Low GPA...Just Starting My Dental School Journey :)

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Go for it! But it goes without saying that you need to prove yourself to the ADCOMs. The GPA will be the single most important thing for you going forward. Pair that with a solid DAT score, EC, Shadowing, PS, LoR and you should be good to go.

Have you looked at SMPs? Might be better to do an SMP than to take undergrad courses again, since you come from a science background. Of course, if your prereqs are too old you do need to take them again so a postbac will be better.
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Beginning of my dental school journey :)

Here's my story:

Undergrad GPA: about 2.6 (ouch).......URM, low-income family, parent in prison, first-generation, worked through school.....you get the drift.......SGPA: 2.66.....not because I didn't get it but because of working and poor time management (graduated high school with honors, top 5% of my class, competitive ACT/SAT scores)
Bachelor's: Chemical Engineering (2014)
Graduated with a job as a Process Engineer for Procter & Gamble now with a different fortune 50 company

3.5 years later......I HATE IT ......I want to be a dentist

- completed about 50 hours of dental shadowing at a low income clinic
- CFO for a women's nonprofit organization of over 500 members

Currently applying to the following predental/premed postbacc programs that I am eligible to apply for....UNC Greensboro, elms college, rosemont college, SIU, SanFran, UPenn, UCLA Ext, Manhattanville, FIU

I plan on submitting really good application packets to overcome my gpa... Is there anyone with a similar gpa or has been accepted to any of these programs with admissions advice or any perspective on these programs leading to dental school?

(I am prepared to register at a state university as non degree seeking or 2nd bachelors if all else fails)

.........no I will not reevaluate whether I want to go to dental school, I haven't slept in 6 months thinking about it :) I'm not a quitter and at the very least I will at least try and apply and keep you all updated on my results :)
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So I'm special. I did a postbac and I'm in a SMP. I went to UNCG for my postbac. Dr. Maxwell, the premed/predent program coordinator, is awesome! She will be real with you. She will let you know if you should do a postbac or a SMP. I was at UNCG for a year. The classes are good and most professors are helpful. But I ended up getting waitlisted last cycle. Dr. Maxwell told me to look at SMPs. I was in the same boat at you. I took so many science classes during my undergrad and at UNCG that an A might bump up my GPA by .01. That's not much.

So look at your science GPA. Play around with the GPA calculators online and see if a postbac will make a difference. If you're like me, they won't. I recommend that you look into SMPs. Doing well in a SMP shows that you mastered the topic and you are serious about dental school.

Go for your dreams! Don't give up!
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Thank you for your response. It looks like the minimum GPA is 2.8.
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It's flexible. They look at how good of a shot they think you have to get in after the program. Your story with URM and a hard upbringing makes up for the slightly lower than what it says GPA, and being an engineer ETC.

Have you already completed most dental school pre req classes?
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Thank you. I will look into applying there for the fall. I applied to a few schools already with hopes to start in May. Yes I completed all prereqs under my chemE degree.
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What's your gpa in those pre reqs?
 
This will be a serious investment of time on your end and it’s going to cost you significantly. Make sure that this really is what you want: all or nothing, no regrets afterwards...

Your goal is to get your gpa to a 3.0 MINIMALLY before applying to dental schools. And that 3.0 needs to be something that ends up calculated through aadsas standards, not what your transcript says which means you may have to take more classes than you think. Raising gpa from 2.66 will take a lot of credits. And since it’s getting more and more competitive with time you may even need to dazzle a bit more with an smp, etc. Double your shadowing hours and up your ECs.
 
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Giving up 6 figures to go back to school and face an uncertain future sounds daunting. Keep in mind that the average dentist does not really make a fortune of money, and that the debt you are going to incur for the post bac and possible SMP coupled with dental school tuition will set you back quite a bit. I can see a career change when you do not have high earning potential, but in your case, over the course of five years, adding lost income to tuition fees, you may be a million or more behind. With a low GPA, scholarship money will be scarce. Think this through, saying you can always go back to engineering is simplifying things.
 
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I gotta say I'm not sure it's worth it. You're already making six figures man! It would probably take you another 5-6 years to become a practicing dentist assuming you have to take courses for the next 1-2 years to get your GPA above a 3.0.
5-6 years of 6 figure salary would mean earnings of 500-600k atleast, not accounting for any promotion you might get. Compare that to not earning that money and rather taking on 500k+ debt for dental school, that's a difference of over a million dollars right there. The smart financial decision would probably be to stick with engineering.

However, if dentistry is truly your passion and what you want to pursue in life, more power to you. If dentistry will make you live a happy life, don't let anything stop you from reaching your goal man!
 
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4th year dental student here. Not worth it if you are making 6 figures already.
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Update: Got accepted into UNCG Predental program for the summer (easiest application ever. They pretty much accept every one with a GPA above 2.3 I think). One other application submitted and 6 in progress.

It's finally hitting me that I'll soon be leaving my 6-figure salary to be a conservative college student again. Definitely going to make sure that this is something I want to do before I leave my job. But at the least, I guess I can always go back to chemical engineering.
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If you don't mind can you tell me where else you applied. I am also looking into post bacc program that can help me raise my GPA.
 
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I highly recommend Chad's videos and DAT bootcamp. I used bootcamps PAT generator daily, practice every day for at least 10-15 minutes (obviously more on other days) and you'll see improvements. I also used bootcamp for their practice DATs. After you're dont the practice, you're given an extensive break down of each question, STUDY THAT!
 
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Why do you want to be a dentist so bad? There are a lot of negatives to the job. The pay is only marginally better than what you make now but after debt service you’ll be making less than you make now. Also, don’t forget about how investing while you are young has a much bigger impact on your net worth later in life than money invested once you start getting older.

Being a dentist is a crappy job in most ways. The only thing I love about it is being my own boss and the income per hour and the hours per week worked. Those are the good things and the rest is just a bunch of hard work that is bad for your neck and back, dealing with PITA patients, being told “I hate the dentist at least once a day”, and hearing b!tching from employees.
 
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sobertiger said:
Go for it! But it goes without saying that you need to prove yourself to the ADCOMs. The GPA will be the single most important thing for you going forward. Pair that with a solid DAT score, EC, Shadowing, PS, LoR and you should be good to go.

Have you looked at SMPs? Might be better to do an SMP than to take undergrad courses again, since you come from a science background. Of course, if your prereqs are too old you do need to take them again so a postbac will be better.
Click to expand...


Just FYI most of schools are ok woth pre reqs taken past 10 yrs. I personally called/emailed at least 16 schools (that I am applying) said they are ok. Some schools says no but when you actually have good DAT score, they change the tone and says it is ok. So. No need to re take them all just bc it's old.
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Update for those who care:

It’s been exactly 1 year since I ditched chemical engineering to pursue dentistry. I ended up going to get my Master’s in Biology Health Sciences last August and will graduate in December. Definitely underestimated taking Medical school level Bio courses with no bio background but I’m glad i did it before dental school. 1st year won’t be as bad.

I applied this application cycle In June to 17 schools based off of recommendations and stats. This summer I finished up all of my prereqs (micro and bio) and my grad gpa is sitting around a 3.5. It’s not a 4.0 like the rest of you SDNers but I’m proud of it. ☺

Took the DAT today. I pushed it back 3-4 times and this was the absolute last day i could take it since classes start back Wednesday.

I studied all day yesterday and got to bed around 11 pm. Tossed and turned all night seeing a screen pop up with a 16 AA. So i got up at 3:45 am and studied until it was test time this morning. . . . . And look what happened:

PAT: 17 (i ran out of time and had to guess on like 20 questions. Guess i guessed wrong )
QR: 19 (ran out of time or maybe I’m not as good at math as i think i am. I started studying for math literally 4 days. Guess i should’ve started earlier)
RC: 25
BIO: 21
GC: 24
OC: 22
TS: 22
AA: 22

My mentors seem to believe that I’m a competitive candidate now so I’m being very optimistic about getting multiple interviews and acceptances. . . Even with my low undergrad GPA.

Just wanted to give an update on my story to hopefully inspire those who may not have the stats now. Make a plan, put in the work, have faith, and everything will come together. Don’t let some of the stories or people on here deter you from your dreams. You can do this. If i can do this, you can do this.

See you all in dental school ☺
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thank you for posting your journey, it was very inspirational to read.
congrats on your dat score and finishing your masters!
what are your top choices for dental school?
 
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Good luck! We are similar... I also left a 6 figure job to pursue dentistry; applying this cycle. We'll see... :)

Original low GPA: 2.94
Post Bacc GPA: 3.97
New overall: 3.23
New Science overall: 3.80
 
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I applied to 16 schools hoping something sticks. 2 interviews and one "continuing review" (buffalo) so far, so I am staying positive. I didn't get everything submitted until the end of Aug, so I am optimistic I'll hear more later in the fall or after December. Best of luck to you :)
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Thank you. I’m hopeful that they realize our commitment and will give us a chance in spite of our previous academic history. How many schools did you apply to? I applied to 20 to cast a wide net. Can’t afford to not get in this application cycle
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Hi! So, after reading your journey so far, I have decided that I want to go into business with you! Someone with your drive and passion will make it! We will have to wait a few years but instead of 5 dental practices maybe we can grow it to 7 : ) ! What do you think ; ) ?
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Completed my 1st ever dental school interview and surprisingly wasn't nervous at all. Probably because i'm consumed with doing well in my final class with graduation being in December.

This was the only interview I've gotten but as mentioned earlier, my application wasn't complete until mid September. Fingers crossed that there will be more coming in the upcoming weeks. If not, I'd be completely satisfied going to the school I recently interviewed for if accepted.
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congrats on your opportunity, I never thought I would get a interview pre December but it happened, I hope both of us get more opportunities!
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Accepted to dental today. I will Actually be a dentist. Dreams really do come true. 1st time applicant. Low undergrad gpa. Non traditional student.

Can NOT believe it. I am living proof that if you want something, set a goal, develop an action plan, ignore the naysayers, you can achieve it.
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Congrats!!!
 
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dmdhopefully said:
Accepted to dental school today. I will Actually be a dentist. Dreams really do come true. 1st time applicant. Low undergrad gpa. Non traditional student.

Can NOT believe it. I am living proof that if you want something, set a goal, develop an action plan, ignore the naysayers, you can achieve it.
Click to expand...
you did it!! I'm happy to see success like this!
 
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Thank you for sharing your story and congrats on your acceptance!! I'm a career changer also with a low GPA. How long was your masters program? And if you don't mind, can you share a bit more about what else you did to strengthen your app (outside of GPA and DAT)?
 
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