Getting into Ortho with a poor class rank?

[Fordbagged]

Has anyone ever heard of someone getting into an ortho program being at the bottom of their class?
Here are my stats
GPA 2.98
Rank 78/96
GRE 160/160/4
No research
Currently in a GPR
I know I'll be able to gather great letters of rec from my program director, an orthodontist, and one of my attendings who is a GP but is well known around the country for his participation in the ADA.

Just curious what people's thoughts are. I'll be applying to as many places as I can afford.

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[gn4]

yes actually. But they applied to a crap ton of places and got maybe only 3 interviews, but they made those interviews count. They also came from school that didn't rank though. But they knew they were at the bottom

 

[Bernie Sanders]

Work as a dog as a GP for a couple of years, live below your means, accummulate maybe $500k, and make a donation to a Dschool, preferably to a new school that takes like 10-15 residents per year. Like the one in georgia. http://www.gaorthodontics.org/doctors/

 

[coolslugs]

People got in based on connections alone (high up connections).

 

[leewayspace]

Has anyone ever heard of someone getting into an ortho program being at the bottom of their class?
Here are my stats
GPA 2.98
Rank 78/96
GRE 160/160/4
No research
Currently in a GPR
I know I'll be able to gather great letters of rec from my program director, an orthodontist, and one of my attendings who is a GP but is well known around the country for his participation in the ADA.

Just curious what people's thoughts are. I'll be applying to as many places as I can afford.

Hey buddy, it is possible, although I cannot relate to being way at the bottom, just in the bottom half of the class towards the middle, and got in. You can apply once and see how it goes, but it is tough out there. You might be able to get your foot in the door for an interview at least by pursuing one of those one year ortho fellowship things, but they are otherwise a waste of time and money unless you know FOR SURE that you are tryna do ortho. That can be a couple hundred G's of lost income. But, for example, I heard that Roseman accepts a lot of its interns. UF interns usually get a UF interview. A lot of programs might really appreciate some contribution to the literature tho so pursue that by any means necessary and get some first author papers, even if they are case reports. Have a long CV that is full of scholarly things like presentations, publications, and so forth. I would also reach out to some program directors and be frank about your situation and let them shed some light as to whether your application can be considered competitive. Some will be very vague and unhelpful and others will let you know roughly where you stand and how to strengthen your application, or if your efforts would be futile. I won't be one of those people that go into the cost-benefit analysis with doing an ortho residency vs. general dentistry as I believe one should do what he or she likes. Both are high quality of life occupations.