"Improving" Science GPA

[gamecock83]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I graduated a little under a year ago, and have so far been unsucessful in getting into dental school. I have a 3.46 Overall GPA, but a 3.1 Science GPA. I am beginning to work in a dental office in the next few weeks, and studying to take the DAT again (18/19/18) thus far. I feel very confident about improving DAT scores, but has anyone seen any trends that might help an admissions committee overlook the science GPA. With so many hours already taken, A's wouldn't boost the average very much. Does going back and taking a couple graduate level science classes (and getting A's) improve my chances?

Thanks for any help.

 

[DUBS]

I graduated a little under a year ago, and have so far been unsucessful in getting into dental school. I have a 3.46 Overall GPA, but a 3.1 Science GPA. I am beginning to work in a dental office in the next few weeks, and studying to take the DAT again (18/19/18) thus far. I feel very confident about improving DAT scores, but has anyone seen any trends that might help an admissions committee overlook the science GPA. With so many hours already taken, A's wouldn't boost the average very much. Does going back and taking a couple graduate level science classes (and getting A's) improve my chances?

Thanks for any help.

i don't think they will ever completely overlook the science gpa, but if you pull a solid score on the topical sciences section that can definitely play to your advantage. but i seriously think your gpa is good enough to get you into some schools. it just depends on where you applied, and what kind of EC's you have. definitely write a strong personal statement.

 

[gamecock83]

i don't think they will ever completely overlook the science gpa, but if you pull a solid score on the topical sciences section that can definitely play to your advantage. but i seriously think your gpa is good enough to get you into some schools. it just depends on where you applied, and what kind of EC's you have. definitely write a strong personal statement.

DUBS- What schools would you think might play in my favor? I made the mistake of applying to the only school in my state (MUSC)- interviewed in November but hear I'm probably not getting in. I've been looking at Louisville, VCU, Case, Tufts, Marquette, Creighton, and maybe Tennesse for next year. Any other suggestions? Thanks

 

[Generallee]

gamecock83,

I feel your pain. I have very similar stats: 3.25 Overall, 3.17 Science, 3.34 BCP, DAT 18/19/18 (Exactly the same as yours). I interviewed at two schools this cycle and I'm not confident that I'll get anymore. I was told by some schools to retake my DAT's and I was told by other schools that my DAT's are fine and they wouldn't retake it. I knew that when I took the DAT's that my scores were on the bubble but I took the "risk" of not retaking it because I honestly thought that I scored just well enough to get into at least some schools. I realize now that I probably should have retaken it.

I've come to a realization that extracirriculars, research, dental assisting, and shadowing (all of which I had plenty of experience) is nice, but is not going to balance out a low science GPA. In my opinion, if you cannot raise your science GPA because of too many credits already built up, then the only alternative is to get 20's across the board. Fortunately for me, if I get all A's this semester, I'll pull my science GPA up to a 3.3 and BCP up to a 3.5.

I myself am debating wether to retake the DAT's again because I met with the assistant admissions coordinator for the school I wish to attend (my state school) and the coordinator told me that my DAT scores were good enough and not to retake it. (The reason I didn't get interviewed there this cycle was because all of my pre-reqs weren't complete before I applied -- which caught me by surprise, but that's another story). I think if I don't get in this cycle, I'll have to retake it because I don't want to go through this again.

But, one advice I can tell you is to get to know the admissions staff and/or "directors of admissions", etc. Get your name and face known to them if possible and let them know way ahead of time that you are interested in their program. Share with them your ambitions and drive. Based on some people I know, this seemed to work really well!

 

[DUBS]

DUBS- What schools would you think might play in my favor? I made the mistake of applying to the only school in my state (MUSC)- interviewed in November but hear I'm probably not getting in. I've been looking at Louisville, VCU, Case, Tufts, Marquette, Creighton, and maybe Tennesse for next year. Any other suggestions? Thanks

yeah, never take a chance of applying to only one school. as long as you haven't been rejected, you still have hope...so hang in there. with your stats you have good shots of getting into case, tufts, BU, NYU, and maybe some others. there have been threads on SDN with each school's individual avg. stats listed, so look that up. but remember, with each cycle the notion of "safety schools" is going down the drain as each school is getting harder to get into. the key is to apply early as possible. good luck.