Do I stand a chance?

[DNA1228]

Hello,

I'm a recent college graduate who majored in Fashion Marketing and Management. My first love is dentistry but I scared myself away from it because I didn't like the thought of staying in school for 8 years. Long story short, I now know that my first degree was a waist of time and money and I want a career that gives back. One that I can be happy with and actually enjoy. My undergrad GPA wasn't so great, only a 3.0 but I am a strong science student and I'm hoping to raise it during my post bacc studies (beginning next Spring). Is it realistic to believe that I will be admitted into dental school? Does anyone know from experience how much I can raise my GPA during post bacc studies? I'm just looking for general advice and feedback.

Thanks.

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[cubaton]

I think that if u do well in the post bacc and take all your prereqs and get a decent gpa (3.5) you will have a chance. Remember, dental school is more than a gpa and a DAT, you have to put together an application. So, start shadowing a dentis, and participate in any dental related event (if possible) do volunteering so that by the time u apply let's say 1 1/2 - 2 years from now you have around 300-500 hours. Also, I would recommend visiting this site often. I learned a lot from just reading the comments of all this nerdy pre-dents So basically remember, all u do, do it with you mind set in dental school and write it down so u don't forget ( long term shadowing, volunteering , decente DAT ~ 19-20, decent gpa ~3.5 = acceptance to dental school. Apply broad and you'll be fine!

 

[2THDDS]

take some upper level science classes, preferably ones like anatomy, immunology, biochemistry, histology, etc.
If you have time and money, you can do a post-bach program designed for non-science majors. If you do well on this, this will actually prove to them that you are able to handle difficult science classes no problem.
If you have been doing well in science classes, your sGPA shouldn't be too bad and doing well in post-bach studies will only help sGPA. Overall GPA will go up, but not as much as sGPA.

After doing all the prereqs, you should study for the DAT and ace it as well. Shoot for something in the range of 19~21 AA, if higher, even better.
DAT isn't a super difficult test, so I am sure anyone can do well with adequate preparation.
When you first start studying, you will feel like there are so much to learn and overwhelming, but once you get over that frustration, you will be okay.

Good luck my friend.

 

[2THDDS]

I think that if u do well in the post bacc and take all your prereqs and get a decent gpa (3.5) you will have a chance. Remember, dental school is more than a gpa and a DAT, you have to put together an application. So, start shadowing a dentis, and participate in any dental related event (if possible) do volunteering so that by the time u apply let's say 1 1/2 - 2 years from now you have around 300-500 hours. Also, I would recommend visiting this site often. I learned a lot from just reading the comments of all this nerdy pre-dents So basically remember, all u do, do it with you mind set in dental school and write it down so u don't forget ( long term shadowing, volunteering , decente DAT ~ 19-20, decent gpa ~3.5 = acceptance to dental school. Apply broad and you'll be fine!

yep this too, make sure you do shadowing, volunteering and show that you are doing this to help out the community and people.
Start shadowing early so you get exposed to dentistry and make sure that this is what you want.

Also look into dental/medical mission trips if your local dental school sponsors one.

 

[DNA1228]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I will begin shadowing dentist right away. Also involve myself in the community. I'm really excited about this journey and you all just gave me confirmation that if I apply myself in every area I can still achieve my goal.