I screwed up badly

[Testudo2014]

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This is my first post on SDN, so hi everyone. Anyways, I have 2 questions. I have no idea how long this will be so please bear with me.

I've been considering dental school for a while now. I'll be a sophomore in the fall at the University of Maryland. Long story short, I screwed up badly first semester of freshman year. I did absolutely nothing and ended up with a 0.75 GPA (yes, you read that right). Yeah, I know I screwed up so please don't chastise me. Trust me, I beat myself up enough about it after the fact.

Fast forward to second semester. I actually put in some effort and produced work that I knew I was capable of. I ended up getting a 3.8 for the second semester.

Now, my school has a policy that if you retake a class you took first semester the new grade will replace the old one in your GPA. I retook one class this summer that I took in the fall and got an A. This will replace the D I got originally. I will be retaking the other classes later on. So as it currently stands, my GPA is 2.7.

I guess my question is, do I even have a chance at dental school (assuming I kick ass from here on out)? Or will my horrible first semester pretty much prevent me from ever getting admitted?

My second question is: is it too late to get started on the dental school admissions process? I haven't shadowed a dentist or taken any of the prerequisites or anything like that. I wouldn't even be able to start with the classes until second semester of this year because all of the intro Bio and Chem classes are full.

I would really appreciate any help you guys could give me. Thanks.

 

[bing12]

I believe that even if your school replaces the grade, AADSAS( the dental application website) counts every single grade you have in ur gpa, regardless of whether its a retake or not ( so both the "D" and the "A" will be counted)

This is from the AADSAS FAQ, under GPA calculations:

Q: I repeated a course as an undergraduate. My undergraduate institution only counts the second grade earned in my GPA. Why are both grades counted in my ADEA AADSAS GPA?
A: As a standard business rule, when applicants repeat courses, ADEA AADSAS calculates the grades earned in both the original and the repeated course, even if the institution does not. This provides a consistent way of evaluating all applicants from all colleges and universities.



Yes you do have a chance at dental school, just make sure you do great every other semester.



Start shadowing a dentist, try to get 50-100 hrs of shadowing in.

 

[DocWheels]

Yeah you are fine. If I read things right I don't think you understand that you usually need a bachelors degree before you matriculate into dental school. That .75 GPA is a killer, but if you get around a 3.8 for the next 6 semesters (considering it takes you 8 to graduate) you should be fine. You ask if it is too late to apply? It seems like its WAY too early. You have to finish 2 semesters of gen chem, 2 semesters of O chem, 2 semesters of Bio, and 2 semesters of Physics, AND the rest of the credits for your bachelors. If I read things right you can apply in a couple years.

 

[indo386boi]

As long as you show an upward trend, you're gonna be ok
Also do good in your upper division classes.
You can start shadowing dentist and volunteering
You will start to apply for dschool at the end of your third year so you still have 2 years

 

[Testudo2014]

Yeah you are fine. If I read things right I don't think you understand that you usually need a bachelors degree before you matriculate into dental school. That .75 GPA is a killer, but if you get around a 3.8 for the next 6 semesters (considering it takes you 8 to graduate) you should be fine. You ask if it is too late to apply? It seems like its WAY too early. You have to finish 2 semesters of gen chem, 2 semesters of O chem, 2 semesters of Bio, and 2 semesters of Physics, AND the rest of the credits for your bachelors. If I read things right you can apply in a couple years.

No, I know I have to take all those classes first and graduate. I just figured that most people knew they wanted to go to dental school before their sophomore year of college and so they started preparing for dental school as soon as they entered college. Therefore, I was wondering if I would be a year behind everyone else/if it was too late.

Re-reading that still made it sound confusing, but I hope my explanation helped. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[DocWheels]

No, I know I have to take all those classes first and graduate. I just figured that most people knew they wanted to go to dental school before their sophomore year of college and so they started preparing for dental school as soon as they entered college. Therefore, I was wondering if I would be a year behind everyone else/if it was too late.

Re-reading that still made it sound confusing, but I hope my explanation helped. Thanks for the help everyone.

Oh. I think you are fine. Just try hard, get good grades, look for extra curricular activities, and get 100+ shadowing hours, and 2-3 months before the DAT start getting ready for that. Top priorities: Good grades + Good DAT scores.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

No, I know I have to take all those classes first and graduate. I just figured that most people knew they wanted to go to dental school before their sophomore year of college and so they started preparing for dental school as soon as they entered college. Therefore, I was wondering if I would be a year behind everyone else/if it was too late.

Re-reading that still made it sound confusing, but I hope my explanation helped. Thanks for the help everyone.

Yeah... edit your post and rephrase that please lol.

Also, you're only 2 semesters in, it should still be very easy to fix your gpa assuming that you are consistent with your current trend. Its when you've already taken enough credits for 3-4 years that it gets VERY hard to drastically change your gpa. 😛

 

[lululime]

To OP, you are going to have to put in a lot of effort over the next few years. Getting high grades is not easy. It is easy to get high grades if you are repeating a class, so be prepared for higher division classes. Good luck.

 

[NguyenDDS]

It's still very possible, but you have to put the effort in 🙂 You're only beginning your sophomore year. You still have a lot of time. But you have to do very well from now on, take upper-science courses, show the strong upward trend, and then I think you have a great chance. Also, you need to do well enough on the DAT, but I wouldn't take it until you finished your prereqs. Focus on your school work and getting good grades. Also, maybe during the summer or your break times, shadow dentists and do community service activities. Good luck!! 🙂

 

[theilleztpaki]

it's still very possible, but you have to put the effort in 🙂 you're only beginning your sophomore year. You still have a lot of time. But you have to do very well from now on, take upper-science courses, show the strong upward trend, and then i think you have a great chance. Also, you need to do well enough on the dat, but i wouldn't take it until you finished your prereqs. Focus on your school work and getting good grades. Also, maybe during the summer or your break times, shadow dentists and do community service activities. Good luck!! 🙂

+2🙂

 

[SN1]

It's still very possible, but you have to put the effort in 🙂 You're only beginning your sophomore year. You still have a lot of time. But you have to do very well from now on, take upper-science courses, show the strong upward trend, and then I think you have a great chance. Also, you need to do well enough on the DAT, but I wouldn't take it until you finished your prereqs. Focus on your school work and getting good grades. Also, maybe during the summer or your break times, shadow dentists and do community service activities. Good luck!! 🙂

👍

This woman always gives the best advice. Sanguine and constructive.