Need some advice

[deleted634258]

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Dear forum members,

I have a question about GPAs from foreign dental schools. So my dental school awards some grades based on a 1-10 scale (most people earn 6's and 7's, above that is very exceptional) and some are just pass or fail. I was wondering what kind of GPA you would need to be a little bit competitive. Is there also information regarding some admission statistics? My dental school is in the Netherlands and I'm a Dutch citizen and an American citizen.

Thanks in advance for the help. This is sometimes pretty difficult to navigate.

Jonathan

 

[chuckler]

Due to the fact that the majority of applications are from India, and the private dental colleges there offer GPA as high as 3.6 even to 4.0, some United States dental schools have a preference of high GPA like that (over 3.5).
Well, since you are from Netherland, first let's see what is the result of ECE evaluation. If your GPA is lower than 3.2, I would recommend you taking an ADAT.
Also prepare yourself with some experience they like, research experience, volunteer.
Most important, PASS the national board within the FIRST attempt!

 

[deleted634258]

Thanks for your advice. Yeah, it's too early to tell now because I still have a few years left (dental school here is 6 years and I have a few more years to go) so I hope I can maintain my good grades. I assume the ADAT is a similar exam to the boards I need to pass anyways (both NBDE i and ii)? Also, are these exams pass or fail exams or are they graded?

 

[chuckler]

Thanks for your advice. Yeah, it's too early to tell now because I still have a few years left (dental school here is 6 years and I have a few more years to go) so I hope I can maintain my good grades. I assume the ADAT is a similar exam to the boards I need to pass anyways (both NBDE i and ii)? Also, are these exams pass or fail exams or are they graded?

Better to take boards exam first and then take the ADAT, because their contents are basically the same (except that ADAT requires some additional knowledge in research).
NBDE exams do not give scores or percentile, but ADAT does, and that's why I recommend taking ADAT if your GPA is not impressive enough.
Another thing you need to know is that when you graduate, there would be iNBDE other than the current part1 and part2. I have no idea what iNBDE would be like, whether it is scored or just give a pass/fail, and the passing rate.
The current passing rate for board exam is over 90% for both parts. I have heard the iNBDE will be slighter harder but still, let us see what will be going on.

 

[deleted634258]

Thanks so much for the reply. I really appreciate it 🙂.

Yeah, I have no idea how competitive my GPA will be by the end of dental school. It still depends on how it gets evaluated and how they will view all of our pass/fail courses. I hope being an American does give me a 'slight' edge.

Maybe it seems a little bit compulsive but I actually wanted to start studying because I have some time off. But now that the boards are changing, I don't really see the point in getting all the deck cards now. Do you think it's wise to purchase materials for the ADAT? Might as well start with that and if it's harder than the boards, then that will make the boards easier I assume?