please help..

[dsony2284]

Im hoping people are nice enough to offer me some advice. Has anyone ever gotten in with low scores to dental school?

I was academically suspended for under a 2.0 gpa after freshman year (1.8 ), that semester back from suspension i knew if i got lower than a 2.5 i would be kicked out of college forever...... since then i have climbed out of my hole to a 3.0 cumm now! Not an easy thing to accomplish, i did everything i could to get it up. My science gpa however lies around a 2.65 (mainly because of this freshman yr bump in the road) not including some physics, biochem, independent study and pyschology courses which i did pretty well on (B- to A's). My community college GPA is a 3.9 for 15 credits from my semester off when i was suspended from my university.

I took 17 credits this summer and got a 3.9 gpa which might look good. I studied for the DAT this summer hoping to kill it, this was going to be my second time taking it, but alas that was not the case...18 TS 17 PAT...i hate standardized tests. i came home that night and cried in my room. I have never done that before, because i knew all that effort pulled short this cycle. Besides my scores i have done an anesthesia internship 200 hrs, shadowed 120+ hours with two clinics, and have 150+ hours of dental lab experience. My recommendations are solid i have 4, 1 dentist, 1 bio teacher, 1 physics teacher and a dental lab owner/technician. I also have supplement letters proving my anesthesia internship, shadowing times and lab research with radon testing. My personal statement is pretty solid, ive always been a good writer.

I think ill apply with the little money i have i will take some classes this coming fall at a local school to increase my gpa even more. I am hoping to take the DAT my THIRD time...which i am scared to even think about. I neeeeeed to get over a 20 otherwise ill never be a dentist : (....I am continuing to go in to my dental lab throughout the year to add more time and experience.

I think i have enough money to apply this year to a couple places not a lot....meharry, detroit, arizona, nyu, tufts and maybe howard...i dont know if i even should. I will be taking classes this fall so i can add that to my addsas application. One science at harvard extension program and two other random ones at my university as graduate credits.

What do i do guys you are all my inspiration i have no one to support me my family thinks i should just do a mba program and yell at me to stop wasting money, time and effort...But i want to be a dentist soo bad i cant stop now.

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[dWiz]

take some upper division biology classes and bring your gpa up. Dental school is going to be tough and you have to show the admission committees of the schools you apply to that you're capable of handling it. And you need to get your dat scores up too.
Your extracurriculars look good, just work on bringing the numbers up

 

[littlemissy]

just make sure u take responsibility for ur shortcomings. dont just cry about it but take action. u need to just focus on making yourself a good applicant which may not be next year. just apply when u actually are a good applicant and u will gain acceptance alot easier.

 

[jigabodo]

I hoping people are nice enough to offer me some advice. Has anyone ever gotten in with low scores to dental school?

I was academically suspended for under a 2.0 gpa after freshman year (1.8 ), that semester back from suspension i knew if i got lower than a 2.5 i would be kicked out of college forever...... since then i have climbed out of my hole to a 3.0 cumm now! Not an easy thing to accomplish, i did everything i could to get it up. My science gpa however lies around a 2.65 (mainly because of this freshman yr bump in the road) not including some physics, biochem, independent study and pyschology courses which i did pretty well on (B- to A's). My community college GPA is a 3.9 for 15 credits from my semester off when i was suspended from my university.

I took 17 credits this summer and got a 3.9 gpa which might look good. I studied for the DAT this summer hoping to kill it, this was going to be my second time taking it, but alas that was not the case...17 TS 17 PAT...i hate standardized tests. i came home that night and cried in my room. I have never done that before, because i knew all that effort pulled short this cycle. Besides my scores i have done an anesthesia internship 200 hrs, shadowed 120+ hours with two clinics, and have 150+ hours of dental lab experience. My recommendations are solid i have 4, 1 dentist, 1 bio teacher, 1 physics teacher and a dental lab owner/technician. I also have supplement letters proving my anesthesia internship, shadowing times and lab research with radon testing. My personal statement is pretty solid, ive always been a good writer.

I think ill apply with the little money i have i will take some classes this coming fall at a local school to increase my gpa even more. I am hoping to take the DAT my THIRD time...which i am scared to even think about. I neeeeeed to get over a 20 otherwise ill never be a dentist : (....I am continuing to go in to my dental lab throughout the year to add more time and experience.

I think i have enough money to apply this year to a couple places not a lot....meharry, detroit, arizona, nyu, tufts and maybe howard...i dont know if i even should. I will be taking classes this fall so i can add that to my addsas application. One science at harvard extension program and two other random ones at my university as graduate credits.

What do i do guys you are all my inspiration i have no one to support me my family thinks i should just do a mba program and yell at me to stop wasting money, time and effort...But i want to be a dentist soo bad i cant stop now.

I was in similar boat as you. Got below 2.0 as a freshmen, including C- in chem, F in calc, D+ in chinese and some other stuff. I was also put on probation as well, but luckily I did not get suspended.

Just like you, I picked myself up as well and you can check my stat in my predents profile. You and I both understand that we have to be off the chart to get to where we are right now...and I really admire your hardwork. I can see how passionate you are about dentistry from your post, and I just wanna tell you to not give up as well.

Study even harder. Try to have the mentaility that you are gonna go in and destroy the exam and nothing else, at least that was my approach. Do not be scared of the retake...sometimes knowing that this is your last and only chance may give you just enough pressure to force yourself to perform well on the exam.

Good luck, I have faith in you!!

 

[dsony2284]

thank you for your support everyone and thanks jigabodo (awesome stats man...props to you) u know exactly what i am going through. I needed someone to give me encouragement as i am always surrounded by negativity from people telling me i should do business. I will not give up i think i will take two upper level science classes at harvard this fall while i work a job to save for winter courses. over the winter three courses at my university to increase my cumm a bit more to a 3.1. Does that sound like a start?

Its weird my first time i scored a 19 on the bio, then this time a 16, but this time i scored an 18 ochem and 17 gchem just wish i could combine them somehow.lol
thanks for this i shall give the DAT another shot this time with the science classes as review and more DAT prep material i hope to swing my life back around....after 3 tries can you not take the DAT ever again??

So dont apply this year? I was thinking maybe one to meharry, howard and arizona thats it...I have connects at BU but even with that i dont know how much they can pull me in.

Thanks all i wont give up ive come this far, i cant stop now....

 

[jigabodo]

thank you for your support everyone and thanks jigabodo (awesome stats man...props to you) u know exactly what i am going through. I needed someone to give me encouragement as i am always surrounded by negativity from people telling me i should do business. I will not give up i think i will take two upper level science classes at harvard this fall while i work a job to save for winter courses. over the winter three courses at my university to increase my cumm a bit more to a 3.1. Does that sound like a start?

Its weird my first time i scored a 19 on the bio, then this time a 16, but this time i scored an 18 ochem and 17 gchem just wish i could combine them somehow.lol
thanks for this i shall give the DAT another shot this time with the science classes as review and more DAT prep material i hope to swing my life back around....after 3 tries can you not take the DAT ever again??

So dont apply this year? I was thinking maybe one to meharry, howard and arizona thats it...I have connects at BU but even with that i dont know how much they can pull me in.

Thanks all i wont give up ive come this far, i cant stop now....

I believe you can take DAT for more than 3 times, but you have to prove that you are applying for the current cycle as you take it.

I would also suggest using as much resources as possible, since thats usually how the 20+ people study. Some good resouces that I would suggest in addition to the ones you'r using are:
-Kaplan subject tests (pdf format, can try to get it off from friends)
-DAT Achiever (overall pretty helpful, esp. PAT section)
-Topscore (pretty much just 3 more full length practices you can get your hands on)
-Crack the DAT (if you need extra PAT practices)
-Schaum's outline for biology (Never used it, but heard its good)

Hope it helps.

 

[dsony2284]

i dont have the kaplan stuff, but i have the destroyer which i thought i knew back and forth but apparently not on the exam...i think ill get the crack the pat for practice. i have achiever and topscore but i really didnt use them for timing more for memorizing facts...that was a big problem with my second time i didnt practice timeing so i was forced to end the bio section and chem sections without really reviewing or seeing my marked ones.

I heard schaums is tough, i think ill look into that aswell.

But do you think i should hold off on apps this cycle, or should i go with a few to see what happens?

Thanks man ur awesome

 

[jigabodo]

Its a tough call. If you are UDM I think you should def. apply. Otherwise, apply if money is not a big concern. However, keep in mind that its getting late in the cycle, so try to submit your app ASAP.

 

[dsony2284]

hmm well i think i will to UDM, meharry and howard...though i heard if your asian like me its pretty hard to get into the later two. I have enough money as of now for this, i think if i dont i will always wonder. I have my app ready just was thinkin if its even worth it, i guess i can give it a shot who knows... my connect at BU however include an admissions member, professors and family friend who knows admission people....I can tell them i am taking more courses this fall to show my will to increase my gpa....plus the DAT retake which i hope isnt too late since it will be 3 months from now

 

[Regmata]

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but you really do need to do better to become a competitive applicant. Personally, I think your money is better spent not on applying, but on continuing your education and getting that GPA up. You have even more work to do, before you get into school. I don't think it is a lost cause, but it is a long shot for you. This is a very competitive time to get admission and a low GPA coupled with a low DAT doesn't give an admission committee much reason to select you. Your extra curricular activities seem great and certainly complete. You should probably stop bolstering them and just concentrate on the DAT and that GPA. Your tenacity and lengthy devotion to becoming a dentist will help you.

I am not sure if it is an option for you, but you could also think about foreign degree programs. Are there any for dentistry? You have the science background for them. Eastern Europe has plenty of medical schools that would accept you. If you wouldn't look to medicine, see if there are dental schools in other countries that would take you.

 

[dsony2284]

what courses could help my science gpa.. for instance would physcology help? or other physics courses...basicalyl anything science. does anyone know if i am allowed to attend a class at harvard extension and take classes elsewhere at the same time because timing seems to work for me best that way.

 

[lemoncurry]

good upper division biology courses to take would include: anatomy, physiology, immunology, neurobiology, microbiology and molecular biology. Can't think of anything else.

 

[dsony2284]

i was thinking comparative anatomy, upper level physics of motion, a public health course which is considered part of the bio major req at my school, and possibly physiology

 

[lemoncurry]

i'd say change physiology from a possibly to a definitely. physics of motion is probably very interesting, but i'm not sure how good it would be as a prep course for dental school. Is there a way you can take human anatomy instead of comparative anatomy?

 

[dsony2284]

i am not sure about human anatomy, i will look into it. these are just some thoughts i saw so far....so physiology which i got an A- in undergrad so i dunno if its worth taking it again. I was thinking taking over certain science classes i wasnt too good in like orgo, bio1 and then some upper level sciences like molecular, micro and that anatomy class we mentioned.

another thing, what about online courses which will solely increase my cum not science...
i figured retaking the orgo and bio courses at my local school comm college will give me As if i work hard and review for the DAT. While overshadow my undergrad grades for those classes. Then take some upper level ones like we mentioned above....

i dunno im trying to look at a plan that covers every angle....thanks for helping

 

[jigabodo]

I think physiology is really a must. I was just at the NBDE forum looking for the questions that dental students were asking, and most of them are heavily physiology related.

As for online classes, it will def. boost your GPA but I am not sure if thats the way to go. I believe most dental schools will prefer you to take classes at state universities. But in the end, if you can boost your GPA to a respectable range (3.3+) then thats all it matters.

 

[dsony2284]

right, well it would be online courses at my state university (umass amherst). They dont show up as being online on the transcript. And there are a few upper level physics and bio ones online too. Which i can try. I did a few back in winter and got As in all of them, just requires a lot of reading and time management. I think i will take physiology eventually.

What do you think about the comm college bio 1 and orgo retake idea?

 

[jigabodo]

I think thats an excellent way of reviewing things - not only that, if you do well it will also boost up your GPA. But in order to do so, the grades won't factor in until the next cycle. Does that mean you are applying for next year?

 

[dsony2284]

yea well i think ill report on my app what i am taking this fall and the retake date for DAT. ill apply to the few i mentioned above.

Then with all that course work i guess i will have to wait till next year to actually give myself a better shot. I think this plan will work just gotta plan it out now and schedule everything for the coming year. I know my university starts on tuesday so i think i will pay my advisor a visit and try and explain to him what i am doing and what his take on it is.

 

[dsony2284]

again i really need to work during this time hopefully at Genzyme : ) thats why online courses are best for me. I just saw online bio 1 and 2 but just have to come in on fridays for the labs which i can probably arrange somehow...Man this gonna be tough, then harvard extension courses in spring, winter online courses....should get my cum up to 3.3

 

[Regmata]

Any histology and biochem courses you can fit in would be good too.

 

[dsony2284]

yea thats another thing, i was looking for some biochem or histology as well. For this fall i think 2 online courses, the bio online course with the lab and another science will be good while i work. That other science is gonna be anatomy or some other upper level course at harvard extension. hope its possible im gonna consult on tuesday with my advisor before i take solid action. Hope its not too late to register for most courses.