Is it possible?

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Beasthetics

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Hi everyone. Had a question that I hop you could answer. I am 26 years of age and I would like to attend dental school. I have not completed my undergrad as I did not do well my freshman year at all due to tons of issues. I failed some classes that were not requirements due to not attending class regularly. My gpa 1.47 is horrible with just 19 credits. I am a mature adult now with a soon to be wife and would like to pursue my dreams once again. I just want to know if it is possible? Or have I screwed myself up forever? Thanks for your input.

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its best to ask this question again after completing a few more semesters.
 
Hi everyone. Had a question that I hop you could answer. I am 26 years of age and I would like to attend dental school. I have not completed my undergrad as I did not do well my freshman year at all due to tons of issues. I failed some classes that were not requirements due to not attending class regularly. My gpa 1.47 is horrible with just 19 credits. I am a mature adult now with a soon to be wife and would like to pursue my dreams once again. I just want to know if it is possible? Or have I screwed myself up forever? Thanks for your input.

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well... 1.5 GPA is bad... but its only 19 credits.

Imagine this, if you were to take 19 more credits, and assuming you land 3.5 GPA for those.... your overall gpa becomes 2.5 (big jump).

Assuming you go back to school and take 100 more credits and maintain an average of 3.5.... I think you'll be able to drive ur overall to 3.3+ (thats pretty respectable), and the science GPA will be even higher I bet.

There is still ALOT of hope for you, you just can't repeat that 1.5 performance
 
Very possible my friend. 19 credits is not very many. You just need to buckle down and go to work. Also realize it will take 4+ years to finish college, and possibly more if you have to work full time. Best of luck!!

Also, DW it is good to see you back on the forums. Has your dschool schedule lightened up a bit?
 
Hi everyone. Had a question that I hop you could answer. I am 26 years of age and I would like to attend dental school. I have not completed my undergrad as I did not do well my freshman year at all due to tons of issues. I failed some classes that were not requirements due to not attending class regularly. My gpa 1.47 is horrible with just 19 credits. I am a mature adult now with a soon to be wife and would like to pursue my dreams once again. I just want to know if it is possible? Or have I screwed myself up forever? Thanks for your input.

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I see no evidence that would reasonably permit a pursuit of dental school in this case to be deemed anything other than wishful thinking.

Possible? Sure, but its 100% theory at this point. And it would be cruel to encourage false hope/ wishful thinking. To start the pursuit of admission to dental school with the intention of seeing it through is no small commitment: and you are starting off in a horrid position. If there was some evidence that you might possess some special academic capability that you might draw upon now that you've matured...but there is nothing in your post that would indicate the work ethic or academic capability.

Not a good bet. Invest your time, money and effort in pursuit of another, more attainable dream at this point in your life.
 
You can definitely do it, but you will need to enroll in college full-time and keep your grades very high.

Question: Were any of these classes science or math classes? Because if they weren't, than this will help you. For many schools, the most important GPA is your science GPA- they care about this more than your overall GPA. Therefore, if you do well in your science classes, this will have very very little effect on your acceptance.

It's okay to struggle and to fail, and what is important is how you recover. If you show that you've grown and learned from your past, many schools will see this as a positive thing rather than a negative thing.

You're going to want to have a high 3.0 GPA (as said before, a 3.5 and above) for the rest of your college credits. Consider taking more than 120 credits as well.

Best of luck!
 
19 credits are worth of 2 semester not even two full semester. HERE IS MY GREAT ADVICE;
1-FORGET ABOUT THOSE CLASSES (AS YOU NEVER TOOK THEM)
2-GET IN A NEW UNIVERSITY ( SO YOU WILL START WITH A NEW GPA)
3-RETAKE THE COURSES YOU NEED
SO WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH UR BACH APPLY TO DENTAL SCHOOLS, ONLY SEND THE NEW TRANSCRIPT FROM THE NEW UNIVERSITY. GOOD LUCK.
 
19 credits are worth of 2 semester not even two full semester. HERE IS MY GREAT ADVICE;
1-FORGET ABOUT THOSE CLASSES (AS YOU NEVER TOOK THEM)
2-GET IN A NEW UNIVERSITY ( SO YOU WILL START WITH A NEW GPA)
3-RETAKE THE COURSES YOU NEED
SO WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH UR BACH APPLY TO DENTAL SCHOOLS, ONLY SEND THE NEW TRANSCRIPT FROM THE NEW UNIVERSITY. GOOD LUCK.

I didn't know you could do that.

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Do whatever you think is best for you. If you have the motivation and brains its possible.
 
Last edited:
Very possible my friend. 19 credits is not very many. You just need to buckle down and go to work. Also realize it will take 4+ years to finish college, and possibly more if you have to work full time. Best of luck!!

Also, DW it is good to see you back on the forums. Has your dschool schedule lightened up a bit?

the opposite.... this semester (last DS2 term before clinic years) is a nightmare. I am litterally in school from 8am till about 9pm. Most of my sdn posting is happening when I am sitting in class or in sim lab or when studying (such as most of today)

I just took my part 1 last monday (huge load off my back) but man, it wasn't easy. It sucks having 28 or 29 credits (forgot) AND having to study for boards in the same time.
 
19 credits are worth of 2 semester not even two full semester. HERE IS MY GREAT ADVICE;
1-FORGET ABOUT THOSE CLASSES (AS YOU NEVER TOOK THEM)
2-GET IN A NEW UNIVERSITY ( SO YOU WILL START WITH A NEW GPA)
3-RETAKE THE COURSES YOU NEED
SO WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH UR BACH APPLY TO DENTAL SCHOOLS, ONLY SEND THE NEW TRANSCRIPT FROM THE NEW UNIVERSITY. GOOD LUCK.
I didn't know you could do that.

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I don't think the last one is a good advice. I've heard/saw many times that hiding old transcript is a nonno. I heard there is a way to track the student's old academic records and if not reported to the aadsas, it would be a red flag.
 
Shadow first and make sure you really want to be a dentist before you invest 8+ years and a small fortune in becoming one. If you do really want to goto dental school just keep up a great record from here out. 19 isn't a lot of credits and if it happened many years before you apply schools probably wont care much.

I don't think the last one is a good advice. I've heard/saw many times that hiding old transcript is a nonno. I heard there is a way to track the student's old academic records and if not reported to the aadsas, it would be a red flag.

They can check past enrollment. The main way I know of is the National Student Clearinghouse. I've also heard they can look up if you got federal financial aid before.
 
That's what I thought. You have to report all schools you have went to. There is no point in lying. 19 credits is nothing.

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Dreams are for failures and a mature person doesn't refer to themselves as mature.

I would start a family you're already old, no need to waste more time. Or if you're not interested in that try your hand at 8 more years of sitting at a desk studying and maybe one day achieving your 'dream' of being a dentist. By the way who dreams of being a dentist that's so boring. You should dream about being a god, now that's more interesting.

Anyways you should do whatever you think is best for you. If you have the motivation and brains its possible.

Who dreams of becoming a dentist? I do. A mature person doesn't refer to themselves as mature? What exactly does a mature person refer to themselves as?

For the last three years I have been successfully running my own business which has been great but not my dream. I've purchased the home of my families dreams( haven't failed at that). Having a family is a dream of mine (haven't failed at that). Yet you say dreams are for failures. You live and you learn which I'm sure you will one day.


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Shadow first and make sure you really want to be a dentist before you invest 8+ years and a small fortune in becoming one. If you do really want to goto dental school just keep up a great record from here out. 19 isn't a lot of credits and if it happened many years before you apply schools probably wont care much.



They can check past enrollment. The main way I know of is the National Student Clearinghouse. I've also heard they can look up if you got federal financial aid before.

I have been shadowing for the past 2 years

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Dreams are for failures and a mature person doesn't refer to themselves as mature.

I would start a family you're already old, no need to waste more time. Or if you're not interested in that try your hand at 8 more years of sitting at a desk studying and maybe one day achieving your 'dream' of being a dentist. By the way who dreams of being a dentist that's so boring. You should dream about being a god, now that's more interesting.

Anyways you should do whatever you think is best for you. If you have the motivation and brains its possible.

this is the worst advice.
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yes it is possible ! just be honest and ask yourself. do you think you can make it to +3GPA ? do you think you will get great DAT score ? if so, you can.

good luck 🙂
 
Raising your GPA is not the problem. With a kid on the way, can you afford to go back, get good grades, and in finish in a reasonable amount of time? Can you afford to go out on interviews and apply? Can your family (your child would then be young and conscious) have you away in dental school 8++ hours a day.

Think about it.
 
Raising your GPA is not the problem. With a kid on the way, can you afford to go back, get good grades, and in finish in a reasonable amount of time? Can you afford to go out on interviews and apply? Can your family (your child would then be young and conscious) have you away in dental school 8++ hours a day.

Think about it.

Plenty of parents are in his situation who go to dental, medical, pharmacy schools, etc. As long as the children's needs are met, the OP will be fine. You cannot condemn him for trying to better his family's lives.
 
Plenty of parents are in his situation who go to dental, medical, pharmacy schools, etc. As long as the children's needs are met, the OP will be fine. You cannot condemn him for trying to better his family's lives.

👍
 
Go for it. Just make sure you are 100% committed. People with families typically do better in school because they have something deeper to work for. I didn't make this up, the dean of admissions at Tufts told me this. My family dentist also told me that his family support helped him through dental school.

Don't let anyone tell you its not possible. Actually, get off SDN and go enroll. Start looking at DAT material as early as you can. Focus on science courses as much as you can and put in the time.
 
Go for it. Just make sure you are 100% committed. People with families typically do better in school because they have something deeper to work for. I didn't make this up, the dean of admissions at Tufts told me this. My family dentist also told me that his family support helped him through dental school.

Don't let anyone tell you its not possible. Actually, get off SDN and go enroll. Start looking at DAT material as early as you can. Focus on science courses as much as you can and put in the time.

The dean may have told you, but I lived it. Having kids in school is absolutely wonderful. Plus, if you do things right, the kids aren't affected any different than if you had a 8-5 job. That is how I approached it.
 
Dreams are for failures and a mature person doesn't refer to themselves as mature.

I would start a family you're already old, no need to waste more time. Or if you're not interested in that try your hand at 8 more years of sitting at a desk studying and maybe one day achieving your 'dream' of being a dentist. By the way who dreams of being a dentist that's so boring. You should dream about being a god, now that's more interesting.

Anyways you should do whatever you think is best for you. If you have the motivation and brains its possible.

Don't you have a 2.8 GPA? LOL @ you. "Dreams are for failures", look in the mirror, bro.
 
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