Do I have a shot?

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ftrdentist

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I recently decided I want to do dentistry so I enrolled myself in college to take couple of the pre reqs. I graduated yr and a half ago with a bioengineering degree at a top10 engineering school. My gpa is a 2.49. There are personal reasons why its so low which I can explain in my personal statement I suppose. I am shadowing a dentist right now for the full summer. I want to take the DAT in february and apply as soon as application process opens in may.
 
Yes, its a long shot but there is always a chance. In order to make up for the poor gpa you should probably be strong everywhere else (ie. research, volunteering, shadowing, DAT score, leadership experience etc.) In other words you need to go above and beyond the average in all those areas to make up for the area you are really weak in. If possible I'd also take more classes to raise your gpa although I understand that with a lot of credits the gpa won't go up much.
 
I recently decided I want to do dentistry so I enrolled myself in college to take couple of the pre reqs. I graduated yr and a half ago with a bioengineering degree at a top10 engineering school. My gpa is a 2.49. There are personal reasons why its so low which I can explain in my personal statement I suppose. I am shadowing a dentist right now for the full summer. I want to take the DAT in february and apply as soon as application process opens in may.

With a 2.49, I'd say you have 0%, even if you get a 27AA on your DAT. I don't think any explanation you make will make much of a difference becuase a 2.49 will get you rejected almost instantly from most schools anyways. If I were you I would save the ~$1000 and work to get a masters instead. Maybe after a 1-2 year masters with a 4.0 in heavy sciences and a ~24AA DAT you will become a good candidate.

the worst part is that the school you went to means absolutely nothing to the admissions committee, and the difficulty of your degree doesn't as well.

Someone could have decided to become a dentist and went to a very very low tiered university and majored in something like Baking but 4.0 their prereqs, did well on the DATs and got 21, and they would be a top ranked candidate. Someone else could go to MIT and get a degree in astrophysics and get a 2.5, get a 24 DAT and will be lucky to barely sniff an interview.
 
GPA is too low. Look into post grad programs. Don't even worry about the DAT until you get that GPA above a 2.75.
 
I don't know I talked to couple advisors and they told me if I did well in my pre req classes I have a good chance cause my degree is difficult and not the typical biology. And I do have an interesting background which I will state in my personal statement. I also have good lor and couple connections at the dental schools I am applying to.
 
I honestly have trouble imagining that you got all A's in pre-reqs and upper div Bio courses but you ended up with a 2.5. It is possible, I suppose. But that still doesn't mean your app will get thrown out :x
 
No I never said I got all a's in pre reqs and upper division. I have to take Biochem and ochem2 in the fall to finish.
 
I don't know I talked to couple advisors and they told me if I did well in my pre req classes I have a good chance cause my degree is difficult and not the typical biology. And I do have an interesting background which I will state in my personal statement. I also have good lor and couple connections at the dental schools I am applying to.

k, then i change my answer... a little.

IF (notice the if) you have 50 credits in sciences and got a 4.0 in all of them along with your prereqs, then i would say you have 10% chance instead of a 0% chance, not higher only becuae that would mean you would have had close to a 1.0 in all your non-science classes. But i guess you can explain the descrepency and dental schools since a 4.0 in all your science classes looks good anyways regardless of how u did in your nonscience classes.
 
Look at the 3.0 and Under Club thread on this forum. Maybe you can get some good advice from some of them. After reading the thread, it sounds like it is at least slightly feasible.
 
Unless you are an URM, I think it is highly unlikely.. 2.49 just gives the admission officers an impression of you being "lazy," although that probably is not true..

Good luck to you.
 
You guys are brutal. Maybe OP want some advise, not a lecture. However, there is some discrepancy in your statements, so if you'd like help, please answer truthfully. Without some context, we cannot help you.

1. what was your difficult degree?
2. what proportion of your classes were science? and how did you do in them?
3. what is your DAT score if you took them?
4. any shadowing or extra curricular?
 
Sure you have a chance. Increase your GPA, do well on the DAT, shadow few dentists and apply early.
 
You guys are brutal. Maybe OP want some advise, not a lecture. However, there is some discrepancy in your statements, so if you'd like help, please answer truthfully. Without some context, we cannot help you.

1. what was your difficult degree?- bioengineering
2. what proportion of your classes were science? and how did you do in them?
3. what is your DAT score if you took them?- hasn't taken
4. any shadowing or extra curricular?- Shadowing a dentist right now
Answered 1,3,4 in his/her original post. No one's lecturing anybody. OP asked if they have a shot and people are answering.
 
I don't know I talked to couple advisors and they told me if I did well in my pre req classes I have a good chance cause my degree is difficult and not the typical biology. And I do have an interesting background which I will state in my personal statement. I also have good lor and couple connections at the dental schools I am applying to.

Would it not be wiser to ask your your "couple of connections" about your chances rather than you fellow pre dents? As an engineer would it not be advisable to have all your design completed and constructed before you take your newfangled instrument for a test drive? Engineering degree are certainly more difficult but it is hard to imagine that there aren't any engineers whose gpa is higher than a 2.49.
 
If you haven't already, you need to speak with the directors of admissions at whatever schools you are aiming to get into, and I mean do that yesterday (If you don't have target schools, you need to do that two days ago haha), but seriously as soon as you finish reading this get off the computer and call the people. Those are the only people who can honestly tell you what your chances are, we are only speculating. Plus, face-to-face meetings, or at least phone conversations, with these people are opportunities for them to not view you simply as your statistics/grades. Interviews go a long way once you make it past that final cut, face time with people in charge of admissions are like mini interviews that can go a long way when your folder comes to the top of the admission committee's stacks. The director of admissions, shockingly, is on the admissions committee and they have input on who goes through to the interview rounds. If they can slightly reason putting you through to the interview stage (enough that they actually do) you have a solid shot. Sorry for being so long winded but...the point is get to know the places, and people at those places, you want to go. They like helping people who are interested in attending their school and will undoubtedly be honest about your chances of gaining admission to their program as well as improvements to be made before you apply. The best comment posted above me was the recommendation of completing a masters program...but dont take my word for that, ASK THE ADMISSIONS PEOPLE!
 
Oh and a quick note, the connections will help but you have to carry your own weight here, and admissions people have the final say, not your connections (unless they are admissions people hahah).
 
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" Wayne G

Knock that dat out to give you some more hope.
 
I recently decided I want to do dentistry so I enrolled myself in college to take couple of the pre reqs. I graduated yr and a half ago with a bioengineering degree at a top10 engineering school. My gpa is a 2.49. There are personal reasons why its so low which I can explain in my personal statement I suppose. I am shadowing a dentist right now for the full summer. I want to take the DAT in february and apply as soon as application process opens in may.

many dschools have a minimum gpa of 2.7 or higher, so make sure youcheck out each schools basic minimum requirements before applying, becasue it wont matter what your dat is if you dont meet their minimum reqs. good luck.
 
many dschools have a minimum gpa of 2.7 or higher, so make sure youcheck out each schools basic minimum requirements before applying, becasue it wont matter what your dat is if you dont meet their minimum reqs. good luck.
Snap, good catch oracle. So boast the gpa then apply.
 
I recently decided I want to do dentistry so I enrolled myself in college to take couple of the pre reqs. I graduated yr and a half ago with a bioengineering degree at a top10 engineering school. My gpa is a 2.49. There are personal reasons why its so low which I can explain in my personal statement I suppose. I am shadowing a dentist right now for the full summer. I want to take the DAT in february and apply as soon as application process opens in may.

2.5 GPA is low, and I am assuming your science GPA is just as low. The difficulty of your major has NOTHING to do with your GPA (at least in adcoms eyes).... They will rather take a history major with a 3.8 GPA over a biochemistry/nuclear physicist/analytical mathematician with a 2.5 GPA, this is a numbers game.

Now having said that, there is 100% hope for you but it will not happen anytime soon. You will need (In my opinion) to enroll into undergrad and take 50-70 credits of post-bacc upper level sciences. Try to 4.0 everything, it will bring up your GPA. Your goal in life will be to bring up that 2.5 to a 3.0. After all that is done, a nice score on the DAT will strengthen your application..... Definition of "nice DAT" = not objective, some say 21+, some say 27+

Another thing I've seen a few SDN'ers do is to keep their low undergrad GPA (in your case 2.5) the same.... and just enroll into a biology based masters and try to get a high GPA in it. This has worked for a few SDN members around. I can't recommend this cause I went with the above posted option with post-bacc courses.

If you REALLY want dentistry, I can still happen, but you'll need a herculean effort, time, and money.

Good luck to you
 
27+ DAT would be an amazing addition to your application. doc toothache posted a table somewhere, albiet a little outdated since 2008 was the last year with stats, and each year there were like 3 or so kids who get 27+ on the DAT. Maybe that number has doubled to 6 a year now but top 6 scores in the country will still raise some eyebrows.

27AA and 2.5 GPA might get an interview just becuase it seems the applicant will have a very interesting story to tell. UCLADDS101 received a perfect score on the sciences and all sections above a 23 and scored a 27AA, gives you an example of how impossibly hard (and somehwat lucky) getting such a high score is.
 
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Originally Posted by DrReo
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" Wayne G
The quote is great except you cannot miss a shot you never took.

these are the kind of things that just make me laugh on this site, like why do people even comment on things like this?? people have been wondering this for years I feel, even if this person meant nothing by his comment, other people end up taking offense, its unfortunate indeed
 
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