GPA below 3.0. Any chances for dental school? Please help

[dragonjinse]

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Hello everyone,

The time is coming. June will be here soon. Good luck to everyone who are applying for this coming cycle.
I am trying to figure out my game plan here. So please give me any suggestion/advice.

I graduated in 2014 with cGPA = 2.7 and my sGPA = 2.6. I messed up my undergraduate.(I know). So I took years off and working as a medical assistant. I went back to school part-time in 2017 to 2019 to take upper level science classes. My Post-bacc GPA is 3.70
I have over 100 hours of shadowing and volunteering. I already have LORs from the dentists and science professors. I haven't taken DAT yet. I planned to take it in May 2020.

So my questions are:
1. Should I apply this cycle?
2. Do you think I have a chance to get accepted?
3. I have contacted some dental school admissions that I am interested in. Some of them told me that they don't have a minimum GPA set. Is it worth it to apply to those schools?
4. How about the private dental schools for low GPA?


Thank you so much for your help.

 

[artist2022]

Would not recommend applying this cycle because I think you need to prove you can handle a heavy, rigorous science course load first. You took classes part time and did not get a 4.0, which would almost be expected imo if you were doing them part time.
I'd do an SMP first to get a master's GPA that dental schools can look at, otherwise they may not take a chance on you.

Also we don't really know what you'd get on your DAT, and you need a 21-22+ to help "cover up" your undergrad with the master's.

Another thing to think about is that you graduated 6 years ago, so any prereqs you have taken may not count for schools since they themselves may be 6-9 years old. So, I think you would have to retake them nonetheless. Maybe @Mr.Smile12 can shed more light.

As for your point about minimums, I think every school has an internal minimum, but they won't mind telling you otherwise just to get your application fee.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

No bets until you see what your official DAT score is. You have to put up 20's across all scores on the DAT for a decent shot, and the higher overall the better. That said, you probably would do yourself a favor by really researching special master's programs (SMP's). I don't know what you took in your part-time postbac coursework, but the way GPA's are calculated and the way many schools triage applications, you will be excluded quickly for a low science GPA or BCP GPA, regardless of how high your DAT scores are. Graduate GPA's are calculated separately, so some schools may be able to rescue your file because of a high grad GPA (some could with a decently high postbac GPA but you'd have to ask some questions about how admissions committees will screen and consider your file). Yes, in general, no school will consider a candidate with an oGPA or sGPA less than 3.0 unless there are other convincing circumstances that require screeners to view the file differently.

The prereqs "expiration" is also a topic to bring up with admissions officers to get an idea of whether you should wait to apply because you have to get back to speed with current prereq courses.

 

[sobertiger]

1. If you have a nice, holistic app with a decent amount of volunteering/shadowing, yes.
2. I think so if you do well on your DAT (20+ on everything, 21+ AA/TS). But have realistic expectations about where you will get in.
3. Yes, but it depends. It's fine to apply to a few reach schools, but make sure you have a healthy amount of private schools where you will have a realistic chance of getting in.
4. Private dental schools are where you will have the best shot at getting in. They do consider people with lower GPA.

How many units did you take during your postbac? If you took a good amount of classes and got a 3.7, that looks great. If you only took a few classes, that doesn't help your case much. It's okay to have done it part time if you had a good reason for doing so.

 

[dragonjinse]

Thank you everyone for your insights.
I worked full time while taking classes during my post-bacc. I took 32 credits total during my post-bacc and got GPA 3.70. I am about 30 yo with undergrad tuition loans. Therefore, Master's degree before dental school is out of option. I think I am going to apply several private Dental schools then. I planned to apply only public Dental schools due to cheaper tuition. But it seems like a bad idea because I have a low GPA.

 

[MintyFresh811]

Hello everyone,

The time is coming. June will be here soon. Good luck to everyone who are applying for this coming cycle.
I am trying to figure out my game plan here. So please give me any suggestion/advice.

I graduated in 2014 with cGPA = 2.7 and my sGPA = 2.6. I messed up my undergraduate.(I know). So I took years off and working as a medical assistant. I went back to school part-time in 2017 to 2019 to take upper level science classes. My Post-bacc GPA is 3.70
I have over 100 hours of shadowing and volunteering. I already have LORs from the dentists and science professors. I haven't taken DAT yet. I planned to take it in May 2020.

So my questions are:
1. Should I apply this cycle?
2. Do you think I have a chance to get accepted?
3. I have contacted some dental school admissions that I am interested in. Some of them told me that they don't have a minimum GPA set. Is it worth it to apply to those schools?
4. How about the private dental schools for low GPA?


Thank you so much for your help.

Where did you do your post-bacc if you don't mind me asking?

 

[B4SS]

Hello everyone,

The time is coming. June will be here soon. Good luck to everyone who are applying for this coming cycle.
I am trying to figure out my game plan here. So please give me any suggestion/advice.

I graduated in 2014 with cGPA = 2.7 and my sGPA = 2.6. I messed up my undergraduate.(I know). So I took years off and working as a medical assistant. I went back to school part-time in 2017 to 2019 to take upper level science classes. My Post-bacc GPA is 3.70
I have over 100 hours of shadowing and volunteering. I already have LORs from the dentists and science professors. I haven't taken DAT yet. I planned to take it in May 2020.

So my questions are:
1. Should I apply this cycle?
2. Do you think I have a chance to get accepted?
3. I have contacted some dental school admissions that I am interested in. Some of them told me that they don't have a minimum GPA set. Is it worth it to apply to those schools?
4. How about the private dental schools for low GPA?


Thank you so much for your help.

I was accepted with a 2.65 undegrad, 3.7 Master's GPA, so it's possible, but you're going to need to be really persistent.

I also think you are asking the wrong questions.

DISCLAIMER: this is only my two cents/opinion from my own personal experience. My steps would be to initially meet with a pre-health counselor to establish a working relationship - explain to them your situation and that you are taking the DAT soon and you would appreciate their help on your AADSAS application as well as to help you put together a school list if you need. Begin drafting a personal statement and have them give you honest feedback with it. A unique method that helped me craft, what I think is a great personal statement, was to sit down and literally list every activity I had done since I graduated high school (yes, it was a long list that took some time), then I circled which ones I felt were the most important to me, which helped me illustrate, on paper, what was most important to me, and it also helped me form a personal statement that had a central theme.

Obtain a higher than average score on your DAT since you have a below average GPA. Fill out your AADSAS application and go over it with the counselor that you have been in contact with for several weeks at this point. Try to have the application submitted during the month of June. Make sure you applied to as many schools as you can afford. DO NOT STOP THERE! 4 weeks after I had submitted my application, I managed to get a job as a dental assistant through the dentist that wrote me a LoR, with which I updated my AADSAS with my new found experience. During my interview, it was mentioned to me that they really appreciated me continuing to improve my application after submission, with relevant experiences - it showed initiative and that I really wanted to be in the dental field.

More DISCLAIMERS: Personal opinion/experience: You need to weigh how bad you want to be a dentist compared to not. It may take more than one cycle of applying to 15+ schools, so a gap year + a few thousand dollars. Like I mentioned above, it is important to be really persistent. If you don't get in one cycle, then reach out to every single school you applied to and ask why you did not get accepted - build connections with the dean or associate dean of admissions the best you can. If they have a familiar name and experience to go with an application for a second apply, that will increase your chances. Everyone on this site will tell you not to apply to expensive schools, which I will let you decide for yourself on that, but you may have a better chance getting accepted to an expensive school.

Again, without a strong GPA, persistence is key. Trying to show a dental school that you are committed and they don't have to worry about your performance if they admit you to their school. I thought it was important to mention that I not only achieved a full letter higher, on average, with my GPA in graduate level coursework, but worked full-time to support a family!

 

[dragonjinse]

Where did you do your post-bacc if you don't mind me asking?

I did my post-bacc at Ohio State University

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I would also check with all my in-state options and talk with the admissions staff there before the application process starts up again.

 

[deleted994703]

build connections with the dean or associate dean

how do you suggest doing that? just emailing the dean?

 

[sharkdent]

Hello everyone,

The time is coming. June will be here soon. Good luck to everyone who are applying for this coming cycle.
I am trying to figure out my game plan here. So please give me any suggestion/advice.

I graduated in 2014 with cGPA = 2.7 and my sGPA = 2.6. I messed up my undergraduate.(I know). So I took years off and working as a medical assistant. I went back to school part-time in 2017 to 2019 to take upper level science classes. My Post-bacc GPA is 3.70
I have over 100 hours of shadowing and volunteering. I already have LORs from the dentists and science professors. I haven't taken DAT yet. I planned to take it in May 2020.

So my questions are:
1. Should I apply this cycle?
2. Do you think I have a chance to get accepted?
3. I have contacted some dental school admissions that I am interested in. Some of them told me that they don't have a minimum GPA set. Is it worth it to apply to those schools?
4. How about the private dental schools for low GPA?


Thank you so much for your help.

It's a blessing that you are not in dental school. It's a rip off and financial suicide. You should look at other career choices. Dentists salaries are going to down. We are going to have dental therapists going after our jobs. Dental insurance cutting fees. Are you ready to be in debt half a million dollars? Are you ready to pay $5000K a month student loan? Your pay check is going to be $7000-8000. After loan payment, you will have $2000K. Rent is $1800. Can you live off $200 a month?