Should I postpone applying or apply upcoming cycle?

[JayMcDent]

Hi,

Long time reader of the sub 3.0 thread which has motivated me a lot and am need of some advice. So I graduated from undergrad with a 2.6 and have been doing a postbac for about 3 years and maintaining a gpa of 3.87 but after calculating my GPA it would only bump me up to a 2.98-2.99 (and this is also including the classes im going to take in the spring). I feel like I have shown an upward trend and have proven myself very capable of taking on the course load to adcom. I am not sure if I should just apply this year or wait another year before applying which I feel like i would have to use another year and money just to take one more quarter of class to bump it to a 3.0 incase some schools screen out apps without looking at them for not meeting the 3.0 cut off. Any Advice? And also I have acquired all my extracurricular and letter of recs etc and will be taking my DAT in Late April.

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[DOC YANKEM]

Hi,

Long time reader of the sub 3.0 thread which has motivated me a lot and am need of some advice. So I graduated from undergrad with a 2.6 and have been doing a postbac for about 3 years and maintaining a gpa of 3.87 but after calculating my GPA it would only bump me up to a 2.98-2.99 (and this is also including the classes im going to take in the spring). I feel like I have shown an upward trend and have proven myself very capable of taking on the course load to adcom. I am not sure if I should just apply this year or wait another year before applying which I feel like i would have to use another year and money just to take one more quarter of class to bump it to a 3.0 incase some schools screen out apps without looking at them for not meeting the 3.0 cut off. Any Advice? And also I have acquired all my extracurricular and letter of recs etc and will be taking my DAT in Late April.

In my opinion, 20 AA was average DAT scores this year. Since you are applying this upcoming cycle or later, aim for a 21+ AA without any sections below a 17 (arguably a 18).

In terms of gpa, the upward trend is nice but you are severely limiting yourself. You have to research and apply broadly to OOS friendly schools. You might even have to get out of your comfort zone and apply to more expensive schools than you originally planned for just because they are easier to get into than public schools.

Edit: Reading my post one more time. It reminds me of the quote... "Get comfortable being uncomfortable". That is the only way we can grow.

 

[JayMcDent]

In my opinion, 20 AA was average DAT scores this year. Since you are applying this upcoming cycle or later, aim for a 21+ AA without any sections below a 17 (arguably a 18).

In terms of gpa, the upward trend is nice but you are severely limiting yourself. You have to research and apply broadly to OOS friendly schools. You might even have to get out of your comfort zone and apply to more expensive schools than you originally planned for just because they are easier to get into than public schools.

Edit: Reading my post one more time. It reminds me of the quote... "Get comfortable being uncomfortable". That is the only way we can grow.

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely apply to out of state schools and private schools, pretty much thinking about applying to around 15-20 schools but I'm just worried they might not even look at my app because of the 3.0 screening

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely apply to out of state schools and private schools, pretty much thinking about applying to around 15-20 schools but I'm just worried they might not even look at my app because of the 3.0 screening

Some schools don't screen below a 3.0 gpa. They say they look at applications holistically, so you have a chance but the odds are against you. Worst case scenario, you might have to pursue a masters in order to prove you can do well in graduate level science courses.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

Hi,

Long time reader of the sub 3.0 thread which has motivated me a lot and am need of some advice. So I graduated from undergrad with a 2.6 and have been doing a postbac for about 3 years and maintaining a gpa of 3.87 but after calculating my GPA it would only bump me up to a 2.98-2.99 (and this is also including the classes im going to take in the spring). I feel like I have shown an upward trend and have proven myself very capable of taking on the course load to adcom. I am not sure if I should just apply this year or wait another year before applying which I feel like i would have to use another year and money just to take one more quarter of class to bump it to a 3.0 incase some schools screen out apps without looking at them for not meeting the 3.0 cut off. Any Advice? And also I have acquired all my extracurricular and letter of recs etc and will be taking my DAT in Late April.

3 years postbacc is too long. Unless you took one or two classes per semester.

Some schools don't screen below a 3.0 gpa. They say they look at applications holistically, so you have a chance but the odds are against you. Worst case scenario, you might have to pursue a masters in order to prove you can do well in graduate level science courses.

You should do a bare minimum few postbacc classes and then the rest should be graduate courses towards a Masters. It can be a traditional Masters or SMP geared towards entry to dental/medical like Biomedical Sciences. AADSAS separates the Undergrad and Grad GPA but then combines it. It will show them right on the first couple pages your low Undergrad GPA and then high Grad GPA.

If you can score a DAT of 19-21, I would apply. You need to research the schools that you apply to. If money is an issue, then maybe wait until you have 1 year of graduate courses under your belt. Schools like Buffalo won't look at your app because it is under 3.0 but they specifically note that if you have two semesters or more of a Masters with a high GPA, they look at that. You can PM me if you have more questions.

 

[dentalgoal team]

The difference between a 2.9 vs 3.0 vs 3.1 is negligible and definitely not worth skipping a whole year of your life to improve. Apply broadly and intelligently.

 

[periopocket]

I would apply this year while concurrently enrolling in a 1-year Masters program. GL

 

[tyjacobs]

Hi,

Long time reader of the sub 3.0 thread which has motivated me a lot and am need of some advice. So I graduated from undergrad with a 2.6 and have been doing a postbac for about 3 years and maintaining a gpa of 3.87 but after calculating my GPA it would only bump me up to a 2.98-2.99 (and this is also including the classes im going to take in the spring). I feel like I have shown an upward trend and have proven myself very capable of taking on the course load to adcom. I am not sure if I should just apply this year or wait another year before applying which I feel like i would have to use another year and money just to take one more quarter of class to bump it to a 3.0 incase some schools screen out apps without looking at them for not meeting the 3.0 cut off. Any Advice? And also I have acquired all my extracurricular and letter of recs etc and will be taking my DAT in Late April.

You want a very high DAT score (like 23+) to offset the low GPA tbh