Please Please Help with advice

[yellowello]

So I graduated from undergrad from a SUNY school with a cGPA:3.00 and sGPA:2.43.
This was 3 years ago. I was young, made dumb mistakes, and barely tried - but my transcript shows an upward trend and I ended up on the deans list my last semester and graduated with psych honors.
I was a scribe at a hospital for a year until I enrolled in a Caribbean medical school - I did really well for 2 semesters until I decided I didn't want a sketchy foreign degree .. and then I had to move abroad to take care of a sick relative for 6 months.
So now I am studying for the DAT - and I know I will do well (I've realized I do really well when I try). I plan to take it in late sept/early oct.

Resume - a LOT of volunteer, healthcare internships, psychological research, medical journal article pending, shadowing, medical scribe job

Do I have any chance of being accepted into Dental School?
Do you have any advice on how I can increase my chances?

What I think my options are:
1. Apply to a masters program that is connected to a dental school (I really want to go to BU's - opinions?) - I think a masters program is my best bet - do you have any recommendations of ones I can get into and will give me a good chance of getting into dental school?
2. retake some science classes at a community college?

Please help- Going to dental school has been a dream of mine all along - I really will do anything to get into dental school as soon as I can.

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[kyle nguyen]

Did you voluntarily withdrew from medical school or were you dismissed? That is going to play a big part in your chance. Also I do not think it looks very well that it took you that late to realize that you did not want a degree from the Caribbeans (vs not liking medicine in general). I would think the grades from the two semesters will be a factor but if your overall gpa/science is still below 3.00 than your chances are still very slim. I would think a post bacc would be an easier option as you will still have difficulty getting accepted into a masters program with those scores. What did you get on the MCAT?

 

[darknightzzz]

So I graduated from undergrad from a SUNY school with a cGPA:3.00 and sGPA:2.43.
This was 3 years ago. I was young, made dumb mistakes, and barely tried - but my transcript shows an upward trend and I ended up on the deans list my last semester and graduated with psych honors.
I was a scribe at a hospital for a year until I enrolled in a Caribbean medical school - I did really well for 2 semesters until I decided I didn't want a sketchy foreign degree .. and then I had to move abroad to take care of a sick relative for 6 months.
So now I am studying for the DAT - and I know I will do well (I've realized I do really well when I try). I plan to take it in late sept/early oct.

Resume - a LOT of volunteer, healthcare internships, psychological research, medical journal article pending, shadowing, medical scribe job

Do I have any chance of being accepted into Dental School?
Do you have any advice on how I can increase my chances?

What I think my options are:
1. Apply to a masters program that is connected to a dental school (I really want to go to BU's - opinions?) - I think a masters program is my best bet - do you have any recommendations of ones I can get into and will give me a good chance of getting into dental school?
2. retake some science classes at a community college?

Please help- Going to dental school has been a dream of mine all along - I really will do anything to get into dental school as soon as I can.

did you attend the big 4 Carribean medical school? so you are 50k down in debt (if i remember correctly) and you want to drop out now? Although I am scared to death from Carribean medical school, the big 4 are still viable but as regulations and residences in US tighten with many DO schools opening and taking up slots, international medical graduate may face even more challenging time than it already has been to secure a residence position.

professional school application asks for whatever professional schools you attended so you will have a lot of questions regarding this.

for dental school, you only need about 100 hours on the high side of shadowing/observing/assisting a dentist and volunteer is just another topping to your application while GPA and DAT being the major factor

1. Yes, many people on here recommend master (specialized master program?) but it can get expensive but you will have a graduate GPA stand alone (it is not combined and averaged with your undergrad GPA) this can be good and bad. you may end up having a 3.9 GPA graduate but your undergrad GPA is still there. However, many have posted that SMP or Master programs (the strong ones that push students to medical or dental schools) have higher standards and some do not make it in master program with low GPA. I read that many applicants got in dental school with low undergrad, sky high SMP master GPA, and sky high DAT with a lot of personal growth.

2. retaking classes at a 4 year university seems the most appropriate course now as you can pull up your undergraduate GPA (this might be hard depending on how heavy your undergrad GPA is, ex: how many units/credits/hours you completed) Some people had 120 units of 3.0 GPA and it can take forever to pull up. This is considered informal post bach (no admission standard, you just enroll to take classes). If you do well enough and pull up undergrad GPA, you then apply to SMP program/ medical oriented master and if you do well, you take the DAT and apply.
Note: (I didn't know this before) dental school unlike medical school don't like community college courses, so you, in your best interest, should take it at a 4 year university.

you have the right path in mind, you should spend some time reading other post on low GPA situations to make an attack plan.

by the way, I have read many stories that this process take at least 3 years or above and when the application comes around, many become disappointed with the result because some mistakes can't be undone unfortunately.

Anyways, Best of luck.

I was a pre med turnt pre dent so I feel you.

 

[darknightzzz]

cGPA:3.00 and sGPA:2.43.

This GPA tells me you fail many classes? or get most Cs and few Bs in your undergraduate?

I highly doubt you go to big 4 carribean thou.

 

[yellowello]

Did you voluntarily withdrew from medical school or were you dismissed? That is going to play a big part in your chance. Also I do not think it looks very well that it took you that late to realize that you did not want a degree from the Caribbeans (vs not liking medicine in general). I would think the grades from the two semesters will be a factor but if your overall gpa/science is still below 3.00 than your chances are still very slim. I would think a post bacc would be an easier option as you will still have difficulty getting accepted into a masters program with those scores. What did you get on the MCAT?

Do you have any post-bacc's to recommend? Do you know if it is necessary to tell the school I went to a medical school? (It didn't take me long to realize I didnt want to be there - my family asked me to stay) I wont be using my MCAT score - it wasnt a score I'm proud of.

 

[yellowello]

did you attend the big 4 Carribean medical school? so you are 50k down in debt (if i remember correctly) and you want to drop out now? Although I am scared to death from Carribean medical school, the big 4 are still viable but as regulations and residences in US tighten with many DO schools opening and taking up slots, international medical graduate may face even more challenging time than it already has been to secure a residence position.

professional school application asks for whatever professional schools you attended so you will have a lot of questions regarding this.

for dental school, you only need about 100 hours on the high side of shadowing/observing/assisting a dentist and volunteer is just another topping to your application while GPA and DAT being the major factor

1. Yes, many people on here recommend master (specialized master program?) but it can get expensive but you will have a graduate GPA stand alone (it is not combined and averaged with your undergrad GPA) this can be good and bad. you may end up having a 3.9 GPA graduate but your undergrad GPA is still there. However, many have posted that SMP or Master programs (the strong ones that push students to medical or dental schools) have higher standards and some do not make it in master program with low GPA. I read that many applicants got in dental school with low undergrad, sky high SMP master GPA, and sky high DAT with a lot of personal growth.

2. retaking classes at a 4 year university seems the most appropriate course now as you can pull up your undergraduate GPA (this might be hard depending on how heavy your undergrad GPA is, ex: how many units/credits/hours you completed) Some people had 120 units of 3.0 GPA and it can take forever to pull up. This is considered informal post bach (no admission standard, you just enroll to take classes). If you do well enough and pull up undergrad GPA, you then apply to SMP program/ medical oriented master and if you do well, you take the DAT and apply.
Note: (I didn't know this before) dental school unlike medical school don't like community college courses, so you, in your best interest, should take it at a 4 year university.

you have the right path in mind, you should spend some time reading other post on low GPA situations to make an attack plan.

by the way, I have read many stories that this process take at least 3 years or above and when the application comes around, many become disappointed with the result because some mistakes can't be undone unfortunately.

Anyways, Best of luck.

I was a pre med turnt pre dent so I feel you.

Thank you. Yes, I went to a big 4 - no one realizes how terrible the education is over there until you get there. Do you know if it is necessary to let masters programs know that I was in a foreign medical school? Do you have an SMP or masters program to recommend?
Yeah, an informal post bach would take me way too long - thanks for that info

 

[yellowello]

cGPA:3.00 and sGPA:2.43.

This GPA tells me you fail many classes? or get most Cs and few Bs in your undergraduate?

I highly doubt you go to big 4 carribean thou.

I didn't fail any classes. I got mostly C's and B's in my science classes and A's in all my other classes (classes for my major and electives). And I went a big 4 caribbean.

 

[darknightzzz]

Thank you. Yes, I went to a big 4 - no one realizes how terrible the education is over there until you get there. Do you know if it is necessary to let masters programs know that I was in a foreign medical school? Do you have an SMP or masters program to recommend?
Yeah, an informal post bach would take me way too long - thanks for that info

Hello,

um I have spent a lot of time reading post from many years ago so I would just like to offer you some leads but you can always read up, hopefully you will have a clear plan after.

I personally don't know SMPs that well but there are few SMPs only and you can easily research and make your choice. But in order to get into SMP (it has higher standard) you need to pull up your GPA first through informal post bach at a 4 year university (my opinion), then apply for SMP. You need to really accept that it will take you very very long. not to discourage you but at least 3-4 years (depending on how many science credits, but from a pre med background, probably you have loads of science credits).

wow so this is how Big 4 works. Yea, its education is known/expected to be not good and people still deny it for the foreign MD degree.

In order for subsequent posters to help you, you should be more specific by providing info such as

1. how many units/credits that made up that GPA.
2. what was your major?.
3. what was your EC/research specifically and the time you dedicated to each?

 

[yellowello]

Hello,

um I have spent a lot of time reading post from many years ago so I would just like to offer you some leads but you can always read up, hopefully you will have a clear plan after.

I personally don't know SMPs that well but there are few SMPs only and you can easily research and make your choice. But in order to get into SMP (it has higher standard) you need to pull up your GPA first through informal post bach at a 4 year university (my opinion), then apply for SMP. You need to really accept that it will take you very very long. not to discourage you but at least 3-4 years (depending on how many science credits, but from a pre med background, probably you have loads of science credits).

wow so this is how Big 4 works. Yea, its education is known/expected to be not good and people still deny it for the foreign MD degree.

In order for subsequent posters to help you, you should be more specific by providing info such as

1. how many units/credits that made up that GPA.
2. what was your major?.
3. what was your EC/research specifically and the time you dedicated to each?

To answer your questions:
1. 131 credits make up my GPA.
2. My major for bio in the beginning and switched to psychology sophomore year
3. EC/Research:

ER Medical scribe – 1 year

Chemistry lab assistant and a university – 1 semester

Senior research assistant for 1.5 years – studying emotional regulation in toddlers – poster presented in psych conference

Internship at a hospitals diagnostic center and emergency room for 1 year

Teachers assistant for a psych class – 1 semester

Just wrote a paper with a surgeon regarding carpal tunnel that should be published in a medical journal soon.

Volunteer: organized a shave for cancer fundraiser, regular street clean ups for 3 years, call center for domestic violence for 2 years, soup kitchen for veterans 1 weekend a month for 2 years, volunteer at nursing home 1 weekend a month for 2 years, I have many more events that I participated in/helped organize for various charities

EC: VP of biology club 2 years, PR for bio club 1 semester, President of religious club 3 years, treasurer of Greek life for 1 year,

 

[darknightzzz]

To answer your questions:
1. 131 credits make up my GPA.
2. My major for bio in the beginning and switched to psychology sophomore year
3. EC/Research:

ER Medical scribe – 1 year

Chemistry lab assistant and a university – 1 semester

Senior research assistant for 1.5 years – studying emotional regulation in toddlers – poster presented in psych conference

Internship at a hospitals diagnostic center and emergency room for 1 year

Teachers assistant for a psych class – 1 semester

Just wrote a paper with a surgeon regarding carpal tunnel that should be published in a medical journal soon.

Volunteer: organized a shave for cancer fundraiser, regular street clean ups for 3 years, call center for domestic violence for 2 years, soup kitchen for veterans 1 weekend a month for 2 years, volunteer at nursing home 1 weekend a month for 2 years, I have many more events that I participated in/helped organize for various charities

EC: VP of biology club 2 years, PR for bio club 1 semester, President of religious club 3 years, treasurer of Greek life for 1 year,

131 semester credits? then you need at least another 65 semester credits of all As to pull your GPA up to 3.2 3.3 (acceptable for master and SMP) this could take you at least 2 years of informal post bach.

very incredible EC.

well, I am younger than you and you have debt already so this must be a hard decision.

 

[kyle nguyen]

Do you have any post-bacc's to recommend? Do you know if it is necessary to tell the school I went to a medical school? (It didn't take me long to realize I didnt want to be there - my family asked me to stay) I wont be using my MCAT score - it wasnt a score I'm proud of.

It is absolutely necessary you tell them. They will find out through Clearing House. If they are interested in you they will contact the medical school you went to and find out why exactly you left. The problem is you can have an extraordinary extra curricular a but if you do not have the scores hence no way of telling if you would likely succeed in Dental school then it's tough to admit you based on EC alone. There's really no way around bumping up your GPA. I agree that it could take you two years (and that is considering you somehow ace all of your classes) to bring up that GPA. I think it would be wise to consider all the pros and cons to see if a pursuit into D school is wise at this point which only you can answer. In general any science post bacc should help in giving adcoms a better idea of your strength in the sciences but just don't take non science post bacc bc it will do nothing to that science GPA.

 

[calislife]

Hi I'm new here and I need help, I'm studying Dentistry abroad which has a 6 year curriculum-- I'm done with the first two years, which has all the pre-dental school requirements (I'm not sure if they would mean anything in the US.)

I'm not so sure if I want to become a dentist, I have my immigrant visa already and I'm thinking of doing dental hygiene there in the US.

Just in case I decide to be a dentist, what would be the best path to take? Finish dentistry here then apply for international/advanced standing program there, or take up a bachelor's in dental hygiene?

Thank you and sorry, I'm still confused with the threads.

 

[ajj70]

To answer your questions:
1. 131 credits make up my GPA.
2. My major for bio in the beginning and switched to psychology sophomore year
3. EC/Research:

ER Medical scribe – 1 year

Chemistry lab assistant and a university – 1 semester

Senior research assistant for 1.5 years – studying emotional regulation in toddlers – poster presented in psych conference

Internship at a hospitals diagnostic center and emergency room for 1 year

Teachers assistant for a psych class – 1 semester

Just wrote a paper with a surgeon regarding carpal tunnel that should be published in a medical journal soon.

Volunteer: organized a shave for cancer fundraiser, regular street clean ups for 3 years, call center for domestic violence for 2 years, soup kitchen for veterans 1 weekend a month for 2 years, volunteer at nursing home 1 weekend a month for 2 years, I have many more events that I participated in/helped organize for various charities

EC: VP of biology club 2 years, PR for bio club 1 semester, President of religious club 3 years, treasurer of Greek life for 1 year,

You said that going to dental school has been a lifelong dream but your "resume" says otherwise, especially since you are still pretty active in the medical area. Have you done any shadowing/volunteer work on the dental side. Sending over an application with this history is going to look like you couldn't cut it in medical school so you decided to try dental school. I'm not sure how to overcome that with this deep of a history, especially having attended medical school.

As for taking the DAT now, how long will you be in your master's program? If that is more than 2 years, I would consider waiting to take the DAT for at least a year. You only get 3 years on your score, so if you are applying in 2 years and don't get in, you will have to retake the DAT for the next cycle. On the otherhand, if you knock the DAT out of the water, 24+, you might stand a chance of admissions either this year if you get your stuff in soon, or next cycle without doing the masters program and just focusing on dental shadowing/volunteering, etc. this year??