Question!

[Letmetoktok]

Hello, I am new to this website hope someone can help me out. I graduated from college 6+ years ago in Texas and recently I decided that I want to go to dental school. I've always wanted to become a dentist but my personal situation didn't allow me in the past. My undergrad GPA was around 2.9~3.0 (both overall and science) I was doing well in the beginning of my undergrad year but my GPA had dropped after I transffered to another college (this is probably not a good thing?) Many people on this web suggested post-bac or master's program to bring up the GPA but I was thinking to may be just take some more undergrad upper science courses to bring up my overall and science GPAs. The reason for this is I am currently working full time
and taking night classes would be the best option for me. Plus may be I can get to know some professors for recommendation letters later on. I am prob. going to find some dentists around my place to get my shadowing hours on weekends and planning to take DAT in Nov or Dec.

So my question is do you think taking night classes can still work? If so, can i obtain credits from community college as long as you have done your pre-reqs from University?

Thank you

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[2THDDS]

Since you are doing this offset your low gpa, you are gonna want to try and take those classes at a 4 year institution if possible..

It would be more convincing if you did well in classes taken at a 4 yr university than cc. Also, if you need to retake any prereqs, all the more reason to take them at 4 yr institution bc if you have them at cc, you will not be able to apply to schools that do not take cc prereqs. (if your prereqs are covered, it's not absolutely necessary to take classes at university, but it would look better I presume)

If i were you, id stay away from cc unless there is no way to make your schedule around your work.

 

[Letmetoktok]

Thank you for your comment 2THDDS. I do agree that I should take courses at a university. Only reason I mentioned CC was to save some money...
I did complete my undergrad prereqs in 4 year university and I am not planning to repeat any C classes since many people mentioned not to unless you are guaranteed to make A's.

However, do you think it's more effective to quit my job and go all in with one year post-bac or just keep the job and take undergrad courses? (Is there a BIG difference??)
I know there is no such thing as what GPA is good enough, but i just want to figure out how many undergrad courses I should take in order to stay somewhat competitive with my GPA when applying to dental schools.
I did see a few applicants with <3.2 GPA with >22 DAT scores (some people said good enough and some said no), if I bring my GPA up to above 3.0 with 24+ DAT do I have a shot even though the GPA is slightly below the requirement?

Anyone is welcome to leave a comment
Thank you.

 

[2THDDS]

If you can work while you have heavy course load, you don't have to quit. But if you are the type who has to give it 100% to get A's in all the classes, it would be wise to cut back on your hours and just focus on getting good grade. It all depends on your financial and personal situation I think.

Since you already graduated, you probably have at least 120~130 credits.
So let's say you do 30 more credits and get gpa of 3.8 (to be realistic, since 4.0 is doable, but not always attainable)
your approximate undergrad GPA 2.95 x (130/160) + 3.8 ( 30/160) = New GPA 3.11

If you do 40 credits and get 3.8 GPA,
2.95 (130/170) + 3.8 (40/170) = New GPA 3.15

If you do 50 credits and get 3.8 GPA
2.95 (130/180) + 3.8 (50 /180) = New GPA 3.19


It is possible to raise your GPA, but because of the number of credits you already have, it just doesn't go up as fast as you'd hope.
If you get 4.0 every semester, that's a different story. You will be able to raise it up to 3.3~3.35 ish.


I've seen a lot of people getting interviews with 3.1~3.2. But the caveat is that they might have great ECs and pretty decent DATs(though not all the time)
So like you said, if you do well on DAT, say get 22~23+ across the board, your chance will be a lot better.

 

[Letmetoktok]

Again, Thank you for your Great info 2THDDS.
I actually looked for my unofficial undergrad transcript this morning to recalculate my GPAs (Your info really did make me feel like I could do this at my age so i really thank you for that.)
Unfortunately, I guess I forgot about a few failed classes since its been so long... I did retake them and made C's according to my transcript.
However, after re-doing the calculation my Overall is 2.87 and my science is 2.5 (3 or 4 classes failed and retook). I don't think High DAT can even save me with those GPAs.

It seems to me that only thing that will save me from my low GPAs is to do one year Post-Bac or Masters (or do I need more?), which one do you recommend? Are they equally measured when reviewed by dental schools?
I will probably have to really think about this due to my current job. (I am working in healthcare field for 2 years now)

I would like for your honest answer, if making 3.5+ (I will work hard to make 4.0.. but in reality let's just say 3.5+) GPA in post bac or masters in the future can help me to stay competitive with other applicants I am thinking to may be leave my job. However, if you believe that 3.5+ GPA won't' guarantee to get in then may be I should just stick to my current job and appreciate what I have now

Again, thank you for you comment and your time to read my post.

 

[2THDDS]

Again, Thank you for your Great info 2THDDS.
I actually looked for my unofficial undergrad transcript this morning to recalculate my GPAs (Your info really did make me feel like I could do this at my age so i really thank you for that.)
Unfortunately, I guess I forgot about a few failed classes since its been so long... I did retake them and made C's according to my transcript.
However, after re-doing the calculation my Overall is 2.87 and my science is 2.5 (3 or 4 classes failed and retook). I don't think High DAT can even save me with those GPAs.

It seems to me that only thing that will save me from my low GPAs is to do one year Post-Bac or Masters (or do I need more?), which one do you recommend? Are they equally measured when reviewed by dental schools?
I will probably have to really think about this due to my current job. (I am working in healthcare field for 2 years now)

I would like for your honest answer, if making 3.5+ (I will work hard to make 4.0.. but in reality let's just say 3.5+) GPA in post bac or masters in the future can help me to stay competitive with other applicants I am thinking to may be leave my job. However, if you believe that 3.5+ GPA won't' guarantee to get in then may be I should just stick to my current job and appreciate what I have now

Again, thank you for you comment and your time to read my post.

I am no expert either, but i want to say if you can do a full blown post bach or smp program and do well, it will probably help you out more. But the problem i see with masters or post bach program is that they dont raise your undergraduate GPA(correct me if i am wrong, someone).

If your science gpa is 2.5, you will probably have to take lots of science class and do well in them to raise it up to 3.xx

Once you bring it up to 3.xx i think its a matter of how well rounded applicant you are in terms of community involvement and shadowing.

You are in a tough situation, theres no denying that, but if you think you can focus your energy into doing this while working, go for it.

 

[Letmetoktok]

Thanks again. You may not be an expert but you helped me enough to have a general idea of what I need to do. Yes it will take me a long time for me to prepare for it but at least there's a hope that it can be done. The current job is good but I don't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Doing post-bac or masters would be nice but like you said it will not replace my low undergrad GPA. If that is the case then I will just hold onto my job and take some more science classes to bring up my GPAs. If I take 50 hours of science credits (assuming I make 4.0) I can bring both GPAs up to 3.1 ish... (still sounds low..) I will prob. have to make 22+ DAT to cover up the rest (plus the shadowing hours) or.. do I need alot more EC's?

By the way, do you think I should just retake some pre-reqs that I made C's if I can make A's this time for sure or should I just take other science courses I have not taken before? I am assuming GPA wise would be the same but if I make A's can prove myself to schools that I have improved from the past? Also, another reason is to recap myself since it's been 6+ years since I studied those materials...

Thanks.

 

[wjc]

Just noticed your post. Personal experience, I graduated in 1999 with a ~2.7 GPA.... Science was probably worse due to "F's." I went back and got a second degree-did retakes of pre req classes and upper level classes-3 years full time including summers. I've applied to 6 schools and currently have 2 interviews at Nebraska and Ohio State. I'm still under review everywhere else. So, it can be done.

If I were to do it over, I may have worked, taken classes part time, and then applied to masters programs. Looking at the big picture, it may have been better just because of the options available if I didn't get in to dental school. All the same, I've got a great job now, and interviews so It seemed to have worked out.

Look into a few dental schools that you are interested in and talk to their admissions folks. Put together a plan and go for it. Good luck to you!

 

[2THDDS]

Just noticed your post. Personal experience, I graduated in 1999 with a ~2.7 GPA.... Science was probably worse due to "F's." I went back and got a second degree-did retakes of pre req classes and upper level classes-3 years full time including summers. I've applied to 6 schools and currently have 2 interviews at Nebraska and Ohio State. I'm still under review everywhere else. So, it can be done.

If I were to do it over, I may have worked, taken classes part time, and then applied to masters programs. Looking at the big picture, it may have been better just because of the options available if I didn't get in to dental school. All the same, I've got a great job now, and interviews so It seemed to have worked out.

Look into a few dental schools that you are interested in and talk to their admissions folks. Put together a plan and go for it. Good luck to you!

Persistence!