REALLY worried. No idea what to do at this point. Should I even apply?

[predent9]

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[bing12]

Be grateful you have a 3.0 or above in both your ogpa and sgpa. Complaining about your recent grades wont get you anywhere, so dont dwell on them. I suggest you still apply, study your BUTT off for the DAT, so that you can have a good chance on gaining admission to Dschool. I think you should go to your local 4-year college, or if you are already in that, then taking a few upper level bio classes if you havnt done so already to try and raise that sgpa. whats ur major? how many credits you have for sgpa? what upper level bio classes have you taken?

 

[dentalbuzz]

The problem is, you have a downward trend. Adcoms don't like to see this. You need to be able to prove to them that you can handle the rigors of dental school, and whatever is keeping you from performing (whether it be personal problems or whatever) will only be amplified once you are in Dental school.

In my opinion, you should take another few semesters of upper level science courses and ACE them, to show the adcoms that you have what it takes, and that whatever trials you were having are in the past. Then ROCK the DAT, and write a killer personal statement.

Good luck.

 

[iralex801]

Its definitely not hopeless to apply. You can't do anything about your GPA at the moment so don't dwell on it. Push the distractions away and just destroy the DAT to offset your GPA to make you more competitive and explain your personal situation in PS.

 

[Winter Wind]

As others have said make sure you do well on the DAT. You can still get interviews.

 

[predent9]

Be grateful you have a 3.0 or above in both your ogpa and sgpa. Complaining about your recent grades wont get you anywhere, so dont dwell on them. I suggest you still apply, study your BUTT off for the DAT, so that you can have a good chance on gaining admission to Dschool. I think you should go to your local 4-year college, or if you are already in that, then taking a few upper level bio classes if you havnt done so already to try and raise that sgpa. whats ur major? how many credits you have for sgpa? what upper level bio classes have you taken?

I did good in my prerequisites, and then when I started taking upper levels I started doing bad (C in biochem, C in physiology, and C+ in genetics - that's what killed me). I've basically done bad only in upper level elective classes, the rest is good. Am a bio major and I've got 85 credits toward the sGPA

 

[321931]

I did good in my prerequisites, and then when I started taking upper levels I started doing bad (C in biochem, C in physiology, and C+ in genetics - that's what killed me). I've basically done bad only in upper level elective classes, the rest is good. Am a bio major and I've got 85 credits toward the sGPA

PM Sent

 

[dentalWorks]

I just got this semester's grades, and now I'm really depressed. The semester ended today, and now I need to study for the DAT and apply. At this point I really am feeling down in the dumps and feel unmotivated because I don't even know what my chances are, or if I should even bother to apply this time, even though I've been preparing for this cycle since I started undergrad. The reason I feel this way is that here are my semester by semester GPAs: 3.7, 3.6, 3.7, 3.3, 3.4, 3.0, 2.3 and this semester I have 2.97.

My cumulative GPA is a 3.28 with a 3.02 science GPA. Can I still make it through the cutoffs and get some interviews at least?

My motivation is destroyed, and I don't even know if the DAT will help at this point. My last two semesters, the most important ones, end up being the worst. I worked so hard in the beginning, and now just because of this, all my hard work is gone. The reason I did so bad is out of my control, there were personal problems involved and I really was not in the same position I was in when I was getting 3.7s.

Should I still apply this time? Also, I'm going to graduate in the summer. Should I still do that, or stay in undergrad even though I'm done with my credits? Would it be better to go into a certificate program or masters? I want to start new somewhere. Are graduate GPAs combined with undergraduate, and which would hold more weight?

I can't even look at my GPA, and I feel that if I stay, there's no point since to bring my GPA up to 3.5 I need about two years of all As. Please let me know what your honest opinion is. I need to start studying for the DAT, and this is really really bringing me down.

I don't understand why your freaking out.... You've messed up the last couple years of undergrad (okay fine, its a big screw up, but at least ITS FIXABLE).

IMO, I wouldn't apply this year, not because you can't get in, but you don't wanna spend thousands of dollars applying only to get rejected and do the inevitable: post-bacc.

If this was me, I would work hard this summer and take the DAT (but not apply).... I would do a 1 year (intense) informal post-bacc with 15 credits each Fall and Spring term (all Upper level bios and MAKE SURE you get high grades). And apply June of 2012 for the '13 cycle.

You gotta understand, people with a disadvantage (such as your sub 3.0 sGPA) CAN STILL MAKE IT into dental school, but they have to spend extra time & money fixing their application first.

 

[John Durian]

You have 5 semesters of doing well/above average and 3 semesters of below average credits.

So your GPA is still salvageable. If I were in your shoes, I would delay graduation for 1 year and take more science classes, maybe 2 a semester + 3 to 4 'BS' classes. This will boost your science and overall to a more competitive level.

 

[SoulPower]

Agree with John and DW.

 

[carabelli3]

Just a quick note on the application itself since you probably have never seen it yet. And somebody out there correct me if I'm wrong, but if I remember correctly, there is a section where you can write about special circumstances that may have led you to perform poorly academically. I don't know how common it is for people to write something here. It seemed like it was reserved for pretty exteme circumstances, such as if you were involved in a bad accident or had a serious illness and were stuck in a hospital recovering for a couple weeks. I don't know what kind of personal problems you were having or if this would help. But, if you can show that some major distraction was going on that will not be present in the coming years, your grades may not end up being as big of a problem as you are thinking. If you have had some difficulties that fit this type of disadvantage, or even if they are totally different but still come up in some kind of way, try to show that you learned something from it or it helped build character and you grew as a person in some way.

 

[predent9]

You have 5 semesters of doing well/above average and 3 semesters of below average credits.

So your GPA is still salvageable. If I were in your shoes, I would delay graduation for 1 year and take more science classes, maybe 2 a semester + 3 to 4 'BS' classes. This will boost your science and overall to a more competitive level.

What classes do you recommend, since I remember someone told me they can tell if you add BS classes and look down on that; I've taken only all upper level sciences every semester since my 3.3 I think and that's when my grades really started dropping

 

[Maygyver]

What classes do you recommend, since I remember someone told me they can tell if you add BS classes and look down on that; I've taken only all upper level sciences every semester since my 3.3 I think and that's when my grades really started dropping

Add more upper level courses and do well in them. It's already apparent that you can handle the easier/lower level material. Now you need to show schools that you matured and can actually handle difficult material. I would suggest maybe immuno or something tough like that a long with other upper level biology courses. Essentially, you have failed to show that you can succeed in the courses you will take in dental school - biochem, genetics and physiology - so schools will probably doubt your ability/commitment to learning. Best way to get around that is to take more tough courses and do well in them. If you can do well, then you're set. If you can't, well, don't think of that. You need to be able to learn material like that in dental school, so you might as well see if you can handle it now. Good luck!

Sidenote: I agree with dw and jd, wait a year. If you have money, I guess you can try some schools with lower criteria this year, but it might be a waste.

 

[predent9]

If I can explain the reason why I didn't do well in my last two semesters, then will that possibly give me a shot this time around? Also what about schools like Howard and Meharry, if I am not URM then would they still give my application a chance? Or do they only want non-URMs with really competitive stats? What about having alumnis, will that get my application noticed? Or only to be looked down on

 

[Maygyver]

If I can explain the reason why I didn't do well in my last two semesters, then will that possibly give me a shot this time around? Also what about schools like Howard and Meharry, if I am not URM then would they still give my application a chance? Or do they only want non-URMs with really competitive stats? What about having alumnis, will that get my application noticed? Or only to be looked down on

Howard and Meharry are mainly for URM, sorry.

You won't have the chance to explain your bad GPA unless you get an interview, unless you get a secondary. Chances are, you might not make cut offs. Call schools if you want though. That's the only way you will get direct and accurate answers.

 

[predent9]

Howard and Meharry are mainly for URM, sorry.

You won't have the chance to explain your bad GPA unless you get an interview, unless you get a secondary. Chances are, you might not make cut offs. Call schools if you want though. That's the only way you will get direct and accurate answers.

I know they are for URM, but do they accept non-URMs with the same stats or do their stats need to be higher? I though cutoffs were 3.0 at most schools

 

[predent9]

Just a quick note on the application itself since you probably have never seen it yet. And somebody out there correct me if I'm wrong, but if I remember correctly, there is a section where you can write about special circumstances that may have led you to perform poorly academically. I don't know how common it is for people to write something here. It seemed like it was reserved for pretty exteme circumstances, such as if you were involved in a bad accident or had a serious illness and were stuck in a hospital recovering for a couple weeks. I don't know what kind of personal problems you were having or if this would help. But, if you can show that some major distraction was going on that will not be present in the coming years, your grades may not end up being as big of a problem as you are thinking. If you have had some difficulties that fit this type of disadvantage, or even if they are totally different but still come up in some kind of way, try to show that you learned something from it or it helped build character and you grew as a person in some way.

Thanks I am definitely going to fill out this part of the application, and I will show how I was able to overcome this hardship and still study for the DAT

 

[dentalWorks]

I know they are for URM, but do they accept non-URMs with the same stats or do their stats need to be higher? I though cutoffs were 3.0 at most schools

who knows...

 

[Pennywisdom]

I know they are for URM, but do they accept non-URMs with the same stats or do their stats need to be higher? I though cutoffs were 3.0 at most schools

I'm not sure, but I think your stats will have to be higher. Think of it as if you (an out-of-state student) were to apply to state schools that aren't in your state. Due to the limited number of seats available for out-of-state students, your stats will have be higher than those of in-state students.

 

[predent9]

I'm not sure, but I think your stats will have to be higher. Think of it as if you (an out-of-state student) were to apply to state schools that aren't in your state. Due to the limited number of seats available for out-of-state students, your stats will have be higher than those of in-state students.

That makes sense