New to this forum: What are my chances of getting into Dental school?

[PieSquared]

Thanks to those of you who chose to click on my thread and perhaps offer your opinion. I'm seriously trying to gauge where I stand in the typical applicant pool. I'm a non-traditional applicant and have gone through a career change so I'm not all that familiar with the application process yet. Can you offer me your honest opinion on my chances of getting into dental school? Thanks.

Science GPA: 3.94
Non-science GPA: 3.52
Cumulative GPA: 3.69

Undergrad: B.A. Political Science, Harvard University

Research: Currently doing research at a state university where I took some of my science courses

DAT: have not yet taken

Thanks for any help guys.

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[busupshot83]

Thanks to those of you who chose to click on my thread and perhaps offer your opinion. I'm seriously trying to gauge where I stand in the typical applicant pool. I'm a non-traditional applicant and have gone through a career change so I'm not all that familiar with the application process yet. Can you offer me your honest opinion on my chances of getting into dental school? Thanks.

Science GPA: 3.94
Non-science GPA: 3.52
Cumulative GPA: 3.69

Undergrad: B.A. Political Science, Harvard University

Research: Currently doing research at a state university where I took some of my science courses

DAT: have not yet taken

Thanks for any help guys.

Your GPA is excellent, so don't worry about that. As for research, it should make your application more appealing to the adcoms. Score a 18+ on the DAT and you should be ready to roll.

 

[Dukie]

Yes, I would agree. You have a nice GPA from a good school. With a good DAT score, you should do fine. I am not a typical applicant either. Schools like to have well-rounded classes and those students who bring interesting lives to the table are attractive to admissions committees. Best of luck to you!

 

[PieSquared]

Thank you for the opinions. I was a little down on my non-science GPA being a 3.52. That part of my GPA took a hit because of my coursework at Harvard where I was a pretty much a straight "B" student, with an occassional "A" and "C" sprinkled in. I didn't take many science classes at Harvard because I was a political science major on the law school track. Since my career change, I have picked up my science coursework from both my local community college and state university. Focusing now purely on the sciences, I have been able to maintain a high science GPA at 3.94. But my non-science GPA remains a bit lower due to the non-science coursework I did at Harvard being avergaged into that part of my GPA. I'm hoping admissions committees will take that into account when reviewing my file.

Thanks.

 

[wimmcs]

I truly believe all being equal, science GPA weighs more than non-science GPA, so don't worry. As someone else pointed out earlier, just do well on your DAT and I'm sure you'll get a few interview invites.. then it's all downhill from there. Welcome to our forum and good luck in the future.

 

[Sprgrover]

...Can you offer me your honest opinion on my chances of getting into dental school? Thanks.

Science GPA: 3.94
Non-science GPA: 3.52
Cumulative GPA: 3.69

...

Yes, welcome to SDN! Hopefully you'll become an active member. With that aside, your gpa is stellar, you have a degree (which is a major plus), and all that you need to do is get 18+ on the DAT and you are golden. I know that from where you are it's a bit hard to seriously take to heart everyone's advice because you haven't danced with the admissions gorilla - but in all honesty I'm confident you'll receive several interview invites and acceptances. Best of luck!

 

[helix]

I am in a bad position...I have a low undergraduate GPA of about 2.8
and I really really wanna become a dentist - currently studying for DAT and wanted to know if I can get in with this low a GPA

 

[dds]

I am in a bad position...I have a low undergraduate GPA of about 2.8
and I really really wanna become a dentist - currently studying for DAT and wanted to know if I can get in with this low a GPA

A GPA of 2.8 really doesn't say as much as a GPA of 3.9. I student with a 2.8 GPA may have had some bumps along the road and eventually gotten his/her act together at the end. Your standing GPA of 2.8 is not really telling us much. Did you improve your grades towards the end of your college life or were you inconsistent throughout your time in school? The reason why I ask you this is because I too had a low GPA, but I did manage to get into 4 dental schools.

Did you have any hardships to overcome? This may be something you want to include into your personal statement that serves as an explanation (NOT an excuse) for any deficiencies on your academic record.

Do you have any research experience? Did that research have anything to do with dentistry or cancer or HIV?

Have you ever interned or shadowed a dentist? I interned for a community clinic devoted to the needs of the poor and also with a private practice dentist. These experiences show admissions people you have a good picture about what dentistry has to offer. What I might suggest you do is something "out there" such as volunteering for a TMJ specialist. This experience will make you stand out among other applicants.

To a very limited extent, many dental schools look at the the undergrad school you attend.

Finally, but most importantly, I suggest you ROCK the DAT like I did. You should score at least with 19's and 20's if not higher.

I think you do have a chance, especially if you do well on your DAT. Keep the faith. You just have to have a smart application. I wrote a good personal statement and had great intern, research, and volunteer experiences. I think my DAT made the schools look further into my application and made them discover who I really was. Many of the schools I interviewed at noticed my gradual academic improvement. REMEMBER GPA IS ONLY A NUMBER AND THERE IS A STORY BEHIND IT! I would have been doomed if all I had was my GPA to look at. In fact, I think my GPA made my application stand out even more and it highlighted my improvements and contradicted my DAT to a point admissions had to look deeper into my application. I was told this on 2 of my interviews.

Good luck.....there is still hope!

 

[helix]

A GPA of 2.8 really doesn't say as much as a GPA of 3.9. I student with a 2.8 GPA may have had some bumps along the road and eventually gotten his/her act together at the end. Your standing GPA of 2.8 is not really telling us much. Did you improve your grades towards the end of your college life or were you inconsistent throughout your time in school? The reason why I ask you this is because I too had a low GPA, but I did manage to get into 4 dental schools.

Did you have any hardships to overcome? This may be something you want to include into your personal statement that serves as an explanation (NOT an excuse) for any deficiencies on your academic record.

Do you have any research experience? Did that research have anything to do with dentistry or cancer or HIV?

Have you ever interned or shadowed a dentist? I interned for a community clinic devoted to the needs of the poor and also with a private practice dentist. These experiences show admissions people you have a good picture about what dentistry has to offer. What I might suggest you do is something "out there" such as volunteering for a TMJ specialist. This experience will make you stand out among other applicants.

To a very limited extent, many dental schools look at the the undergrad school you attend.

Finally, but most importantly, I suggest you ROCK the DAT like I did. You should score at least with 19's and 20's if not higher.

I think you do have a chance, especially if you do well on your DAT. Keep the faith. You just have to have a smart application. I wrote a good personal statement and had great intern, research, and volunteer experiences. I think my DAT made the schools look further into my application and made them discover who I really was. Many of the schools I interviewed at noticed my gradual academic improvement. REMEMBER GPA IS ONLY A NUMBER AND THERE IS A STORY BEHIND IT! I would have been doomed if all I had was my GPA to look at. In fact, I think my GPA made my application stand out even more and it highlighted my improvements and contradicted my DAT to a point admissions had to look deeper into my application. I was told this on 2 of my interviews.

Good luck.....there is still hope!

Thank you so much for your encouragement.
Actually, I had a good GPA in the beginning and to be very frank my friend passed away during my last sem. so you can imagine how well I did in my studies.
I do have research experience, but not in the fields you've mentioned and I am desparately looking for some voluntary work but donno how to search for one, maybe I'm not looking in the right place.
I am actually an international student and thus not sure if I'll be eligible for internships and stuff like that, but I would be more than happy to do some voluntary dental work if you suggest me how to go about it.
My confidence and motto are very very low right now - but I am trying to study for DAT - hope I do well.
Thank you very much once again.