Post-bac or Masters?

[valpokid17]

Hey guys,

This is my first post and I'd really appreciate any feedback! I graduated last May, and took this year off to travel/study for the DAT. Dental school is undoubtedly the goal. I have done research outside of SDN about which route to take but keep getting conflicting answers. I want to be a competitive applicant but don't think my current stats are good enough to cut it.

19 AA on the DAT, 3.1 GPA

Do I retake science classes at a local college and work? Or apply for a masters connected to a dental school? I'm leaning towards the latter.

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[WaveRace]

Hey guys,

This is my first post and I'd really appreciate any feedback! I graduated last May, and took this year off to travel/study for the DAT. Dental school is undoubtedly the goal. I have done research outside of SDN about which route to take but keep getting conflicting answers. I want to be a competitive applicant but don't think my current stats are good enough to cut it.

19 AA on the DAT, 3.1 GPA

Do I retake science classes at a local college and work? Or apply for a masters connected to a dental school? I'm leaning towards the latter.

Yours is definitely a borderline case on which route to take. You're over the 3.0 cutoff that many schools have, which is good. Is your sGPA also above 3.0?

What I would do is study hard now until summer and retake the DAT. If you absolutely kill the DAT, you'll be in a different place entirely.

That, combined with perhaps a semester of very high SMP or postbacc grades could land you some interviews, provided that the remainder of your app is in good shape. If I were in your situation, I'd do SMP. An SMP is a double-edged sword, though. If you do well, you're demonstrating that you can perform well in a rigorous science curriculum. If you don't, adcoms would question your ability to perform in dental school (which is the opposite of what you're trying to show).