Is 3.3 GPA considered competitive?

[hsia2]

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Is 3.3 GPA would be even considered?
I have good upward academic trend (5 year university, last 90credits = 3.6 GPA)
I did only ok on DAT 19/19/19 (retake again soon)
I also have reserach, dentist shadow and international dental volunteer experiences
Should I do a master? or just keep trying for the next cycle..?

I have not heard back from USC or UoP this year (I am pretty sure my chances are quite slim)

Thanks for all the feedbacks!!

 

[whlee84]

no. 3.3 GPA is not competitive. it's well below the average matriculating student. however, you can definitely get accepted to a school with a 3.3 GPA and 19 DAT. Just get good letters, write a good essay, and rock your interview. and also, make sure you apply to a variety of schools, not just california schools. good luck!

 

[shinbone86]

I firmly believe that admissions committee uses a filter system where they look at the numbers before event taking a look at the other components.

3.3 was average 10 years ago. 3.3 is still competitive depending on the type of major and difficulty level of the school, but it is still below the average. I had a 3.35 overall, but went to a top 30 liberal arts college with a biochemistry major so i think some of the schools i interviewed at cut me some slack.

To be on the safe side, I would retake the DAT and aim for a 20 or higher because that 1 point difference makes a huge difference from a numerical and psychological standpoint between getting an interview and not. (this is not to say that people did not get in with your stats this cycle, but the other variables in your application have to look really strong.) Plus it puts a lot of pressure on you to deliver strong on the interview, especially when there are other candidates who have gotten the interviews with superior stats.

Remember the way our economy is, competition is getting stiffer by the year so schools for the 2010 cycle may be looking for numbers in the 20s or higher, especially when the gpa is a little below the average.

 

[hsia2]

really thanks for the feedback
I graduated from UBC (world rank= 39), major cell biology and genetics/ minor microbiology and immunology
I really hope they would cut me some slack :/
I applied really late this cycle, so yeah.
retake DAT sounds good 🙂..

 

[delyuje]

Would you guys think a 3.48 science GPA is competitive? It's the best I could potentially dish out if I get straight A's from now (3rd year) until graduating..

I suppose I could squeeze in some upper div bio classes or something 4th year to raise it, but what do you guys think? I'd really appreciate the help..

 

[vlct0ria]

Would you guys think a 3.48 science GPA is competitive? It's the best I could potentially dish out if I get straight A's from now (3rd year) until graduating..

I suppose I could squeeze in some upper div bio classes or something 4th year to raise it, but what do you guys think? I'd really appreciate the help..

It's basically already been said, but it is more hovering around average than "competitive"...and are you applying for the 2010 cycle? If you are, they will be making decisions based mostly on your grades up through this spring....but if you aren't applying until the 2011 cycle, then yes work hard on getting those A's! 👍

 

[lphiewok]

im on the same boat with you but no 3.3 is not competitive at all as far as dental admission goes.

i have 3.37 with 3.13 sgpa and i have scored 21 AA/ 20TS/ 21 PAT on DAT and I applied in May.

I applied to 3 instate schools (texas) and 4 out of state. i have not received any interviews from out of state and have received 2 interviews from texas but no acceptance yet.

when i asked schools (which i have not received any interviews from) about what i need to improve in order to be competitive next cycle, all of them told me that although my DAT is good (but not good enough like 23+) but my gpa and especially my sgpa is holding me back. i have worked as registered dental assistant for 2 years and lot of leadership positions.

if you want to be considered as competitive, you need to work on it to bring it up to near 3.6 range as far as gpa goes IMO

I will be taking more science classes to bring up my gpa and if you're applying out of state schools, make sure to apply lot of schools (i applied to NYU, Howard, UoP, and Temple but got no love from any of those)

 

[winchetkidJR]

23+ is almost impossible, anthing above a 20 is awesome. for the people who try and play the marder role by saying a 21 isn't good, like this kid. i think you either study to much and to nerdy, or just someone looking to boost up their ego by having people say you did well.

 

[supraman]

A 3.3 will leave you scratching your head all application cycle. I have a 3.3X and 3.2 science GPA and 20 DAT and got a few interviews. Thankfully, accepted at Tufts and that was my top choice so I'll be going there. Take what you get from SDN with a grain of salt.

I once posted "Why am I not recieving interviews?" and everyone told me to buckle down for next cycle. Few weeks later got the interviews. If you can increase the 3.3, do it asap, if not, make sure you score 21+ on the DAT to compensate.

 

[hsia2]

I phoned UoP ..and they said..they mostly focus on the last 60 credits..
My last 60 credits GPA= 3.8, sGPA= 3.8..
Does every school do that or just some of them do??
by the way superman,
do you mind tell me that which school did you apply to? and which ones did you get interviews?

Thanks again everyone for the feedbacks..I really appreciate all of them!!

 

[JamesOSU]

23+ is almost impossible, anthing above a 20 is awesome. for the people who try and play the marder?? role by saying a 21 isn't good, like this kid. i think you either study to much and to nerdy, or just someone looking to boost up their ego by having people say you did well.

Martyr?

Congrats supra! Glad to here you got the call, been wondering what was taking so long!

 

[Ranelar]

The answer for any "should I try to get all A's from now on" question is: Yes. For the record though, people get accepted with sub 3.0 (see the under 3.0 club thread) but it's rare. I got accepted with 3.3/3.18 18/19, and I consider myself lucky. In my mind, competitive means having average GPA/DAT scores, which I think is something like 3.5/19 for accepted applicants.

 

[somethinpositiv]

doc toothache can bust out the stats on this one, but if I had to guess, 3.3 and 21, 3.5 and 20, and 3.7 and 19, would be competitive.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=502682
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=580290
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527700
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527690

 

[hsia2]

doc toothache
thanks for the rocking information!!
Really appreciate the info

 

[supraman]

I wonder what doctooth's DAT scores were

 

[prydA]

I wonder what doctooth's DAT scores were

probably a 31/31/31.

to the OP, i had less than a 3.3 but i had good dat scores, so i had no trouble getting interviews and getting in. your scores are low, just focus on studying and you can do it

 

[hsia2]

thanks 🙂
going to study like mad..

 

[playa2652]

I had a 3.37 science and overall gpa, and scored 20/21/22 on the DATs. I got into my 1st choice school, UCSF...but I did a lot of things to boost my application. I am a Bioengineering major, I did dental research with both the ADA and the UOP dental school, and lots of community service, shadowing, and leadership roles for my fraternity. I think schools these days prefer students who excel in all categories, not just academics. Plus, I had nothing lower than a 3.7 since my junior year started and my current gpa is now 3.43 which is higher than when I applied. If you study really hard and show improvement as well as participate in EC activities, schools will consider you as a possible candidate for their program.