How do I stand...

[Snow3456]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Okay so here is my problem...

I am currently a senior planning to apply in June to dental schools. I want to know how I stand.

My GPA's and DAT score I feel really confident about, and feel probably won't hurt me. Here's my stat:

My GPA's are great I have an average of 3.8 (NOW please do not come here and tell me that I'm lying or anything because these are my actual GPA. I am a very studious and ambitious student whose worked her butt off to get that GPA)

DAT- scored a 22AA

I have about 400 hours of volunteer and about ~160 hours of shadowing. Nothing special other than that....

So here's my problem:

During my Junior year I had to withdraw from all of my classes during my fall semester and go home because my mother tried to commit suicide. I had to leave school because family needed someone to not only take care of my mother but my little sisters. Thus I took a year off from school. That year was completely hell, my whole family basically was falling apart due to the suicide attempt. My mother refused to get help and was bed bound for 5 months, but luckily she's got help and is doing a lot better.

My biggest worry is the fact that I took a year off from school. I feel like dental schools will definitely look down on the fact that I withdrew for a entire year even if it was due to family conflict as bad as that.

Although I know that I will not know how anything will turn out until I actually apply, I'm just worried because I'm already 2 years behind technically and I feel that if I don't get in I will probably need another alternative.

Any advice would be great. Thanks. And sorry for such long post...

 

[KillaGorilla]

Don't worry about a year off, its not a big deal. In fact I feel like the schools I interviewed at enjoyed a little bit more life experience ( I took two years). I'm glad to hear your mom is doing better. 🙂

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

1) Your GPA (assuming you didn't lie) is good.
2) Your DAT (assuming you didn't lie) is also good.
3) You can write your personal experiences, and explain any time off school in your personal statement.
4)Dental schools won't hold any personal problems against you. In fact, as long as you showed that you built character from it, it'll actually work in your favor.
5) I'm happy your mom is better now.

Good luck.

 

[dantemac]

I don't see how that year off could hurt you. Include your hardships in the personal statement and also in the academic hardships section of AADSAS.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

I don't see how that year off could hurt you. Include your hardships in the personal statement and also in the academic hardships section of AADSAS.

Yes...

You maintained a 3.8 GPA throughout with the only blip being that year off. They will definitely ask you about it but I don't see any issues here? You took a year off for legitimate reasons.

You prioritized what was important to you and nobody... I mean nobody can tell you that you were wrong to do so.

Just be upfront about it when they ask about it. You'll see that schools will be very understanding or even commend you for your decision.

 

[JdogDMD]

I took 3 years off and I got accepted December 1. I wouldn't worry about it so much. They'll mostly be looking at your stats and as long as you can put a positive spin on the situation with your mom you'll be just fine. Good luck!!

 

[iralex801]

Your fine. It's not like you took a year off to go around the world partying. It actually shows maturity on your part. I'm glad things are better now.

 

[MuskieMan33]

With those stats, I don't see how you would think you might not get in. That's some of the adversity that they like to see students triumph over imo. Yeah, a year off.. might look weird at first, but then you tell them what happened and they would probably give you maaaaaad props for being able to maintain the gpa even after something like that. Don't sweat it! I'm assuming that your a personable person and able to talk to people, if I'm right about this, you should be golden I would think.

As far as the incident, I don't know if I would give THAT much detail, possibly leave it at "mom got sick" or "mom had a mid-life crisis and I wanted to put school on hold to help her through it". Everyone handles that kind of situation differently. My point being, interviewer A might show you sympathy and give you an acceptance. While interviewer B thought that you took the incident over the top (sob story-ish) and might not be so sympathetic.

Personally, I would think if you could overcome that and still excel academically, you could overcome almost anything that tried to get in your way with dental school. More power to you, I don't think you should worry at all! Best of luck! 👍

 

[kidsInCollege]

Your break from school is likely to be viewed positively. Your numbers are good enough for any ADCOM to read your statement closely. Write a killer statement turning your story into a big plus for you (compassion, family value, sacrifice, etc..). Big schools - Columbia, UPenn, Harvard look for non-stat qualities in a candidate and you have a good shot at them.

** a first time poster but a very long time lurker and familiar with almost all threads.

 

[ginaych]

no one's ever questioned my Ws in any of the interviews. so i'd say no worries.