Inspiring Success Stories: REAL or FALSE HOPE?

[davidae85]

I've been a member of this board for several months now. I have read countless stories of people who decide pursue dental school but have low undergraduate GPA, and need to go back into a post-bacc program or whatever in order to improve coursework. I have heard so much about people wanting to go to dent school and having the desire, but I have rarely heard of someone actually getting in after being a non-trad. This is not a knock on this board or anybody in it. But the other day I realized that I've heard more hopeful (and in some cases wishful) talk than I've heard retrospective success, "I actually did it" talk. So has anybody here actually ACTUALLY GOTTEN IN after putting in some time?

I would really appreciate any motivating or inspiring stories right now. Thanks

And maybe stories of those who have failed and given up. Just to be realistic.

Please share even if its just a story youve heard about someone else.

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[AndrewNJ]

Well, I guess I'm a success story.

I'll be starting Dental School this fall after graduating from Penn Engineering back in 2000 with a 2.5 GPA. I spent 6 years in the Navy and 2 in the Defense Department before deciding I wanted to go to Dental School. So I quit my job, enrolled in a post-bacc and applied myself this time around. Post-bacc GPA was 3.8ish for both overall and science, and I scored a 24TS/23AA on the DAT. I applied really late (End of October) to 13 schools, got 7 interviews, went to 4, and received 3 acceptances and a wait list.

Its been a long two years that I've felt like my life has been on hold, but all the work paid off, and I'll be starting the next chapter and making forward progress again this August. While my work history helped, I had a deep hole to climb out of, academically. But now you've heard at least one person who did it on SDN. There are plenty more around.

 

[flabernak]

Try being 31 years old with 70 credits of past undergrad work with a whopping 2.2 GPA and 7 F's. What I thought was a long shot became reality this year. Quit my career in IT which I had done very well in back in 2007, and went back for a bio degree. Had to pull a 3.8 on all science courses just to get my overall above minimum standards. And had to score well on the DAT to compensate. No masters or post-bac just undergrad. All the work paid off, 13 schools applied and 5 interviews. Will graduate a DMD right before my 40th bday.

 

[BruinDentist]

I'm going to have to be the downer here.

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible, but basically I had an undergrad GPA of about 2.4 with multiple F's, drops, and withdrawals. I was both suspended and dismissed from school, but I eventually graduated. I also got a DUI. I decided to pursue dental school 3 years ago and starting doing post-bac work taking prereqs and upper division science courses for two years. I managed a 3.7, got 23AA 23PAT on the DAT, volunteered at the UCLA School of Dentistry, and took pre-dental lab courses. I applied to 17 schools, received no interviews and 13 rejections so far.

I couldn't find any dentists willing to let me shadow and most of the classes I took were repeats, but I thought I had a chance this cycle. It's disheartening because I've been doing nothing since I applied in June and haven't been able to even find a job to fill in the gap year. I've already applied to some SMP's for next year, but that's more money down the drain and 2 more years to wait (1 year of school and another gap year after applying). That's going to be 5 years total that I'm going to spend just trying to get into dental school. Then I'm going to have to spend another 4 more years in dental school. By the time I start making money, I'll be 36 years old and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

I'm seriously considering giving up just because it doesn't seem worth it financially, especially at my age. Tuition is ridiculously expensive, loan rates are terrible, and Los Angeles (where I plan to live) is saturated with dentists. I guess I'll just wait and see if I get accepted into any Master's programs and decide then, but seriously, these gap years are f***ing killing me.

 

[mfoti1]

Psh why worry about other people. If you think you can do it and if you put all your effort towards it, why wouldn't you be able to make it? That's my thinking

 

[atoothdoc]

BruinDentist - Thank you for sharing your experiences I and good luck ! looks like USC is relative easier to get in

 

[dentalWorks]

started post-bacc in 2007.... applied first time last june.... i am ex-software engineer.

The reason why you don't hear many success stories is because... once non-trads make it, they often don't come back and post on SDN.

But there are non-trads, believe me, and many are successful.... Ofc I am assuming they don't have a 2.0 undergrad GPA.

 

[atoothdoc]

AndrewNJ , flatbernak

Thank you somuch for inspiring success story ! tons of
congratulations !

besides your upward stats, what do you think helped you : work experiences, persistence... what did you say about your low undergad GPA in your personal statement ? did they bring it up during interview ? I have very low gpa, I am concerned about that although I will get a SMP.

maybe you both have a amazing personal statement... I am very interested in learning from you becasue I'm in a similar situation.


Thanks a lot !

 

[dentalWorks]

AndrewNJ , flatbernak

Thank you somuch for inspiring success story ! tons of
congratulations !

besides your upward stats, what do you think helped you : work experiences, persistence... what did you say about your low undergad GPA in your personal statement ? did they bring it up during interview ? I have very low gpa, I am concerned about that although I will get a SMP.

maybe you both have a amazing personal statement... I am very interested in learning from you becasue I'm in a similar situation.


Thanks a lot !

IMO, you should never bring up anything negative into your PS (academically speaking)... why would you direct their attention into your weakest link?

My personal statement was average, nothing fancy and nothing horrible. Just plain-ole me talking about why I wanted to become a dentist.... I never brought up my bad-GPA history. I'd be more than happy to share my PS with anyone... just PM me

And yes, some interviews did ask about my bad grades... I was honest, I told them I wasn't very serious in my initial undergrad years, a costly mistake that I would never repeat again, and I can prove it if they just look at my most recent post-bacc history (3 strong years)

 

[AndrewNJ]

Like DentalWorks, I didn't really bring up my bad GPA history. However, in my personal statement, I did talk about how my service in the Navy had helped me develop the maturity, focus, and direction I thought I had been lacking in my younger years. I went on to support that with my achievements as a Naval Officer and my post-bacc academic record.

Interviewers didn't seem to care much that my AADSAS reported oGPA was 2.61 . My work history and current academic standing was of far more importance. I think I come off as very confident and mature as well, which plays a huge role in the interview. No awkward pauses between me and the interviewer

 

[atoothdoc]

DentalWorks and AndrewNJ – Thank you very much for your advices ! I've learned from you ! Thank you again for sharing inspirational experiences !

Talking about personal statement, should I bring the following up in my personal statement ? I know most people can behave like that but I want admission officers see more positive things about me instead of rejecting me right away due to my undergrad GPA. I keep hearing undergrad GPA is the most important stat so I got petrified.

My mother started to seriously support my idea of becoming a dentist on 9/11 because after we left our school in WTC area I stopped at blood donation booth (later rejected since I was under 18). My parents were surprised to see I kept myself so calm under very scary and stressful circumstances and my willingness to help the wounded victims.
My parents worked near WTC area and they saw how horrible it was. It was my first week of 9th grade in
Stuyvesant high school which is across street from WTC . Our entire class witnessed the collapse of the tower and our school yard was covered by debris!
Before that day, my parents saw me as overprotected and shy girl however on that day I earned their confidence that I have courage , strength and heart to provide care to needed ones.

If I put it in personal statement , I will keep it very concise.

I appreciate your candid opinion, I don't know how it will be perceived, may be some people see it as irrelevant to dentist career ?

 

[pogue]

I graduated with a degree in biology and a 2.4 overall GPA. I started working in industry and making pretty good money ($70k and building), but I hated what I was doing.

2007-2008: I switched to a night position and took classes during the day (organic I and II.). After those were finished I applied to a 1-year grad program and was rejected. I applied for a second BS, this time in chemistry, and was promptly rejected.

2008-2009: I took a severance from work and went back to school 3/4 time and took anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochem, etc. I applied to dental school and the 1-year grad program again. I was interviewed for dental school and accepted into the graduate program.

2009-2010: I was in the grad program. I applied again to dental school, had an interview the first week, and a Dec. 1 phone call for acceptance.

The most frustrating part of this process was how little the undergraduate institution cared about my goals. They only saw a checkered academic history but they refused to take into account anything I had done since graduation.

The most helpful people were dental school admissions staff- especially the director. I met with him three times and he offered more help than I took. It would have been a very discouraging experience without the dental school "cheering me on".

I did enjoy proving all the haters wrong. Haters gonna hate!

 

[doc toothache]

[Talking about personal statement, should I bring the following up in my personal statement ? I know most people can behave like that but I want admission officers see more positive things about me instead of rejecting me right away due to my undergrad GPA. I keep hearing undergrad GPA is the most important stat so I got petrified.My mother started to seriously support my idea of becoming a dentist on 9/11 because after we left our school in WTC area I stopped at blood donation booth (later rejected since I was under 18).My parents worked near WTC area and they saw how horrible it was. It was my first week of 9th grade in Our entire class witnessed the collapse of the tower and our school yard was covered by debris![/SIZE].
If I put it in personal statement , I will keep it very concise.[/SIZE].

I appreciate your candid opinion, I don’t know how it will be perceived, may be some people see it as irrelevant to dentist career ?

It is more a question how you weave the info into your ps rather than the info iteself. Keep in mind, however, that the exceptional experience you may have had isn't going to be of much help when you are asked to perform in your anatomy course. Do you need your mother's support to make a career decision?

 

[flabernak]

AndrewNJ , flatbernak

Thank you somuch for inspiring success story ! tons of
congratulations !

besides your upward stats, what do you think helped you : work experiences, persistence... what did you say about your low undergad GPA in your personal statement ? did they bring it up during interview ? I have very low gpa, I am concerned about that although I will get a SMP.

maybe you both have a amazing personal statement... I am very interested in learning from you becasue I'm in a similar situation.


Thanks a lot !

I didn't mention anything about my past grades in my PS. I did have to talk about the contrast from my past/present grades during a couple interviews, but it was easy to defend considering my recent performance. Work experience was huge for me, I had a 10+ year career in IT and started it when I was 19. It was basically my life during my 20's so I had to emphasize it. The other points I tried to get across were my reasons for doing this, tying my volunteer work into my philanthropic nature.

One reminder, talk to everyone you know. You never know you might find an inside contact at a dental school. I just emailed my former manager last week thanking him for everything he did for me years ago, and he responds by telling me his best friend since high school is a professor at UPenn dental. Go figure, I should have emailed him a year ago.

 

[flabernak]

It is more a question how you weave the info into your ps rather than the info iteself. Keep in mind, however, that the exceptional experience you may have had isn't going to be of much help when you are asked to perform in your anatomy course. Do you need your mother's support to make a career decision?

Doc makes a valid point. The dental schools need to know that you have the ability, intelligence, maturity, responsibility etc... to be successful in a rigorous program. Trying to tell sob stories and such alone does not sell you as a smart person. Find a way to let them know how smart you are, and then worry about your kind nature.

For me, I talked about how I taught myself to write computer programs when I was 18 and turned it into a career starting at 19. Think about what you have done that shows your capabilities... emphasize them. Good luck!

 

[jkb53433]

Well, I guess I'm a success story.

I'll be starting Dental School this fall after graduating from Penn Engineering back in 2000 with a 2.5 GPA. I spent 6 years in the Navy and 2 in the Defense Department before deciding I wanted to go to Dental School. So I quit my job, enrolled in a post-bacc and applied myself this time around. Post-bacc GPA was 3.8ish for both overall and science, and I scored a 24TS/23AA on the DAT. I applied really late (End of October) to 13 schools, got 7 interviews, went to 4, and received 3 acceptances and a wait list.

Its been a long two years that I've felt like my life has been on hold, but all the work paid off, and I'll be starting the next chapter and making forward progress again this August. While my work history helped, I had a deep hole to climb out of, academically. But now you've heard at least one person who did it on SDN. There are plenty more around.

very inspiring ;( but ive been pursuing dentistry since i was 18 ...n im going on 25 =( been to dental assisting school ...working as a dental assistant and i have a 3.5 gpa still no acceptance (i had low dat scores) ...retook my dat this time around got a 22TS/21AA/20PAT...i hope i get in this time or else i dunno what else i can do to improve...

 

[atoothdoc]

pogue, doc toothache, flabernak - Thank you so much for sharing your wisodm with me !!!
hope you keep coming back and tell us more about your application process !
I've learned a lot from this site ! Thanks a million and good luck to you all !
pogue - which grad prog you got in in case you don't mind ? I prefer a grad prog that has
linkage to dental school. is that your case ?

 

[yappy]

You have the numbers to achieve your goals & the experience. Good work & good luck!

very inspiring ;( but ive been pursuing dentistry since i was 18 ...n im going on 25 =( been to dental assisting school ...working as a dental assistant and i have a 3.5 gpa still no acceptance (i had low dat scores) ...retook my dat this time around got a 22TS/21AA/20PAT...i hope i get in this time or else i dunno what else i can do to improve...

 

[321931]

I'll be starting Dental School this fall after graduating from Penn Engineering back in 2000 with a 2.5 GPA. I spent 6 years in the Navy and 2 in the Defense Department before deciding I wanted to go to Dental School.

Sorry for deviating from the thread but...

I always wanted to be an engineer, but I didn't have the aptitude to become one. Physics/thermo/material science is very hard for me to grasp; however, I always had an interest whenever something related to those concepts came up on the news/popular science mag/documentaries etc.

It was always my dream to do something "top secret government" testing/creating new devices. I guess I'll go out on a limb here, but also, can you work for something like "AREA 51" research etc...

I'm just wondering what is the reality of actually landing a "job" like that. Does it exist? Is it reachable? Are you recruited...or do you apply? Do you have to be some super genius PHD from MIT etc?

Thanks for the answers!

 

[dentalWorks]

FOUND IT!!!!! You guys are going to love this one

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=780355

 

[lnngu]

Sorry for deviating from the thread but...

I always wanted to be an engineer, but I didn't have the aptitude to become one. Physics/thermo/material science is very hard for me to grasp; however, I always had an interest whenever something related to those concepts came up on the news/popular science mag/documentaries etc.

It was always my dream to do something "top secret government" testing/creating new devices. I guess I'll go out on a limb here, but also, can you work for something like "AREA 51" research etc...

I'm just wondering what is the reality of actually landing a "job" like that. Does it exist? Is it reachable? Are you recruited...or do you apply? Do you have to be some super genius PHD from MIT etc?

Thanks for the answers!

He probably solved some crazy math puzzle while working there as a janitor. Errr, wait.....

 

[AndrewNJ]

Sorry for deviating from the thread but...

I always wanted to be an engineer, but I didn't have the aptitude to become one. Physics/thermo/material science is very hard for me to grasp; however, I always had an interest whenever something related to those concepts came up on the news/popular science mag/documentaries etc.

It was always my dream to do something "top secret government" testing/creating new devices. I guess I'll go out on a limb here, but also, can you work for something like "AREA 51" research etc...

I'm just wondering what is the reality of actually landing a "job" like that. Does it exist? Is it reachable? Are you recruited...or do you apply? Do you have to be some super genius PHD from MIT etc?

Thanks for the answers!

Hah, good question! Of course, top secret research facilities exist but I certainly didn't work for any of them . If you enjoy reading about this stuff, you might enjoy a book called "Skunk Works", which is all about the development of the SR-71 Blackbird (probably the coolest jet ever!) and the F-117A Nighthawk at the Lockheed Martin R&D facilities. I thought it was a great read with lots of funny stories. Defense contractors probably handle a lot of the projects you are thinking about.

But to get hired at a place like that, I'm sure you have to be both a genius and recruitment would help. Or you could double major in international relations and Farsi and go apply to the CIA . Intelligence and cryptology are good avenues to government secrets as well.

 

[dentalWorks]

He probably solved some crazy math puzzle while working there as a janitor. Errr, wait.....

ahhh one of Matt Damon's best

 

[Star88]

.

 

[sarah_bellum]

Try being 31 years old with 70 credits of past undergrad work with a whopping 2.2 GPA and 7 F's. What I thought was a long shot became reality this year. Quit my career in IT which I had done very well in back in 2007, and went back for a bio degree. Had to pull a 3.8 on all science courses just to get my overall above minimum standards. And had to score well on the DAT to compensate. No masters or post-bac just undergrad. All the work paid off, 13 schools applied and 5 interviews. Will graduate a DMD right before my 40th bday.

My story almost exactly, even down to the previous field.