Dental School admission

[goutamk]

I was wondering how dental schools look at gpa because of the difficulty that varies between each school (for example UCSD vs UCSB). Is there a way that they take this into account or do they just only look at the GPA?

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[MedDevil]

It most likely varies by dental school, but the consensus on SDN is that GPA trumps all.

 

[kamepan]

gpa matters the most, esp if there's a large difference, but with if there are two individuals were very similar GPAs I'm sure they will consider difficulty of school as well...

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

I was wondering how dental schools look at gpa because of the difficulty that varies between each school (for example UCSD vs UCSB). Is there a way that they take this into account or do they just only look at the GPA?

Some schools might tell you that where you went to college will be taken into consideration when they look at your GPA. For the most part, the undergraduate school that one attended does not matter. But this where the DAT is important because it levels the field for everyone.

 

[UCLAzy]

the further you go away from california, the less likely people will even know those two schools even exist.

east coast people usually only know berk, ucla, and stanford in my experience.

 

[Strikeout13GB]

one thing I learned this application cycle is undergrad school does matter (at least to some schools). My state has a very prestigious undergrad university and the state D school has accepted at least 15 people from there, most have "average" or below average GPA and DAT but I think this school they attend more than makes up for it. Fair or not that's how it is

 

[disney]

I was wondering how dental schools look at gpa because of the difficulty that varies between each school (for example UCSD vs UCSB). Is there a way that they take this into account or do they just only look at the GPA?

I would not worry much about undergrad schools in terms of GPA and reputation. But I heard that UCSD is one of a good dental school feeders in the country. They have very strong Pre-dental club with various opportunities to get involved in dental fields. I believe they even run 3 Free Dental clinics to serve the low income population in SD. And I see their students attending in big events like ADA, CDA... every year.

 

[Sunspear]

I remember my freshman year in college, when I was pre-med, I heard a rumor that "difficult" schools like Cal (where I went) meant that when you apply to grad schools, your GPA gets increased by a factor of 1.1. Hahaha! I was so gullible. I mean, I guess there's no way to really know how admissions committees do things, but in general I don't think it matters too much.

 

[wired202808]

I was wondering how dental schools look at gpa because of the difficulty that varies between each school (for example UCSD vs UCSB). Is there a way that they take this into account or do they just only look at the GPA?

GPA matters more than the school where you've achieved it.

 

[uva09]

Dental School admissions is inherently subjective in nature. Of course, admissions committees consider the institution of origin with regards to GPA figures for obvious reasons (though some tend to ignore these obvious reasons).To what extent this impacts a candidate depends on the individual and the complete applicant portrait. No one can say for sure. And anyone that suggests one thing or another, definitively, is simply speculating.

You will find those that vehemently argue that the school you went to does not matter are also the applicants/members that went to sub-par undergraduate programs or community colleges. Though this should not come as much of a surprise - inferiority complex, chip on a shoulder, who knows...

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Dental School admissions is inherently subjective in nature. Of course, admissions committees consider the institution of origin with regards to GPA figures for obvious reasons (though some tend to ignore these obvious reasons).To what extent this impacts a candidate depends on the individual and the complete applicant portrait. No one can say for sure. And anyone that suggests one thing or another, definitively, is simply speculating.

You will find those that vehemently argue that the school you went to does not matter are also the applicants/members that went to sub-par undergraduate programs or community colleges. Though this should not come as much of a surprise - inferiority complex, chip on a shoulder, who knows...

Agreed with the first part. A 3.4 from Stanford or Penn should not be frowned upon in comparison to a 3.7 from California State or Penn State. Some schools will realize this and take this into consideration. Some will not. Subjective indeed

As for the bold part...

 

[wired202808]

dental school admissions is inherently subjective in nature. Of course, admissions committees consider the institution of origin with regards to gpa figures for obvious reasons (though some tend to ignore these obvious reasons).to what extent this impacts a candidate depends on the individual and the complete applicant portrait. No one can say for sure. And anyone that suggests one thing or another, definitively, is simply speculating.

You will find those that vehemently argue that the school you went to does not matter are also the applicants/members that went to sub-par undergraduate programs or community colleges. Though this should not come as much of a surprise - inferiority complex, chip on a shoulder, who knows...

+1

 

[tehassan]

goutamk: I transferred from a 4 year CUNY university, to a mediocre 4 year institution because I was told by advisors that to get into health sciences you have to go somewhere "with a name." Now that I am completing my pre-reqs, I realize that it prolly didn't matter where I went because physics is physics, and bio is bio, and chem is chem, and most 4 year schools use the same (or similar) textbook and syllabus to teach the class. At the end of the day, we all take the DAT and each school has some calculation (that I agree is subjective to some point) that says you either got in, or you didnt. School name probably mattered more 20 years ago, but I think with the massive number of accredited schools that have popped up it's really hard to tell (ie, what about the US accredited international universities that many attend for study abroad or undergrad, which have American 4.0 grading systems, but they are much more lenient on their students? Like AUParis, AUBeirut, AUCairo, AURome, etc...).

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

goutamk: I transferred from a 4 year CUNY university, to a mediocre 4 year institution because I was told by advisors that to get into health sciences you have to go somewhere "with a name." Now that I am completing my pre-reqs, I realize that it prolly didn't matter where I went because physics is physics, and bio is bio, and chem is chem, and most 4 year schools use the same (or similar) textbook and syllabus to teach the class. At the end of the day, we all take the DAT and each school has some calculation (that I agree is subjective to some point) that says you either got in, or you didnt. School name probably mattered more 20 years ago, but I think with the massive number of accredited schools that have popped up it's really hard to tell (ie, what about the US accredited international universities that many attend for study abroad or undergrad, which have American 4.0 grading systems, but they are much more lenient on their students? Like AUParis, AUBeirut, AUCairo, AURome, etc...).

I've always wondered about US accredited international schools and dental schools. It would be interesting to see if anyone with experience has anything to say about that.