Extremely Low GPA, Extremely High DAT Non-Trad

[Sherlock555]

In my early thirties. Being a dentist has been a dream of mine since my sophomore year of college (no-name undergrad institution). I tried to take the coursework then but did very poorly. I re-took classes multiple times. I never went to class. I wasted years and thousands of dollars and I very much regret it. Eventually I made it through all but Biochemistry. It became clear at that time that I needed to change directions, so I changed my major to non-STEM and finally graduated after 7 years of undergrad and approaching 200 credit hours.

My grades in the pre-reqs and other STEM courses are below (in order of the times I took the courses). Add in a few drops for other courses as well. My overall GPA is around 2.75, and My science GPA is probably below a 2.0.

Chem I: D, D, D, B
Chem II: F, B
Bio I: C+
Bio II: B+
Cell Bio: C
Statistics: D, A
Precalculus: A
Calculus: C
Intro to Organic: D
Organic I: C+
Organic II: B+
Physics I: F, B+
*Biochem: A (years later-see below)

I was lucky enough to have some connections and experience that allowed me to get a marketing analyst position at a Fortune 100 company. Fast-forward 5-7 years and I've been promoted twice and now lead a significant team and own a multi-million dollar budget. I've been given awards in the workplace. I have professional certifications. I have over 100 significant community service/volunteer hours with reputable organizations. I'm a new person. I just wasn't able to handle college at that time.

Being a dentist is still the dream, so I recently took Biochemistry at night and got an A. I also worked hard for 5 months in the evenings and scored a 24 AA on the DAT.

Is there even a chance for me? Obviously I'm not optimistic due to my GPA, but I wanted to test the waters. I have to be careful about applying because my work superiors would be some of my recommendation letters and it could give a less than ideal impression if I were to ask them.

Thank you!

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[LaughingGas]

Your grades is very similar to my story, you have better DATs. Honestly, you should think really hard if it's really worth it.
From best to worst case scenario is
1 - SMP (1-2 years), and get into public school.
2 - SMP (1-2 years) and get into private school.
3 - Postbac/2nd bachelors in science (1-2years) + SMP (1 year) and get into public school.
4 - Postbac/2nd bachelors in science (1-2years) + SMP (1 year) and get into private school.
So best scenario, 5 years will be needed, 5 years worth of income gone, graduate with possibly 100k from SMP + 300~400k loans from dschool.
Avg dentist making anywhere from 120-180k as an associate.
What's your income? What is about dentistry that you want to pursue?

 

[chibimoon]

In my early thirties. Being a dentist has been a dream of mine since my sophomore year of college (no-name undergrad institution). I tried to take the coursework then but did very poorly. I re-took classes multiple times. I never went to class. I wasted years and thousands of dollars and I very much regret it. Eventually I made it through all but Biochemistry. It became clear at that time that I needed to change directions, so I changed my major to non-STEM and finally graduated after 7 years of undergrad and approaching 200 credit hours.

My grades in the pre-reqs and other STEM courses are below (in order of the times I took the courses). Add in a few drops for other courses as well. My overall GPA is around 2.75, and My science GPA is probably below a 2.0.

Chem I: D, D, D, B
Chem II: F, B
Bio I: C+
Bio II: B+
Cell Bio: C
Statistics: D, A
Precalculus: A
Calculus: C
Intro to Organic: D
Organic I: C+
Organic II: B+
Physics I: F, B+
*Biochem: A (years later-see below)

I was lucky enough to have some connections and experience that allowed me to get a marketing analyst position at a Fortune 100 company. Fast-forward 5-7 years and I've been promoted twice and now lead a significant team and own a multi-million dollar budget. I've been given awards in the workplace. I have professional certifications. I have over 100 significant community service/volunteer hours with reputable organizations. I'm a new person. I just wasn't able to handle college at that time.

Being a dentist is still the dream, so I recently took Biochemistry at night and got an A. I also worked hard for 5 months in the evenings and scored a 24 AA on the DAT.

Is there even a chance for me? Obviously I'm not optimistic due to my GPA, but I wanted to test the waters. I have to be careful about applying because my work superiors would be some of my recommendation letters and it could give a less than ideal impression if I were to ask them.

Thank you!

Make sure that you get 100+ shadowing hours. Also, if I were you, I would do a post-bac or masters to raise my GPA. It would also be beneficial to get recommendation letters from science professors.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do some networking with the dental professional community. Consider being a hygienist vs. a dentist. Talk with dental school students and admissions folks. You have quite a mountain to overcome and you probably won't be able to make it without strong mentoring and advocacy from the dental community (and even that's no guarantee). You will need to make great financial sacrifices for years once you begin dental school... and I mean at least a decade. As long as your current credit rating is strong, you probably could do pretty well.

 

[PerioDont]

Have you shadowed a dentist before?
Dental school is a huge commitment (both time and money). If you like dentistry, pursue it.
If money is the main motivation, then NO... stay at your current job

They did get a 24 on the DAT...there is definitely some motivation to do that.

However, I agree with the above poster. this will be a long, arduous and uphill path. It will likely result in significant financial hardship for many years in the future and much sacrifice on your part and your family's if you have any.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, just think real hard if you would feel okay not being a dentist vs what you are doing now.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

If you do get in, it will likely be to a very expensive private school. By the time you get in and finish dental school, you’ll likely owe around $700,000. Are you comfortable with that? Not trying to be harsh, just real.

Big Hoss

 

[macsak]

If you do get in, it will likely be to a very expensive private school. By the time you get in and finish dental school, you’ll likely owe around $700,000. Are you comfortable with that? Not trying to be harsh, just real.

Big Hoss

plus how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages...

 

[Kare12]

If its a passion, get in. Your DAT is impressive so keep going. Don't listen to these losers. Debt shouldn't be a thing you should worry if you are passionate about something. You will just have to pay it off later just like anyone who wants to be a doctor. We pay it off later.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Debt shouldn't be a thing you should worry if you are passionate about something.

What’s your student loan balance? If you owed $500,000 or more, I doubt you would be saying that.

Big Hoss

 

[Blueshirts]

This will be a very hard decision for you. I am a non-trad too and applied after already being in another career for 5 years. I told myself if I didn’t get in on the first try I would continue on with my career, buy the house, and make a concerted effort to find ways to give back to my community in other ways. Turns out I was able to get in that first cycle; more importantly I was able to get into a school that I could afford based on the maximum I believed that I could afford. More and more older applicants from other fields are returning to work in healthcare fields, but if you do your due diligence and decide that the outlook or opportunity cost is not worth it, don’t feel bad or less than for not pulling the trigger, a lot of us could relate and sympathize. Best of luck.

 

[NPete21]

I was in the same boat as you, early 30's, 8 years as an engineer, married but no kids but could never shake the itch for dentistry. My undergrad GPA was 2.44 (they count every time you take a course, not just your most recent effort like my undergrad did) and I got it up to a 2.66 while doing an unofficial post-bacc to hit my bio pre-reqs and finish ochem. I spent the last year taking 23 credit hour, earning a 4.0 across them, and scored a 26AA on the DAT. Since you retook a bunch of your classes multiple times you will likely need a masters over a post-bacc to show you can handle the coursework.

I was accepted this cycle to an instate public school (my first go around) but applied to 13 schools and only got the one acceptance. If/when you decide to apply, make sure you get your application submitted the first day it is available as I didn't get mine out until September and it likely cost me interview opportunities. You will need shadowing and volunteer hours that are adjacent to health care/serving those in need to show that this is what you want to do.

No one at my company knows and I did not use them as references because I didn't want to be replaced before leaving. You will need LoR from Science professors and they will need to be stellar. It's is a daunting process but it can be done. Your ability to overcome your earlier struggles can be sold as a net positive and make you stand out. Good luck!

 

[osMOLARity=D]

I applied in 2018 with a 2.9 and 25 DAT, zero interviews (poorly written essays in hindsight)

Applied in 2019 with a 2.99 and 25 DAT, 2 interviews and 0 acceptances (didn't really change my essays much)

Applied this cycle with a 3.1 and 25 DAT, 8 interviews and 4 acceptances. Seems like they want a 3.0 or higher but it's hard to really pin it on one thing. I also got professional guidance for my essays and interview prep.

If you're really passionate about dentistry then go ahead and give it everything you have, but expect it to take you 3+ years to get in. You'll need stellar extracurriculars, a very high upward trend in GPA, a fantastic personal statement, great letters of recommendation, and very well thought out descriptions in your activities section. As others have said, you'll likely only have a chance at very expensive schools. I don't think this would be worth it unless you go the military route to have them pay for your schooling. Please keep us updated on your journey!

 

[PerioDont]

I applied in 2018 with a 2.9 and 25 DAT, zero interviews (poorly written essays in hindsight)

Applied in 2019 with a 2.99 and 25 DAT, 2 interviews and 0 acceptances (didn't really change my essays much)

Applied this cycle with a 3.1 and 25 DAT, 8 interviews and 4 acceptances. Seems like they want a 3.0 or higher but it's hard to really pin it on one thing. I also got professional guidance for my essays and interview prep.

If you're really passionate about dentistry then go ahead and give it everything you have, but expect it to take you 3+ years to get in. You'll need stellar extracurriculars, a very high upward trend in GPA, a fantastic personal statement, great letters of recommendation, and very well thought out descriptions in your activities section. As others have said, you'll likely only have a chance at very expensive schools. I don't think this would be worth it unless you go the military route to have them pay for your schooling. Please keep us updated on your journey!

What did you do to raise your GPA?

Amazing story of persistence, Congrats! agreed that a scholarship will be the best way to go for OP.

I also wanted to add that students like yourself who have exerted so much effort to get into this profession can be much better students and dentists especially with some life experience under their belt.

Not to say that 'traditional' students are bad, but as far as dealing with pts and instructors I found older students to be much better than people like myself who got accepted at a much younger age.

 

[osMOLARity=D]

What did you do to raise your GPA?

Amazing story of persistence, Congrats! agreed that a scholarship will be the best way to go for OP.

I also wanted to add that students like yourself who have exerted so much effort to get into this profession can be much better students and dentists especially with some life experience under their belt.

Not to say that 'traditional' students are bad, but as far as dealing with pts and instructors I found older students to be much better than people like myself who got accepted at a much younger age.

Well to give you some perspective, I had a 2.5 overall, 2.2ish science GPA going into the Spring 2017 semester with around 130 credit hours. Since that time I've taken around 60-70 hours of undergrad classes (average 3.7ish) and then completed a masters in Biology starting in the Spring of 2019 (3.8 GPA). I had so many credits with a low GPA that 100+ hours of 3.7-3.8 only just barely got my overall GPA above a 3.0 lol.

Thank you! I can't speak for anyone else but I can say with confidence that I wouldn't change a thing looking back. I've grown a lot throughout this process and I know that I'm a lot better off now that I would have been had I somehow gotten accepted on my first try. I'm starting a few years later than I could have but I know I'll get so much more out of dental school.