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[slimdentshady]

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Hi!
So I graduated from undergrad with a GPA of 3.39 and a sGPA of 3.34. I got a 19 AA/ 20 Bio, 21 GC, 21 OC/ 19 PAT/ 17 RC. I am about to start my MPH and ive applied to several dental schools but i haven't received any interviews yet. I applied pretty early as well (early june). For those of you that are in a similar situation, or have been through this process (of doing a masters before dental school), can you please give me advise is there is something else i can do along with the masters that would better my chances now (if it's not too late) or for when i apply next cycle?

 

[beyondme]

Hi!
So I graduated from undergrad with a GPA of 3.39 and a sGPA of 3.34. I got a 19 AA/ 20 Bio, 21 GC, 21 OC/ 19 PAT/ 17 RC. I am about to start my MPH and ive applied to several dental schools but i haven't received any interviews yet. I applied pretty early as well (early june). For those of you that are in a similar situation, or have been through this process (of doing a masters before dental school), can you please give me advise is there is something else i can do along with the masters that would better my chances now (if it's not too late) or for when i apply next cycle?

Personally, I would try to retake the DAT. The way I see it, if you have a sub-par GPA, you want to be able to stand out academically. Since your undergrad is now complete, the only thing you can significantly change in a matter of a few months is your DAT score - although if you retake for this year, it may or may not help given how late in the cycle you will be taking it.

It is good that you are getting a MPH (although some of the courses may not count towards your sGPA). Your Masters will ultimately count towards something, especially if you get a GPA > 3.50, but you will not have your first set of graduate grades until at least December of this year. And even then, I'm not sure how significant 1 semester of grades in a graduate program is in the eyes of adcoms.

I wish you the best of luck! It is not an easy path but it will hopefully be worth it in the end 🙂

 

[slimdentshady]

I’m somewhat on the same boat as you with DAT scores. I got 20 BIO, 19 GC, 21 OC, 19 PAT, 18 RC, 15 QR, 20 TS, 19 AA. This was my second time taking it by the way. I have a 3.55 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA and honestly don’t know what to expect. Not sure if I’m going to get interviews with it but a lot people told me I still have competitive science scores and should be able to get interviews if I have a strong application. It really depends on your application when applying with your stats. Just see how it goes this cycle and go from there. It’s still early to receive interviews from most schools because I know someone that has a 3.9 cGPA and 3.8 sGPA and killed the DAT. He only got 2 out of 10 interviews so far.

-He submitted his application in Mid-July if you were curious

Thank you for sharing! Its somewhat comforting to know that im not the only one out there in this situation.

 

[slimdentshady]

Personally, I would try to retake the DAT. The way I see it, if you have a sub-par GPA, you want to be able to stand out academically. Since your undergrad is now complete, the only thing you can significantly change in a matter of a few months is your DAT score - although if you retake for this year, it may or may not help given how late in the cycle you will be taking it.

It is good that you are getting a MPH (although some of the courses may not count towards your sGPA). Your Masters will ultimately count towards something, especially if you get a GPA > 3.50, but you will not have your first set of graduate grades until at least December of this year. And even then, I'm not sure how significant 1 semester of grades in a graduate program is in the eyes of adcoms.

I wish you the best of luck! It is not an easy path but it will hopefully be worth it in the end 🙂

thank you!