Hello everyone, looking for some guidance here.
I really want to pursue a career in dentistry and can't see myself doing anything else but I have some concerns as far as my stats go.
I have an extremely low GPA (due to just not taking undergrad seriously until my junior/senior year). I graduated with a 2.78 overall GPA. I know, that is terrible. However, that was over a year ago and I will say that I am more serious and passionate as ever to go to dental school. My low GPA was not a result of me being dumb academically, I am actually very smart. I just screwed up from the very beginning of my college career and shot my own confidence and as a result, was never able to bring it up enough.
I took my DAT and scored:
21 (PAT)
20(TS)
20(AA)
That was after I studied for 2 months hardcore. I will retake my DAT if need be. I believe I can do a little bit better because it wasn't the material that hurt me, it was my test-taking stamina. I didn't do enough practice tests to build up my speed and I know for a fact that if I did, I would have scored a little bit better.
My shadowing hours are more than enough to be a competitive applicant.
The only dent I currently have in my application would be my GPA (which is the most important thing obviously).
I currently own and manage my own small business so I have not actually worked in a dental clinic. However, I have done copious amounts of volunteer activities and was also an officer for the pre dental society at my university. Community service and volunteering are definitely not lacking on my apps.
My question is as follows: Would my best option be to return to school as a post-bacc student and retake classes that I did poorly in/take upper lever classes, or to apply to masters programs? I would like to choose the former route because that way I can still manage my business and take classes at the same time as there are no good masters programs in my area. If I can manage to get my GPA up above 3.0, would I still have a chance? Also, like I mentioned, I am willing to retake my DAT if need be. Please advise...
I really want to pursue a career in dentistry and can't see myself doing anything else but I have some concerns as far as my stats go.
I have an extremely low GPA (due to just not taking undergrad seriously until my junior/senior year). I graduated with a 2.78 overall GPA. I know, that is terrible. However, that was over a year ago and I will say that I am more serious and passionate as ever to go to dental school. My low GPA was not a result of me being dumb academically, I am actually very smart. I just screwed up from the very beginning of my college career and shot my own confidence and as a result, was never able to bring it up enough.
I took my DAT and scored:
21 (PAT)
20(TS)
20(AA)
That was after I studied for 2 months hardcore. I will retake my DAT if need be. I believe I can do a little bit better because it wasn't the material that hurt me, it was my test-taking stamina. I didn't do enough practice tests to build up my speed and I know for a fact that if I did, I would have scored a little bit better.
My shadowing hours are more than enough to be a competitive applicant.
The only dent I currently have in my application would be my GPA (which is the most important thing obviously).
I currently own and manage my own small business so I have not actually worked in a dental clinic. However, I have done copious amounts of volunteer activities and was also an officer for the pre dental society at my university. Community service and volunteering are definitely not lacking on my apps.
My question is as follows: Would my best option be to return to school as a post-bacc student and retake classes that I did poorly in/take upper lever classes, or to apply to masters programs? I would like to choose the former route because that way I can still manage my business and take classes at the same time as there are no good masters programs in my area. If I can manage to get my GPA up above 3.0, would I still have a chance? Also, like I mentioned, I am willing to retake my DAT if need be. Please advise...
