grade deflation

[atlas0409]

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I want to apply to dental school, and was wondering about deflation.
my undergrad gpa is a 3.4 from a top 10 liberal arts college.
However, I am now a post bacc at upenn (doing the core req.'s) and so far I have around a 2.7-2.5 (B- to C+) average in chem/bio. This seems to be around the average curve there though, about 30% have dropped out of our class thus far (I think this says something for the program of lack thereof). I was wondering if I still have a chance at ANY school and if dental schools will take program difficulty into account (I know the DAT should level the field).
Also I am an urm if that counts for anything in applying.

 

[MAR89]

Being a URM helps for sure, but even then, getting in with < 3.0 cumulative (undergrad + postbacc) can be difficult. Try your best to keep your gpa above a 3.0 for the rest of the program and you should have a good shot at getting at least one acceptance if you apply broadly. Oh, and do well on the DAT of course 😛 As far as schools considering grade deflation from certain programs...by my understanding, schools have a hard enough time trying to differentiate between undergrads, let alone postbacc programs. So I wouldn't count on it.

GL!

 

[Vigilante]

I was in the same situation a few years back...had about a 3.4 at a top 10 national university and about your avg gpa at the same school doing a post bacc (i kicked it up a notch after straight As in physics, but still didn't look great). In general, schools didn't consider the school i went to and I got nixed right off the bat, despite doing well on my DATs. I did, however, get into a few schools, especially the local, affiliated school, because they made a point of accepting anyone who completed the program (we had a 90% drop out rate). Basically, you probably would've done better by going to a crappy school and getting straight As (which I'm sure you were capable of after having done average at a top, top tier school), but you aren't completely in the ****ter. Plus, if you hope to go to Penn, they might look favorably upon your completing their post bacc program.

Good Luck!

 

[UCLAzy]

if your gpa is that low, you're not working hard enough. period.

and mentioning urm...that's just sad.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

and mentioning urm...that's just sad.

sad, but unfortunately true and a major factor in admissions

 

[wired202808]

I want to apply to dental school, and was wondering about deflation.
my undergrad gpa is a 3.4 from a top 10 liberal arts college.
However, I am now a post bacc at upenn (doing the core req.'s) and so far I have around a 2.7-2.5 (B- to C+) average in chem/bio. This seems to be around the average curve there though, about 30% have dropped out of our class thus far (I think this says something for the program of lack thereof). I was wondering if I still have a chance at ANY school and if dental schools will take program difficulty into account (I know the DAT should level the field).
Also I am an urm if that counts for anything in applying.

being a URM will help you but having 2.5s in a post bacc program will look bad. work hard to boost that up.

 

[jackalo34]

sad, but unfortunately true and a major factor in admissions

A little off topic, but is that really true? I don’t see how...

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

A little off topic, but is that really true? I don’t see how...

You don't need high stats if you're URM, plain and simple. Dental admissions like to accept URM to increase the amount of diversity in the dental field. So if you're URM, then you don't need stats like some other people to gain acceptance.

It's a very touchy topic on SDN though so you should probably start your own thread if you want to talk about it.

 

[advair250]

Define URM? I mean this in a non-racist way of course, but what qualifies as an URM

 

[MAR89]

African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans namely I believe. Pretty much anyone but Caucasians, East Asians, and Indians.

 

[hockeykspiky]

Obviously, liberal arts colleges are easier than UPenn.