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- Apr 21, 2012
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I need as much feedback as possible, PLEASE, from whoever is reading! I just calculated my BCP GPA and overall GPA and it is not as good as I once thought... I have 2 more finals this week yet I can't study because my GPA is freaking me out. I'm applying this cycle with DAT scores of 22 TS and 22 AA. What do you guys think my chances are? Here is my GPA breakdown:
Year 1: 2.85 (Terrible Freshmen year... took only 2 science classes, however)
Year 2: 3.15
Year 3: 3.30
Year 4 3.25 (Bad 3.0 fall semester due to legitimate reasons + 3 DIFFICULT upper-bio classes that semester)
Overall GPA: 3.25, BCP GPA: 3.27
E.C.
-100+ Hours of Dental Shadowing (General, Perio, Ortho, Endo, O&M, Hospital)
-150+ Volunteering (For various organizations, outreach, etc.)
-Actively involved in 3 large organizations (on board for 2 - President, Fundraising Chair)
-Superb LOR's from General Dentist & Periodontist
-Probably generic to decent LOR's from Science Professors (it's tough when there are 300 to 400 students in each class).
-Great manual dexterity due to several hobbies
I guess I'm just really frustrated right now. I go to a top 5 public university (top 15 in world rankings) in the U.S.. I'm not saying this to boast but to let you know that I don't go to an easy or blow-off school and got these grades because I was lazy, except for my freshman year
. It's hard as hell to get A's and A-'s in any science course, intro or upper level, at the school I'm currently attending. It's possible.. but very hard with a 90% cut-off for an A- based on only 3-4 exams, especially when you don't do well on an one of them. And by not doing well on an exam, I don't mean getting a 60-70% and then doing well on the other three (theres absolutely no chance of getting an A- or an A at that point). I mean getting a 80-85% on an exam or two... (you would need to get a 95%-100% on the last two exams to raise it to that 90% cut-off). It's unfortunate that dental schools don't really take into account the difficulty and reputation of universities when they consider gpa. Not only do they make the exams difficult and the curve/grading scales strict here... most of the students in all of my classes are intelligent and super-competitive. I had to work my butt off to climb from a 2.80 to a 3.3ish overall gpa and still ended up getting B's and B+'s in a majority of my science classes. I've never failed a science class (C+ or lower). I'm sure many people who have attended reputable universities know where I'm coming from. I'm also sure others from those same reputable schools probably think I'm dumb and have like 3.6-3.7's gpa's.
The difficulty and competitive atmosphere that I'm experiencing right now is awesome once I get accepted to dental school because I feel like I'll be much more prepared than others. However, it's not so great when you're still on the outside, looking in (applying and hoping to get accepted).
Thoughts about my chances?
Year 1: 2.85 (Terrible Freshmen year... took only 2 science classes, however)
Year 2: 3.15
Year 3: 3.30
Year 4 3.25 (Bad 3.0 fall semester due to legitimate reasons + 3 DIFFICULT upper-bio classes that semester)
Overall GPA: 3.25, BCP GPA: 3.27
E.C.
-100+ Hours of Dental Shadowing (General, Perio, Ortho, Endo, O&M, Hospital)
-150+ Volunteering (For various organizations, outreach, etc.)
-Actively involved in 3 large organizations (on board for 2 - President, Fundraising Chair)
-Superb LOR's from General Dentist & Periodontist
-Probably generic to decent LOR's from Science Professors (it's tough when there are 300 to 400 students in each class).
-Great manual dexterity due to several hobbies
I guess I'm just really frustrated right now. I go to a top 5 public university (top 15 in world rankings) in the U.S.. I'm not saying this to boast but to let you know that I don't go to an easy or blow-off school and got these grades because I was lazy, except for my freshman year
. It's hard as hell to get A's and A-'s in any science course, intro or upper level, at the school I'm currently attending. It's possible.. but very hard with a 90% cut-off for an A- based on only 3-4 exams, especially when you don't do well on an one of them. And by not doing well on an exam, I don't mean getting a 60-70% and then doing well on the other three (theres absolutely no chance of getting an A- or an A at that point). I mean getting a 80-85% on an exam or two... (you would need to get a 95%-100% on the last two exams to raise it to that 90% cut-off). It's unfortunate that dental schools don't really take into account the difficulty and reputation of universities when they consider gpa. Not only do they make the exams difficult and the curve/grading scales strict here... most of the students in all of my classes are intelligent and super-competitive. I had to work my butt off to climb from a 2.80 to a 3.3ish overall gpa and still ended up getting B's and B+'s in a majority of my science classes. I've never failed a science class (C+ or lower). I'm sure many people who have attended reputable universities know where I'm coming from. I'm also sure others from those same reputable schools probably think I'm dumb and have like 3.6-3.7's gpa's. The difficulty and competitive atmosphere that I'm experiencing right now is awesome once I get accepted to dental school because I feel like I'll be much more prepared than others. However, it's not so great when you're still on the outside, looking in (applying and hoping to get accepted).
Thoughts about my chances?
