just talked to academic advisors...USELESS!!! helpp.

[dent1011]

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hey everyone

i just finished talking to an acadmic advisor to try to figure out what i should do next year and i must say it was quite useless and discouraging and she was rushing me out.

anyway... i need some opinions here for my options for next year... this year i did not get into dental school (no interviews) my GPA and science GPA were both ~3.4 and non sci was 3.6 but my BCP is what hurt me with a 2.7... my question is should i do:

1) another year as a continuing student and take courses (advisor said i would probably not get any seats...WTF)
-will this year go into my AADSAS undergrad GPA or be seperate

2) do a one yr masters and put my time towards something
-will this effect my BCP? im guessing it wont so it will still stick out like a sore thumb :S - problem NOT solved??

3) complete a 2nd degree in Bio (which i can probablyyy squeeze into finishing in 1 year and do all the requirements)

Which is the best option in terms of FIXING my undergrad GPA, specifically my BCP... how can i raise my BCP or offset it

Im really lost... any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated... I'm not sure which option will increase my chances / improve my application the most

THANK YOU!!!

 

[dentalWorks]

hey everyone

i just finished talking to an acadmic advisor to try to figure out what i should do next year and i must say it was quite useless and discouraging and she was rushing me out.

anyway... i need some opinions here for my options for next year... this year i did not get into dental school (no interviews) my GPA and science GPA were both ~3.4 and non sci was 3.6 but my BCP is what hurt me with a 2.7... my question is should i do:

1) another year as a continuing student and take courses (advisor said i would probably not get any seats...WTF)
-will this year go into my AADSAS undergrad GPA or be seperate

2) do a one yr masters and put my time towards something
-will this effect my BCP? im guessing it wont so it will still stick out like a sore thumb :S - problem NOT solved??

3) complete a 2nd degree in Bio (which i can probablyyy squeeze into finishing in 1 year and do all the requirements)

Which is the best option in terms of FIXING my undergrad GPA, specifically my BCP... how can i raise my BCP or offset it

Im really lost... any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated... I'm not sure which option will increase my chances / improve my application the most

THANK YOU!!!

There are good news and more good news for you.

good news #1) BCP is the easiest GPA to raise. While yours is very low (2.7), I believe 15-30 credits of upper level biology courses with 4.0s will fix your problem....

good news #2) don't think about doing a masters, some good-ole post-bacc will be more than enough (this is your option 1 from above)... Do the 1-year as a continuing student, get 4.0 (or as close to it as possible) in every upper level biology course, and your BCP problem will be resolved.

good news #3) majority of pre-med / pre-dental / pre-healthcare "advisers" are *****s. Trust me, I have done my share of talking with these so-called "advisers" and NONE of them ever gave me any sense of security of EVER making it into dental school. Guess what "advisers"? Out of 5 interviews, I got 4 acceptances and 1 high-hold waitlist...... Trust me, when it comes to getting hope, your better off talking to a rock rather than an undergrad "adviser"

good news #4) you really have good numbers, nice DAT, nice GPA, its just that BCP thats holding you back....

Question for you: How many schools did you apply to? And when did you submit your AADSAS?

 

[shiftypoptart]

First question is why is there such a discrepancy between your BCP and Science GPA? The only class that was added to Science GPA that wasn't in BCP was my 2 Calc Classes. Were you a math major that did well in all your math courses?

Next is don't let the counselors scare or discourage you. Trust me I had the same problem but I didn't give a care what they said and applied anyways. They said I had little chance of getting in and I actually got like 7 interviews went to 2 of them and got one acceptance and one waitlist (decided I wanted to stay in Cali). Your stats are good except the difference in BCP and Science don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

My stats weren't a whole lot different than yours, a little higher DAT than yours but lower GPA than yours so you should be ok if you take some Upper div bio classes to offset your BCP and apply early next round. Goodluck dude and Like I said counselors don't always give the best advice.

 

[dent1011]

Thanks for your reply

The discrepancy is because im a Kinesiology major, and these are "other science"... my BCP was made up of a small amount of courses which i did not do too well in, espec in first year

Would you suggest I just come back for a 5th informal year as a continuing student

First question is why is there such a discrepancy between your BCP and Science GPA? The only class that was added to Science GPA that wasn't in BCP was my 2 Calc Classes. Were you a math major that did well in all your math courses?

Next is don't let the counselors scare or discourage you. Trust me I had the same problem but I didn't give a care what they said and applied anyways. They said I had little chance of getting in and I actually got like 7 interviews went to 2 of them and got one acceptance and one waitlist (decided I wanted to stay in Cali). Your stats are good except the difference in BCP and Science don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

My stats weren't a whole lot different than yours, a little higher DAT than yours but lower GPA than yours so you should be ok if you take some Upper div bio classes to offset your BCP and apply early next round. Goodluck dude and Like I said counselors don't always give the best advice.

 

[4thMolar]

Looking at your stats, I can say you definitely have a good shot of getting into dental school at one point or another.

1) I would take this option and just stay an extra year at your undergrad and take classes that will raise your BCP GPA. Or you can just enroll in a formal post-bacc program, but either way it will add to your undergraduate record.

2) While a Masters will help increase your BCP and give you a graduate GPA (if you are doing an SMP or another science program), I don't think it's quite necessary in your case. An SMP is really a last option for someone, and as you have decent stats, I would stick with taking more undergrad courses. If you believe taking another 15-30 hours won't affect your BCP greatly, I'd do the Masters to get a separate graduate GPA.

3) Getting a second degree is fine, but it's pretty much like the 1st option where you are adding to your undergraduate record.

Lastly, don't worry too much about the advisor. If you try hard enough, you'll always have the option of getting into your career. My advisor said the same thing to me, but i'll be starting dental school next fall.

 

[dent1011]

oh wow thanks for your reply! haha...yeah she said I get last dibs on course selections being a continuing student, so she cant guarantee ill get a seat... but i'm sureee i can...!

I e-submitted July 18... wrote the DAT in august... everything was complete I believe end of august maybe beginning of september

However, I know one of my LOR was useless but i needed it as a requirement so went with it... I probably should have already done the DAT as well and submitted in June...also I am Canadian if that makes a different but I appled to ~15 schools! and the CDN friendly ones 🙁 But I got cut immediately from a couple schools for my "science GPA" which i think referred to BCP

Question: if I were to take pure Bios and put it towards a 2nd degree, would this be a NEW, seperate undergrad GPA?? Or would they put all undergrad courses together into one huge GPA... lol I'm not sure how it works for the States

Thank you!

There are good news and more good news for you.

good news #1) BCP is the easiest GPA to raise. While yours is very low (2.7), I believe 15-30 credits of upper level biology courses with 4.0s will fix your problem....

good news #2) don't think about doing a masters, some good-ole post-bacc will be more than enough (this is your option 1 from above)... Do the 1-year as a continuing student, get 4.0 (or as close to it as possible) in every upper level biology course, and your BCP problem will be resolved.

good news #3) majority of pre-med / pre-dental / pre-healthcare "advisers" are *****s. Trust me, I have done my share of talking with these so-called "advisers" and NONE of them ever gave me any sense of security of EVER making it into dental school. Guess what "advisers"? Out of 5 interviews, I got 4 acceptances and 1 high-hold waitlist...... Trust me, when it comes to getting hope, your better off talking to a rock rather than an undergrad "adviser"

good news #4) you really have good numbers, nice DAT, nice GPA, its just that BCP thats holding you back....

Question for you: How many schools did you apply to? And when did you submit your AADSAS?

 

[dent1011]

Hm... I'm starting to see a trend in opinions lol perhaps option 1 is best. Yeah that's true, I should do some calculations and project by new BCP GPA, otherwise do a Masters if the credits don't help enough

and you answered my Q about how a 2nd degree's GPA is looked at...!

Thanks

Looking at your stats, I can say you definitely have a good shot of getting into dental school at one point or another.

1) I would take this option and just stay an extra year at your undergrad and take classes that will raise your BCP GPA. Or you can just enroll in a formal post-bacc program, but either way it will add to your undergraduate record.

2) While a Masters will help increase your BCP and give you a graduate GPA (if you are doing an SMP or another science program), I don't think it's quite necessary in your case. An SMP is really a last option for someone, and as you have decent stats, I would stick with taking more undergrad courses. If you believe taking another 15-30 hours won't affect your BCP greatly, I'd do the Masters to get a separate graduate GPA.

3) Getting a second degree is fine, but it's pretty much like the 1st option where you are adding to your undergraduate record.

Lastly, don't worry too much about the advisor. If you try hard enough, you'll always have the option of getting into your career. My advisor said the same thing to me, but i'll be starting dental school next fall.

 

[321931]

Just reiterating what everyone else has said: take an extra year of Bio Classes. In fact, do it over the summer. I fit 20 science units over the summer during my sophomore year. It worked out perfectly.

That being said, I have met a fair share of wtf advisors. I remember I went to one of my advisors after I had gotten my first F ever in a course. I was feeling pretty crappy, since it destroyed my GPA. We talked for a bit, and he jokingly said that people that Fail courses would never make it to Dental school. 😱

Ouch, I then had the liberty to tell him I just failed, since he didn't know. Made for an awkward conversation afterwards -_- 6 Interviews, 2 Acceptances later, I proved him wrong =)

 

[dent1011]

One other thing...
Do you know if your Master's GPA is also split up into BCP, non science etc.
I'm trying to figure out how my Master's will help my BCP, wouldn't my undergrad BCP just sit there at the same #

Looking at your stats, I can say you definitely have a good shot of getting into dental school at one point or another.

1) I would take this option and just stay an extra year at your undergrad and take classes that will raise your BCP GPA. Or you can just enroll in a formal post-bacc program, but either way it will add to your undergraduate record.

2) While a Masters will help increase your BCP and give you a graduate GPA (if you are doing an SMP or another science program), I don't think it's quite necessary in your case. An SMP is really a last option for someone, and as you have decent stats, I would stick with taking more undergrad courses. If you believe taking another 15-30 hours won't affect your BCP greatly, I'd do the Masters to get a separate graduate GPA.

3) Getting a second degree is fine, but it's pretty much like the 1st option where you are adding to your undergraduate record.

Lastly, don't worry too much about the advisor. If you try hard enough, you'll always have the option of getting into your career. My advisor said the same thing to me, but i'll be starting dental school next fall.

 

[dent1011]

Im going to "like" 👍 this post FB style aha

Just reiterating what everyone else has said: take an extra year of Bio Classes. In fact, do it over the summer. I fit 20 science units over the summer during my sophomore year. It worked out perfectly.

That being said, I have met a fair share of wtf advisors. I remember I went to one of my advisors after I had gotten my first F ever in a course. I was feeling pretty crappy, since it destroyed my GPA. We talked for a bit, and he jokingly said that people that Fail courses would never make it to Dental school. 😱

Ouch, I then had the liberty to tell him I just failed, since he didn't know. Made for an awkward conversation afterwards -_- 6 Interviews, 2 Acceptances later, I proved him wrong =)

 

[Destiny11]

Thanks for your reply

The discrepancy is because im a Kinesiology major, and these are "other science"... my BCP was made up of a small amount of courses which i did not do too well in, espec in first year

AADSAS's method of deciding between BCP and Other Science is such BS...

 

[iamjackbauer]

AADSAS's method of deciding between BCP and Other Science is such BS...

the kinesiology program at my school is way "science-y"

 

[dentalWorks]

Question: if I were to take pure Bios and put it towards a 2nd degree, would this be a NEW, seperate undergrad GPA?? Or would they put all undergrad courses together into one huge GPA... lol I'm not sure how it works for the States

No. You will not get a separate undergrad GPA..... This is why doing post-bacc is so helpful, it just piles on top of your initial undergrad GPA. By the way, a 2nd bachelors degree = AKA = informal post-bacc.



Here is how AADSAS calculated my GPA... this has 54 credits of post-bacc. Notice how my graduate category is all zeros (I didn't do any masters)... Just post-bacc which just compiles within the undergrad category

 

[dent1011]

Same here, all the anatomy and physiology courses were not Bio because of the department (Kin) - that makes no sense it should obviously be based on course content... but what can we do 🙁

the kinesiology program at my school is way "science-y"

 

[dent1011]

Oh okay... thanks for posting and clarifying, I was wondering about this - it's important when making a decision!

No. You will not get a separate undergrad GPA..... This is why doing post-bacc is so helpful, it just piles on top of your initial undergrad GPA. By the way, a 2nd bachelors degree = AKA = informal post-bacc.



Here is how AADSAS calculated my GPA... this has 54 credits of post-bacc. Notice how my graduate category is all zeros (I didn't do any masters)... Just post-bacc which just compiles within the undergrad category

 

[mcchuster]

Yeah, august was probably the reason why you didn't get offer a seat. First round of interview goes out in September. August to send in stuffs is considered pretty late for competitiveness. I was told get everything in my latest mid July to be considered competitive. As for your BCP, just take mad science courses to raise it up.

oh wow thanks for your reply! haha...yeah she said I get last dibs on course selections being a continuing student, so she cant guarantee ill get a seat... but i'm sureee i can...!

I e-submitted July 18... wrote the DAT in august... everything was complete I believe end of august maybe beginning of september

However, I know one of my LOR was useless but i needed it as a requirement so went with it... I probably should have already done the DAT as well and submitted in June...also I am Canadian if that makes a different but I appled to ~15 schools! and the CDN friendly ones 🙁 But I got cut immediately from a couple schools for my "science GPA" which i think referred to BCP

Question: if I were to take pure Bios and put it towards a 2nd degree, would this be a NEW, seperate undergrad GPA?? Or would they put all undergrad courses together into one huge GPA... lol I'm not sure how it works for the States

Thank you!

 

[wizi]

hey everyone

i just finished talking to an acadmic advisor to try to figure out what i should do next year and i must say it was quite useless and discouraging and she was rushing me out.


THANK YOU!!!

My academic advisor is on the same boat. I got an F and she told me that I am not going to get in any DS with an F on my transcript. I stared at her and was like ... huh Doesn't she suppose to encourage me to take more classes, apply and don't ever give up on my dream etc... ? I never visit her again.

My prehealth advisor is even meaner. 😡

 

[mcchuster]

Ouch, an F? If you can take that class again and get an A then it's really good. But yeah, F is bad. Did the F affect your GPA? For me, even the C+ messed up my semester GPA.

My academic advisor is on the same boat. I got an F and she told me that I am not going to get in any DS with an F on my transcript. I stared at her and was like ... huh Doesn't she suppose to encourage me to take more classes, apply and don't ever give up on my dream etc... ? I never visit her again.

My prehealth advisor is even meaner. 😡

 

[flabernak]

hey everyone

i just finished talking to an acadmic advisor to try to figure out what i should do next year and i must say it was quite useless and discouraging and she was rushing me out.

anyway... i need some opinions here for my options for next year... this year i did not get into dental school (no interviews) my GPA and science GPA were both ~3.4 and non sci was 3.6 but my BCP is what hurt me with a 2.7... my question is should i do:

1) another year as a continuing student and take courses (advisor said i would probably not get any seats...WTF)
-will this year go into my AADSAS undergrad GPA or be seperate

2) do a one yr masters and put my time towards something
-will this effect my BCP? im guessing it wont so it will still stick out like a sore thumb :S - problem NOT solved??

3) complete a 2nd degree in Bio (which i can probablyyy squeeze into finishing in 1 year and do all the requirements)

Which is the best option in terms of FIXING my undergrad GPA, specifically my BCP... how can i raise my BCP or offset it

Im really lost... any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated... I'm not sure which option will increase my chances / improve my application the most

THANK YOU!!!

Option 1 sounds best to me as well. One important question that I didn't see asked yet is... To which schools are you applying? That is key. You'll need to research and make sure you got the right schools. For example, MWU has minimum 2.75 gpa requirements, I don't remember if they use BCP for science.

Plus, schools want to see you have taken biochem, anatomy, physiology, microbio, etc... Those four seem to be popping up more as required courses. If you didn't take those you should.

GL

 

[wizi]

Ouch, an F? If you can take that class again and get an A then it's really good. But yeah, F is bad. Did the F affect your GPA? For me, even the C+ messed up my semester GPA.

Yes... -----0.2 off my GPA for that F &**&.
Ill retake it in the summer. Hopefully, ill get an A.

 

[cgk]

Option 1 sounds best to me as well. One important question that I didn't see asked yet is... To which schools are you applying? That is key. You'll need to research and make sure you got the right schools. For example, MWU has minimum 2.75 gpa requirements, I don't remember if they use BCP for science.

Plus, schools want to see you have taken biochem, anatomy, physiology, microbio, etc... Those four seem to be popping up more as required courses. If you didn't take those you should.

GL

Does anyone have a list of which schools want additional science courses like the biochemistry, anatomy, phisiology, and micrbiology courses listed above?

 

[wizi]

Does anyone have a list of which schools want additional science courses like the biochemistry, anatomy, phisiology, and micrbiology courses listed above?

every school wants that.

 

[cgk]

every school wants that.

recommended or required for acceptance?

 

[pwnyexpress]

sorry for the minor hijack -- new to these forums 🙂

i assume BCP means bio/chem/physics? my other question is, post-bacc work gets lumped into ugrad GPA for dental admissions, but masters, etc. would be grad GPA -- so what qualifies as post-bacc work and not grad work?

thanks!

 

[molar3]

pwnyexpress, a post bacc would be considered taking any undergraduate level courses after you graduate with your bachelors degree. Whether this be in a formal postbacc program (some sort of program you apply to, that usually lasts a year and you take about 25 credits and you recieve a "certificate" afteward) or you can do an informal postbacc where you just pick undergrad courses you want to take on your own, at any local university.
If you take a graduate level course, obviously this wont go into your undergrad gpa.

 

[pwnyexpress]

pwnyexpress, a post bacc would be considered taking any undergraduate level courses after you graduate with your bachelors degree. Whether this be in a formal postbacc program (some sort of program you apply to, that usually lasts a year and you take about 25 credits and you recieve a "certificate" afteward) or you can do an informal postbacc where you just pick undergrad courses you want to take on your own, at any local university.
If you take a graduate level course, obviously this wont go into your undergrad gpa.

huh, interesting. so even after i have received my degree from x university, i can go to y college, take undergraduate lvl courses and it will be counted into my uGPA?

followup - do dental schools care more about uGPA or a higher graduate GPA that supplements a mediocre uGPA?

thanks!

 

[molar3]

haha yes, exactly. You can go from x university where you graduate from, and take undergrad courses at y university after you graduate from x. Or if you want, you can stay at x and take classes there that you havnt already taken in order to raise your gpa.
I personally think, undergrad gpa is most important, then grad gpa (if you need it/want to do a grad program of some sort)

 

[dentalWorks]

huh, interesting. so even after i have received my degree from x university, i can go to y college, take undergraduate lvl courses and it will be counted into my uGPA?

yes

followup - do dental schools care more about uGPA or a higher graduate GPA that supplements a mediocre uGPA?

thanks!

From looks of things, uGPA is most important

 

[wizi]

recommended or required for acceptance?

Recommended but a lot of schools require Biochem now.

 

[Lane138]

For dental schools that require biochemistry, does it count if I take it fall of senior year? There's no way that I can fit biochem into my schedule this semester because I'm finishing up physics and requirements for my major. Do schools just accept on faith that I'll take physics before graduating?

 

[Chemboy23]

For dental schools that require biochemistry, does it count if I take it fall of senior year? There's no way that I can fit biochem into my schedule this semester because I'm finishing up physics and requirements for my major. Do schools just accept on faith that I'll take physics before graduating?

Doesn't matter.

 

[iamjackbauer]

For dental schools that require biochemistry, does it count if I take it fall of senior year? There's no way that I can fit biochem into my schedule this semester because I'm finishing up physics and requirements for my major. Do schools just accept on faith that I'll take physics before graduating?

yes, most schools let you know that in order to matriculate, you have to take certain courses first. i did all my interviews while i was taking biochem, and it wasn't an issue at all. some of the schools just wanted to make sure that i had planned on taking it before i would begin dental school.