Need advice, can you guys judge me as an applicant?

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MrSunshine711

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hey guys, my lifelong ambition has been to become a dentist, and for the most part I feel like I'm well on my way. The issue is this: I generally have a very strong performance, but with one semester where I did uncharacteristically bad due to tragic circumstances. My current stats, including my anomaly semester, are as follows:

cgpa: 3.4
sgpa: 3.2

And for my DAT:

AA: 23
TS: 23

I believe I have very strong extracurriculars. I have experience shadowing in a dental office, I volunteer in a health clinic, I volunteer tutoring children at the local hospital who are too sick to attend school, I am involved in research in this same hospital, I do research work with a professor's at my school's research group. I also am on my school's debate team, I am on a basketball team, was an undergrad editor for a science magazine and volunteer with local charities. I have also had the same part-time job for over four years.

I would appreciate if anyone could tell me how they think I stand as a candidate.
 
Ur GPA isn't good BUT you def made up for it with your Dat score.

Having strong extra curricular is a good thing also.

Just apply as early as you can, and I foresee you landing interviews. Again, apply early. Just cuz ur Dat is good doesn't mean you can relax and apply late.

just keeping it real admissions can still pass over your application, solely because of your GPA. Your performance on the Dat is the only thing giving you a shot at interviews.

Good luck!

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hey guys, my lifelong ambition has been to become a dentist, and for the most part I feel like I'm well on my way. The issue is this: I generally have a very strong performance, but with one semester where I did uncharacteristically bad due to tragic circumstances. My current stats, including my anomaly semester, are as follows:

cgpa: 3.4
sgpa: 3.2

And for my DAT:

AA: 23
TS: 23

I believe I have very strong extracurriculars. I have experience shadowing in a dental office, I volunteer in a health clinic, I volunteer tutoring children at the local hospital who are too sick to attend school, I am involved in research in this same hospital, I do research work with a professor's at my school's research group. I also am on my school's debate team, I am on a basketball team, was an undergrad editor for a science magazine and volunteer with local charities. I have also had the same part-time job for over four years.

I would appreciate if anyone could tell me how they think I stand as a candidate.

You'll get in somewhere because of the high DAT, Apply to 10 or so schools and you'll def get in somewhere. You have a higher shot at private schools vs. state schools since they tend to want higher sGPAs but apply broadly to maximize your chances.
 
nice job on the DAT! just echoing what everyone else said, apply broadly and you'll get in somewhere. if you have a state school you are pretty much on your way with the DAT score you have. take a look at the ADEA guide and it'll let you exactly where you are competitive. you also have a chance to explain uncharacteristic grades in your application so keep that in mind
 
hey guys, my lifelong ambition has been to become a dentist, and for the most part I feel like I'm well on my way. The issue is this: I generally have a very strong performance, but with one semester where I did uncharacteristically bad due to tragic circumstances. My current stats, including my anomaly semester, are as follows:

cgpa: 3.4
sgpa: 3.2

And for my DAT:

AA: 23
TS: 23

I believe I have very strong extracurriculars. I have experience shadowing in a dental office, I volunteer in a health clinic, I volunteer tutoring children at the local hospital who are too sick to attend school, I am involved in research in this same hospital, I do research work with a professor's at my school's research group. I also am on my school's debate team, I am on a basketball team, was an undergrad editor for a science magazine and volunteer with local charities. I have also had the same part-time job for over four years.

I would appreciate if anyone could tell me how they think I stand as a candidate.

If you can speak for the poor semester, than I think your golden. I actually have similar stats. I got a 23 on the DAT, but the GPA did cause me some issues. Either way, you'll be fine.
 
Interviews for sure. Acceptance? Likely, it's based on how you perform during your interviews.

GL
 
thanks for the replies everyone, however i have one more question, do you think doing an SMP or post bacc would help me out? I've been hearing a lot about these types of options and I'm curious of their worth
 
I wouldn't consider anymore coursework to boost your app for the upcoming cycle. I applied with the same gpa as yours along with lower dat and I got multiple acceptances. Apply to over a dozen schools and apply early. I think you should be just fine.
 
I don't think you need to worry. You are in a great position. Given what you said, you might want to state your circumstances out in your personal statement because I don't think there's a place on the application that asks you to describe your circumstances. Maybe there is, I forget. 3.4 isn't "too low" as other people have said. It's just around the average for many schools. If you apply broadly and present a good application, you'll get interviews. Don't butcher your interviews and you're golden 🙂

Make sure you apply early. Super important.
 
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