May I please have an advice?

[ddsimygoal]

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Hello, fellow pre-dental and dental students!
I am planning to apply this cycle, and I really need an advice.

Following are my current stats that describes my current situation:
1. Graduated from one of the top private schools (just want to know if this could help my situation even a little... you will see what I am talking about if you read the below)

2. Undergraduate cumulative GPA for AADSAS = 2.76,
undragrad BCP GPA for AADSAS = 2.35,
undergrad BCPM (=Science) GPA for AADSAS = 2.43,
I am a Texas-resident, so...
undergrad cGPA for TMDSAS = 2.83
undergrad BCP GPA for TMDSAS = 2.70
undergrad BCPM GPA for TMDSAS = 2.67

3. I took 1.5 semesters of post-bacc program
Post-bacc sGPA = 3.1
Post-bacc cGPA = 3.24
I struggled hard on my first semester because I still had bad studying habit.
Although, these are not good grades, my grades showed upward trends every semester.

4. Overall GPA (undergrad + post-bacc) for AADSAS = 2.9
overall BCP GPA for AADSAS = 2.65,
overall BCPM (=Science) GPA for AADSAS = 2.7,
undergrad cGPA for TMDSAS = 2.97
undergrad BCP GPA for TMDSAS = 2.84
undergrad BCPM GPA for TMDSAS = 2.83

5. Overall DAT score = 25 on my third try
I have really low GPA, so I studied extremely hard to obtain this score.

6. Shadowed a dentist for more than 100 hours
Volunteered at a local general hospital for more than 150 hours
Went to a developing country to do dental volunteering for a week

7. The dentist that I shadow is a really good mentor, and I think he will write me a strong LoR.
I am getting 2 more decent LoR from my science professors.

8. I have a strong desire to become a dentist, and I expressed this in my personal statement/essay. Many people read it and gave positive feedback.

9. My current situation: I cannot continue the post-bacc program anymore because of my financial situation, so I cannot raise my grade up anymore... unless I work for years and sign up again.

10. I will apply to AADSAS schools by the end of June and to TMDSAS schools by early June.

11. My goal is just to become a dentist, so I do not care about which region the school is in. Therefore, I will
apply broadly.

Thank you for taking your time to read all these 🙂

Since I had a long post, I will get to the point:
May I please know if I have even 1% chance of getting into a dental school?

I would really appreciate your response and advice! Thank you again.

 

[Tikidude19]

To be brutally honest, unless you take a lot more courses and get way better grades, no you do not even have a 1% chance.

 

[Incis0r]

To be brutally honest, unless you take a lot more courses and get way better grades, no you do not even have a 1% chance.

I disagree. 2.9 GPA (right on the border of 3) with a 25 DAT? If OP bumps that GPA up to 3.2-3.3, s/he will be a shoo-in.

 

[danchoi03]

If your DAT score AA is actually 25, then I say apply with your postbac grade and DAT score. You should apply to schools that love high DAT scores like Midwestern, UOP, NOVA, etc.. If you don't get in this cycle, I assume it can only be your undergrad GPA and your postbac grades don't show that much improvement. You have to get close to 4.0 in postbac at least. If this cycle doesn't work out for you try to apply a SMP

 

[ddsimygoal]

To be brutally honest, unless you take a lot more courses and get way better grades, no you do not even have a 1% chance.

Thank you for your response! I guess I need to somehow find a way to do post-bacc program more 🙁

 

[ddsimygoal]

I disagree. 2.9 GPA (right on the border of 3) with a 25 DAT? If OP bumps that GPA up to 3.2-3.3, s/he will be a shoo-in.

Thank you for your response!
What if I don't think I can do post-bacc program more 🙁 b/c of a financial issue

 

[ddsimygoal]

If your DAT score AA is actually 25, then I say apply with your postbac grade and DAT score. You should apply to schools that love high DAT scores like Midwestern, UOP, NOVA, etc.. If you don't get in this cycle, I assume it can only be your undergrad GPA and your postbac grades don't show that much improvement. You have to get close to 4.0 in postbac at least. If this cycle doesn't work out for you try to apply a SMP

Thank you for your response and advice of applying to certain schools!
I really studied hard for that DAT b/c of my low GPA. I hope it helps me 🙁

 

[danchoi03]

Remember that DAT scores expire in 3 years. Therefore, I suggest you apply to dental schools and SMP programs simultaneously so you don't waste a year if you don't get in this cycle. If you do the SMP route, you need to buckle down and study hard.

 

[Incis0r]

Thank you for your response! I guess I need to somehow find a way to do post-bacc program more 🙁

Go get 'em!

 

[darknightzzz]

Remember that DAT scores expire in 3 years. Therefore, I suggest you apply to dental schools and SMP programs simultaneously so you don't waste a year if you don't get in this cycle. If you do the SMP route, you need to buckle down and study hard.

danchoi03? lolz funny

 

[Bifenthrin]

Honestly I wouldn't waste the money applying this cycle. If you're planning to apply broadly, that's going to be several thousand dollars thrown out a window with that GPA. Use that money for another year of post-bacc or an SMP instead, kill it with as close to a 4.0 as you can get, and apply the following cycle.

 

[Prophy 2015 :)]

I think it would be best to contact the schools you are most interested in and see if you could set up a meeting with someone in admissions about your application. A post-bac GPA of 3.2 might be on the low end in terms of averages, but I know of a couple people in a similar situation who have met with admissions officers for guidance on how to address this concern in their application. Good luck and don't let others get you down! 🙂