I'm worried about my Science GPA and BCP

[Kobebucsfan]

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wow i just calculated my bcp gpa and its pretty bad.

bcp gpa is 2.96 and science gpa is 3.2, overall is 3.45

i still have orgo 1 and 2 labs, orgo 2 lecture and biochem to go , maybe those can raise it up. but i'm really nervous b/c im applying in june

my gpa has an upward trend though, early in my undergrad i got 3 C's in prereqs, then later on i got B+ and above but BCP gpa is too low.

Will an awesome DAT score cover up my bad gpa ?

 

[bing12]

get ur bcp to a 3.0, to well on DAT

 

[Maygyver]

wow i just calculated my bcp gpa and its pretty bad.

bcp gpa is 2.96 and science gpa is 3.2, overall is 3.45

i still have orgo 1 and 2 labs, orgo 2 lecture and biochem to go , maybe those can raise it up. but i'm really nervous b/c im applying in june

my gpa has an upward trend though, early in my undergrad i got 3 C's in prereqs, then later on i got B+ and above but BCP gpa is too low.

Will an awesome DAT score cover up my bad gpa ?

Your GPA is low to be completely honest. Make sure you apply broadly. I'm not sure what you really want to hear, but of course a higher DAT is going to help. A really low GPA however, is a pretty big red flag and might show a lack of serious effort in your studies.

If you're set on applying this year though, I guess there is nothing else you can do. Just hope for the best.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

Your GPA is low to be completely honest. Make sure you apply broadly. I'm not sure what you really want to hear, but of course a higher DAT is going to help. A really low GPA however, is a pretty big red flag and might show a lack of serious effort in your studies.

If you're set on applying this year though, I guess there is nothing else you can do. Just hope for the best.

yeah like i mentioned my freshman and sophomore, i f'd up in chem and orgo and got C's. but i took upper level like genetics,cellbio,molecular biology of gene and got B+'s and A

hopefully they see that i improved in upper level

i retook Bio1 and got A (prev. i got a C), should i retake chem 1 also - i got C+ first time but i'm good at chemistry now

 

[Maygyver]

Just do well on the chem section to show that you actually know the material. Use your time taking more difficult courses. Classes should be a lot easier the second time around, so I don't think it proves much.

 

[dantemac]

I think the true advice would be not to apply until that GPA is over 3, but in you're hellbent on it, apply broadly and crush the DAT. Make sure your LOR's are from professors who can attest to you getting good grades in their classes.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

I think the true advice would be not to apply until that GPA is over 3, but in you're hellbent on it, apply broadly and crush the DAT. Make sure your LOR's are from professors who can attest to you getting good grades in their classes.

yeah all my LOR's all from profs. that i got an A grade in


i am taking orgo 2 lecture in summer, so if i get a good grade it will jump over 3.0

i'm still unsure about whether to retake chem 1 in summer or not, if i get an A in this also, my bcp gpa will be 3.10


will retaking chem 1 look bad ?

 

[Maygyver]

yeah all my LOR's all from profs. that i got an A grade in


i am taking orgo 2 lecture in summer, so if i get a good grade it will jump over 3.0

i'm still unsure about whether to retake chem 1 in summer or not, if i get an A in this also, my bcp gpa will be 3.10


will retaking chem 1 look bad ?

Retaking courses doesn't replace the grade, so make sure you calculate the GPA properly. Why don't you just take a tougher upper level course?

 

[dentalWorks]

wow i just calculated my bcp gpa and its pretty bad.

bcp gpa is 2.96 and science gpa is 3.2, overall is 3.45

i still have orgo 1 and 2 labs, orgo 2 lecture and biochem to go , maybe those can raise it up. but i'm really nervous b/c im applying in june

my gpa has an upward trend though, early in my undergrad i got 3 C's in prereqs, then later on i got B+ and above but BCP gpa is too low.

Will an awesome DAT score cover up my bad gpa ?

If you can swing a solid 4-pt in those classes, it will help the BCP.... But I don't think you'll have them taken until after June right? And in which case, you won't be able to get your academic update in until mid November.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

Retaking courses doesn't replace the grade, so make sure you calculate the GPA properly. Why don't you just take a tougher upper level course?

i dont know what else to take

i already took genetics, cellbio, molecular biology

maybe i'll take physiology

 

[Kobebucsfan]

If you can swing a solid 4-pt in those classes, it will help the BCP.... But I don't think you'll have them taken until after June right? And in which case, you won't be able to get your academic update in until mid November.

i'm taking orgo 2 this summer and it ends in august, and i'm taking orgo lab and biochem in fall

so none of those grades will show up before schools reject or accept ?

 

[Maygyver]

i'm taking orgo 2 this summer and it ends in august, and i'm taking orgo lab and biochem in fall

so none of those grades will show up before schools reject or accept ?

Schools begin to accept on December 1st, but they might have rejected you by them just based on your GPA.

Take biochem? or anatomy? or physiology? or any more upper level stuff. Just look through the catalog at your school and figure out some classes in the biology major.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

Schools begin to accept on December 1st, but they might have rejected you by them just based on your GPA.

Take biochem? or anatomy? or physiology? or any more upper level stuff. Just look through the catalog at your school and figure out some classes in the biology major.

so if i dont get rejected or even accepted by december 1st , when will they see my FALL 2011 grades b/c my BCP gpa might have improved by then

 

[Maygyver]

so if i dont get rejected or even accepted by december 1st , when will they see my FALL 2011 grades b/c my BCP gpa might have improved by then

Mid November is when the update takes place. Honestly though, I feel like a lot of schools just have a blunt cut off point for the really low GPAs.

 

[dantemac]

yeah all my LOR's all from profs. that i got an A grade in


i am taking orgo 2 lecture in summer, so if i get a good grade it will jump over 3.0

i'm still unsure about whether to retake chem 1 in summer or not, if i get an A in this also, my bcp gpa will be 3.10


will retaking chem 1 look bad ?

Could you re-take chem 1? I know at my university if you take chem 2 or organic I/II your grade for chem I is locked in. In any case, I would not repreat. It is such basic stuff that you can master for the DAT & ochem.

 

[dentalWorks]

i'm taking orgo 2 this summer and it ends in august, and i'm taking orgo lab and biochem in fall

so none of those grades will show up before schools reject or accept ?

yeh... your problem is... once your click "Submit" on AADSAS, you have to wait till mid November to update the new GPA. And its not like the 2-3 classes taken over the summer+Fall is going to make THAT much of a difference. They'll prolly bring BCP to around 3.0-3.1.

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

yeah like i mentioned my freshman and sophomore, i f'd up in chem and orgo and got C's. but i took upper level like genetics,cellbio,molecular biology of gene and got B+'s and A

hopefully they see that i improved in upper level

i retook Bio1 and got A (prev. i got a C), should i retake chem 1 also - i got C+ first time but i'm good at chemistry now

Genetics and cell bio is upper level at your university? They both are considered low level classes at my university, and cell bio is actually considered one of the lowest science classes you can take (Im not trying to sound cocky by the way). I think you will do fine in orgo and biochem, as long as you are good at memorizing (thats what I did ha). Good luck to you!

 

[yappy]

@ dental - If a student is on semesters can they do the academic update in Dec? (My term will not end till dec 10th).

@ Dr. Royals - Some schools call courses different things which can cause some confusion. At my uni genetics is 300 level and cellular biology is 400 level. For both these classes you must take general bio 1&2, gen chem 1&2, biochem, and o chem 1&2 as prereqs.

 

[dentalWorks]

@ dental - I wanted to know if a student is on semesters can they do the academic update in Dec? (My term will not end till dec 10th).

@ Dr. Royals - Some schools call courses different things which can cause some confusion. I know at my school genetics is 300 level and cellular biology is 400 level. For both these classes you must take general bio 1&2, gen chem 1&2, biochem, and o chem 1&2.

Yeh.... this past cycle, the academic update period went from mid November till early Feb

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

@ dental - If a student is on semesters can they do the academic update in Dec? (My term will not end till dec 10th).

@ Dr. Royals - Some schools call courses different things which can cause some confusion. At my uni genetics is 300 level and cellular biology is 400 level. For both these classes you must take general bio 1&2, gen chem 1&2, biochem, and o chem 1&2 as prereqs.

Really? At my school, depending on your major, you do not need a pre-req to take general biology (take me for example- Natural Science major/chem minor). I beleive the only major that requires cell bio as a pre-req to upper level courses is nursing. I actually know a lot of pre-meds that take cell bio as an elective because it is very easy, but as you said, it varies from school to school. After I graduate, depending on how I do on the DAT, if I need to take a few more science classes, I will probably take cell bio. I am curious as to how other universities have the science programs set up.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

this might be stupid question but

if i take the DAT after submitting application, will the DAT scores automatically be updated right away or do i have to wait until the academic update ?

 

[yappy]

The point is that this isn't general bio at many schools. Cell bio is a class that focuses on molecular biology of the cell in such a detail that it requires biochem, o chem, etc. It is usuelly a mix 50:50 of graduate and UG students.

Really? At my school, depending on your major, you do not need a pre-req to take general biology

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

The point is that this isn't general bio at many schools. Cell bio is a class that focuses on molecular biology of the cell in such a detail that it requires biochem, o chem, etc. It is usuelly a mix 50:50 of graduate and UG students.

Yea, your right. If the majority of students at my university taking it are nursing majors, and its not a required course for bio/chem/natural science, its gotta be somewhat remedial (no offense to nurses).

 

[dentalWorks]

this might be stupid question but

if i take the DAT after submitting application, will the DAT scores automatically be updated right away or do i have to wait until the academic update ?

No the DAT scores don't arrive that late.... However, there is about 2-4 weeks worth of wait between the DAT date and when AADSAS receives the official score

 

[The Prologue]

I would think a 3.4 gpa is alright. Whats up with the negative comments saying its too low? General average seems to be around 3.5-3.7 with some schools below that. A nice upper trend and a good DAT score, I would say apply but maybe I'm too optimistic. But to say 3.4 is too low, eh.

 

[yappy]

I think the issue is that his BCP is below a 3.0. If his BCP and overall GPA were both at 3.4 I doubt his GPA would be an issue.
As you say it wouldnt be too far off and most likely meet some averages.

GPA is such a tough issue. Very difficult to fix. I'm gonig through the same struggle. I will most likely apply this cycle and continue to complete my UG to complete my degree and hit the 3.4 mark in a year in case I must reapply.

The OP raises a broader issue though. There is a situation in which an applicant is no longer able to raise their GPA (much). For example, if an applicant is starting from a 2.9 with a UG degree, and spends 2-3 years in postbacc doing very well, they will only arrive around 3.2-3.3 GPA. This doesnt exactly put them in great running for dental school.

My point is - or question rather - is there a point when an applicant should look towards the DAT to set themselves apart rather than focusing on a GPA they can hardly move? For example our post-bacc 3.2 applicant. Rather than doing a masters I wonder if it would be better to spend alot of time studying for the DAT to hit the 22 mark?

Just something I've been thinking about.

GL OP - tell us what you decide.

I would think a 3.4 gpa is alright. Whats up with the negative comments saying its too low? General average seems to be around 3.5-3.7 with some schools below that. A nice upper trend and a good DAT score, I would say apply but maybe I'm too optimistic. But to say 3.4 is too low, eh.

 

[Maygyver]

I would think a 3.4 gpa is alright. Whats up with the negative comments saying its too low? General average seems to be around 3.5-3.7 with some schools below that. A nice upper trend and a good DAT score, I would say apply but maybe I'm too optimistic. But to say 3.4 is too low, eh.

Because a 2.96 is really low. Schools want student who have proven that they can succeed on a lower level before they let them in to the tougher level and a 2.96 simply doesn't really show much promise.

 

[Kobebucsfan]

the things is i still have couple pre-reqs to take but those will all finish after FALL 2011 so my application wont get updated until after academic update. which sucks b/c my BCP gpa would probably go up to 3.2 maybe. and my science gpa to 3.4.

 

[Maygyver]

the things is i still have couple pre-reqs to take but those will all finish after FALL 2011 so my application wont get updated until after academic update. which sucks b/c my BCP gpa would probably go up to 3.2 maybe. and my science gpa to 3.4.

I doubt your GPA would go up almost 3 tenths. Did you calculate it? Are you totally against not applying this year?

 

[Kobebucsfan]

I doubt your GPA would go up almost 3 tenths. Did you calculate it? Are you totally against not applying this year?

i'm def. applying this year. im taking DAT in a month


i just dont want to get rejected before all my other grades comes in also

 

[Maygyver]

i'm def. applying this year. im taking DAT in a month


i just dont want to get rejected before all my other grades comes in also

The only way to assure of that is to not apply until your grades are in. I doubt a few courses will really make that much of a difference though.