Question about the GPA

[PreDentalKorean]

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Hi. I am currently a freshman and had GPA around 3.33 last semester. My question is, do the dental schools look at which university one attended? My introductory biololgy and general chemistry classes, for example, both have mean GPA of 2.7. I am a bit worried because I am an international student, and I think they expect more from us regarding admission. Thank you for your replies~

 

[Katalyst]

Certainly the school look at the school you come from. A 3.0 from Cal Tech is more respectable than a 4.0 from Westmont. Also, Biology majors are a dime a dozen, so selecting a more difficult major (e.g. Biochem or Molecular Bio) impresses them. That said, if you don't have a 3.3 or higher, it is increasingly hard to get attention. All over these forums, you'll see examples of low GPAs getting in to dental school, but 90% of acceptees do better than 3.33. Since you're just starting off, you gotta know that 3.33 won't cut it. Nothing catches the admissions boards eyes as quickly as a high GPA maintained over several years and good test scores to go with them. period. Everything else spoken of on this forum is trying to make up for not getting the numbers to begin with.

 

[blankguy]

Buckle down and do well from now on. If you show improvement from now on there's no reason not to end up with GPA 3.5+. Major in whatever you are interested. Do things that interest you not to try to impress admissions. You really need to do well on the prereqs if you want to have a strong DAT score.

 

[doc toothache]

Certainly the school look at the school you come from. A 3.0 from Cal Tech is more respectable than a 4.0 from Westmont. Also, Biology majors are a dime a dozen, so selecting a more difficult major (e.g. Biochem or Molecular Bio) impresses them.

To say that "bio majors are a dime a dozen" is a little bit of an exaggeration. Statistically there is very little difference in the acceptance rates for the various degree majors.
see http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6196653&postcount=1

 

[dentaldentist]

Hi. I am currently a freshman and had GPA around 3.33 last semester. My question is, do the dental schools look at which university one attended? My introductory biololgy and general chemistry classes, for example, both have mean GPA of 2.7. I am a bit worried because I am an international student, and I think they expect more from us regarding admission. Thank you for your replies~

Yes schools look at the school you went to along with your GPA, but you'll still need to work on brining up at least the science portion of your grade. A 3.3 in the end from a good university is probably fine, but not with a science average below 3.0. No worries though, you're only a freshman so you have plenty of time to bring up your averages. Its definitly a good idea to bring your average to a 3.5+ if possible as that is about what the average GPA of the accepted dental student is these days. Good luck.

 

[blankguy]

A good school won't do you any good if you don't have competitive GPA.

 

[PreDentalKorean]

Thank you for all your replies. But I think I wrote it unclear; my science GPA is 3.33 and the school's mean is 2.7. What I meant to say is that the school curves the classes to B- so it is hard to get a high grade.

 

[NinjaSheep]

Thank you for all your replies. But I think I wrote it unclear; my science GPA is 3.33 and the school's mean is 2.7. What I meant to say is that the school curves the classes to B- so it is hard to get a high grade.

I'm not sure what the average mean is in most universities, but I'd venture a guess that that's a relatively normal university-wide science GPA. You have to keep in mind that there are non-science majors and non-dedicated science majors that might possibly have very low sGPA's that bring down the average in addition to high achieving science majors(I assume this data includes all students?). But as the posters above have said, a 3.3 sGPA from an extremely competitive school is fine, but a 3.5 sGPA from said school is obviously better. Why not shoot just a bit higher? It can't hurt, and you'll be glad you gave yourself some wiggle-room! 😀

 

[bodiddely]

I'm not sure what the average mean is in most universities, but I'd venture a guess that that's a relatively normal university-wide science GPA. You have to keep in mind that there are non-science majors and non-dedicated science majors that might possibly have very low sGPA's that bring down the average in addition to high achieving science majors(I assume this data includes all students?). But as the posters above have said, a 3.3 sGPA from an extremely competitive school is fine, but a 3.5 sGPA from said school is obviously better. Why not shoot just a bit higher? It can't hurt, and you'll be glad you gave yourself some wiggle-room!

I concur, a 2.7 average isn't that unusual for pre-req classes at my school, maybe even a bit on the high side.

One thing that I'm starting to realize is that there are a lot of really stupid and/or imprudent college students out there (Example, my chem lab partner scored a 61 on the first exam this semester, our next exam is this Wednesday and he's spending the weekend snowboarding. "I'll just study hard on Monday and Tuesday".)

 

[bodiddely]

A 3.0 from Cal Tech is more respectable than a 4.0 from Westmont.

I tend to doubt this (from a dental admissions perspective at least). Do you think most adcom members have ever heard of Westmont? I certainly haven't. Is it notoriously famous for grade inflation or something?

This is one of the major flaws of using GPA's to compare the academic merits of applicants from different institutions; there are so many factors that influence this number, and I think adcoms recognize this and it's the reason there are standardized tests. But GPA still plays what is (imo) a disproportionately large role in admissions relative to its accuracy as an objective mark of academic abilities.

 

[bigstix808]

I concur, a 2.7 average isn't that unusual for pre-req classes at my school, maybe even a bit on the high side.

One thing that I'm starting to realize is that there are a lot of really stupid and/or imprudent college students out there (Example, my chem lab partner scored a 61 on the first exam this semester, our next exam is this Wednesday and he's spending the weekend snowboarding. "I'll just study hard on Monday and Tuesday".)

not to play devil's advocate or anything...but i did the same thing, if not worse, and i actually got asked to be a TA for the CHEM I & II lab as an udergrad....😎...and yes, i did make an A in all my gen chem classes🙂 (well made a "B" in CHEM 1 lab)

 

[Montserrat]

If you do well and went to a competitive school, it will mean something. If like me, you went to a great school and didn't do a lick worth of work until your last year, than you have a lot of explaining to do at your interviews, and the prestige of your undergrad institution doesn't apply as much leverage. Not that it doesn't provide for interesting conversation material, but it can be less than comfortable depending on how tightly wound your interviewer is.

Just work hard, have a great time in college, and let the rest take care of itself. I neglected to show up for some of my first year exams (read-I forgot the time and date, and wasn't even in the correct state), so you're off to a better start than me.

 

[Hardwork21]

This is one of the major flaws of using GPA's to compare the academic merits of applicants from different institutions; there are so many factors that influence this number, and I think adcoms recognize this and it's the reason there are standardized tests. But GPA still plays what is (imo) a disproportionately large role in admissions relative to its accuracy as an objective mark of academic abilities.

I have to agree with this. GPAs are not a great way of comparing yourself to people from other schools. Where I think the playing field is leveled a bit is with the DAT. The DAT is a way of testing how much you have learned while you attained your 3.3 GPA. You may very well find that you do better on the DAT than someone who 4.0 at a non-competitive school. So bottom line is do the best you can, try to get your GPA up to a 3.5+ and if you fall short hopefully you can score high on the DAT and get in to the school you want.

 

[MB111]

2.7 is not bad at all in terms of averages. not trying to boast or anything (if anything, it means ut's a horrible school to attend), but at the university of toronto, my entire transcript for first year courses had 2.3 and under. so im really hoping they like UT...

 

[Amalgam4U]

Nothing catches the admissions boards eyes as quickly as a high GPA maintained over several years and good test scores to go with them. period. Everything else spoken of on this forum is trying to make up for not getting the numbers to begin with.

To be honest, I don't think that's necessarily the case. I had an AADSAS GPA of a 4.04 (I guess honors classes count as 5.0's or A+'s count as 4.3's), and 22/22/20 on my DAT's, but I didn't get any interviews until after February. To be fair, I applied in early August, but that's not THAT late. And I haven't heard from 4/9 of the dental schools I applied to about anything. I'm waitlisted at 3 schools, and was only accepted to 1.

I think that D-schools aren't necessarily looking for numbers. Or at the very least, the numbers are more a pre-requisite than a guarantee at an interview. I would be lying if I said I knew what the ad boards were looking for, but it's obvious you need something other than your GPA and DAT scores to get you in.

If I had to do it over again:
APPLY JUNE 1 NO MATTER WHAT
Get a 3.5+ GPA, and 20+ DAT
research with a more active lab (I'd imagine they like published papers)
volunteer at dental clinics
have a good story/distinguishing characteristic

 

[blankguy]

To be honest, I don't think that's necessarily the case. I had an AADSAS GPA of a 4.04 (I guess honors classes count as 5.0's or A+'s count as 4.3's), and 22/22/20 on my DAT's, but I didn't get any interviews until after February. To be fair, I applied in early August, but that's not THAT late. And I haven't heard from 4/9 of the dental schools I applied to about anything. I'm waitlisted at 3 schools, and was only accepted to 1.

I think that D-schools aren't necessarily looking for numbers. Or at the very least, the numbers are more a pre-requisite than a guarantee at an interview. I would be lying if I said I knew what the ad boards were looking for, but it's obvious you need something other than your GPA and DAT scores to get you in.

If I had to do it over again:
APPLY JUNE 1 NO MATTER WHAT
Get a 3.5+ GPA, and 20+ DAT
research with a more active lab (I'd imagine they like published papers)
volunteer at dental clinics
have a good story/distinguishing characteristic

Sad to hear that it didn't go quite as expected. You have the stats that should have gotten you a lot more interviews. For some odd reason schools must have found you not compelling enough to bother with you. I guess there are cases like this every cycle its sad that it was you.

 

[ucla2134]

Hi. I am currently a freshman and had GPA around 3.33 last semester. My question is, do the dental schools look at which university one attended? My introductory biololgy and general chemistry classes, for example, both have mean GPA of 2.7. I am a bit worried because I am an international student, and I think they expect more from us regarding admission. Thank you for your replies~

If the school u attended is Korean university, obviously it cannot compare to the American university in the level of difficulty. But if it is university within the U.S i think it probably not that much important just get good grade for other science classes you have

 

[blankguy]

You obviously can't compare korean schools with american schools but the advice of doing your best still holds. There are plenty of international students who have gotten bachelors from other countries who have gone on to dental school here. PredentalKorean PM which university you are attending.