Low gpa and Prehealth committee..

[MS Janis]

Hi, I am currently in a junior and going to apply this summer. I had a meeting with my prehealth advisor and she said my oGPA and sGPA are in low end so she suggested me to
apply next year.. And she said that the prehealth committe would make a ranking based on my GPA & ECs and write a composite letter like they highly or just moderately recommend me. And I heard that someone from last year got 7/10 rating. Will the rating by the prehealth committe really affect to dental schools?
I am so worried.. I have 3.37 oGPA, 3.26 sGPA, and DAT AA/TS/PAT/RC 20/20/21/20.
Can you guys chance me at dental schools? Also please give me any advices that I can do from now to raise my chance. Thank you in advance.

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[Glimmer1991]

Your GPA is a bit on the lower end, but it isn't *that* bad!!! And your DAT is totally solid. If you make all As this semester, I definitely think your GPA will be in a decent place.

In this instance, I might actually try to get individual letters instead of going through the committee. Do you have a bio prof, chem prof, and dentist that you could get letters from? That is what you need for most schools. I wouldn't want the committee writing me a letter if I knew they wouldn't recommend me highly.

 

[ILLchief]

your DAT is pretty solid! congrats. i wouldn't worry about that... the advisor is right, your GPA is on the low side. however, its not terrible. seeing as your only a junior, you could apply this year and may receive some interviews depending on your EC's. however, if you nailed your senior year and boosted that GPA (shoot for as close to 4.0 as possible) even more then you would have a pretty darn good shot when you apply after you graduate giving you a gap year.

if you've got the money/ your parents are willing to pay and give it a shot this cycle then by all means go for it but make sure you apply broadly! however, if you want to save your money and boost that application more then get that 4.0 your senior year, find something cool/unique to put on your application, boost your ECs, and find a job for your gap year.

 

[sjv]

Agreed, stats are sufficient for admission somewhere. Would it be possible to avoid the committee and get individual letters?

 

[techyguy]

I was told by a dental school student, who seemed to know what he was talking about, that something like 80% of the students who were accepted had a committee letter. I never tried to confirm that anywhere, but it seemed like something worthwhile to keep in mind.

Also, straight A's are, in fact, possible. Undergrad is really kind of kiddie stuff compared to masters classes and (probably) dental school classes. I would actually suggest taking a couple good, hard science classes and working your tail off to ace them. The back half of your transcript will look better, and, if you make the grade, your GPA will improve, so you get a two-fer!

 

[Gaucho4Life]

Individual letters, your committee might toss you in the street. Get a bio and a chem professor to highly recommend you. Your grades as is aren't bad, they'll warrant an acceptance if you apply broadly and accurately, it just may not be your ideal choice. However, if you decide to wait another year to apply, a year is enough to raise the s and oGPA's ~3.5, and coupled with more shadowing and EC's, it'll obviously increase your chances.