How to become more competitive?

[CAP20]

Hello! I'm in need of a bit of advice on becoming a more competitive applicant for dental school. I just switched to pre-dental last year and just took the DAT. I got a AA of 22 and TS of 22, however my GPA isn't too competitive (cGPA: 3.4, sGPA: 3.2) and I'm a senior, so I only have 2 semesters left to bring it up 🙁 . I also only have about 40 hours of shadowing. I know that I should get more shadowing and bring up my GPA, but anybody else have more useful tips? Thank you for any advice!

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[lwergod]

are you taking a gap year?

 

[IdleKoala]

Are you applying this cycle or next? Because there isn't to much you could right now to improve your chances, and I would highly recommend submitting soon if so. But if you are applying next cycle than I would recommend finding a volunteer organization that you enjoy volunteering at and start going consistently to get a lot of hours. You could tutor if you like teaching, join a Pre-Dental Society or other student org and try to get leadership position, there are a lot of things you could do. Best of luck!

 

[CAP20]

Yes I am taking a gap year!

 

[artist2022]

Just more shadowing (hit 100), volunteering, and maybe extending your senior year to like a year and a half? Then you could take an extra semester of upper division courses to boost it up. Doing this would be cheaper than graduating in May and doing an informal post-bacc (cause then you'd be a non-degree seeking student and would have to pay way more). You'd still be left with a half gap year to do whatever you want until you start dental school. Good luck 🙂

 

[CAP20]

Thank you guys for the advice!! It really helps!

 

[Jlm50]

Extracurriculars are pretty important to many schools which can offset a lower GPA. How are those looking for you?

I only did 40 hours of shadowing, I hated shadowing lol. I just wanted to know how to do it.

 

[CAP20]

Extracurriculars are pretty important to many schools which can offset a lower GPA. How are those looking for you?

I only did 40 hours of shadowing, I hated shadowing lol. I just wanted to know how to do it.

I think they're pretty good! I'm a part of my pre-dental club, have been in a leadership position in my cultural club for 2 years, and I'm going to try to find a place to volunteer this year. Did you apply this cycle?

 

[Jlm50]

I think they're pretty good! I'm a part of my pre-dental club, have been in a leadership position in my cultural club for 2 years, and I'm going to try to find a place to volunteer this year. Did you apply this cycle?

I applied last cycle, I start school in 15 days! (Eeeeek)
I would definitely get some volunteering in, my DAT scores weren't super competitive and I think what helped me was my volunteering. If you read the schools mission statement and it takes about giving back to community or community outreach, they definitely will want to see that reflected on your application.

 

[CAP20]

I applied last cycle, I start school in 15 days! (Eeeeek)
I would definitely get some volunteering in, my DAT scores weren't super competitive and I think what helped me was my volunteering. If you read the schools mission statement and it takes about giving back to community or community outreach, they definitely will want to see that reflected on your application.

Wow, nice! Congrats and good luck! Which school if I may ask?

 

[Jlm50]

Wow, nice! Congrats and good luck! Which school if I may ask?

Thank you! I was accepted to BU and UNE and will be attending UNE