Dream school is UoP...what can I do to better my chances?

[adizzle87]

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[Plopper]

um no, i really wouldn't suggest retaking the dat, from a 22/21 there's not a lot of room to move up, but a lot to move down. Take your time, focus on your app, make sure you have a great personal statement (may want to slightly address the low gpa)

congrats on that dat score it's quite good!

 

[armorshell]

Don't retake the boards, you don't literally need a 20 in every section. I had a 19 in QR and I still managed to get in. (http://www.predents.com/?page=user&user_id=542).

I know how it feels to have a low GPA but I'd think you still have a shot at Pacific with a DAT score like that.

You could come and attend Pacific Pride Day in April and try to get into the Sim Lab Simulation course to get your name known, but other than that just cross your fingers. Make sure to apply to lots of schools, Pacific is great but I guarantee you'll be happy at many other dental schools as well.

 

[bjhath]

armorshell's post has some great advice and is almost exactly what I was going to post.

I have a lower overall gpa than you (3.0 cgpa/sgpa, with a strong upward trend) and didn't score 20's across the board (19 ochem). I was accepted to Pacific on December 1.

Go to Pride Day and the simulation clinic. Hand write thank you notes after each. I wrote letters to all involved: Dr. Yarborough, admin, and students I worked with. To my surprise, Dr. Yarborough responded to my Pride Day thank you with a hand written note of his own. After that, we corresponded several times regarding DAT scores and interview prospects. I don't know if it got me an interview, but it didn't hurt, that's for sure.

Work hard strengthening your application in other areas: shadowing, volunteering, leadership.

Write your PS now and have it read/edited by people whose judgment you trust. Apply early.

Apply to the UCSF/UoP/SFSU post-bac program. The application is available now and students in the program have a high placement rate at both UCSF and UoP. http://online.sfsu.edu/~brothman/DentPBP.htm

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[pinetar321]

ive been considering adding UoP to my list... though I got a 19 PAT and 16QR... with a 3.22 GPA. Would it be worth my time? (predents ID : pinetar321)

 

[dentalmon]

what's so great about UOP? just wondering.. cuz a lot of ppl here are saying that it is their dream school.. .

i just want to know b/c i'm considering applying there too..

 

[ucla2134]

I just don't understand why everybody here likes UOP. Why not UCSF,UCLA, Columbia or Upenn. What is so special about this school which think only DAT are the primary indicator of getting accepted, not GPA.
I have a lot of my predent friends who got 3.0-3.2, most of them were frigging lazy during their undergrad and just only 2 months study hard core and got accepted to UOP.
Thats why people look down on us predents, dental schools just cannot focus on one perspective (for UOP their DAT score is their holy ground).
My 2 cents

For the OP: you will be happy at other school, do not fixate on UOP too much

 

[a1pha]

I just don't understand why everybody here likes UOP. Why not UCSF,UCLA, Columbia or Upenn. What is so special about this school which think only DAT are the primary indicator of getting accepted, not GPA.
I have a lot of my predent friends who got 3.0-3.2, most of them were frigging lazy during their undergrad and just only 2 months study hard core and got accepted to UOP.
Thats why people look down on us predents, dental schools just cannot focus on one perspective (for UOP their DAT score is their holy ground).
My 2 cents

For the OP: you will be happy at other school, do not fixate on UOP too much

There just happen to be several current students from uop on sdn to speak highly of their school. The same is true about Midwestern and oracle. I'm surprised schools don't put a little chunk of money into sdn promotion to be honest. At the least, have some student handy to dispell dumb sdn myths when they appear.

 

[bjhath]

ive been considering adding UoP to my list... though I got a 19 PAT and 16QR... with a 3.22 GPA. Would it be worth my time? (predents ID : pinetar321)

The 16 on the QR is a problem; Pacific requires a minimum of 17 in all parts of the DAT.

I just don't understand why everybody here likes UOP. Why not UCSF,UCLA, Columbia or Upenn. What is so special about this school which think only DAT are the primary indicator of getting accepted, not GPA.

I was initially drawn to UoP because it is close to home and is a three year program. Once I visited, I was extremely impressed with the way they treat students, the facilities, and the clinical focus of the program. I did my research and found UoP to be a perfect fit for me. Different strokes for different folks.

Though DAT is a significant factor in their admissions process, they look at an applicant's whole package rather than just relying on GPA or DAT scores.

I have a lot of my predent friends who got 3.0-3.2, most of them were frigging lazy during their undergrad and just only 2 months study hard core and got accepted to UOP.

How many is, "a lot of your predent friends?" One? Two? I don't think any of them were lazy if they were able to get into dental school. Maybe lazy compared to your standards...

Thats why people look down on us predents, dental schools just cannot focus on one perspective (for UOP their DAT score is their holy ground).
My 2 cents

Sorry to disagree, but I don't think that UoP's admissions process is the reason why predents are, "looked down on" by uninformed people. It likely has more to do with the fact that dentistry is a relatively new branch of the medical community (when compared to MDs) along with stereotypes and jokes propagated by TV and movies.

If you look at the admissions process for medical school, I am sure you will find that there is not a "single perspective" used when evaluating applicants. Just as different dental schools use different admissions standards when evaluating applicants the same goes for medical schools. I don't think that the University of Alabama School of Medicine has the same admissions standards as Harvard Medical School!

For the OP: you will be happy at other school, do not fixate on UOP too much

 

[pinetar321]

Well everything Ive heard about UoP has been positive (minus the amount of AIDS-compromised patients). However to answer a previous question, not all of us are lucky enough to have both a stratospheric GPA and DAT. I know for a fact that my school is very tough on GPAs everywhere to the college of arts and sciences to the engineering school. Thankfully, like many others in my situation, we have a chance to prove that we really know our stuff on the DAT. I know UCSF and UCLA won't look past my GPA and would prob. deny me, so UoP is definitely a possible option.

 

[adizzle87]

I just don't understand why everybody here likes UOP. Why not UCSF,UCLA, Columbia or Upenn. What is so special about this school which think only DAT are the primary indicator of getting accepted, not GPA.
I have a lot of my predent friends who got 3.0-3.2, most of them were frigging lazy during their undergrad and just only 2 months study hard core and got accepted to UOP.
Thats why people look down on us predents, dental schools just cannot focus on one perspective (for UOP their DAT score is their holy ground).
My 2 cents

For the OP: you will be happy at other school, do not fixate on UOP too much

I can tell you that low GPAs can result from laziness, some result from the rigors of the university however. I know that at my school getting an A in a science class is no easy task, had I gone to a much easier state school I could have gotten a 3.7 probably. The fact is that if you have a high GPA from a prestigous school, ADCOMs probably have no trouble determining you are smart. But if you come from a state school whose courses are pretty easy, how am I suppose to know your 3.7 makes you as bright as the guy from UMich with a 3.2?

Most people don't have a 3.7+ from a rigorous school, most people have lower than that (don't let SDNers fretting about their 3.8s and 22s make you think it is common). The DAT is the big equalizer for people coming from universities that differ in the rigor of the coursework they offer. That is the philosophy of many schools and justifiably so.

 

[BShimel]

Hey I feel the same way. I applied to a lot of schools but actually had the opportunity to volunteer a fair bit at UoP. The students were awesome and supportive, the faculty and staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The students felt like they had really been challenged in a good way and were stronger for it. It's definitely my #1 choice for a lot of the reasons bjhath mentioned.

I'm in a similar situation to the OP in that my gpa from undergrad isn't stellar, 3.1 overall 3.0 science, but my dat scores I hope are competitive enough to at least get me an interview. Honestly I think people get a little too caught up in the "So many people talk about it being great and people only want to go there" thing. We all know a ton of people apply to all the schools and if there's a lot of positive feedback about somewhere like UoP then I'd just chalk it up to those people making a good decision for themselves on what school they'd thrive at. Just my opinion.

 

[nze82]

So I'm trying my best to not make this a repost but my dream school is the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. I really picture myself being happy there but right now my sGPA is at a 3.10, not hot at all I know.

For those who have had experience talking with UoP admissions or people who have gotten in, does anyone have any tips or advice on what they are looking for in an applicant.

I called admissions this week and they seemed annoyed when I asked if they would consider me even thought I didn't have 20s across the board. They reiterated to be competitive I would have to have gotten at least 20 on every section of the DAT. They also said that they look at the whole application so I'm just considering whether I should really retake to try to get a 20 on RC....even though my other scores were pretty solid. They didn't seemed impressed with my scores so should I do a retake (full breakdown in my signature)? I know it sounds stupid but I'm not willing to give up without a fight....I'm giving it my all to boost my GPA but my classes this quarter are harder than the ones I took last quarter.

If you guys have any advice on what to do to keep my dreams alive, please let me know. Feel like total crap right about now 🙁

I'm not sure what your DAT scores are, but I can tell you this much:
UoP loves a high PA and a high RC score. So, as long as you're 20+ in these two sections, provided that you're doing 19+ on all the other sections you should be fine.

 

[nze82]

I just don't understand why everybody here likes UOP. Why not UCSF,UCLA, Columbia or Upenn. What is so special about this school which think only DAT are the primary indicator of getting accepted, not GPA.
I have a lot of my predent friends who got 3.0-3.2, most of them were frigging lazy during their undergrad and just only 2 months study hard core and got accepted to UOP.
Thats why people look down on us predents, dental schools just cannot focus on one perspective (for UOP their DAT score is their holy ground).
My 2 cents

For the OP: you will be happy at other school, do not fixate on UOP too much

My dream school is UCLA. But, at the same time, I can understand why people love UoP. A 3 year program would sound appealing to many students. Besides, I hear they have awesome faculties, who really care about their students. Also, it's a great place to earn lots of clinical experience, unlike UC schools, which are known for being research-based schools. So, there are good reasons to justify why people love UoP so much.

UoP is not the only dental school that considers the DAT as the primary determinant of your acceptance. GPAs may not be the true measure of one's academic performance. Taking heap of CC course in order to score easy A's aren't unheard of. Furthermore, some colleges are more challenging than others when it comes to grading. You went to UCLA and you know that maintaining a high GPA at UCLA is much harder than doing so at let's say Cal State Fullerton (No offence to Cal State students). So, should a student with 4.0 be chosen over you, just because you have a lower GPA earned at UCLA? So, you see why GPAs could become problematic. On the other hand, the DAT is a standardized test. So, you can eliminate factors such as schools attended, course difficulty, etc. It's a more dependable measure of your academic performance.

Finally, I'm not sure why you're saying people look down on predents? I always wanted to go to dental school, and I haven't encountered many people who looked down on me because of this decision. In fact, I think many people are becoming aware of the challeneges of dentistry, specially when they consider the intense competition these days!

 

[peerless218]

Pacific is very understanding about their prospective students. They know that a lot of students go into undergrad not knowing exactly what they want to do in the future and therefore didn't take school very serious. They also know that there are many other factors that may lead to poor performances in the 1st and maybe even 2nd year of college. Stuff like first time being away from home, living in a different state, too many social distractions.etc For those of you like me, who dug a huge hole for yourself in the beginning, GPA wise; there is no way you can recover to a 3.6 and above by the time you graduate. Well it's not IMPOSSIBLE just REALLY REALLY hard to achieve, especially if you have more than 1 Fs to start your college years with.

What Pacific looks for is for that moment of awakening in life. When they see a dramatic increase/change in your grades, they know you're now serious about your life goal of becoming a dentist and is willing to work hard for it. So technically is not that they don't really care about your GPA. It's more like they don't really care about your GPA 2 years prior to you applying to dental schools. It's all about where you are as a person as of today.

It's my dream school, I interviewed there for a waistlist spot last year and I really hope I'll get in this year!!!! I love the Pacific family learning environment!!!

 

[peerless218]

Pacific is very understanding about their prospective students. They know that a lot of students go into undergrad not knowing exactly what they want to do in the future and therefore didn't take school very serious. They also know that there are many other factors that may lead to poor performances in the 1st and maybe even 2nd year of college. Stuff like first time being away from home, living in a different state, too many social distractions.etc For those of you like me, who dug a huge hole for yourself in the beginning, GPA wise; there is no way you can recover to a 3.6 and above by the time you graduate. Well it's not IMPOSSIBLE just REALLY REALLY hard to achieve, especially if you have more than 1 Fs to start your college years with.

What Pacific looks for is for that moment of awakening in life. When they see a dramatic increase/change in your grades, they know you're now serious about your life goal of becoming a dentist and is willing to work hard for it. So technically is not that they don't really care about your GPA. It's more like they don't really care about your GPA 2 years prior to you applying to dental schools. It's all about where you are as a person as of today.

It's my dream school, I interviewed there for a waistlist spot last year and I really hope I'll get in this year!!!! I love the Pacific family learning environment!!!

 

[peerless218]

Hey how do I delete messages? I accidentally posted mine like 3 times

 

[bjhath]

You can say that again!

 

[ucla2134]

My dream school is UCLA. But, at the same time, I can understand why people love UoP. A 3 year program would sound appealing to many students. Besides, I hear they have awesome faculties, who really care about their students. Also, it's a great place to earn lots of clinical experience, unlike UC schools, which are known for being research-based schools. So, there are good reasons to justify why people love UoP so much.

UoP is not the only dental school that considers the DAT as the primary determinant of your acceptance. GPAs may not be the true measure of one's academic performance. Taking heap of CC course in order to score easy A's aren't unheard of. Furthermore, some colleges are more challenging than others when it comes to grading. You went to UCLA and you know that maintaining a high GPA at UCLA is much harder than doing so at let's say Cal State Fullerton (No offence to Cal State students). So, should a student with 4.0 be chosen over you, just because you have a lower GPA earned at UCLA? So, you see why GPAs could become problematic. On the other hand, the DAT is a standardized test. So, you can eliminate factors such as schools attended, course difficulty, etc. It's a more dependable measure of your academic performance.

Finally, I'm not sure why you're saying people look down on predents? I always wanted to go to dental school, and I haven't encountered many people who looked down on me because of this decision. In fact, I think many people are becoming aware of the challeneges of dentistry, specially when they consider the intense competition these days!

I am sure you have taken classes with premed at ucla, if you never met one cocky premed thinking dental school is a walk in a park, then lucky you. I am the only predent in my Neuroanatomy class. The only thing they know is how hard it is to get into the ORTHO residence program, and thats it.Further, i have worked at these dental office and i never know one staff who know how difficulty it is to get into dental school. I am so sick of explaining every time is how hard to get into dental school to those folks

 

[nze82]

I am sure you have taken classes with premed at ucla, if you never met one cocky premed thinking dental school is a walk in a park, then lucky you. I am the only predent in my Neuroanatomy class. The only thing they know is how hard it is to get into the ORTHO residence program, and thats it.Further, i have worked at these dental office and i never know one staff who know how difficulty it is to get into dental school. I am so sick of explaining every time is how hard to get into dental school to those folks

You're right! Some of those people are stuck up. I took a neuroscience class and I was the only predental in class. But I was also the only person who got a 98% on the first exam. So, they essentially had no chance to look down on me after that!
Sure! there are students who choose dentistry as an easy alternative to medical school. But those people don't know anything about dental school and dentistry, and it's unlikely that they survive dental school. Because, we all know that dental school is no cakewalk.
Anyways, no matter what you do there will always be people who won't approve your decisions. So, just ignore them and move on.

 

[flampard]

how would i sign up for the Pacific Pride? do i have to call the number on their website addmission coordinator? i was gonna call them to arrange a tour session or something! is the pacific pride event the same thing?

 

[flampard]

i just checked and found out that the pacific pride event is held on april of every year! so it is already too late for doing that. anything else people recommend? has anybody set up a date to go up there and visit the school or talk to anybody?

 

[peerless218]

i just checked and found out that the pacific pride event is held on april of every year! so it is already too late for doing that. anything else people recommend? has anybody set up a date to go up there and visit the school or talk to anybody?

I went to it last year!!well I mean this past April!! It was a lot fun!! The application won't be open till March so keep your eyes open for that.

 

[de de es]

a little off topic, but how do you address a low GPA in your PS?

 

[BShimel]

If you were going to explain it to people on SDN how would you do it? I'd think that'd be a good place to start...If you're not the same person now that you were when you got those grades (i.e. a better student now) I'd say honesty would be best.

 

[de de es]

If you were going to explain it to people on SDN how would you do it? I'd think that'd be a good place to start...If you're not the same person now that you were when you got those grades (i.e. a better student now) I'd say honesty would be best.

i think thats a bit weak, since im sure that the excuse the majority of people use.. them interviewers arent idiots...

 

[bjhath]

i think thats a bit weak, since im sure that the excuse the majority of people use.. them interviewers arent idiots...

Then again, your situation is not unique. Plenty of intelligent, angst-filled teens have entered college without a clue of what they want to do or the motivation to do it. Guilty as charged! It is a common occurrence that once someone finds their passion/motivation, grades improve.

If this story accurately describes your situation, then it is not 'weak.'

If you decide to touch on low grades/upward trend in you PS, be brief (no more than a few sentences) about it. Focus mainly on your other strengths and greatnesses!

 

[BShimel]

If you decide to touch on low grades/upward trend in you PS, be brief (no more than a few sentences) about it. Focus mainly on your other strengths and greatnesses!

Yea that was what I meant.👍

 

[coolfez]

I know this thread is old, but isn't UoP very Christian based? Don't they want to see strong church relations? Or am I wrong? Thanks

 

[prazmjou]

I know this thread is old, but isn't UoP very Christian based? Don't they want to see strong church relations? Or am I wrong? Thanks

no you're mistaking Uop with loma linda

 

[cgurries]

Hey i know this thread is old, but im going to San Fran this Friday and i want to get a tour of UOP. Do i just call them ahead of time (admissions office) and try to set this up?

 

[bjhath]

Hey i know this thread is old, but im going to San Fran this Friday and i want to get a tour of UOP. Do i just call them ahead of time (admissions office) and try to set this up?

Yes. Give them a call so they can set up a time and supply a tour guide for you.

 

[hopefullyadent]

its gettin much harder and harder to get an A grade in a UCLA science class each year..looking at past midterms and finals, it is obvious that this year's current freshman undergrad class is the most competitive ever..the tests are ASTRONOMICALLY HARDER THAN THEY WERE A FEW YEARS AGO..UCLA ruins ur gpa..its ruining mine right now even though i spend like 6 hours a day studying for ochem...i think we would all like to get a high gpa and go to schools like Columbia, Upenn,, Harvard, UCLA, UCSF...but if u get rejected at all these schools then wut else do you have to settle with??🙁

 

[amali]

its gettin much harder and harder to get an A grade in a UCLA science class each year..looking at past midterms and finals, it is obvious that this year's current freshman undergrad class is the most competitive ever..the tests are ASTRONOMICALLY HARDER THAN THEY WERE A FEW YEARS AGO..UCLA ruins ur gpa..its ruining mine right now even though i spend like 6 hours a day studying for ochem...i think we would all like to get a high gpa and go to schools like Columbia, Upenn,, Harvard, UCLA, UCSF...but if u get rejected at all these schools then wut else do you have to settle with??🙁

I think this is particularly true with all the top UC's including CAL and UCSD. I went to UCSD for undergrad which was brutal and brought down my GPA, and I had a class at CAL that did this as well. I feel like the UCs are simply weeder institutions that make it difficult for students to get into dental and med school. I had to end up getting a post bac through CAL extension which had smaller classes and a better learning environment.