I just saw this thread and could not resist & so here are my few words.
Here are my Stats: Part I/II 87/77, ECE GPA: 2.83, WES: 3.45, TOEFL: 99 1-yr dental internship/work back home, 2.5 yrs dental assistant in US, and FL DH license.
I was invited for and interview at NYU a year before last. That was the only interview for me that year and the last. I was happy and nervous, the first statement that the interviewer made was we usually dont accept GPA less then 3.0 (I am thinking then why the heck you called me here
), then they say what can you do about the LOW GPA? (like I can go back to school and take classes over again, gosh!!
). At that time I told her I can take Part II and show that I am a good student. Then the interviewer asked me about my CBT Toefl of 230, and said that is too low too. They go on to tell that I don't have chances at NYU, but still give them the part II and higher TOEFL scores. One week later I received a NICE Rejection letter.
This statement is for people with low GPA: Overall, I am Glad that i did not get accepted to NYU, Life in NY is hectic and i know this b/c the following year one of my frnds got into NYU and they are having a tough time with commute and work load. (FYI my frnds and I are all going to graduate in 2010
, NYU is 3 yrs and UIC is 2, many other schools are 2 yrs
. So please be patient and do the best you can. There are many universities that dont take GPA so seriously or accept WES, and are better overall school experience with less commute and less hectic life (i.e. UIC, BU, Cali schools, etc.).
So, this is what I did b/c dentistry is my passion and i wanted to get into a school: Everyone knows that you cant change your GPA. I retook the TOEFL - got 99, I received Lic as FL DH (clinical exam exp. in the US) and improved my SOP. And applied To following international dental program schools: UIC, UDM, UTSHCSA, UMN, All Cali Schools, UMDNJ, Buffalo, NYU, BU, Penn, Nova, U of M, etc, this year. I was interviewed at UIC, USC, Loma Linda, and declined interview from UMDNJ, because I received acceptance from UIC.
At NONE of the interviews I was asked, what can i do about my low GPA? I believe that a true interview/practical is about your personality not asking useless questions like what can you do about your GPA
(I can understand if they ask WHY is your GPA low). So all of you with LOW Gpa NYU is not the only school, in fact it is the last option for most people b/c of the length of program, intensitiy of travel/life in NYU and cost. Improve any parts of app that you can and apply to as many schools as possible and you will get in.
**Note Disclaimer**
The above is my personal experience, in no way I am trying to offend any students or dental school. My opinions do not reflect any dental schools offical interview/practical guidelines.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Dentalbug