools to get some feedback from them. Thanks!

 

[higijif]

Plenty of people I know get acceptances with your stats. It depends on where you applied and to how many schools.

Also, you may have something missing in your app for a particular school? Did you follow up with all the schools?

I applied to about 20 schools across the US and pretty early too! Most schools are listed on AADSAS as under review and whatnot so I dont think Im missing anything...It is encouraging to hear that people get in with my stats though. Do you think bumping it up with a semester or two of post bacc would be good enough?

 

[doktorinprogres]

I was considering going into dental hygiene but im not quite sure if its impressive to dental schools in terms of GPA improvement. Any thoughts? I am definitely going to reach out at one point to some schools to get some feedback from them. Thanks!

In terms of GPA improvement they don't find it impressive. If you look at the larger picture of staying involved in dentistry etc it's a nice plus but in the short term for improving your shot at dental school soon the additional courses/postbacc/SMP/Masters route is what you want.

 

[sobertiger]

How about dental hygiene bridge programs? I know LLU offers one. So does USC.

 

[Manic324]

Hey guys, current application cycle not looking so good. No interviews and a few rejections/soft rejections so far. 22 DAT, 3.2 GPA, 3.0 SGPA. Its not that I did particularly bad in any class (except orgo with a C and a D retook to a B), I just didn't do particularly well.

Ive begun searching for an alternative path towards dental school for one last shot. I know this question may have been asked many times already but as someone with a BA in Biology, I know formal post-bacc programs are out of the question for me. So it comes down to an SMP, Masters, or Post-bacc at a local college.

Is my GPA at the point where it is beyond repair through taking a few classes at a local college? If I do an SMP, will the degree be useful to me if I don't get into dental school again? I am leaning towards a masters because it is more flexibile and offers a better job opportunity if I don't get into dental school.

Any thoughts are appreciated,
thank you.

I got accepted to three schools with a gpa slightly lower than yours and a 19 AA DAT. And I'm white. I don't think you should waste time or money on a SMP.

 

[mapetite]

I was considering going into dental hygiene but im not quite sure if its impressive to dental schools in terms of GPA improvement. Any thoughts? I am definitely going to reach out at one point to some schools to get some feedback from them. Thanks!

Hello! I did a dental hygiene program to boost my GPA and it took me from a ~3.0 to a ~3.4 because I took so many credits in such a short time. That being said, I don't think it's too late for you this cycle. The fact that you got 2 rejections shows that those schools were giving your application serious consideration. Many interviews don't go out till October and they continue to go out through February. Don't give up yet!

 

[higijif]

Thank you all for your encouragement! 🙂