Horrendous First Year

[Mnseals]

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Hi everyone,
I have had a pretty despicable first year in college... I did not take school as seriously as I should have, got mixed in with the wrong crowd and overall gave up. I ended up getting academically dismissed from my university and was told to take a semester of community college to show that I am capable of taking college level courses. I ended up taking a semester off got to get my mind right and l ended community college this past winter. I am doing great and I’m pretty sure I’m attending my university this fall. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I know what I wanna do with my life and that is dentistry. I can not see myself doing anything else.... I was wondering of the opinions of others pertaining to my situation, do you think I still have a chance to get into dental school even though I have had a horrendous first year? I plan on taking school extremely serious this time around and shooting for a solid B or better in all my classes, but my ultimate goal is B+ or better in all my classes. Thanks I appreciate any input you guys have it means a lot...

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

This is a long and rambly paragraph. Fix whatever caused the low grades and you'll be fine. Lots of people have a terrible freshman year and get in.

 

[Mnseals]

This is a long and rambly paragraph. Fix whatever caused the low grades and you'll be fine. Lots of people have a terrible freshman year and get in.

Thanks for the reply

 

[ab117]

It’s not impossible, but being dismissed is almost certainly going to be a serious black mark. If you can make up for it, your chances may end up being as good as anyone else’s. If you don’t, I would guess they’ll be very, very low. Making up for it means that you need to be shooting for A’s, not B’s. Getting a small handful of B’s won’t kill you, but realize that some students with close to 4.0 gpa that have never been academically dismissed from their university still get rejected every year, and those will be your competitors.

Your goal will need to be to get as close to a 4.0 as you possibly can and a higher than average DAT score to prove that you can handle the courseload or dental schools will likely perceive you as a risky bet. Aiming for B’s would land you at a solid 3.0, some applicants get in at that level but most don’t.

I’m definitely erring on the pessimistic side, but you should realistically understand that a dismissal vs. just having lower grades freshman year may cause you difficulty in getting into dental school.

AppalachianDentalBoy is right though, people do get in with red flags on their applications, you just have to prove that it’s not a concern anymore.

 

[Mnseals]

It’s not impossible, but being dismissed is almost certainly going to be a serious black mark. If you can make up for it, your chances may end up being as good as anyone else’s. If you don’t, I would guess they’ll be very, very low. Making up for it means that you need to be shooting for A’s, not B’s. Getting a small handful of B’s won’t kill you, but realize that some students with close to 4.0 gpa that have never been academically dismissed from their university still get rejected every year, and those will be your competitors.

Your goal will need to be to get as close to a 4.0 as you possibly can and a higher than average DAT score to prove that you can handle the courseload or dental schools will likely perceive you as a risky bet. Aiming for B’s would land you at a solid 3.0, some applicants get in at that level but most don’t.

I’m definitely erring on the pessimistic side, but you should realistically understand that a dismissal vs. just having lower grades freshman year may cause you difficulty in getting into dental school.

AppalachianDentalBoy is right though, people do get in with red flags on their applications, you just have to prove that it’s not a concern anymore.

Thanks for the reply I really appreciate it

 

[deleted767916]

I had a bad sophomore year; not bad enough to be dismissed but withdrew one class and had b minuses. The most important thing is to make sure you're in the right mindset and heal/improve your mental and physical health. You won't be able to get good grades if you don't start with taking a good look at oneself. I believe you can do it so keep your head up!

On a more somber note, a dismissal is going to look bad because the biggest fear for dental schools is if a student drop outs/fails out. For them it's a huge cost so you really need to prove you can do it; no more slip ups from now on. Also a B plus average is not competitive enough for dental school and you need to aim higher than that. If you are as passionate as you say you are work hard on getting better and on academics

Hi everyone,
I have had a pretty despicable first year in college... I did not take school as seriously as I should have, got mixed in with the wrong crowd and overall gave up. I ended up getting academically dismissed from my university and was told to take a semester of community college to show that I am capable of taking college level courses. I ended up taking a semester off got to get my mind right and l ended community college this past winter. I am doing great and I’m pretty sure I’m attending my university this fall. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I know what I wanna do with my life and that is dentistry. I can not see myself doing anything else.... I was wondering of the opinions of others pertaining to my situation, do you think I still have a chance to get into dental school even though I have had a horrendous first year? I plan on taking school extremely serious this time around and shooting for a solid B or better in all my classes, but my ultimate goal is B+ or better in all my classes. Thanks I appreciate any input you guys have it means a lot...

 

[ThirdMolarz]

Don't worry about your academic dismissal holding you back. If you can pull off a strong next few years and explain what happened come interview time, I think you'll have a good shot. It's not really a red flag in my opinion if you can maintain a strong academic record for the next few years. I'm only saying this because I made it in with a pretty bad start, too. Also, it would be in your interest to challenge yourself and take science-heavy course loads. Not so much that your grades drop, but enough to show you're serious about this and can handle dental school. Feel free to message me anytime along your journey to dental school.

 

[Cthuluhoop]

You've created a very steep uphill battle for yourself, and you must absolutely kill it every semester from here until graduation. But if you want to go to dental school, you still can.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I know what I wanna do with my life and that is dentistry. I can not see myself doing anything else....

As a freshman in college, how do you know that a job you've never even done is your life passion and you can't see yourself doing anything else? Heck, dental students don't even know if they like dentistry until after graduation when they enter the workforce. Shadowing, then dental school, then working as a dentist are three totally different environments.
A word of advice, don't put blinders on to other careers, keep your options open you never know what other jobs you may find you like more than dentistry as you go through your undergraduate education

 

[Mnseals]

If anyone is reading this, you can do it! I remember writing this and thinking I wouldn’t be able to do it, especially having a .6 gpa my first year, but after working really hard I did it! I have two acceptances so far! So, if you have a C, D, or a F don’t fret it’s not the end of the world, you still have a good of a chance as anyone else

 

[wysdoc]

If anyone is reading this, you can do it! I remember writing this and thinking I wouldn’t be able to do it, especially having a .6 gpa my first year, but after working really hard I did it! I have two acceptances so far! So, if you have a C, D, or a F don’t fret it’s not the end of the world, you still have a good of a chance as anyone else

Good to see you checking back in and congratulations on your success!

 

[Mnseals]

Good to see you checking back in and congratulations on your success!

Thank you!!

 

[PerioDont]

If anyone is reading this, you can do it! I remember writing this and thinking I wouldn’t be able to do it, especially having a .6 gpa my first year, but after working really hard I did it! I have two acceptances so far! So, if you have a C, D, or a F don’t fret it’s not the end of the world, you still have a good of a chance as anyone else

Congrats!!

curious what was your GPA when you applied? that must be a huge turnaround

 

[Mnseals]

Congrats!!

curious what was your GPA when you applied? that must be a huge turnaround

Thanks!! When I submitted my application my overall GPA was a 3.24 and my science GPA was a 3.0!