high DAT vs. low GPA

[carolinagrl346]

I'm reading a lot about the age-old GPA vs. DAT score issue but am not really drawing any clear conclusions from anything so I figured I'd ask you guys - hopefully someone can help me out here.

I am a rising junior and just took my DAT this week, my scores 26 AA 24 TS 25 PAT (Bio was my lowest, 21) are well, pretty high, but my GPA isn't.

I currently have a cGPA 3.3 and sGPA 3.0 . I had a rough freshman year and managed to pull it up sophomore year. I'll be taking a tough Anat./Phys. course as well as Physics Intro 1 and two cGPA booster classes (for my minor). I have a bad feeling that my GPA will just stay the same, or my cGPA might go up to a 3.4 or 3.5.

If it does end up to be about the same, where do I stand in terms of dental admissions next summer? I'm hoping to gain in-state status by the end of this coming school year (NC), I am on the exec board for the largest pre-dent group on campus, and I have done my share of shadowing/free clinics/dental lab work/etc.


Thanks for any input!

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[FROGGBUSTER]

I'm reading a lot about the age-old GPA vs. DAT score issue but am not really drawing any clear conclusions from anything so I figured I'd ask you guys - hopefully someone can help me out here.

I am a rising junior and just took my DAT this week, my scores 26 AA 24 TS 25 PAT (Bio was my lowest, 21) are well, pretty high, but my GPA isn't.

I currently have a cGPA 3.3 and sGPA 3.0 . I had a rough freshman year and managed to pull it up sophomore year. I'll be taking a tough Anat./Phys. course as well as Physics Intro 1 and two cGPA booster classes (for my minor). I have a bad feeling that my GPA will just stay the same, or my cGPA might go up to a 3.4 or 3.5.

If it does end up to be about the same, where do I stand in terms of dental admissions next summer? I'm hoping to gain in-state status by the end of this coming school year (NC), I am on the exec board for the largest pre-dent group on campus, and I have done my share of shadowing/free clinics/dental lab work/etc.


Thanks for any input!

A 3.5 & 26 AA would be pretty competitive I feel. What do you think you could raise your sGPA to though? That's the problem I think.

 

[tayloreve]

Omg? 26 AA? That is nuts.....what did you use to study? I noticed you just joined SDN..have you been lurking for a while and just decided to post?

Just do your best this year and make all A's and that should pull your GPA quite a bit before you apply next summer. I think you're good as long as you show an upwards trend..

 

[carolinagrl346]

froggbuster: not sure, I can think that I'll get all A's but that's just what I "think" haha. I'm confident that I'll get at least B's though, so the GPA doesn't go down...that'd be terrifying. I'm definitely hoping for an upward trend though, so far so good, I've managed to pull it up from a 2.9 cGPA from freshman year, haha.

tayloreve: yeah, I've been using SDN for quite some time, just never needed to post anything until now. I used the following prep material:

Kaplan Class - useless class, useless teacher, awesome organization of material - a good overview of all the topics needed though a lot of the topics needed to be covered in more detail I felt. The practice tests (total of 6) were super helpful too.
Achiever - all I can say is AMAZING. great overall in all subjects in my opinion, and though tests 4 and 5 are RIDICULOUSLY hard (I think I broke 20 only in my PAT the first time around) they prep you so well.
TopScore - saw questions from these practice tests on the actual DAT, definitely worth the money!
Destroyer - awesome for your sciences and QR. this and achiever had QR similar to the DAT, the TS and kaplan were way too easy. know how to do every problem for chem and orgo on destroyer and you'll do great on the DAT.

 

[tayloreve]

froggbuster: not sure, I can think that I'll get all A's but that's just what I "think" haha. I'm confident that I'll get at least B's though, so the GPA doesn't go down...that'd be terrifying. I'm definitely hoping for an upward trend though, so far so good, I've managed to pull it up from a 2.9 cGPA from freshman year, haha.

tayloreve: yeah, I've been using SDN for quite some time, just never needed to post anything until now. I used the following prep material:

Kaplan Class - useless class, useless teacher, awesome organization of material - a good overview of all the topics needed though a lot of the topics needed to be covered in more detail I felt. The practice tests (total of 6) were super helpful too.
Achiever - all I can say is AMAZING. great overall in all subjects in my opinion, and though tests 4 and 5 are RIDICULOUSLY hard (I think I broke 20 only in my PAT the first time around) they prep you so well.
TopScore - saw questions from these practice tests on the actual DAT, definitely worth the money!
Destroyer - awesome for your sciences and QR. this and achiever had QR similar to the DAT, the TS and kaplan were way too easy. know how to do every problem for chem and orgo on destroyer and you'll do great on the DAT.

Awesome! Thanks! And something tells me that if you can pull off a 26 AA on the DAT, you can make A's in those science classes! Good luck!

 

[nondescriptive]

retake

 

[carolinagrl346]

haha

 

[tayloreve]

retake

People on SDN expect you to score at least 27 AA+..........and 4.8 GPA


less than 27 AA = rejection


(I'm just glad I'm not pre-med...I was browsing through there and people had like 4.0 GPA, 38 MCAT, 10928309123 volunteer hours, research, publication, trip to save africa, cured cancer, and still wanted to know if they had a shot.....and people replied with.... "maybe...." WTF)

 

[Dental2000]

People on SDN expect you to score at least 27 AA+..........and 4.8 GPA


less than 27 AA = rejection


(I'm just glad I'm not pre-med...I was browsing through there and people had like 4.0 GPA, 38 MCAT, 10928309123 volunteer, research, publication, trip to save africa, cured cancer, and still wanted to know if they had a shot.....and people replied with.... "maybe...." WTF)

whats '10928309123 volunteer' mean?

 

[tayloreve]

whats '10928309123 volunteer' mean?

come on..you could of figured out that was a typo..

volunteer hours..

i'll edit it.

 

[Dental2000]

lol k,

Could have been a screat Code between you SDN members on FB

 

[vicsin]

There's some d-school(s) that auto accept a DAT of 26. I'm not sure which, or if this refers to AA or TS but I'd look that up if I were you.
But also, maybe you don't realize this but a 26 AA is beyond amazing. 20/21/22 are amazing scores and are difficult to obtain but 26... That is beyond what most people could ever manage. You must be 99.99 percentile if not 100. You don't just have a high DAT, you have a ridiculously high DAT. Please realize this. You will get in.

But with that said, apply wisely to keep your chances as high as possible. You are only a rising Junior who already took the DAT. You will be able to apply early...be in the 1st mailing batch...and get reviewed as one of the first applicants. This is a huge advantage. Get your app ready when June 1st rolls around next year. You can join AADSAS I think, and copy the format to be prepared for what you will need to complete it when the time comes. Get those LOR's...get ready to hound for your schools transcripts. Take EASY GPA boosting classes. Even if you have to save some hard ones for senior year...take the easy ones now...d-schools won't know the difficulty level of a course. Just get A's. So, basically you have a great chance. Take the most advantage of it.

 

[TwentyTwelve]

I'm reading a lot about the age-old GPA vs. DAT score issue but am not really drawing any clear conclusions from anything so I figured I'd ask you guys - hopefully someone can help me out here.

I am a rising junior and just took my DAT this week, my scores 26 AA 24 TS 25 PAT (Bio was my lowest, 21) are well, pretty high, but my GPA isn't.

I currently have a cGPA 3.3 and sGPA 3.0 . I had a rough freshman year and managed to pull it up sophomore year. I'll be taking a tough Anat./Phys. course as well as Physics Intro 1 and two cGPA booster classes (for my minor). I have a bad feeling that my GPA will just stay the same, or my cGPA might go up to a 3.4 or 3.5.

If it does end up to be about the same, where do I stand in terms of dental admissions next summer? I'm hoping to gain in-state status by the end of this coming school year (NC), I am on the exec board for the largest pre-dent group on campus, and I have done my share of shadowing/free clinics/dental lab work/etc.


Thanks for any input!

I think you are on the right track...dental schools are notorious for liking higher DAT scores and lower GPA's versus the other way around.

Obviously they would prefer a high GPA and high DAT but if there was anything to "slack" on it would be GPA. Yeah yeah jump all over me SDN, but seriously a high DAT and low GPA means you are smart and slacked off, or go to a crazy hard undergrad program and rocked the DAT. Assuming your volunteer activities are solid then you should, and I say "should" be in the mix. Either way, you are smart and still demolished the test that puts everyone on the same playing field.

Continue your upward trend in GPA and congrats dude... hope to see you at some interviews at UNC/ECU...

 

[rmm30]

I'm reading a lot about the age-old GPA vs. DAT score issue but am not really drawing any clear conclusions from anything so I figured I'd ask you guys - hopefully someone can help me out here.

I am a rising junior and just took my DAT this week, my scores 26 AA 24 TS 25 PAT (Bio was my lowest, 21) are well, pretty high, but my GPA isn't.

I currently have a cGPA 3.3 and sGPA 3.0 . I had a rough freshman year and managed to pull it up sophomore year. I'll be taking a tough Anat./Phys. course as well as Physics Intro 1 and two cGPA booster classes (for my minor). I have a bad feeling that my GPA will just stay the same, or my cGPA might go up to a 3.4 or 3.5.

If it does end up to be about the same, where do I stand in terms of dental admissions next summer? I'm hoping to gain in-state status by the end of this coming school year (NC), I am on the exec board for the largest pre-dent group on campus, and I have done my share of shadowing/free clinics/dental lab work/etc.


Thanks for any input!

Why is anyone entertaining this person? "I have the 3rd highest DAT in history, I have 500 hours of shadowing, and I'm the mayor of my city.....what are my chances??"

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

Why is anyone entertaining this person? "I have the 3rd highest DAT in history, I have 500 hours of shadowing, and I'm the mayor of my city.....what are my chances??"

She has a low GPA. Duh.

People like you who post this kind of nonsense whenever they enter threads and see that the OP has high stats are too insecure.

 

[rmm30]

She has a low GPA. Duh.

People like you who post this kind of nonsense whenever they enter threads and see that the OP has high stats are too insecure.

No. I think you underestimate how awesome a DAT score that is. And with great ECs and shadowing and rising GPA trend, that makes the OP a virtual lock. 2.1 is a low GPA. 3.3 is a shorthair below average. Do you really think this person is not going to dental school? It's a dumb question.

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

No. I think you underestimate how awesome a DAT score that is. And with great ECs and shadowing and rising GPA trend, that makes the OP a virtual lock. 2.1 is a low GPA. 3.3 is a shorthair below average. Do you really think this person is not going to dental school? It's a dumb question.

And that's the kind of feedback the OP was looking for when she posted this thread. I'll thank you for her. Thanks.

Post more like this.

 

[Khal87]

People on SDN expect you to score at least 27 AA+..........and 4.8 GPA


less than 27 AA = rejection


(I'm just glad I'm not pre-med...I was browsing through there and people had like 4.0 GPA, 38 MCAT, 10928309123 volunteer hours, research, publication, trip to save africa, cured cancer, and still wanted to know if they had a shot.....and people replied with.... "maybe...." WTF)

Haha

 

[Khal87]

I'm reading a lot about the age-old GPA vs. DAT score issue but am not really drawing any clear conclusions from anything so I figured I'd ask you guys - hopefully someone can help me out here.

I am a rising junior and just took my DAT this week, my scores 26 AA 24 TS 25 PAT (Bio was my lowest, 21) are well, pretty high, but my GPA isn't.

I currently have a cGPA 3.3 and sGPA 3.0 . I had a rough freshman year and managed to pull it up sophomore year. I'll be taking a tough Anat./Phys. course as well as Physics Intro 1 and two cGPA booster classes (for my minor). I have a bad feeling that my GPA will just stay the same, or my cGPA might go up to a 3.4 or 3.5.

If it does end up to be about the same, where do I stand in terms of dental admissions next summer? I'm hoping to gain in-state status by the end of this coming school year (NC), I am on the exec board for the largest pre-dent group on campus, and I have done my share of shadowing/free clinics/dental lab work/etc.


Thanks for any input!

Awesome girl

 

[glo1984]

Fantastic scores, I hope you interview well!

 

[LetsGo2DSchool]

I like UNC's school colors. I would go there just for that.

 

[scpredent]

Awesome AA! Very impressive. Can you post your Kaplan test scores?

 

[LetsGo2DSchool]

I wonder what's better: High GPA/low DAT or Low GPA/high DAT ?

I guess it depends on the school.

 

[carolinagrl346]

I like UNC's school colors. I would go there just for that.

I love UNC! Definitely my top choice along with ECU.

Thanks guys, this was at times entertaining and overall super helpful to read. I only bring it up because I honestly didn't know how a stellar DAT would stack up with a sub-par GPA. I've read so many conflicting things on here that say a DAT above 23 just "evens out" and they just look at the GPA from there on out. I'll work my butt off this year and apply smart, like vicsin suggested - thanks!

TwentyTwelve - you're so right. my freshman year totally blew, I'm from a small-town with a mediocre (at best) education system and I completely underestimated how tough UNC science courses are, haha, thanks for the encouragement!

As for my Kaplan scores, these are what I got the first time around (TS/AA/PAT):
D: 16/18/21
M: 19/21/23
F: 22/24/25
1: 18/21/25
2: 20/21/22
3: 19/21/24

Please keep in mind that I finished Kaplan first and then moved on to the "legit" DAT-prep material like Destroyer and Achiever.

 

[carolinagrl346]

There's some d-school(s) that auto accept a DAT of 26. I'm not sure which, or if this refers to AA or TS but I'd look that up if I were you.

Do you have any idea where to find this type of info? I've searched Google for hours now and nothing solid has come up. Is it possibly in the ADEA Guide? If so, I should probably wait for the 2012 one to come out right, or is the 2011 sufficient?

 

[TwentyTwelve]

Do you have any idea where to find this type of info? I've searched Google for hours now and nothing solid has come up. Is it possibly in the ADEA Guide? If so, I should probably wait for the 2012 one to come out right, or is the 2011 sufficient?

If dental schools do auto accept (which I seriously doubt) then it would not be public knowledge. The great thing about dentistry is how much weight schools put on the interview, especially UNC. It weeds out those with great stats but cannot hold a simple conversation. Thus, it is not in their best interest to "auto accept" those with AA of 26+ because they might have terrible personalities and be a parasite within the dental community.

 

[LetsGo2DSchool]

If dental schools do auto accept (which I seriously doubt) then it would not be public knowledge. The great thing about dentistry is how much weight schools put on the interview, especially UNC. It weeds out those with great stats but cannot hold a simple conversation. Thus, it is not in their best interest to "auto accept" those with AA of 26+ because they might have terrible personalities and be a parasite within the dental community.

I don't think it's that difficult for the social inept to carry a simple conversation when their futures depend on it (i.e. getting into dental school).

Even the biggest pricks can be the sweetest people if needed to be.

 

[carolinagrl346]

I chose a bunch of d-schools (all east coast) to send my scores to that I am/might be interested in when I registered for the DAT. Since I didn't have time to fully research each school, will it hurt me when schools see that I pretty much sent my scores to every east coast school that accepts OSS? Will they even get to see the schools that I sent my scores to? Also, what exactly do they do with those scores...is it like a "preview" or "sneak peek" at my future application?

These probably sound like "common sense" questions but there's no harm in asking