Feeling hopeless..any chances??

[hyans]

So this is the first time I actually post on SDN..I have been a reader for several months now. I have a real serious situation you guys..and I need all the advice I can get to know what I should do from here..

I am a fifth year. I am graduating in june..and right now my overall GPA is 2.4. My major is psychology and nutrition sciences. I have a low GPA because I have taken a lot of repeated courses..at least five of them.(I know I am so embarrassed..I feel so dumb). Even when I have retaken the courses I can only manage B's and occasionally some C's. I have not taken the DAT. I have not done any research, I have shadowed one dentist for 180 hours. I currently do not have a job, and I commute for an hour everyday. English is not my first language..I find it hard understanding my professors and readings. I do not have much motivation mainly because no matter how hard I try I feel like I can never pull up my GPA. I cannot sleep at night because of the stress and that makes me so tired all the time I cannot absorb any info in class.

So my question to you all is..do you think dentistry is right for me? I really enjoy the hands on work, learning what to do in a dental clinic, but the whole undergraduate study at a four year university right now is quite saddening. Do you guys think I have at all any chance to become a dentist in the future at all? Should I raise my GPA up from post-bac, masters of public health, or going back to community college and start all over again? Thank you so much for your time..any advice is much appreciated. I am just so confused and feeling hopeless for my future right now..

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[dentalstudent00]

if you truly want dentistry, don't give up...you're on the right path. maybe you need to go to TA and office hours. find some friends to study with so that you can clarify, ask questions and teach each other. come prepared and review your notes regularly. undergrad might be tough, but dental school will be at least ten times tougher. if you give up now, you'll never be a dentist. i had a friend that knew very little English, but she overcame that by spending her free time re-writing her notes to help memorize material she was unfamiliar with. good luck!! everybody's journey is different. make it your own..even if it takes you another several years to raise your GPA and score well on the DAT. it's your dream and nobody can take that from you!!

 

[alexamasan]

Hi, I really do see that you are stressed out. My advice may not be the best, but I'll tell you what others have told me. You don't need research really, it's nice to have, but a lot of people don't have any research experience and it's not necessary at all. So you don't need to worry about that.

Those 180 hours of shadowing are very good, ask the dentist you shadowed for a letter of recommendations as many schools require one from a dentist (dental assistants and dental hygienists don't count sadly).

It seems your GPA is what's keeping you down, and what people have told me is that there are certain things you should do if you are not accepted to dental schools for certain reasons. If it's because of your gpa, then you should go on and try and get a master's degree and try to do better somehow. I wish I can give you more advice on how to find out how to do better, but because I don't know much about your situation, all I can advise is to go to your professors office hours often and ask questions (go over the material yourself first and come to the office hours with what you don't understand). Also, by going to the professor's office hours, you can have a normal conversation with the professor so he/she can know you better and they would be a good candidate to write you a letter of recommendation.

About taking the DAT, the DAT forum is really helpful. People give you a lot of advice on what to use to study and you can ask questions, it's really helpful. I can't quite remember how long a DAT score is good for, I think it's 3 years and once the score is older than that, it becomes invalid and you have to take it again. So visit the forum, sign up for a DAT date on when to take it.

So to sum it all up. If I were you, and if you can't get into dental school or you feel you don't think you can apply this cycle, going for a masters degree is recommended due to your GPA and find ways to help you study better (like going to office hours a lot). Get letter of recommendations from that dentist and some science professors (if you go to get a masters degree, it might be better to get letters from those professors). Lastly, take the DAT sometime, the forum is very helpful and listen to advice on what to use to study. You may or may not want to follow this plan, but the point is that you should have a plan. You are stressed, but you are not distressed, and the difference is that you can doing something about your stress. And if you make a plan and go through with it, you won't feel as stressed because you are taking steps to get closer and closer to your goal of becoming a dentist.

Good luck to you!

 

[dentiist2be]

Well if you really want to be a dentist, you can make it happen! you just need to stay focused on your goal and work REALLY hard. It will not be easy to become a dentist, but if your passionate about it, then don't let anything stand in your way.
Also, you need to start getting A's in your classes, whether that means studying more, or more efficiently or getting help from your professor, you need to make that happen.
If you have the money to spend and the time, then you can take more science classes while your in undergrad and delay graduation or do a post bac and do well in them because you need to raise that gpa atleast to a 3.0.
Or if you can get into a 2 years masters program, that would also be good for you because you would need to show that u can handle upper level science courses. But you need to really do amazing in all of your current/future classes in order to have a shot of getting into dental school.

Good luck!!

&& although, it is hard, do not give up!

 

[jj007]

I don't want to discourage you from following your passion, but sometimes, one must be realistic. Your chance of getting into dental school is slim. After 5 years, your GPA is only 2.4, and it seems that it is not getting any easier/better over time. You haven't taken the DAT, but based on your GPA, you must score quite high to be consider competitive. I believe that it is going to be quite difficult to achieve that. Even if you can get into a MS program, pulling up your GPA will be hard.

People here tend to be quite optimistic, which is great. However, reality will eventually set in. Not everyone will become dentists even if they are passionate about it. I know a lot of people with far better GPA who cannot get into dental schools. Do you really want to get more stressed out about school and spend more money for a slim chance of getting into dental school? Let's assume that you do get into dental school, will you be able to survive dental school? You're already having a hard time in undergraduate study, and I can relatively say that dental school will be harder than your undergraduate.

You might want to consider being a dental assistant or a hygienist. Even those are competitive nowadays.

I do wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.

 

[fldnstrm]

I don't want to discourage you from following your passion, but sometimes, one must be realistic. Your chance of getting into dental school is slim. After 5 years, your GPA is only 2.4, and it seems that it is not getting any easier/better over time. You haven't taken the DAT, but based on your GPA, you must score quite high to be consider competitive. I believe that it is going to be quite difficult to achieve that. Even if you can get into a MS program, pulling up your GPA will be hard.

People here tend to be quite optimistic, which is great. However, reality will eventually set in. Not everyone will become dentists even if they are passionate about it. I know a lot of people with far better GPA who cannot get into dental schools. Do you really want to get more stressed out about school and spend more money for a slim chance of getting into dental school? Let's assume that you do get into dental school, will you be able to survive dental school? You're already having a hard time in undergraduate study, and I can relatively say that dental school will be harder than your undergraduate.

You might want to consider being a dental assistant or a hygienist. Even those are competitive nowadays.

I do wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.

+1

If undergraduate is that stressful and difficult for you, imagine how much worse dental school will be. Sorry I'm not trying to stress you out more.

 

[dentalWorks]

So this is the first time I actually post on SDN..I have been a reader for several months now. I have a real serious situation you guys..and I need all the advice I can get to know what I should do from here..

I am a fifth year. I am graduating in june..and right now my overall GPA is 2.4. My major is psychology and nutrition sciences. I have a low GPA because I have taken a lot of repeated courses..at least five of them.(I know I am so embarrassed..I feel so dumb). Even when I have retaken the courses I can only manage B's and occasionally some C's. I have not taken the DAT. I have not done any research, I have shadowed one dentist for 180 hours. I currently do not have a job, and I commute for an hour everyday. English is not my first language..I find it hard understanding my professors and readings. I do not have much motivation mainly because no matter how hard I try I feel like I can never pull up my GPA. I cannot sleep at night because of the stress and that makes me so tired all the time I cannot absorb any info in class.

So my question to you all is..do you think dentistry is right for me? I really enjoy the hands on work, learning what to do in a dental clinic, but the whole undergraduate study at a four year university right now is quite saddening. Do you guys think I have at all any chance to become a dentist in the future at all? Should I raise my GPA up from post-bac, masters of public health, or going back to community college and start all over again? Thank you so much for your time..any advice is much appreciated. I am just so confused and feeling hopeless for my future right now..

I normally like to positively encourage people, but your situation is a little different. You suggest that even when you try hard, you can barely hit the B or C mark. Thats not a good sign. I don't wanna sound harsh here but health care is not for everyone.

Your going to graduate in June, I suggest you take time away from school and just go find a job and work for a few years. The reason why I suggest this is that if you start to take more classes (say post-bacc or masters level), You might start doing bad again, and this is going to dig a deeper hole for your GPA and I am sure you don't want that. Take some time off, find a job in ANYTHING and re-evaluate things after few years.

Best of luck to you

 

[golf05]

Life will not end for you if you do not get in to dental school. Who says you have to hurry up and get on with schooling directly out of college? I didn't and it made me a better student with more ambition and focus. Maybe instead of keeping on with this stressful situation, you take a year or two off, find a job and do some things that help you enjoy life for a while. Then, after you are re-energized, reassess your situation and see if dentistry is something you're ready to pursue. I don't regret waiting until it was right to apply.

 

[psi169]

Well, on one hand, you have GPA that many before you have been. And they have chosen one of the few options presented to you to boost their application. (And, yes, if you do any of them, your grades NEED to be very good to compensate.) However, being as English is your second language, there are others that have your stats and English is their first language. Just throwing that out there.

On the other hand, the classes in dental school are like those in undergrad but more intense. If the language barrier is the issue, then I don't think dental school would be the way to go YET! Not only would the classes be hard, but potentially communicating with patients. Perhaps you should focus on improving your English?

Only you can decide which option is best for you. Keep your chin up. Where there is a will, there is a way. You are anything but out of the game.

 

[doanh]

Take a step back and figure out what is causing your poor grades. Is it really the language barrier? Do you have a hard time understanding the questions on the exams? When you get your exams back, do you look at them again to see what you got wrong and WHY you missed it? Did you not know the definition of a few key words that lead you to get them wrong? Or do you just have no idea what is going on? Are you seeing the professors and the TAs during office hours? What about tutoring? Have you tried getting a tutor?

Since English is not your first language, you are going to have to be much more pro-active in your education. You'll have to put more time, and energy looking up words and definitions native English speakers will not have to do. It sucks, but if that's what you really want, then you have to make the sacrifice.

From my understanding, many biology topics are really "word" dense, in the sense that if you memorized key words you can generally get by, it's not that easy, but there is this 50 year old woman in my biology class-- English is clearly not her first language, but she tries VERY hard and she is doing fine--getting As and Bs--though her path is nursing.

If English is truly what is holding you back---then that's what you need to improve on first. Otherwise, look at your study methods because I realized that a lot of people do study a lot, but they just don't know HOW to study. Or they don't know how to take a test and get wrapped up picking the answer that they don't know what it means. I've fallen into that trap many times ;p

 

[hyans]

First, I would like to thank everyone for their advice. As for all the advice..English is one of the main reason why I have been performing badly on the test. Second, it is the lack of motivation I have been getting because I would think that no matter how hard I will try I can never increase that GPA and there is nothing left for me to do from here to raise it and get into dental school.

Actually I have talked to my advisor just today and she said there is absolutely no way I can improve my GPA and get into dental school. Postbac and masters would not be an option because I will not get accepted with my low gpa. Honestly, I understand and accept that. I told her about my plan to maybe become a dental hygienist first and see if I still want to become a dentist. She have opposed to that and said there is no way I can get into dental school even with that because of my low gpa. Now, I know being a hygienist does not give you any higher priority into getting into dental school, I was wondering if there is any way I can become a hygienist and get back to school to become a dentist if I still have that interest later on. If so, what will I have to do? Do i have to re-enroll in a 4 year university, retake all the classes I have taken and get better grades? Will the grades dental hygiene still count towards dental school? Will be be viewed separately or together with my undergraduate gpa? Thanks again guys for your help..i have midterms coming up and I feel discouraged and unmotivated after talking to my advisor..

oh and last thing (sorry for making this a very long post) should I take human anatomy and english at a cc to fulfill the prereqs even in my scenerio right now??

 

[Quickfast RP]

First, I would like to thank everyone for their advice. As for all the advice..English is one of the main reason why I have been performing badly on the test. Second, it is the lack of motivation I have been getting because I would think that no matter how hard I will try I can never increase that GPA and there is nothing left for me to do from here to raise it and get into dental school.

Actually I have talked to my advisor just today and she said there is absolutely no way I can improve my GPA and get into dental school. Postbac and masters would not be an option because I will not get accepted with my low gpa. Honestly, I understand and accept that. I told her about my plan to maybe become a dental hygienist first and see if I still want to become a dentist. She have opposed to that and said there is no way I can get into dental school even with that because of my low gpa. Now, I know being a hygienist does not give you any higher priority into getting into dental school, I was wondering if there is any way I can become a hygienist and get back to school to become a dentist if I still have that interest later on. If so, what will I have to do? Do i have to re-enroll in a 4 year university, retake all the classes I have taken and get better grades? Will the grades dental hygiene still count towards dental school? Will be be viewed separately or together with my undergraduate gpa? Thanks again guys for your help..i have midterms coming up and I feel discouraged and unmotivated after talking to my advisor..

oh and last thing (sorry for making this a very long post) should I take human anatomy and english at a cc to fulfill the prereqs even in my scenerio right now??

Thats a load of dung u can get into a masters program. I am someone that got into a masters program with a 2.5 GPA after undergrad. I did have an upward trend towards my last 1.5 years though but if you go to a state school, talk to the biology professors them explain to them what happened during school I think it would be good, many are understanding and if you can give them faith that you want to succeed and will work and convince them to trust your potential then they will give you a chance, worked with me. Even then after u get a masters u might just like the research life and your goals might change to research/teaching in college and pursuing a PhD. In terms of money PhD's get paid pretty well at large teaching institutions or big companies if money is a concern/interest for pursing dental as well. But at the end of the day im going to say one thing, and im being honest not optimistic, IF YOU WANT YOU WILL AND CAN get into dental school, might take a few years but its not a rat race, just do what you need to do at your own pace. You can succeed, everyone on this website can succeed and get into dental school, but a good amount don't, because they lack the pure willpower.

p.s. I know im about to get flamed by some haters that love sucking the life outta people so go ahead if you want but nothing i wrote above is B.S. where there is will there IS a way.

 

[Docplaque]

I agree with Quickfast RP. Some advisors are completly crappy!!! It really pisses me off!!! You can do this... It's just a matter of adjusting your mindset. There are masters programs out that use a calculation of your GPA and GRE score so try to score at least a 1000 and you're good!!! Forget all the haters out there

 

[somethinpositiv]

Being a dentist isn't for everyone.. If you do love the field, perhaps consider becoming a Dental Hygienist? They make pretty good money and live a pretty good lifestyle, compared to most Americans. Just an idea, most of what else I would say has been said above. Good luck with everything though.