Opinion question be honest!

Started by testnein
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

testnein

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
So heres the deal, everyone says yeah did bad their freshman year, well I did horrible! I have 10 F's that I have to report on the dental school app. But as soon as I decided that I wanted to go to dental school I turned completely around and have made the dean's list almost every semester. But these F's at one of my schools is killing my GPA, but out of all of the F's none were science classes. So heres what my GPA stats look like below. I still have to finish my summer classes and have another fall semester, im 90% sure I will get all A's on all of my remian classes so my overall GPA and my Science GPA will go up by at least .2 or more.... So does anyone think this will kill me on my app. or not? Please be honest!!!!!!!



University of the Incarnate Word* Non scien. GPA 4.00: Scie. GPA 3.44: Cumul. GPA 3.54
San Antonio College* (Alamo CCD) Non scie. GPA 3.46: Scie. GPA 3.48: Cumul GPA 3.47
Southwest Texas Junior College* Non scie. GPA 1.02: Scie. GPA NA: Cumul GPA 1.02
Total GPA NONE SCIENCE GPA=2.15: Science GPA=3.46: Cumulative GPA=2.70
 
ouch, i suggest writing a killer personal statement, defend/explain 10 f's and murder the dat. you might be excluded from some schools on numbers alone but depending on your dat you might be able to make up some ground. you need at least a 2.7 or 2.75 to even apply to some schools so i'd check that out too. good luck.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Luckily you said you didn't get any of those F's in sciences, so your Science GPA, which is the one I think they really focus on, should be high.

Not to say that your overall GPA won't hurt you, but if you can get the point across very clearly that it was only in your first year of school, and you weren't really motivated, but when you discovered your interest in dentistry you completely turned everything around, I think you still stand a decent shot if you can get a decent DAT score.
 
Thanks guys! you made me finally stop crying and come out form under the rock. My GPA blows but im not going to let that stop me. Any more opinions are welcome!!!!! THANKS AGAIN.
 
testnein said:
So heres the deal, everyone says yeah did bad their freshman year, well I did horrible! I have 10 F's that I have to report on the dental school app. But as soon as I decided that I wanted to go to dental school I turned completely around and have made the dean's list almost every semester. But these F's at one of my schools is killing my GPA, but out of all of the F's none were science classes. So heres what my GPA stats look like below. I still have to finish my summer classes and have another fall semester, im 90% sure I will get all A's on all of my remian classes so my overall GPA and my Science GPA will go up by at least .2 or more.... So does anyone think this will kill me on my app. or not? Please be honest!!!!!!!



University of the Incarnate Word* Non scien. GPA 4.00: Scie. GPA 3.44: Cumul. GPA 3.54
San Antonio College* (Alamo CCD) Non scie. GPA 3.46: Scie. GPA 3.48: Cumul GPA 3.47
Southwest Texas Junior College* Non scie. GPA 1.02: Scie. GPA NA: Cumul GPA 1.02
Total GPA NONE SCIENCE GPA=2.15: Science GPA=3.46: Cumulative GPA=2.70
Click to expand...

Saying that you haven't gotten those F's in non-science classes isn't a good excuse to justify them. They don't want to see straight A's in science classes and below average performance in other classes. They are interested in applicants, who can take a course on a topic that they absolutely hate and still manage to earn AT LEAST an average score through hard work and determination. In my personal opinion (and don't take this as a personal attack on you) 10 F's will definitely hurt you a lot. Hopefully, you can explain how your attitude towards school has changed over years, in your personal statement and hope to get some interviews, where you can do some more explaining on the topic.
 
I guess the best you can do is to mention it and like others said, defend it. Were there any circumstances that made it especially tough for you freshman year? If so, including those in the PS would be greatly helpful.

Best of luck to ya! 😀
 
All the F's were pretty much in the same class (Hist. and Gov.) that I just kept failing and retaking. I only failed because I would stop going to class half way through and never droped them. But EVERY class that I failed I re-took and got an A in, but just at another college.
Thanks again to everyone for the honest opinions, it really helps me know what i might be facing. Keep them coming anymore opinions welcome!!
 
I am assuming you are a Texas resident.

I am going to be honest with you... I think you are going to have a really tough time getting into dental school. There are people who don't get into dental school with 1 F on their transcript, and you have 10. Granted some people do get in with F's, but it is definitely looked down upon. I also think what hurts you is the fact that your F's were at a community college. Community colleges are historically known for being easier.

I know of people who have had around a 3.4, 19-20 on the DAT, and they don't get accepted. I think you will need to do a masters with lots of science courses to show you can handle the work. With your GPA, you need to be shooting for a 22+ on the DAT if not better than that.

I would expect to apply to some out-of-state schools given your stats, because you are going to a really tough time getting into the Texas schools. Many schools also exclude applicants with certain GPAs. So, when you apply, be sure to read the fine print on applicant requirements.

The Baylor College of Dentistry post-bacc program might be something to look into, but I don't know what their admission criteria is. You have to have applied to the school and been rejected to be considered.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. Best of luck.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
mamelons said:
I am assuming you are a Texas resident.

I am going to be honest with you... I think you are going to have a really tough time getting into dental school. There are people who don't get into dental school with 1 F on their transcript, and you have 10. Granted some people do get in with F's, but it is definitely looked down upon. I also think what hurts you is the fact that your F's were at a community college. Community colleges are historically known for being easier.

I know of people who have had around a 3.4, 19-20 on the DAT, and they don't get accepted. I think you will need to do a masters with lots of science courses to show you can handle the work. With your GPA, you need to be shooting for a 22+ on the DAT if not better than that.

I would expect to apply to some out-of-state schools given your stats, because you are going to a really tough time getting into the Texas schools. Many schools also exclude applicants with certain GPAs. So, when you apply, be sure to read the fine print on applicant requirements.

The Baylor College of Dentistry post-bacc program might be something to look into, but I don't know what their admission criteria is. You have to have applied to the school and been rejected to be considered.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

While I agree that your past grades as a freshman will be a hurdle to overcome, I know that your Science GPA is far better than mine (3.01 science, 3.35 overall, a smattering of C's with 2 D's), and I got a 22AA and got accepted to 3 schools and waitlisted at another after applying in November. I think if you do well on the DAT, 20-22+, any reasonable Adcom will be able to notice that all of your bad grades were early on, and since then you've done very well.

Right now you need to focus on the non-gpa sections of your application, EC's, plenty of shadowing, an AWESOME personal statement, and GREAT Letters, attesting to how good of a student you are, and you no longer are the student you were before (ask them to mention something like that - always be very frank with your letter writers).

While I know some luck was involved with my acceptance, I do think you have a chance, and the worst that could happen (if you do atleast decently on the DAT) is you apply to say 10-15 schools, get rejected, then do a postbac or other classes, then you reapply with a MUCH greater chance of getting accepted. But I definetly think you should atleast apply, and I don't think it would be a waste of money. I applied with the expectation that I probably wouldn't get accepted, and hey, I got into three really great schools *and crossing my fingers for the waitlisted one!*

Good luck, be sure to know that you've got a lot going against you, but you've proven yourself in the past and you can overcome it with hard work and determination, so keep on keeping on, and I'm sure you'll get into dental school eventually.
 
VICVIPER thanks man for the support. I am a Texas resident. I just talked to my adviser and the other Profs that are going to be writing my rec. letters. All of them know me and know that I’m a much better student then my freshman grades indicate. I have plenty of in-office experience as far as shadowing goes (my mom’s a hygienist so I can pretty much go into her bosses office whenever, and I have done so). I have a lot of volunteer experience with kids, and I’m VP of my University's Health Professions Society. I’m applying to 10 schools including the 3 in Texas. I’m already working on a rough P.S. explaining my situation. Cheers to all that have been posting!
 
If there were some unusual extenuating circumstances you might be able to go back to the cc and see if they would be willing to change your grades to W.
 
well you can but it might not be easy and the length that youve waited already is not good, plus most universities have committees that have to vote on your situation, if you want F's turned into W's. Thats usually done within months of the course coming to an end though.
 
Vicviper said:
While I agree that your past grades as a freshman will be a hurdle to overcome, I know that your Science GPA is far better than mine (3.01 science, 3.35 overall, a smattering of C's with 2 D's), and I got a 22AA and got accepted to 3 schools and waitlisted at another after applying in November. I think if you do well on the DAT, 20-22+, any reasonable Adcom will be able to notice that all of your bad grades were early on, and since then you've done very well.

Right now you need to focus on the non-gpa sections of your application, EC's, plenty of shadowing, an AWESOME personal statement, and GREAT Letters, attesting to how good of a student you are, and you no longer are the student you were before (ask them to mention something like that - always be very frank with your letter writers).

While I know some luck was involved with my acceptance, I do think you have a chance, and the worst that could happen (if you do atleast decently on the DAT) is you apply to say 10-15 schools, get rejected, then do a postbac or other classes, then you reapply with a MUCH greater chance of getting accepted. But I definetly think you should atleast apply, and I don't think it would be a waste of money. I applied with the expectation that I probably wouldn't get accepted, and hey, I got into three really great schools *and crossing my fingers for the waitlisted one!*

Good luck, be sure to know that you've got a lot going against you, but you've proven yourself in the past and you can overcome it with hard work and determination, so keep on keeping on, and I'm sure you'll get into dental school eventually.
Click to expand...

although i completely agree with you, it is still going to be very hard for OP without a really amazing PS and chance to explain how OP has turned around.
I know you have pretty low GPA compared to average accepted but you did very well on your DAT which helped you getting accepted (once again, congrats!), but it's also that you went to UC Irvine and got those grades whereas OP has bad grades from community college level courses. Also, you cannot ignore the race factor either
if OP is URM, he/she will have higher chance, but if OP is white or Asian, it would be extra hard to get into Dental schools.

to OP, i have applied last year to 3 texas and 4 out-of-state schools with 3.3 and 3.1 sgpa from UT with 21/20/21. unfortunately i still could not get in and this year i will be applying to 17 schools with 3.4 and 3.2.
don't think it's going to happen in your first or second try, in fact, you will need to be prepared to face it probably several times. but don't give up! when i spoke with dean at SA, he said there was a girl who got in this year that has applied to SA 4 times and finally got in. you will need to do masters program (to show ADCOM that you can handle hard level science courses) and also try to apply to Summer Enrichment programs to get your name out there. Also, try to set up a meeting with deans around March to see what else you need to improve in order to have a chance.
when i spoke with Houston dean, he told me majority of people who are applying to DS fall within 3.3-3.5 range, and those people need to do some extraordinary to stand out. so with your gpa, you need to do something even more extraordinary to stand out.
focus on DAT, look into masters and other programs (getting into masters are going to be hard too, think about how much harder it is to get into dental school), and try to have a meeting with deans to get their honest opinions, and apply to lot of out-of-state schools!

good luck!
 
lphiewok said:
although i completely agree with you, it is still going to be very hard for OP without a really amazing PS and chance to explain how OP has turned around.
I know you have pretty low GPA compared to average accepted but you did very well on your DAT which helped you getting accepted (once again, congrats!), but it's also that you went to UC Irvine and got those grades whereas OP has bad grades from community college level courses. Also, you cannot ignore the race factor either
if OP is URM, he/she will have higher chance, but if OP is white or Asian, it would be extra hard to get into Dental schools.

to OP, i have applied last year to 3 texas and 4 out-of-state schools with 3.3 and 3.1 sgpa from UT with 21/20/21. unfortunately i still could not get in and this year i will be applying to 17 schools with 3.4 and 3.2.
don't think it's going to happen in your first or second try, in fact, you will need to be prepared to face it probably several times. but don't give up! when i spoke with dean at SA, he said there was a girl who got in this year that has applied to SA 4 times and finally got in. you will need to do masters program (to show ADCOM that you can handle hard level science courses) and also try to apply to Summer Enrichment programs to get your name out there. Also, try to set up a meeting with deans around March to see what else you need to improve in order to have a chance.
when i spoke with Houston dean, he told me majority of people who are applying to DS fall within 3.3-3.5 range, and those people need to do some extraordinary to stand out. so with your gpa, you need to do something even more extraordinary to stand out.
focus on DAT, look into masters and other programs (getting into masters are going to be hard too, think about how much harder it is to get into dental school), and try to have a meeting with deans to get their honest opinions, and apply to lot of out-of-state schools!

good luck!
Click to expand...

Definitely some good suggestions, and it will definitely be difficult - but not impossible -and so always keep trying, and for both of you, you'll get in sooner or later with enough hard work, and having faith.

As for CC's, I did my first 3 years at a CC (Just graduated as a Super Senior!), where I did all of my pre-reqs, including a D and a C or two. And I really think that other than at Howard - where they specifically focus on URM, race played a somewhat insignificant factor compared to my 22AA 30RC, extensive dental experience, two dental publications, and so on at Pitt and Columbia. Also, I had some personal situations going on that effected my grades, and I would highly recommened writing about that on the application if you've had any family/personal things that adversly affected your grades, they do take it very seriously - but don't think you can just make something up.
 
i think that if you do lots of ec's to make you look like you were productive over the years, they would take a look. I honestly dont know if they would even look you because of your cumulative gpa but if i were them, by looking at the difference, I would investigate what was wrong. And by further looking, I would judge the gpa without your freshman year and see how that turns out and if its decent, then I think you have a good chance. Also, the improvement might look good so i think you have a shot. This is just my opinion but i good luck to you and I hope you get in somewhere
 
Thanks once again to everyone for the opinions. Please anyone else who has any advice or anything at all that might possibly help me get in, please let me know. I’ve really busted by chops trying to make up for all the stupid mistakes I made when I was a dumb little teen. I refuse to let this stop me from ever getting in. ANY OPINOINS/ADVICE WELCOME!!!
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
apply into a post bacc program that links into a 4 year dental program. that's something to look into. though, if my memory serves me correctly, they require a minimum gpa to get in. wouldn't hurt to look. good luck!
 
12345a said:
when are you planning on submitting your application?
Click to expand...
I take the DAT August 20th, and Im submitting my app three days later. I pretty much have it completed. But im waiting since they dont really look at them until DAT scores are received. Im applying to 10 schools, and hoping for the best.
 
Let me tell you one thing: If dentistry is what you have always wanted to do, then pursue it and you will eventually get in. Seems to me as though you’ve totally turned your life around…The only person I know that had a similar case to you was the individual who was Senate President before me at my college….and that person turned their life around and is now in dental school (as of this fall). It’s gonna take some amazing EC’s, AWESOME reference letters, and some prayers!!! But ya know what, I have a feeling that you have a chance – I mean seriously, some schools (Meharry in particular) take some LOW gpas!!!
 
There's a couple of schools I'm applying to that have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and others that don't. I'm hoping for the best. If I don't get in, I already plan to apply to the Baylor post bach. program. I think the app opens in february. And also im going to apply to grad school at UIW (my current university). Ive read up on alot of schools stating that some upper grad science classes can help a super low GPA like mine. But still on my PS im really going to play on the maturity thing, I really feel that ive matured so much and I know thats somthing they look at. Thanks once again for everyones help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mr.Smile12
[OPINION] CHATGPT and dental education/admissions
Replies
7
Views
4K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
jaytner
Question about LOR?
Replies
1
Views
2K
lebronjamesofdentistry
L
H
Pre-Dent: Loan Question
2
Replies
75
Views
7K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
anon2002
  • Locked
WORD OF ADVICE be as critical pls help
Replies
1
Views
1K
macsak
M
elle k
question about ai
Replies
2
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12