GPA for different specialization

[DentistryStudent]

Hey guys, I am a 2nd year dentistry student from Quebec, Canada.
I know it is too early to start thinking about specialization but I thought I'd just ask:

What GPA is required to specialize in the following fields, in the US or in other canadian provinces:
endo, maxilofacial surgery, paro

I have a 3.5/4.3 (Yes, I know it's wierd, but our GPA's are on 4.3 up here). I know it's not a very good GPA but I was wondering what are the odds of me getting specialized with such a GPA.

thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[56101991]

Obviously, the higher the better. Endo, OS, and Ortho are the most competitive. 3.9/4.0 is what you should aim for to have a better shot at your top choice. I know people who got into good perio and pedo programs with roughly 3.5s.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Class rank is much more important than GPA. GPA is entirely relative. A 3.5 may put you in the top third at one school and the bottom third at another school.

Big Hoss

 

[DentistryStudent]

Ok so basicly RIP specialization for me? It's just impossible to get to 3.9 from 3.5.

 

[Str82th]

Ok so basicly RIP specialization for me? It's just impossible to get to 3.9 from 3.5.

What is your class rank?

 

[56101991]

And what speciality are you interested in?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[vellnueve]

Dude, just work as hard as you can.

You can try hard and possibly fail, or you can not try and guarantee failure.

 

[Longshot.308]

First off what speciality are you interested in?

Secondly, I think so many people get wrapped up in GPA and class rank they just give up and don't try.

I know that two years ago someone who got into endo with a 3.1 and someone who got into Pedo with a 2.9. Neither where in the top half of the class. They had several years of experience but they made it happen.

I think a 3.5 GPA is acceptable for any speciality and there are numerous examples of people in the speciality with that GPA.

For OMS a high GPA and CBSE may be more important as medical school is part of many programs. Even with that working ur butt of in internship for a year really helps your chances.

Here is my advice. Keep your GPA as high as possible then start hustling. Figure out the specialty your interested in. Go observe in that department. Meet the residents. Get to know the chair and program director. Volunteer or research on that specific speciality. Attend the national meeting of that society if possible.

Most program directors want residents that will work hard, mesh with other residents and not cause problems. While a 3.5 doesnt leap off the page it's says your smart enough to be there. Now you have to convience them you will work hard and not cause problems.

Don't ho hum around worrying about GPA. Start hustling!!

Edit: this perspective is from people applying to US programs having graduated or going to graduate from US schools.

I don't know the specific challenges or aspects of a Canadian Applicant.

 

[RCTSpecialist]

I am going to be more realistic here.

First of all, you are a dental student from Canada and this puts you at a stark disadvantage for Oral Surgery with an MD component.
Even for Americans, gaining acceptance into OS programs often consists of top rank, stellar GPA (>3.85), great CBSE (>70) and many others.
Therefore, it would be a difficult path for you if you are thinking of OS at American school

You may give it a shot to ortho, endo and perio, whereas there are chances for international students.
1) Ortho is always the most coveted specialty with a pool of high rank students. (often top 10% with close to 4.0 GPA).
2) Endo = requires experience. Some private schools do accept fresh outs. But they have tendency to prefer their own pre-dental students. If considering endo, i highly advise you do 1-year GPR in US.
3) Perio= may have more chances than above with your stats.

 

[hopefuldentist123]

I am going to be more realistic here.

First of all, you are a dental student from Canada and this puts you at a stark disadvantage for Oral Surgery with an MD component.
Even for Americans, gaining acceptance into OS programs often consists of top rank, stellar GPA (>3.85), great CBSE (>70) and many others.
Therefore, it would be a difficult path for you if you are thinking of OS at American school

You may give it a shot to ortho, endo and perio, whereas there are chances for international students.
1) Ortho is always the most coveted specialty with a pool of high rank students. (often top 10% with close to 4.0 GPA).
2) Endo = requires experience. Some private schools do accept fresh outs. But they have tendency to prefer their own pre-dental students. If considering endo, i highly advise you do 1-year GPR in US.
3) Perio= may have more chances than above with your stats.

Would working as an associate for a few years instead of doing a 1 year GPR still be beneficial for endo?

 

[DentistryStudent]

ok so you're saying if I maintain 3.5 GPA and work as a associate or pourcentage for a year or two + take endo courses on the side, I could probably be accepted in endo speciality in the US?

 

[vellnueve]

I really don't get these questions about GPA, class rank, and CBSE/ADAT scores.

They should be as high as you can make them without overexerting and burning yourself out.

If you really want to do a specialty you should strive for nothing less.

 

[sgv]

ok so you're saying if I maintain 3.5 GPA and work as a associate or pourcentage for a year or two + take endo courses on the side, I could probably be accepted in endo speciality in the US?

From my understanding, it is more competitive for Canadians to match at any specialty in the US.

Your rank is a more meaningful number because a 3.5 at my program would land you at the bottom half of my class. We also have standardized exams in the US: CBSE for OMFS and GRE for ortho. You would have to take these exams to really gauge your competitiveness as well as any externship experience or 1 year preliminary internship for OMFS. There are people who have matched at OMFS with 50 percentile ranking. I don't think any of us are aware of Canadians with such numbers but there might be.

Perceived dedication to any one specialty also plays a role. Someone who says they want nothing else in the world besides OMFS and is willing to do multiple preliminary internships and gives their 100% at everything speaks volumes more than someone who casually asks if they have a shot at any of the nine dental specialties.

 

[dentplu]

I’m not sure if you realize just how many Oral Surgeons in Canada graduated from US programs. All you have to do is look them up and check out their bios to see which programs are more “friendly” towards Canadians.

 

[OlenCF]

I’m not sure if you realize just how many Oral Surgeons in Canada graduated from US programs. All you have to do is look them up and check out their bios to see which programs are more “friendly” towards Canadians.

That's probably true to only certain extents.. and reason I said that is because many OMFS programs have stopped taking Canadians or at least temporarily stopped taking Canadians...
So the best thing to do is to go through the program list from AAOMS as well as the PASS program search engine to figure out which program does, which doesn't....

While I think a GPA of 3.5 can certainly use some boosters, show the PDs you are all game by scoring a crazy high score in CBSE, do as much externships as possible would definitely help.

You are from Quebec, so do a week or two in McGill plus a week or two in Laval, and there you have got 4 weeks.
Find a busy programs down in the States like Houston, or Knoxville and do a week here and there, you are hitting the 6 weeks mark for externship which is pretty decent IMO.

Like vellnueve mentioned, there's nothing stopping you from pursuing a specialty of your choice. Nothing is game over until you actually try.

Good luck!