Is it over for me??

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rock73

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My gpa is probably the lowest of all the members of the forum. It is exactly at 2.0. I will be enrolling in a masters program next year but I don't even know whether that's going to help at all.

Is there even a slightest chance for me to get into any school? I would do anything to get in but I'm just a little crushed as I feel that no matter what I do..it's probably still not enough as I can see so many qualified applicants being rejected..let alone my super low gpa.. :(
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rock73 said:
My gpa is probably the lowest of all the members of the forum. It is exactly at 2.0. I will be enrolling in a masters program next year but I don't even know whether that's going to help at all.

Is there even a slightest chance for me to get into any school? I would do anything to get in but I'm just a little crushed as I feel that no matter what I do..it's probably still not enough as I can see so many qualified applicants being rejected..let alone my super low gpa.. :(
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No.
 
rock73 said:
My gpa is probably the lowest of all the members of the forum. It is exactly at 2.0. I will be enrolling in a masters program next year but I don't even know whether that's going to help at all.

Is there even a slightest chance for me to get into any school? I would do anything to get in but I'm just a little crushed as I feel that no matter what I do..it's probably still not enough as I can see so many qualified applicants being rejected..let alone my super low gpa.. :(
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You won't get in to any dental school with that gpa. A masters won't help. In fact, I doubt you will even get into a master's program with that gpa. You need to just stay in college, do a bunch of "easy" courses and whip that gpa into shape.
 
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not even if I get 4.0 on my masters degree?:(
 
what are you planning to get a masters in?

it may be difficult, but perhaps not impossible. how good are you at standardized tests? if you get a 23+ on your DAT, i think you would get some consideration, perhaps at your local state school, maybe a private school like Tufts or BU
 
rock73 said:
not even if I get 4.0 on my masters degree?:(
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DO NOT GIVE UP.

If you do get into a science masters and maintain a 3.5+ then I'm sure you have a chance. I'm sure you have a good reason to your 2.0 and by now (hopefully) with all the problems behind you, show the d-schools that you are a capable student.

I might add make sure to do well on your DATs. My guess is 22+?
 
It'll be extremely hard but it's not impossible...don't listen to people who tell you otherwise. Whatever program you enroll in you need to make sure it consists of a lot of science classes (Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Histology, Anatomy...). If you have time to take some of these classes as an undergrad before enrolling in a masters program go ahead and do so. You are basically at a point where you have absolutely no room to slip. EVERY class you take from here on you need to get atleast a 3.7. You will also need to study for your DAT 3-4 months and make sure you get very strong scores. It may take 2-3 years of taking a full course load before you can become competitive...again will it be extremely hard? Yes...but it's possible
 
aww thanks everyone!!
Yeah..I didn't care about grades before because I was doing full time work and full time school when I was an undergrad and to me at that time, work came first because I never considered being a dentist at the time. And yes, I did have some family problems..my sister ran away from home and disappeared so that caused quite a stir in my family. But now I'm ready to fight for dentistry.

I'm doing my masters in biomedical engineering.
I also plan on retaking the prereqs. I know that even if I do get 4.0 on all the things I take now..my GPA would still be 2.5 to say the highest since my GPA was so low to begin with.

I just want to know whether the dental schools would look at the progress instead of just GPA. Also, I know they look at cumulative GPA but do they look at just the prerequisite GPA alone as well?

and really thanks to everyone who says that it's not impossible..I just need some kind of hope to hold on to as this will be a long journey! any recommendations of schools to apply to would be appreciated. thank you so much!!
 
I think you do stand a chance after a very successful master's program and solid DAT scores. The progress of you as a student and as a person is key at this point. You are going to have to get a 4.0 and 22+ in each section of the DAT to really stand out and have them consider you as a serious candidate. Just stay focused and you'll do fine. Best of luck and do not give up. :thumbup:
 
rock73 said:
aww thanks everyone!!

I just want to know whether the dental schools would look at the progress instead of just GPA.
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Progress is very important, but with your gpa you may need to show a solid 4 semesters of a totally different you, so that you can assure them you are capable and ready. If you have better grades than someone in your last few semesters but their gpa is higher, Dschools will often consider you stronger, of course it depends on how strong and the substance of your courses.
 
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Make sure this is something you really want to do. Because it's going to take some very hard work and time. But as said above, don't lose hope.
 
Maybe my first post was a bit harsh. Listen, a dental school is a business. They need to make money and their investment is their students. If they sense that a prospective student can't hack the 4 years of dental school they won't accept them. That is why dental schools have automatic cutoff points before even considering you as a prospective student/investment. A 2.0 is a major concern and I can guarantee no school would accept you, not even with an amazing DAT score. I know everyone has family problems and isn't an excuse. My sister took her own life and my best friend passed away with cancer and my mother was diagnosed with cancer all during my undergrad. Even if you get a 3.7+ on your masters I don't know if it will be enough for dental schools to consider you. That being said, who am I to tell you what you are capable of? If you truly have the desire to do everything you can to get into dental school, then go for it.
 
It helps that you have some reason for your grades other than just slacking off in college. At least having a job means you were doing something productive. Take the pre-reqs and then higher level sciences and KILL them - you need to show that you are capable of handling the material and courseloads. I don't know if you're already set on a masters program, but there are some programs that offer like a biomedical sciences masters where you take science courses at the university's medical/dental school. If you can find something like that and do well, that'll help show you can handle the classes. You might even call a couple dental schools you're interested in and ask them if they can recommend some good programs - they might be able to tell you something specific, and they'll definitely give you better advice than people on here.

I have a friend who graduated college with a 2.5 GPA, and it was purely because he partied too much. He had no reason for his grades other than he didn't care about school. Then he decided he wanted to do dentistry, did a post-bac to get his sciences, got straight A's, and now he's in dental school.

It'll take hard work for a couple years, but you'll get there if you really want it. I think schools will understand that you had other stuff going on in undergrad and didn't know what you wanted to do. It's not the end of the world. They do look at how you've progressed and how you overcome adversity. But there are people who work during school and have personal issues and still get good grades, so you have to show you've fixed whatever problems you had before and that you're dedicated and mature.

Good luck!
 
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If you want to go for it, you really should get a 4.0 in all your classes from now on. It's entirely possible if you are really focused on your classes and have nothing else to distract you. I did a post-bac (a little different because I had no science courses) and completely devoted myself to acing my classes, and have achieved a 3.95 with upper level bio classes, and currently have 4 interviews. There are others in my program who had below average gpas but understood that they absolutely had to get a 4.0 in order to have a chance, and they did. If you go in with this mentality, you might not get a 4.0 but maybe pretty close, and that's what you need. Adcoms do notice upward trends, and can look at your post-bac/science classes separately. Of course, you will have to crush the DATs, probably 22+ on all sections, to demonstrate you can handle the sciences. But this is possible as well.

Also, make sure you really want to do this. It will take a lot of time and money and will seem pretty hopeless every now and then. This will be a long journey for you with no guarantee at the end of dental school admission. You need to accept the facts, make a decision, then go for it.

That being said, if you pursue it, all the luck in the world to you. If you end up getting into dental school, that would be a great accomplishment and a great story.
 
Do NOT give up.

There will be a considerable amount of work and IMO at least 2 years of science course work with a GPA of at least a 3.7.
Also, you need to knock out the DAT (maybe not a 23 as someone mentioned previously, but probably in the 20 to 21 AA range.
Let me ask you this. What do you feel like you have going for you application wise that would make you stand out as of right now? Whatever it is you need to continue to do that and pick them grades up.

Stay in undergrad (take full course load with mainly biology's, take summer school, take whatever your school is offering to raise your GPA to at least a 2.6 overall) and apply for the 2011 cycle; if that does not work for you then try to get into a post-bac program to re-apply for the following cycle.

I think if you play your cards right and do what I just said, I could see you getting in at the latest Class of 2017. It's going to be a whole lot of work but if this is what you want then you wouldn't mind putting out the effort.

APPLY EARLY too when you do apply (like June)
 
I just want to sincerely thank everyone who has responded!! All the comments were very helpful and I appreciate each and every bit of it.
For those who gave encouragements, thank you!
I will do my best because it is what I want to do.
No matter how long it takes, I'm determined to get there.
It sounds like hope still exists for me as long as I try hard.
I'm not afraid of working hard and it's about time that I do now that I know exactly what I wanted to do!
I wish I knew sooner what I wanted to do but I guess you really can't force these kind of things to happen.

I'll hold onto all the hope I get from everyone and fight on!
thanks again!!!!
 
I'll shoot you straight. Im not going to give you lots of hope with this post or tell you its absolutely impossible for you to get in. But you stated that if you get 4.0 in the Masters program you'll then have a cumulative gpa of 2.5. That is a very very low gpa. Your chances of getting in with a gpa that low and a 23 on the dat are very very low despite any upward trends you may have. Its definantely not impossible though, you most likely would need to take more classes and raise that gpa to/above a 3.0. Also don't count on a high DAT b/c a very high score like 22/23 is a crap shoot no matter how well/much you study.

All this to say don't have false assumptions that if you get a 4.0 in the masters and a 22 on the DAT that you will most likely get in, b/c the odds are quite high that you won't. I tell you this so you know how much work you will need to do before you embark on this journey to gain acceptance to dental school. You will need that 4.0 in the masters and an extra year of classes from somewhere/some other program to get that GPA up. Also, despite all this the DAT might still thwart your efforts. SO realize that this is a difficult journey that by no means guarantees success despite 4.0 gpa's.

You can do it, but before you start make a plan of what you need to do to achieve the stats you would like to have when applying to dental school and then make sure you do better than that. So if your studying for a class to get an A, don't study for the 90 or 92, study for a 95 or 97. Give yourself some leeway on the upper end. Good luck and don't slack off for even one day.
 
I've always had problems with people enrolling in MA/MS programs to boost their GPA. Why not just do a post-bac and retake the classes you did poorly on. If your GPA is 2.0 that means you have a heck of a lot of Ds (unless you shot a straight C-average all 4 years). I would also call a couple of schools and talk to their advisers.
 
The main reason why I'm doing a masters is because the school that I did poorly on..offered me a chance at masters..so I figured that well..this says something. The fact that the same school gave me a 2nd chance can maybe indicate that they saw me worthwhile and I'm not just applying to masters at some easier university. Also, the masters will be sponsoredo by my company whereas a post bac wouldn't. But nevertheless, I will be redoing if not all, then most of the prerequisites! would that help a bit?:idea:
 
rock73 said:
The main reason why I'm doing a masters is because the school that I did poorly on..offered me a chance at masters..so I figured that well..this says something. The fact that the same school gave me a 2nd chance can maybe indicate that they saw me worthwhile and I'm not just applying to masters at some easier university. Also, the masters will be sponsoredo by my company whereas a post bac wouldn't. But nevertheless, I will be redoing if not all, then most of the prerequisites! would that help a bit?:idea:
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Ha...heck, if it's sponsored then yeah, why not. My only concern is that you do retake all those classes. Then yes, it will help. Never, ever, ever give up, my friend. Set a realistic goal - 3 years to undo all those bad grades and you're in! Trust me, if you do well in this period of time, it will show that you've matured and realized your true potential.

Good luck to you! :thumbup:
 
rock73 said:
My gpa is probably the lowest of all the members of the forum. It is exactly at 2.0. I will be enrolling in a masters program next year but I don't even know whether that's going to help at all.

Is there even a slightest chance for me to get into any school? I would do anything to get in but I'm just a little crushed as I feel that no matter what I do..it's probably still not enough as I can see so many qualified applicants being rejected..let alone my super low gpa.. :(
Click to expand...


Don't give up man. You are not alone. I am also a low gpa candidate. My gpa is slightly higher than yours and I haven't taken any pre-req classes besides physics and math.
 
You shouldn't give up if you are passionate about dentistry. That being said, I do agree that there is work to be done. As numerous people have stated, you will need to get considerably higher grades in your masters program and also score 21+ on the DAT. Aside from just numbers there are other things that will improve your chances on eventually being accepted into a dental program. Shadowing/assisting and community service are also very important to committees. Most schools will emphasize a holistic approach, taking into consideration more than just the numbers. Now in all honesty, many schools initially screen by numbers so getting an interview may be difficult, but far from impossible. If you are serious about DS you should visit campuses if possible. Try to let admissions coordinators know you are looking to apply and seek advice. Get on their radars in some way so that they know you mean business. You may be pleasantly surprised on how helpful some of them will be. From all of the dental students that I have talked with, being proactive when seeking admission into dental school goes a long way. Good Luck
 
Thanks everyone again!! :D
I will not give up!!
but yeah, I know it'll be a long road ahead of me.
I'm hoping to apply in 3 years..that's my goal.
I'll also be working part-time as I do my masters program along with the prereqs starting next year..but no pain..then no gain.
I hope the dental schools will take that into consideration as well..the fact that I'm not just doing masters and courses but I'm also working in the science field. I hope that'll show them that I can take on a pretty full course load. What do you think??
 
Two words:

Easy in.

Don't sweat the small stuff.
 
don't give up; however, you have to put in 110% on everything you do from now on.
 
i would think about doing a post bac over a masters. a masters isnt going to help you as much as a post bac will since your undergrad grades are so low. you really need to be thinking about what your gpa is going to look like on your application especially for your science cumulative gpa. A masters even in a science isn't going to make up for Cs in physics, chemistry, biochem etc etc but a post bac requires you to take all of those classes and allows you for a chance to redeem your previous scores.
 
You can make some really drastic changes to a GPA in 2-3 years. Is getting support from your parents/financial aide while you are enrolled an option? Like others have said a 4.0 from this point on is essential and a job can be an obstacle, even a part-time one. Best of luck to you. I'm sure in two years you can bring it up to a 3.0 and with 22+AA there are bound to be some schools who would be interested in interviewing you.
 
one more thing

let me put some things in prospective for you
Lets assume that up to this point, you've taken 100 credits hours and your current GPA is 2.0. If you take an additional 100 credits and 4.0 all of them, then and ONLY THEN does your overall GPA go up to 3.0.... You see what I am saying? You have to work very very hard for the upcoming 3-4 years to bring up that 2.0 to something like a 3.0.

Of course the 3.0 is still pretty low, but the advantage you have is the upward trend, it seems that many schools take that into consideration
 
Retake your prereq courses, I had to do that to get into dental hygiene school. Then when I finished dental hygiene, I wound up having about a 2.8 GPA. When I decidedto set my goal on dental school, I knew that my GPA was too low. I was a bit discouraged, but I went for it and got A's in most of my prereq courses. I improved my science GPA to 3.4 and cumulative to 3.3. My DAT is AA 16 and I am proud to say that I got an interview. I seriously think that some dental schools study the applications thoroughly and that they take into account matters such as degree of difficulty and significant improvements.
 
You have to be careful and make sure Dentistry is what you want. Biomedical Engineering is definitely a good major, but I think your biggest issue will be preparation for both programs. You were lucky to get into a Master's program, and now you have to dive head first into it.
I'd say do your Masters...then, maybe, try to get into a post-bac program. They help boost your GPA bc you have to maintain a 3.5+ semester GAP (at least for the schools I've looked at).
Never give up though. There will always be people better than you, but there are also always going to be people worse than you.
 
I agree with the difficulty of getting oneself back into the competitive range, and honestly- you should only do it if you are Passionate over dentistry.I had to pick up the slack from a 3.2 to a 3.5 while taking 20 units over the summer, 18 over the fall, and 18 over the spring.
Let me tell you this YOU will get burned out quick and you will be STRESSED 24/7. I was in the situation of "I cant get a B, or even A-" MUST GET ALL A's.

It's very stressful, and if I had to do it for 2-4 years- I would have alot of melt-downs/crying.All that time stressing/working hard/ I could of done something else, and gotten more results.On top of all that- if I did manage to squeek by after 2-4 years- its not a guarantee to get in. Really think about it before you put ure down payment in. It's really hard and very stressful as many can agree with.
 
If you are really determined for dentistry and ready for the long journey, then don't give up. But you need to be realistic. I know many dental schools set the requirement that they don't accept students with GPA 2.8 or below. You can easily find out this requirement by going to dental school website. Yes a lot of schools will overlook bad performances in the past and a strong upward trend would definitely boost your chance of getting accepted to dental school. However, as you mentioned, with your 2.0 GPA, you will only get at most a 2.5 if you get 4.0 from now on. I think you will need to call all dental schools that you are interested to find out whether they do look at applications that are under 2.8 but with strong upward trend. You don't want to take this very long and painful journey and find out that even with all the efforts, your application won't even be looked at because your GPA simply is under the cut off point. Best of luck.
 
"no retreat; no surrender" that's that attitude that got me into UPENN, Columbia and Harvard with a 2.9 science GPA and a 20 DAT score.
 
AskJeeves said:
"no retreat; no surrender" that's that attitude that got me into UPENN, Columbia and Harvard with a 2.9 science GPA and a 20 DAT score.
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Oh wow!!! UPenn and Harvard with a sub 2.9 science GPA?? Did you do a master's? Are you a non-traditional applicant? Are you a URM? What made you stand out?
 
Destiny11 said:
Oh wow!!! UPenn and Harvard with a sub 2.9 science GPA?? Did you do a master's? Are you a non-traditional applicant? Are you a URM? What made you stand out?
Click to expand...

I published a research paper when I did my PhD
 
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