First time poster, need some admissions advice

[rw1]

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Hey SDN, I'm a first time poster, and was wondering if I could get some admissions advice. I've taken all of my pre-reqs the last two years and am ready to begin studying for the DAT's. I have a fairly checkered academic past, which I'll get into in a bit so I'm hoping you guys could shed some light here on what my realistic chances are at dental school.

Here are my stats:

college gpa - 3.06
Undergraduate gpa - 3.23
BCP gpa - 3.80
Science gpa - 3.70
non science - 2.97

Some other things to note

I was a college student from 98 to 03, but I had to take a couple of incompletes in 5 courses because of marital problems at the time, and as result, came back to finish college up fairly recently. Unfortunately, these 5 incompletes lapsed into F's.

I had to withdraw from 3 science courses in one semester back in college because of a death in my family.

I was on academic probation for two semesters because my first semester gpa was less than a 1.0, and my overall gpa for my second semester wasn't over a 2.0.

I took a few science courses during college and didn't do so hot. I had an A in Chem, but a D in molecular bio. My other science grades weren't too good either. On the other hand, I've taken all my science pre-reqs, even general chem again and have gotten straight A's.

Obviously, the DAT's and shadowing/volunteer experience will be very important too. Assuming I can score relatively decent on the DAT's, would I have a shot at any NY dental schools? Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dentgirl09]

Every applicant takes a different road to Dschool. I think it shows that you have been through a lot, and if you write a killer Personal Statement you have a shot at most schools. Your A's in science courses shows that you are competent enough to be a dentist. With a good DAT to back it up you are set!!
I don't think that those bad grades will be held against you as long as you mention it in your personal statemnt somehow as a part of yoru journey to Dschool.
Congrats!

 

[rw1]

Every applicant takes a different road to Dschool. I think it shows that you have been through a lot, and if you write a killer Personal Statement you have a shot at most schools. Your A's in science courses shows that you are competent enough to be a dentist. With a good DAT to back it up you are set!!
I don't think that those bad grades will be held against you as long as you mention it in your personal statemnt somehow as a part of yoru journey to Dschool.
Congrats!

thanks for the response. obviously it's hard to predict what my chances are without any DAT's, but assuming 20/19's (of course I could score much less then this) what kind of chance would I have at NYC area dental schools?

 

[Sajitude]

Hey SDN, I'm a first time poster, and was wondering if I could get some admissions advice. I've taken all of my pre-reqs the last two years and am ready to begin studying for the DAT's. I have a fairly checkered academic past, which I'll get into in a bit so I'm hoping you guys could shed some light here on what my realistic chances are at dental school.

Here are my stats:

college gpa - 3.06
Undergraduate gpa - 3.23
BCP gpa - 3.80
Science gpa - 3.70
non science - 2.97

Some other things to note

I was a college student from 98 to 03, but I had to take a couple of incompletes in 5 courses because of marital problems at the time, and as result, came back to finish college up fairly recently. Unfortunately, these 5 incompletes lapsed into F's.

I had to withdraw from 3 science courses in one semester back in college because of a death in my family.

I was on academic probation for two semesters because my first semester gpa was less than a 1.0, and my overall gpa for my second semester wasn't over a 2.0.

I took a few science courses during college and didn't do so hot. I had an A in Chem, but a D in molecular bio. My other science grades weren't too good either. On the other hand, I've taken all my science pre-reqs, even general chem again and have gotten straight A's.

Obviously, the DAT's and shadowing/volunteer experience will be very important too. Assuming I can score relatively decent on the DAT's, would I have a shot at any NY dental schools? Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry I am a bit confused at the stats you posted. Your college is undergrad so I don't understand why you have two seperate GPA's. Did you take college classes after you graduated?

There are many ways to dental school and I am not that familiar with NY dental schools but like you stated other factors also go into your acceptance. Do you also fall in a minority group?
If you can get a DAT score in mid 20's than I think you would still be competitive as long as you can explain what happened. It may be in your best interest to retake all of the classes required for dental school at a different university and only send those transcripts to D schools. Remember you won't have to get a degree at the school you retake the classes at and I know people who have gotten into D school without a college degree.

 

[BillytheEchidna]

I don't think that those bad grades will be held against you as long as you mention it in your personal statemnt somehow as a part of yoru journey to Dschool.
Congrats!

I am sorry to say that they will have to use your old grades in calculating your GPA... Now, if you have made straight A's since you've been back, they will consider it an "upward trend," and probably not hold it against you to the point of excluding you. But if you are just hoping that they will forgivingly not use those old grades in their calculations "because it was a long time ago" and "because you had extenuating circumstances," you will be disappointed... By kicking butt in your recent classes, you will most likely be able to show them that you do have what it takes, but those grades are not going to go away.

I was in a similar boat -- many blemishes on my old 97-01 transcript, but I've done comparatively much better in my prerequisites (06-present). And yet, I haven't had the perfectly upward trend, since I work full time and am not a natural-born chemistry whiz (let's just say that "C" is for "Chemistry"). I have not technically been rejected yet, because the school I applied to does not send out rejections until the class is full (usually in May or June). But when I asked why I wasn't selected during the last round, the reason they gave was my low GPA and then quoted a number (their calculation) that made my heart sink. I wasn't prepared for it... I didn't know they'd use those old grades; I thought they would turn a blind eye. I didn't know, so I didn't do enough to compensate for my old grades. I think, after another year of taking science classes, I will have brought my GPA up high enough to improve my chances (you might want to consider doing the same). Other students who did have perfectly upward trends did get accepted, though. Just don't be an ostrich and pretend that your new grades will completely offset the old ones. Prepare yourself and make sure you're an outstanding candidate in all other ways that you can!

 

[NyCzPeter]

Study you butt off for the Dee ats. Adcoms probably won't care about your life story/struggles, and you won't really have a chance to tell them about it anyway. Needless to say, your gpa sucks, and the fact that you have a checkered academic past only deepens the cut. However, you still have a fair chance, granted you **** out atleast a 21+ AA with no section below 17, some kick@$$ recs and ECs, and a decent amount of shadowing exp. And whoever said your bad grades won't be held against you is just trippin. Even if you state it in your p.s it might help only a little bit but I think you would have to sneak it in somehow so you don't waste the limited amount of words you can have. Work hard and Best of Luck