Serious advice needed as low gpa applicant

[JamesLee89]

i posted a year ago when i decided that i would go back to school and take pre reqs to apply for dental school. My cgpa was 2.79 at my university which I graduated in 2013, but with some courses that i took over at community college was 2.61 (I only inteded to just get by since CC gpa wasn’t transfering over to my university. Within a year and a summer, I took over 35 credit hours (gen chem 1&2 A, ochem 1&2 A, bio 1&2 B,A, Physics 1&2 A, Microbiology B) at community college with 3.8 gpa.

Now, should I invest 2 months to study for DAT and apply this cycle and still have a chance or should I take more upper level science courses at a 4 year university and apply for dental school next year?

Anybody got accepted with below of 3.0 gpa in dental school? Serious advice would be appreciated!

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[Lane138]

An honest answer would be that those who've gotten accepted with GPA considerably below average (such as below 3.2) usually had extenuating circumstances (such as being primary caretaker of family member, working full time job, dealing with psych issues, etc) OR have something else amazing going for them (ran a successful company, star athlete) OR are non-trad applications who have careers in other fields. Think about it this way, schools want to have a diverse class with a high average GPA. They would only accept someone with a low GPA for a specific reason.

So I suggest that you really consider if you have any personal reasons for a low GPA that you could ask the adcom to consider. Otherwise, it might be pretty challenging to get accepted for those reasons.

 

[JamesLee89]

An honest answer would be that those who've gotten accepted with GPA considerably below average (such as below 3.2) usually had extenuating circumstances (such as being primary caretaker of family member, working full time job, dealing with psych issues, etc) OR have something else amazing going for them (ran a successful company, star athlete) OR are non-trad applications who have careers in other fields. Think about it this way, schools want to have a diverse class with a high average GPA. They would only accept someone with a low GPA for a specific reason.

So I suggest that you really consider if you have any personal reasons for a low GPA that you could ask the adcom to consider. Otherwise, it might be pretty challenging to get accepted for those reasons.

I see your points.

As you mentioned,
I did work full time during my time at university (I did end up having great experience which backed me up to get a position in a bigger corporation the same day I graduated and became youngest general manager in one of their 500 properties after few years)
Received all F’s in one semester when I had trouble with the law due to one of a friend stealing things with my dorm access card, which I plead not guilty but had to check in few times to court and police station so I was mentally dropped out of school during that span.
Took some courses at community college, purposely just to transfer credits (few D’s, mostly C’s and those credits gpa wouldnt transfer to my university) but now that is troublesome since dental school counts those gpa.
—- those are reasons why I have such a low gpa, but I also intended not to write about these in my personal statement since they might consider as excuses, instead I thought about taking more courses to prove that I’m capable of keeping consistently high GPA like others who applys for dental school.

Currently took 35 credit hours (all science courses, I never took any science courses during my undergrad) with 3.8 gpa and planning to take 21 more credits hours (upper level science courses) by end of this year which would bring my cgpa up to 3.0. Then planning to study 3 months to prepare for DAT and apply next cycle.

Whats your thought on this?

I have been emailing many schools but been receiving many genetic messages, so I thought it would be better to hear from who went through similiar situations as I am currently going through.

Thanks!

 

[applegrape1]

Heres my story - My non-traditional journey (i hope this helps you)

I wrote this a couple weeks ago. PM me if you have any further questions.

 

[Lane138]

I see your points.

As you mentioned,
I did work full time during my time at university (I did end up having great experience which backed me up to get a position in a bigger corporation the same day I graduated and became youngest general manager in one of their 500 properties after few years)

—- those are reasons why I have such a low gpa, but I also intended not to write about these in my personal statement since they might consider as excuses, instead I thought about taking more courses to prove that I’m capable of keeping consistently high GPA like others who applys for dental school.

Currently took 35 credit hours (all science courses, I never took any science courses during my undergrad) with 3.8 gpa and planning to take 21 more credits hours (upper level science courses) by end of this year which would bring my cgpa up to 3.0. Then planning to study 3 months to prepare for DAT and apply next cycle.

Whats your thought on this?

I have been emailing many schools but been receiving many genetic messages, so I thought it would be better to hear from who went through similiar situations as I am currently going through.

Thanks!

Sounds like you had a promising career in that company, which is a great thing to highlight.

I agree with your decision not to write about that messy situation in your personal statement. It would be better mentioned in the place in AADSAS where you can put supplemental materials, and/or a letter of recommendation from an advisor who can help you put a positive spin on things. This will take some strategizing