Master/Post-bacc Choices

[happy_6523]

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I applied dental schools this year and was waitlisted at two schools. My GPA is 3.4. I'm planning to a master or a post-bacc to increase my chance. I'm leaning towards doing a master because at least I would have a master degree in case I can't get into dental school. I want to do a part-time master program while working full-time at the university because some schools cover full or part of tuition if you are their employee.

I found some programs that offer part-time study and cover tuition with a short/no waiting period
Upenn: Pre-health specialized studies (no waiting period, free tuition up to two courses per semester)
UChicago: MS in Biomedical Informatics
Brown: MS in Biotechnology
JHU: MS in Biotechnology
Stanford: MS in Animal Science (many of the students are pre-vet, but animal science sounds interesting)

The deadlines for most master programs have already passed, so my choices are limited. Which program is good? Any other suggestion?

 

[byahnoob]

You do not have to do a masters.
Is this a 3.4 sGPA? What’s your DAT? Where did you apply?

 

[happy_6523]

You do not have to do a masters.
Is this a 3.4 sGPA? What’s your DAT? Where did you apply?

My sGPA is 3.3, DAT is 20. I was waitlisted at NYU and Tufts.

 

[rk1229]

You definitely do not need a masters. Maybe just a different selection of schools this upcoming cycle

 

[byahnoob]

My sGPA is 3.3, DAT is 20. I was waitlisted at NYU and Tufts.

3.3 sGPA is not terrible. There's always a lot of waitlist movement for NYU. I would just work as a DA during your off year as well as continue to volunteer.
You can choose to do a masters if you want but you need to do well. If you don't, it'll hurt you. If you choose not to pursue a masters degree, even retaking the DAT and getting a 22+ will help tremendously.
In the end, the final decision comes down to you. Did you apply to schools like MWU-IL, USC, Touro, ASDOH?

 

[taroplush]

I was in your position last year. I graduated in May 2018 and took the DAT during my senior year and was “worried” that my 3.5 GPA would be inadequate—so now I’m in a master’s (and +$$$ in debt). Point is, I don’t recommend you to do a master’s if your main goal is to get into dental school (also, you might not do as well in your master’s like you think you will). None of the schools even really cared what I was doing in my program when it was brought up during my interviews. Just retake your DAT!