I need some help/feedback guys with my situations.

[philophob]

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I am a non-traditional student. (I have BS in Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech)
I have worked for IBM for an year and decided that I want to get into medical field.
My undergraduate GPA is 2.78 (sciences are about 3.0) My weak point is the GPA. (GT is hard school imo, at least back when I was undergrad.)
My DATs(Most recent one) are(I've taken DAT 3 times now, scores in parenthesis are the best scores among 3 DATs.):
AA:18
PA:21 (22)
QR:17 (18)
RC:17 (18)
BIO:16
GC:19
OC:17 (18)
TS:17
I have done few unique things while I was in undergrad at GT. I did exchange program at Oxford Univ and voluteered/shadowed 5-6 dentists over 200 hours.
Basically, I took pre-req courses and some adv. sciences such as BIO I,II/G.Chem I,II/O.Chem I,II/BioChem/MicroBiology/MolecularBio.

I am 29 yrs old and gosh I feel like I am getting too old for starting all over... what can I do to improve my overall application?
I am debating if I should apply one more time or just forget about getting into dental schools...🙁

Also if I decided to go for it one last time, what are the things that I can do to improve myself/application?

I have been looking at post-bac programs for pre-med (predental) at various schools.

Right off the bat, I think I need to improve my DATs to like 20s then I might have chance at low tiered schools.
I think I need to get in a program where it will help me prepare myself for better DAT scores. Doing everything on my own is not working out for me.

So things that I want to ask you guys out there are:
1) What are the options I have to improve my application?
2) As for the post-bac programs, which schools will most benefit students like myself?
3) Is re-taking courses for better grades always help you? 😕
4) Ultimately, what would you guys do if you were in my shoes? 😳

Thank you very much for your time reading my post/quesitons.
Have a great weekend and congratulations to those who got in this cycle!!



p.s. My brother is at Upenn Dental school, and I applied this cycle and got rejected. Maybe I should get into Upenn Postbac program? Is that a good idea? Maybe I will have tiny bit of an edge having my brother already attending Upenn dental. But my GPA is big let down though...sigh...

 

[cybermech]

Yeaaa, as the advice usually goes... if the GPA is low, the DATs need to be stellar. Go for 21+ with nothing under 18 in any category. Kaplan DAT is good, but I think it's only good for a 20. You need to just study your texts or buy MCAT/GRE materials to score the 21+.

 

[eldirty]

I think a post-bac to raise your GPA is the way to go. I dont have any program suggestions as im unfamiliar with the various programs available. Unfortunately youre going to have to have the ADA approve a request to retake the DAT again as it will be your 4th time.

Does anyone have any experience with this application for a 4th DAT?

If I were you I would seriously evaluate my decision to becoming a dentist and if that what you have your heart set on ... go for it!

 

[jamezli]

I too went to GT and I can tell you that you do have a chance in getting in dental school. you can do a one year masters program at PCOM in Georgia which offers night classes (http://www.pcom.edu/general_information/Untitled/Graduate_Programs_in.html) or take post-bac classes at GSU. As long as you have an upward trend in your GPA you should be fine. Schools like MCG look at your final 30 hours of classes and they look very favorably at older applicants like you (esp b/c of the maturity). BTW, just call MCG or any school you applied earlier to get approval to take the DAT the 4th time. Make sure you get at least 19s!! Get kaplan, dat destroyer, dat achiever, topscore and mcat hyperlearning..these are all investments that are well WORTH it.

I know a dentist who graduated from Georgia Tech and didn't get in till his 3rd try. He had to get 2 more degrees from Tech before he got in MCG (BS/MS in Bio). He raised his GPA from 2.9 to 3.2.

Good luck and never give up!

 

[philophob]

Thank you so much all for great info/feedback/encouragement!!
I will have to look into post-bac program and work on my DAT to get around 20s...

 

[xhamburgersamx]

Sounds like you want to get into dentistry not for the money but to be in health care and do good for people. With that said, your low GPA and DAT are going to keep you from getting interviews even at the low-tiered schools. You need to raise your GPA to at least 3.2 and have a dat score of 20+ to be successful. Even with those stats, it is hard these days as more and more people are applying to professional school .

If i were you, I would take re-take the basic science courses at community college and other upper SCIENCE classes at a local 4 year school. If you can get 40 - 60 credits/units of A work, you'll have a really good shot to get into a large private school - this is assuming you re-take your DAT. A real post-bacc program is unnecessary if you can create your own.

You should begin now with spring quarter and wait to apply in may of 2010, you'll have a decent shot. I can't say for sure this is what is best for you but if you want to get into dental school so badily, this is probably your only realistic way.

 

[philophob]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply hamburgersam.
At first, I was only interested in dentistry for the money and what not.
But after I really got into it, it is really rewarding and you get to work for the people. ( i really hated working with computer all day ><)
Anyways, I do think what you have suggested is only way to go for me.
I really need to re-evaluate and I feel that I need to start over.

Anyways thank you very much again for great feedback/info.
I wish all of you the best of luck and have a great productive year ahead.

Sounds like you want to get into dentistry not for the money but to be in health care and do good for people. With that said, your low GPA and DAT are going to keep you from getting interviews even at the low-tiered schools. You need to raise your GPA to at least 3.2 and have a dat score of 20+ to be successful. Even with those stats, it is hard these days as more and more people are applying to professional school .

If i were you, I would take re-take the basic science courses at community college and other upper SCIENCE classes at a local 4 year school. If you can get 40 - 60 credits/units of A work, you'll have a really good shot to get into a large private school - this is assuming you re-take your DAT. A real post-bacc program is unnecessary if you can create your own.

You should begin now with spring quarter and wait to apply in may of 2010, you'll have a decent shot. I can't say for sure this is what is best for you but if you want to get into dental school so badily, this is probably your only realistic way.

 

[GoBlueJays]

So things that I want to ask you guys out there are:
1) What are the options I have to improve my application?
2) As for the post-bac programs, which schools will most benefit students like myself?
3) Is re-taking courses for better grades always help you? 😕
4) Ultimately, what would you guys do if you were in my shoes? 😳

Philophizz:

I was in a similar situation to you. I was too caught up being a D-bag in college so I received some lackluster grades (I too went to an ACC school).

I would recommend a Masters program if that is financially possible. If you crunch the numbers, taking undergraduate courses may not improve your GPA very much; especially if you have taken more than a few units.

I went to grad school at Johns Hopkins and got a pretty stout GPA. I received 4 interviews and received 2 acceptances (I withdrew prior to rejection/acceptance at the other 2).

Ultimately, I would recommend the path I took because it worked. I am hopeful it would work for you as well.

Might want to bump up those science scores as well. I know that you have to have something to make interviewers forget the nonsense that occurred in undergrad. Whether that is a gnarly DAT or a filthy GPA; you have to same something when they say, "Why are your science grades from UG bush league?"

Regards,
GoBlueJays