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[chaseafterthedream]

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I'm getting anxious about not hearing anything yet but am trying to convince myself that no news doesn't always mean bad news. I've applied to UIC, Southern Illinois, Meharry, U of Louisville, Case Western, and U of New England. I have yet to finish the secondary app for Missouri but most likely will since their deadline is Jan 31. On Nov. 7 I got an email from Meharry saying their process was delayed but I should be hearing something soon. No news yet. Based on my stats do you guys think I have a chance at post-December interviews? Or any ideas on what I can do to strengthen my app for the next cycle? Which would be take 3 for me.

Science GPA: 2.62
Nonscience GPA: 3.05
Undergrad GPA: 2.55
Graduate GPA: 3.97
Overall GPA: 2.76

DAT Score
PAT: 20, QR: 18, RC:21, Bio: 17 GC: 19, OC: 19, TS: 18, AA:19

Shadowing: 418 hours

Positions: President of Undergrad Dental Club- 1 year. Social media coordinator for grad school science club- 1 semester

Ect:
Dental Assistant for 2 years in undergrad and I have been working in another office since May
I volunteered every week for 4 hours at a low-fee dental clinic October-May (want to go back- I miss it)
I've done two Dental Brigades to Honduras while in undergrad
I'm listed as a Co-Author on a research paper my Organic Chem lab Prof. published (didn't put this in my app because it was part of the lab class)
I was a TA this past year while in graduate school.
I worked 4/5 years of undergrad

I think what might be hurting me is that I was academically withdrawn after my freshman year but have showed an upward trend since then. Especially with graduate school.

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

 

[DocDoom]

.

 

[amariesa]

Damn, that undergrad GPA is just so low it might not meet cutoffs. This indicates you dont have the ability to comprehend and do well in course work. In this case, I would double check this assumption and look at the DATs and a 17 in Bio suggests the same. If you are dead set on dentistry, I would work hard on getting overall GPA above 3.0 and a dat 23+. Maybe take dental hygiene as a degree to fall back on and use it to improve your grades.

 

[murra651]

You have great ECs, however like the others said, your academics are well below average. You fall below the traditional 3.0 cutoff for GPA and your DAT AA is about average (19-20) being the average for matriculants for most schools (This does not count section scores, your bio score being 17 unfortunately doesn't look too good, the cutoff for some schools is 17 however many people have gotten interviews with sectional scores at 16 but they typically have great AA or something else to raise their app). Your best bet would be to retake the DAT only if you truly understand the material and are getting top scores on practice tests (I recommend DAT Bootcamp personally). Then you should research more schools to find their cutoffs for GPA (I believe most people say 3.0, however I haven't done a ton of research on it personally). If you need to raise your GPA, try and retake your pre-req courses you did poorly in at a 4 year university (Some schools don't take CC credits, or have a limit) (Also, I believe schools have a cut-off for grades received in specifically pre-reqs, so that may be something to look into as well). This will show that you can handle the coursework and raise your GPA. Be sure to plan carefully, and do your research, you are looking at a potentially long and tough road ahead. Talk to a trusted advisor if you can, otherwise most people here will do their best to give clear and honest advice. Stay objective and realistic, don't just throw away money applying or on DAT retakes if you aren't ready. Best of Luck!

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I think the graduate GPA being high would normally offset concerns about your academic ability, but the DAT score (especially the 18 TS) would again raise concerns. I would focus on retaking the DAT and shooting for a high score. What was your graduate degree in (i.e. was it science related)?

 

[Iroh]

Regardless of your Grad GPA, your < 2.7 Science GPA does not meet cutoffs.

 

[jsptr986]

Regardless of your Grad GPA, your < 2.7 Science GPA does not meet cutoffs.

your DAT is pretty low all things considered. retake the DAT but make it a priority and cut out anything unnecessary = don't take any classes, no ECs, if you work try to cut back on hours. what materials have you been using to study?

 

[ncide]

Like Feralis said, your DAT score does not help your GPA. If you are set on dentistry, retake it and improve it significantly, otherwise IMO, it isn't worth being in limbo and having your life on hold as you hope for an interview. I'd consider options outside of dentistry.

 

[chaseafterthedream]

I think the graduate GPA being high would normally offset concerns about your academic ability, but the DAT score (especially the 18 TS) would again raise concerns. I would focus on retaking the DAT and shooting for a high score. What was your graduate degree in (i.e. was it science related)?

My degree was an MA in Biomedical Sciences. And my DAT score is actually my 3rd retake of it, the other 2 were done in 2015.

 

[chaseafterthedream]

Like Feralis said, your DAT score does not help your GPA. If you are set on dentistry, retake it and improve it significantly, otherwise IMO, it isn't worth being in limbo and having your life on hold as you hope for an interview. I'd consider options outside of dentistry.

That score is already a retake from 2015. I've thought of other options but I haven't found anything that I am interested in. I'm currently an assistant but know I won't be able to do that the rest of my life.

 

[chaseafterthedream]

Damn, that undergrad GPA is just so low it might not meet cutoffs. This indicates you dont have the ability to comprehend and do well in course work. In this case, I would double check this assumption and look at the DATs and a 17 in Bio suggests the same. If you are dead set on dentistry, I would work hard on getting overall GPA above 3.0 and a dat 23+. Maybe take dental hygiene as a degree to fall back on and use it to improve your grades.

I struggled a lot in undergrad. However I was able to get my stuff together and do well in my graduate courses. I have considered hygiene before so maybe I'll look more into it.

 

[chaseafterthedream]

You have great ECs, however like the others said, your academics are well below average. You fall below the traditional 3.0 cutoff for GPA and your DAT AA is about average (19-20) being the average for matriculants for most schools (This does not count section scores, your bio score being 17 unfortunately doesn't look too good, the cutoff for some schools is 17 however many people have gotten interviews with sectional scores at 16 but they typically have great AA or something else to raise their app). Your best bet would be to retake the DAT only if you truly understand the material and are getting top scores on practice tests (I recommend DAT Bootcamp personally). Then you should research more schools to find their cutoffs for GPA (I believe most people say 3.0, however I haven't done a ton of research on it personally). If you need to raise your GPA, try and retake your pre-req courses you did poorly in at a 4 year university (Some schools don't take CC credits, or have a limit) (Also, I believe schools have a cut-off for grades received in specifically pre-reqs, so that may be something to look into as well). This will show that you can handle the coursework and raise your GPA. Be sure to plan carefully, and do your research, you are looking at a potentially long and tough road ahead. Talk to a trusted advisor if you can, otherwise most people here will do their best to give clear and honest advice. Stay objective and realistic, don't just throw away money applying or on DAT retakes if you aren't ready. Best of Luck!

Thanks! I struggled in undergrad but was able to figure things out. Just a little too late unfortunately. I made sure the schools I applied to had a GPA and DAT requirement/average of where I'm at, basically making sure I wasn't throwing money away as you said. This was a retake of the DAT for me (the other 2 were in 2015) so I would have to think long and hard about retaking it again, plus I would have to get special permission. I could possibly look into retaking the undergrad classes, but some of them have already been retaken in order to pass/graduate. I wish I had an advisor I could talk to but all of them in my undergrad/grad school knew nothing about getting into dental school.

 

[Kouneko]

To be honest, retaking the DAT one last time and scoring 21/22+ is the only way to redeem your undergrad performances. By not performing well on a 3rd DAT attempt (18 TS) after performing so well on your master's, ADCOM would think that your biomedical science master's program is not rigorous and is one of those that gives out easy As (even if that's not the case). You should devote as much time as you can on the DAT and seek out different approach since the previous approach didn't seem to work for you.

 

[sobertiger]

First of all, there are still plenty of post-dec interviews to be given out so I would not give up just yet. Plenty of people don't hear anything until January but end up getting accepted.

I think you should've applied to more private schools. If you end up applying again, apply to as many private schools as possible (15+) because they take a more holistic view at your application. You should have applied to schools like LECOM, Nova, Touro, ASDOH, OHSU, Tufts, BU, Temple, Roseman, USC, WesternU, Midwestern-AZ & IL, Mercy, etc. Don't try to save money by applying to less schools because at this point, time is far more valuable than money. Besides, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the tuition you'll be paying, and the opportunity cost incurred by having to wait another year.

I see that you've applied to Meharry so I'm guessing you're URM. If so, you should apply to Howard too. If you're not URM, don't bother applying to either next time.

As everyone else has mentioned, a high DAT score seems to be the sole missing puzzle in your comeback story. There is a way to take the DAT more than three times, so definitely look into that. You should not take it until you're getting high scores on all of your practice tests on BC, Qvault, etc. Doing badly on Bio section (arguably the most important science section) after getting a masters on it doesn't look good and makes the ADCOM question the rigor of your masters. Most people who do well on the DAT spend a bulk of their time on Bio because it has so much material. Study Feralis' notes until you know it all from front to back. Remember...breadth over depth. You never know what you're going to get on your exam, especially with Bio, so you need to be ready for anything.

 

[testtest123]

In response to @sobertiger , I think its a lot of really good information. However, I have to say that I really don't like the advice of hoping for post-dec interviews. I am a firm believer of being realistic.

Looking at the GPA and DAT, they are too low. Unless this person left out something absolutely incredible on their EC, they will not receive an interview. Matter of fact, I would go as far as to say they are probably significantly below the cutoff of being considered for interview. I think saying that they have a chance would give them a false sense of hope.

For you (chaseafterthedream), generally speaking your overall GPA is low but your Grad GPA is great. This shows that you are able to handle upper level coursework. Your DAT is bad. You want it above 21/22 with no sections below 19. This is to offset your historically low GPA.

Having a good up-to-date DAT along with your recent good GPA will be the key for getting an interview. Keep adding to your EC/volunteer hours. Make sure you have good letters of rec and apply again next cycle WIDELY (15+ schools).