Low GPA problem

[qrst319]

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Hi

I am an international student with GPA of 3.18 and science GPA around 2.9
2013-2014 is going to be my 5th year in college.

My major is chemistry and minoring in visual arts.

In fresheman and sophomore year, I was having hard time adjusting myself into college
and got Cs in multiple courses such as biology, organic chemistry, and physics.
I retook those courses and made them either A- or B from Cs.

I have job shadowed more than 100 hours in two dentist offices.

In college, I have worked as a chemistry lab TA and as a cartoonist.
This coming up year, I will be working as an RA for the first time


I do not know if this helps but I had a family problem.
My parents owend a restaurant but it was pretty hard to run it while having multiple
employees that I had to work quite a lot. For example, I had to work (or just help out like volunteer) everyday during breaks, and had to work during weekends in school year. The biggest thing happened last year. My parents were not able to renew their working visa and were pretty much kicked out from the country. I was the only one left behind in the US with a student visa. I had to deal with their business, house, their belonings, and school. There was no way I could have gone to school while packing family belonings in the house as I was selling a bunch in garage sales. (I was in the newspaper also haha..haha 🙁 )
I had to get Incompletes for all of my courses and had to finish all of them on top of 12 credits of course load this past Spring term of 2013.

This past school year, I was having a lot of nightmares and feeling depressed. The shock I got from the incident last year too big to handle.




I seriously do not know what to do. Dentisty is what I want to do but it seems like a dream that I cannot reach.... Any advices?

 

[squigloo]

The first thing you need to do is relax. Dental school is in no way out of your reach. GPA is only one part of your application, and you still have this year to try and bring it up. Focus on studying hard for the DAT, as a good score on that can help neutralize a lower gpa.

By doing well on the DAT, getting good LoRs, and having a good personal statement (which you seem to have plenty to write about), you can have an excellent shot at getting into schools.

Also, there is a section on the aadsas called "Disadvantaged Status" for cases like yours. Take full advantage of it. Good luck!

 

[LaughingGas]

I am sorry to hear what happened. I think it's best to hold on to school until all your problems are solved. You are not out of the game yet, but it will be a hard one. From now on you need As to raise your GPA. Start connecting with professors, dentists, advisors to get STRONG letters. In addition, you would need good DAT, ECs such as, dental experience, volunteer, research.
It is ok to not graduate on time. Take some time off until everything is solved.

 

[uzeone]

Always keep your ambition, never lose sight of that and you will go places. A dream is only a dream when it is not a reality. Anything is possible if you keep at it. From reading much in these forums the past few hours, there have been people in far worse situations grade point wise that have got into dentistry. Don't give up your dream and not let it become a reality.

 

[Soleus715]

I went through a lot of struggles in college as well..

My family was financially struggling for a while and I spent almost all of my free time helping out. One time, I even caught a severe flu and was quarantined for a month which severely destroyed my grades.

I ended up graduating in 5 years and retaking some courses with C-'s.


However, I'm studying like crazy for the DAT now and I believe that if I study hard enough and score high enough, the low GPA won't be such an issue. Especially if I can build a strong application to minimize the GPA.



I think that no matter how far away your dreams seem to be, they will only get closer IF you keep working towards it. All we can do is to take it bit by bit and take bites that we can digest.

Figure out what needs to be done and go at it day by day. Trust me time will fly by FAST and you'll look back one day and be proud of how far you've pulled yourself up.

Good luck!

 

[CWL]

I am an international student as well and I have been here alone by myself since I was 14 (boarding school). The sooner you learn self control the better you will be. Your future is in your own hands.

In my opinion, international students are already in a disadvantage in many schools. I always thought that in order to compete with domestic students, we have to prove that we are better, if not equally capable to complete those college courses. So a high GPA and high DAT is a must if you want higher chance to get in.

GPA is very difficult to improve in short amount of time. So I think you probably have to cram out an excellent DAT and probably compensate for GPA.

Apply broadly to private schools that don't take nationality into account, but make sure your family can afford the tuition. Private schools are very very expensive. Schools give little to none financial aid or scholarship to international students. Also it's illegal to work on F1. If that's your status.

I applied cycle with 3.97 GPA and 21 DAT and I applied to 16 schools. I want to be on the safe side because I really have no idea what to expect.

Good luck to you.