Pre dental student and gpa concern !

[sk1001]

Hi everyone, I'm a pre-dental student in NC. I have a few concerns and questions about a few things. To start off I'm a freshman in college but I came in with my associates of science degree currently at (57 credits, after this semester I'll be 72 credits with 67 credits remaining), I have had ups and down throughout colleges, personal and family issues that have affected me from doing well in. Currently, I have a 2.8 GPA (roughly around 10 C's which brought me down, and yes I am more than aware that's not good), I still have 2 full years until I complete my B.S. in Bio. I have done my research on the journey to dental school, out of states, private vs. public, DAT scores, GPA, etc and etc. I still have to take gen chem 2, physics 1 & 2, orgo, bio chem, microbio , cell bio, a&p, animal & plant bio. I know I cant make it to a 4.0 GPA, but with 67 credits remaining would it be possible to boost my GPA from a 2.8 to 3.45? I plan on studying for the DAT and volunteer and job shadow, participate in research, start a community service project as well within these 2 years. I personally set the goal of trying to being towards a 23 on the DAT, I have volunteered over 100 overs and over 150 hours in job shadowing as well. I plan on applying to out of state schools as well. I started college after 2 weeks from finishing high school, it was a fast transition, I'm not perfect, I have learning disabilities and after 5 years I came to the terms of that I have ADHA and anxiety (I have Asian parents who don't believe in that or medicine) which played a huge part in my education. Although I have a low GPA and made a few C's I have learned other study techniques and tried countless of things to help me to better, it's hard but I truly love dentistry and am passionate, and I believe making mistakes is what makes us learn (hopefully), but I also want to be realistic if I have a shot at getting into Dental School and what dental schools would be a better choice to apply to and how grade forgiving works and the BCP GPA and science GPA.


Open to advise and feedback! Thank you have a nice day !

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[FanOfCostco]

Get the gpa up, take the dat. You're just posting things you hope to achieve. You need to do it before we can come up with any sort of idea

 

[testtest123]

work harder. I don't know what you want to hear. The difference between you and a student who gets high grades is that they probably stayed late in the library to study for that quiz whereas you probably went home because you felt sleepy

 

[Dio Ether]

Does 2.8 GPA include current semester? if so, 3.37 is the highest you can get assuming that you get 4.0 on remaining 67 credits

Just do well on remaining semesters of classes and DAT. Also, use the search function on top right for "low GPA", there are plenty of posts with advice

 

[sobertiger]

There is no doubt that you can get that GPA up. Some have graduated with that GPA and still got into dental school after doing a postbac or a masters.

However, there is no "grade forgiving." They will not replace your grade even if you retake a class.

I have heard numerous times that BCP GPA is more important than science GPA, but I'm sure that depends on the school.

Where you apply will depend on your stats, which is not finalized at the moment.

Good luck.

 

[amariesa]

Maybe dentistry isnt for you. I know there are success stories from low GPA applicants but you really need to think if its worth years of education and mental struggle to MAYBE make it to dentistry. Especially as an Asian, your GPA/DAT has to be on POINT. Just be honest with yourself, think about what you need to do. If you still feel like you can do it, then go for it. If your mental condition deteriorates, you are in student debt and you still have a 2.8 GPA 2 years down the line, you would have wished you thought it through and went back to this exact time.

Im a random internet person, but if I were in your shoes, I would study like crazy for a few months on the DAT and see if I can get 20+. If I tried my best and got a 16, then maybe I would consider that this isn't my area. If I got 22, then heck yeah, Ill try hard - see doctors to get meds, study in libraries and do well.

 

[Flynt]

My story is similar to yours, except my gpa was actually lower. I may be wrong but I think if you got an associates then your gpa should’ve “reset upon hitting a university”. Sure your associate gpa will mix in with the new one but the trend will be there (it counts) and your “university gpa” will be good provided you do good from here on out. My Aadsas gpa factored down to a 2.5 because of how badly I did right out of high school. I’m from nc as well and have interviewed at unc and ecu and think I have a pretty good shot (they didn’t seem overly concerned about my overall gpa but they will ask) so don’t give up. There’s actually an excel sheet someone posted on this site with last years acceptance stats, like every school had atleast 1 person with about a 2.5 gpa or close accepted. I will say that you probably need to put the pedal to the metal though and NEVER make any excuses, better off letting them know how you’ve grown from your experiences. It probably helped that I got a 23AA/23TS on my DAT, so that’s not impossible for you either. It’s really gonna come down to how bad you actually want it, and if you do really want it don’t let anyone up here discourage you. Good luck!

 

[sk1001]

Hi everyone, I'm a pre-dental student in NC. I have a few concerns and questions about a few things. To start off I'm a freshman in college but I came in with my associates of science degree currently at (57 credits, after this semester I'll be 72 credits with 67 credits remaining), I have had ups and down throughout colleges, personal and family issues that have affected me from doing well in. Currently, I have a 2.8 GPA (roughly around 10 C's which brought me down, and yes I am more than aware that's not good), I still have 2 full years until I complete my B.S. in Bio. I have done my research on the journey to dental school, out of states, private vs. public, DAT scores, GPA, etc and etc. I still have to take gen chem 2, physics 1 & 2, orgo, bio chem, microbio , cell bio, a&p, animal & plant bio. I know I cant make it to a 4.0 GPA, but with 67 credits remaining would it be possible to boost my GPA from a 2.8 to 3.45? I plan on studying for the DAT and volunteer and job shadow, participate in research, start a community service project as well within these 2 years. I personally set the goal of trying to being towards a 23 on the DAT, I have volunteered over 100 overs and over 150 hours in job shadowing as well. I plan on applying to out of state schools as well. I started college after 2 weeks from finishing high school, it was a fast transition, I'm not perfect, I have learning disabilities and after 5 years I came to the terms of that I have ADHA and anxiety (I have Asian parents who don't believe in that or medicine) which played a huge part in my education. Although I have a low GPA and made a few C's I have learned other study techniques and tried countless of things to help me to better, it's hard but I truly love dentistry and am passionate, and I believe making mistakes is what makes us learn (hopefully), but I also want to be realistic if I have a shot at getting into Dental School and what dental schools would be a better choice to apply to and how grade forgiving works and the BCP GPA and science GPA.


Open to advise and feedback! Thank you have a nice day !

UPDATE : So to be on the safe side I am planning to take an extra year (Graduate in 2020) and take it slow, instead of rushing and taking multiple intense classes all at once, and by end of this fall semester my will be around gpa 2.989/3.01 ... I also included taking a few leisure classes like art, photography & etc...: besides working hard , are there some study techniques/ skills that are helpful for chemistry/organic chem & physics (besides practice) ? Thank you & although I might be we're I wish to be at right now I don't plan on giving up I truly love dentistry!

 

[sk1001]

Does 2.8 GPA include current semester? if so, 3.37 is the highest you can get assuming that you get 4.0 on remaining 67 credits

Just do well on remaining semesters of classes and DAT. Also, use the search function on top right for "low GPA", there are plenty of posts with advice

Hi there & 2.989/3.01 at the end of this semester

 

[sk1001]

My story is similar to yours, except my gpa was actually lower. I may be wrong but I think if you got an associates then your gpa should’ve “reset upon hitting a university”. Sure your associate gpa will mix in with the new one but the trend will be there (it counts) and your “university gpa” will be good provided you do good from here on out. My Aadsas gpa factored down to a 2.5 because of how badly I did right out of high school. I’m from nc as well and have interviewed at unc and ecu and think I have a pretty good shot (they didn’t seem overly concerned about my overall gpa but they will ask) so don’t give up. There’s actually an excel sheet someone posted on this site with last years acceptance stats, like every school had atleast 1 person with about a 2.5 gpa or close accepted. I will say that you probably need to put the pedal to the metal though and NEVER make any excuses, better off letting them know how you’ve grown from your experiences. It probably helped that I got a 23AA/23TS on my DAT, so that’s not impossible for you either. It’s really gonna come down to how bad you actually want it, and if you do really want it don’t let anyone up here discourage you. Good luck!

Thank you for the words of encouragement and support fam! I wish you the best of luck and hope you get in