Oh god.. I need help! the BASICS..

[Allen Kim]

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Hellooo all.
I've been a long time creeper on this forum, reading threads & posts posted by others. It seems like everyone who's asking questions somewhat know what he/she's doing. I, on the other hand.. don't really know what to do..

Attending a small private school, the pre-health advisor's a bonehead who focuses mostly on medical schools, rather than all health fields.. so he's not much of a help.. But about me, I'm currently a 2nd year biology major with a low and depressing gpa of ~3.1 cumulative gpa and ~3.0 science gpa. I know that I have to take the DAT soon, but I'm not sure when. I would like some guidance from you guys. What's the timeline like (when to study/take the DAT, apply, etc.)? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you. <3

 

[652316541]

get your gpa up, do some EC's, articulate why perusing dentistry is meaningful to you. I don't really get what you're asking b/c a "time line" is different for everyone but welcome to the forum.

 

[Allen Kim]

oo.. thanks.

What I meant by "timeline" was like when people, who plan to go to attend dental school right after their undergraduate studies, take the DAT and apply and stuff like that.. so like.. if I graduate from undergrad in spring 2012 and plan on attending dental school in the fall of 2012, when would I need to take the DAT and apply?

 

[652316541]

it's best to take it anytime before you apply. Some schools don't look at your application until you're scores are submitted.

 

[baseballjunkie]

"Ideal situation" would be to take your DAT in spring of 2011, and apply to AADSAS in June of 2011. I would make sure that you have your letters of recommendation done by the spring of 2011.

I would say that unless you kill the DAT (23+ on most sections), then you'll need to boost your GPA to at least a 3.3-3.4.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hellooo all.
I've been a long time creeper on this forum, reading threads & posts posted by others. It seems like everyone who's asking questions somewhat know what he/she's doing. I, on the other hand.. don't really know what to do..

Attending a small private school, the pre-health advisor's a bonehead who focuses mostly on medical schools, rather than all health fields.. so he's not much of a help.. But about me, I'm currently a 2nd year biology major with a low and depressing gpa of ~3.1 cumulative gpa and ~3.0 science gpa. I know that I have to take the DAT soon, but I'm not sure when. I would like some guidance from you guys. What's the timeline like (when to study/take the DAT, apply, etc.)? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you. <3

First of all, relax, your freaking out over nothing
second, whats all this talk about "have to take the DAT soon", your a sophomore for crying out loud, you have MUCH more important things to "worry" about like picking up the slack and boosting that GPA.

The good news is you have A LOT of time left to fix your GPA, you still have at least 2 years of undergrad left. Work hard in your upcoming classes and you'll be able to bring that 3.0/3.1 GPAs to 3.3-3.4 by time you graduate.... this is your PRIMARY goal as of now. Don't think about the DAT, don't think about "when do I need to take it"..... focus on your school first, the DAT is something you can do ANYTIME you want, there is no real time line as to when you "have" to take it.

Right now, focus 90% of your energy in your college courses, the other 10% spend it on shadowing a dentist, some volunteering to show that you care about your community.

 

[DrReese]

Also, some dental schools will give you a "time line". Here is one from my school. I suggest you take a look at some other schools websites.

http://dentistry.umkc.edu/bec_student/assets/pdf/SuggestedPredentalSchedule.pdf