Past Sins In Full View

[yappy]

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Hey guys -
I am seriously questioning if i'm able to overcome the hurdle of dental school admissions after factoring in old community college credits.

I wasn't always a great student - in fact I was a terrible student with poor study skills that manifested in HS and transitioned into my community college studies. Long story short: in 2004 I graduated with an AA degree, 2.9 GPA, and a little bit of pride as I was the first person in my family to complete any kind of college degree.

After working in my respective field for three years I decided to give university studies a shot in 2007 with the intention of earning a BS in bio and attending dental school. Since then, I've earned a 3.85 GPA over three years at a state university @ 3-4 science courses/semester - full time.

I feel comfortable with my recent coursework but after accounting for my past marks my GPA is actually 3.3 cum 3.45 sci. As I understand this puts me in poor standing for admission. I'm taking the DAT this Aug (practice DAT scores have been 20-22AA) to apply NEXT application cycle.
Will the admission committee recognize that I've been doing pretty well for some time at higher level coursework and that my GPA's don't tell the whole story? For those with similar stories how has the process been for you? Thank you for any advice you can offer me.

 

[herkulease]

You just need a good DAT and you'll be fine.

You shoudl realize that the DAT scores and gpa people post here are only a small percentage of applicants.

Not everyone admitted is pulling 4.0 and score 25+ on the DAT.

there's even a thread dedicated to 3.0 people and you'll find there are some who have been admitted.

 

[yappy]

Thank you, I'll have to check out that 3.0 thread. Hmmm - a good dat score - It seems like they're always relative. considering my GPA and my dream school is UoP (although i'll go anywhere) what score would I need to get to earn a realistic shot?

 

[MSCpredent82]

Wouldn't the dental school only look at your second bachelor? If you've started in 2007, you can apply after 3 years. I've talked with one school who have said that they would look at both but only take the second degree into account for their GPA calculation. Can anyone confirm or refute this? or know for sure how dental school take into account people that have finished a second bachelor?

 

[yappy]

For my situation the first degree was a two year degree from a community college, so this is actully my first BS degree. I assume that AADS will take into account all college courses/grades ever completed.
Although It would be great if they looked more closely at the more recent grades.

 

[UNMorBUST]

Wouldn't the dental school only look at your second bachelor? If you've started in 2007, you can apply after 3 years. I've talked with one school who have said that they would look at both but only take the second degree into account for their GPA calculation. Can anyone confirm or refute this? or know for sure how dental school take into account people that have finished a second bachelor?

Umm the first degree was an AA not a Bachelors.

 

[MSCpredent82]

True, but why would his degree from 2007 till now, which was done at a state university be combined with his previous marks? Wouldn't schools only look at his second and most recent degree??

Again, does anyone know for sure how schools look at 2 undergrads? does the marks keep accumulating on top of each other until you are competitive enough to be considered? I actually called a school and ask them how they would consider someone having two undergrads. They said that they look at both but only take the second and more recent in their GPA cutoff calculations. Also, I have heard of people getting in after finishing 3 years of second undergrad (instead of doing a master's). I was just wondering if someone know for a FACT that what they would consider for their cutoff requirement is the second bachelor (or they would always just average all the courses you've ever taken)... some clarification on this would be nice.

Umm the first degree was an AA not a Bachelors.

 

[herkulease]

True, but why would his degree from 2007 till now, which was done at a state university be combined with his previous marks? Wouldn't schools only look at his second and most recent degree??

Again, does anyone know for sure how schools look at 2 undergrads? does the marks keep accumulating on top of each other until you are competitive enough to be considered? I actually called a school and ask them how they would consider someone having two undergrads. They said that they look at both but only take the second and more recent in their GPA cutoff calculations. Also, I have heard of people getting in after finishing 3 years of second undergrad (instead of doing a master's). I was just wondering if someone know for a FACT that what they would consider for their cutoff requirement is the second bachelor (or they would always just average all the courses you've ever taken)... some clarification on this would be nice.

Because they want a complete history of your academic career.

The individual schools can ignore the AA work if they like, count it against him or pick and choose to only look at courses taken in spring. Its up to them.

the application service just computes everything as a whole. they only separate undergrad, post bacc and professional work. It is the most fair way possible.

 

[yappy]

They do report everything to the schools but like the above poster said schools can do what they want with that info. A guest speaker at my prehealth club said that not GPA's are created equally - what he went on to say is that they look at upward or downward trends.

 

[every1cheer]

Yappy, it's great that you are doing so well on your BS 🙂 I am also just a pre-dent, but from attending info sessions offered by the dental school here, I get the impression that they do take trend strongly into account so you are in luck! Also, from what I have read on these forums, I gather that UoP can be pretty forgiving of GPA as long as you rock the DAT. According to the ADEA guide, UoP has a mean of AA 20/21 TS/21 PAT, while having a mean total GPA of 3.46 and science GPA of 3.38. Compare that to your GPAs and you should have some idea of what you should be aiming for. I don't think anyone on this forum can give you definite number, so my advice is to study really hard and aim to break into the 20s. You are obviously very smart so use your new found study skills to tackle the DAT.

 

[takedailyfiber]

If you ask me, you've actually got a decent shot, probably more of a shot than you might think. I don't think you are in poor standing at all.

Yes, dental schools will look at your previous degree. But they'll look pretty hard at your studies at the university too - a 3.85, taking all science courses at a state university? That's very impressive. They do look at improvement, and if you get an interview, you may get a chance to explain your trend.

Your practice DATs are pretty good too. I think you have enough experience to have a good personal statement as well.

If you were to ask me, I think you'd get a few interviews with a 20 DAT and your stats now. Just my opinion though. You definitely don't have to be worried - save the worrying for when you apply!

 

[yappy]

takedailyfiber & every1cheer thanks for the encouragement to press on & the information about UoP. It's easy for me to get intimidated by what I see on predents and this board.

I will have to give some thought to how I will explain my poor academic performance if given the chance... I even "achieved" a "C" in photography lol. For me the greatest catalyst to change was work experience and getting married.

Good luck this application cycle.