First time applicant. Should I even apply?

[Brilinta92]

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Hello,

Just finishing up a “DIY” post-bacc. First time applicant to dental school. Plan on applying to 20+ schools. However I’m worried about some aspects of my application.

Post-bacc gpa:3.5
DAT:22
Undergrad gpa:2.8

ECs are pretty solid. Thousands of hours in volunteering, dental club and an established career in EMS and fire service.

Just worried that the undergrad gpa will come back to haunt me. Will they overlook undergrad and just consider my post-bacc and DAT? Every school I’ve contacted has given me a different reply, none are really consistent.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[PreDent_Eagle]

Hello,

Just finishing up a “DIY” post-bacc. First time applicant to dental school. Plan on applying to 20+ schools. However I’m worried about some aspects of my application.

Post-bacc gpa:3.5
DAT:22
Undergrad gpa:2.8

ECs are pretty solid. Thousands of hours in volunteering, dental club and an established career in EMS and fire service.

Just worried that the undergrad gpa will come back to haunt me. Will they overlook undergrad and just consider my post-bacc and DAT? Every school I’ve contacted has given me a different reply, none are really consistent.

Any advice is appreciated!

I think you’re solid as long as you apply broadly.


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[887194]

I agree with the above statement. Apply broadly, and provided there aren't other holes in your application, you will be fine. Good luck!

 

[Brilinta92]

I agree with the above statement. Apply broadly, and provided there aren't other holes in your application, you will be fine. Good luck!

No other holes beside undergrad GPA. Dropped and retook a few classes in undergrad but my post-bacc year has been pretty strong with 400 level bio classes.

 

[Brilinta92]

I think you’re solid as long as you apply broadly.


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Do you know if dental schools look at post-bacc and undergrad gpa separately? I’m not banking on them combining the two because that undergrad gpa will not budge unless I did another 3 years of post-bacc (which is not an happening).

 

[PreDent_Eagle]

They look at both, but focus on the more recent and on trends.


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[887194]

Do you know if dental schools look at post-bacc and undergrad gpa separately? I’m not banking on them combining the two because that undergrad gpa will not budge unless I did another 3 years of post-bacc (which is not an happening).

Different schools look at it differently. From my understanding schools will place an emphasis on the most recent grades. As @PreDent_Eagle mentioned; you've shown an upward trend which is also favorable.

 

[PreDent_Eagle]

They also look at the difficulty of courses. They may let a B or C in intro biology slide if the applicant has A’s in multiple higher level courses (pharm, anatomy, etc)


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