Low undergrad GPA, masters 3.67, DAT 21AA/21TS

[Kangaroo123]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi everyone,

I'm applying this upcoming cycle with low undergrad GPAs (oGPA: 3.18, sGPA: 2.90) but I did a master's program in biological science and am about to graduate next semester (possibly with a 3.73) but I'm currently maintaining my grad GPA as 3.67. I took the DAT over the summer and got a 21AA/21TS with a 18 on RC :/ (English is my second language)

I have relatively good letters from professors and a dentist and diverse volunteer hours (~300 hours). My concern is my undergrad GPA. I had many Cs and even retook some of them (cell bio, biochem) and still got a C on my second attempt which looks horrible on my transcript. I narrowed down my list for dental schools and am planning to apply to about 20 schools (majority of them are private schools to increase my chances of getting accepted). Do you guys think I should narrow down more? Do I still have a chance to get into ANY dental school? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks a lot in advance!!

*I'm a MD resident and Maryland dental school is my top choice!!*

Midwestern (AZ)
Western (CA)
LECOM
NOVA
Midwestern (IL)
Louisville
Boston
Tufts
Maryland
New England
Detroit Mercy
Minnesota
NYU
Touro
Buffalo
Case Western
Temple
Roseman
Virginia
Marquette

 

[Rayner15]

I think you definitely have a shot, most schools look at trends rather than just a raw GPA. I would personally narrow the list down to 9-12, because those additional 8 are just gonna cost you an extra grand. If your masters was a one year program, I would get to know your top 2-5 programs and find out if they would prefer you take an additional year of courses. You got a definite fighting chance for sure.

 

[OMFS_BLUEFACE]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying this upcoming cycle with low undergrad GPAs (oGPA: 3.18, sGPA: 2.90) but I did a master's program in biological science and am about to graduate next semester (possibly with a 3.73) but I'm currently maintaining my grad GPA as 3.67. I took the DAT over the summer and got a 21AA/21TS with a 18 on RC :/ (English is my second language)

I have relatively good letters from professors and a dentist and diverse volunteer hours (~300 hours). My concern is my undergrad GPA. I had many Cs and even retook some of them (cell bio, biochem) and still got a C on my second attempt which looks horrible on my transcript. I narrowed down my list for dental schools and am planning to apply to about 20 schools (majority of them are private schools to increase my chances of getting accepted). Do you guys think I should narrow down more? Do I still have a chance to get into ANY dental school? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks a lot in advance!!

*I'm a MD resident and Maryland dental school is my top choice!!*

Midwestern (AZ)
Western (CA)
LECOM
NOVA
Midwestern (IL)
Louisville
Boston
Tufts
Maryland
New England
Detroit Mercy
Minnesota
NYU
Touro
Buffalo
Case Western
Temple
Roseman
Virginia
Marquette

Why not apply to UConn, it seems to fit your geographical profile of schools? I would leave New England off that list, I visited and didn't feel as if I would be a competent dentist when I graduated, the program was a mess.

 

[Kangaroo123]

Why not apply to UConn, it seems to fit your geographical profile of schools? I would leave New England off that list, I visited and didn't feel as if I would be a competent dentist when I graduated, the program was a mess.

Thank you so much for your insight. I purposely didn’t apply to UConn because they have high average stats, both GPA and DAT 🙁

 

[macsak]

Thank you so much for your insight. I purposely didn’t apply to UConn because they have high average stats, both GPA and DAT 🙁

I would look into which schools take a higher number of masters students...

 

[Kangaroo123]

I would look into which schools take a higher number of masters students...

Good thinking!! Thank you!

 

[Kangaroo123]

I think you definitely have a shot, most schools look at trends rather than just a raw GPA. I would personally narrow the list down to 9-12, because those additional 8 are just gonna cost you an extra grand. If your masters was a one year program, I would get to know your top 2-5 programs and find out if they would prefer you take an additional year of courses. You got a definite fighting chance for sure.

Thank you for your insight. I am actually taking 30 grad credits but I’ve been a part time student so it took me 2 years to graduate. Do you think if I still have a chance if I narrowed down the list to ~10 schools instead of 20?

 

[Cthuluhoop]

You are applying to very expensive programs and to a lot of programs, if you're taking loans be aware of the cost and calculate each school with interest and tuition hikes.
10-12 schools will be enough, if you can't get into 10-12 schools you won't get into 20.

 

[OMFS_BLUEFACE]

Thank you so much for your insight. I purposely didn’t apply to UConn because they have high average stats, both GPA and DAT 🙁

My stats matched yours and I am at UConn now, they are looking for a particular personality and not just the highest stats. When you are making a class of only 45-50, you cant just look for the highest numbers.