so afraid

[smchurch]

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hello everyone,
i am new to this site and excited that i found it. I am a senior at Radford University in Radford VA, i am sending in applications in May. I have a overall GPA of 3.14, Science 3.25, and Gen edu of 3.3. I do have 2 C`s in my major and that is in physics(which i hate) and microbiology. I have A`s in both organics, anatomy, calculus, stats and a few other. After the C in physics may major GPA may drop to almost a 3.0. My question is....is my GPA too low to get in. I am very active in a sorority and have experience and good recommendations. Also, my really tough classes i have got B or A`s in. i had one bad semester my sop. year that crashed my GPA when i got all C's ...the rest have been good! Is anyone else in the same boat as me? Does anyone else have the fear that they will never be accepted? Please just give me something to hope for...or be burtally honest I can deal with either.
Thanks everyone and have a great Christmas

 

[ktrain315]

My gpa is 3.09, science gpa 2.85 and I am going to OSU Dental in the fall. Stats are not everything. How are your DAT scores? Any volunteering/research experience?

 

[ktrain315]

I volunteered in different departments throughout a hospital. I couldn't find anything dealing with dentistry.

 

[Dukie]

I'll tell you this- many of the people on SDN seem to be extremely focused on statistics. Schools are, of course, interested in your academic performance but they are also looking for interesting people who have life experiences and participated in a variety of activities in college. Anyone can just study and get good grades, but it takes a real interesting applicant to serve others through volunteering and extracurriculars. That's my two cents...

 

[smchurch]

hey everyone,
Thanks so much for the reply. Ktrain315 you just made my day. I am taking the DATs this summer probably in June. I am taking the kaplan classroom course to prepare. What did you do to standout? I am 21 and would like to get accepted to get my dental school on its way.

For the others I have volunteered at a free health clinic in the dental dept for 15 hrs so far and plan to do more. Also, my uncle is a dentist and I have helped him alot also. I looked for shadowing options by calling local dentist. I was lucky and met a wonderful man. He was on the board at the free health clinic and was more than happy to help me.He said he would let me shadow there but I woudl get more hands on exp at the free clinic. He said he knows how troubling and stressful the path can be. Try calling local dentist and ask if they would mind if you got some volunteer hours there, just shadowing and watching. Anything works! Also see if there are any free health clinics in your area or even try health departments. Dentist are usally more the happy to help you. Good luck with your seach and if you need anything else....Ask! 😀

 

[Biogirl361]

yes stats may not be everything in the end (how well do i know, so many people with lower stats have gotten accepted to some schools that i haven't been accepted to yet), but they are central in getting you interviews, the first stage of the process. after all, schools have little else to base their interview invites on. i know someone with ~3.2 who has not even gotten interviewed at any of the schools they applied to (and they have LOTS of extracurricular/leadership/volunteering). if you don't even get an interview, you don't ever get a chance to wow them with your personality and whatnot. my advice for people with 3.1's, apply to tons of schools and make sure some of them are the "less selective" ones. also you better try your best to get 20's on the DAT. even so, you'll want to make sure you have a backup plan in case you have to reapply next year. i am not saying you can't get in, especially since schools will see that the reason for the low GPA was just one bad year and you've been doing better. just that i think you should be realistic about your chances and make sure to choose the number and types of schools accordingly.

 

[ktrain315]

hey everyone,
Thanks so much for the reply. Ktrain315 you just made my day. I am taking the DATs this summer probably in June. I am taking the kaplan classroom course to prepare. What did you do to standout? I am 21 and would like to get accepted to get my dental school on its way.

For the others I have volunteered at a free health clinic in the dental dept for 15 hrs so far and plan to do more. Also, my uncle is a dentist and I have helped him alot also. I looked for shadowing options by calling local dentist. I was lucky and met a wonderful man. He was on the board at the free health clinic and was more than happy to help me.He said he would let me shadow there but I woudl get more hands on exp at the free clinic. He said he knows how troubling and stressful the path can be. Try calling local dentist and ask if they would mind if you got some volunteer hours there, just shadowing and watching. Anything works! Also see if there are any free health clinics in your area or even try health departments. Dentist are usally more the happy to help you. Good luck with your seach and if you need anything else....Ask! 😀

To stand out I did some research and volunteered tons. In my interview they asked me roughly how many hours I have volunteered over the last few years. Its good that you plan to volunteer more, because 15 hours is not much at all. But most of all, to stand out, I would try to do some dental research. All I did was email a professor in the dental college and told him I am looking to get some basic research experience and he let me come in his lab a few days a week and perform some basic experiments. Also, study like crazy for the DAT...you probably already knew that.

 

[The Musketeer]

I volunteered in different departments throughout a hospital. I couldn't find anything dealing with dentistry.

If you live near a dental school, try contacting people there first. If not, just do what I did and look through the yellow pages and contact some of those dental offices, sometimes you might get lucky!

Good Luck

 

[ecrdoubles15]

my science is like a 2.9 my overall is 3.0 and I am already in 3 really good schools. NYU, temple, and michigan. dont ask we how though? i only studied for the DATs for a month on my own and I got 20(overall),19 (PAT). But what i do have that I realized got me into and invited to so many school was that I go to UC Berkeley for undergraduate (which is now rated the #1 or 2 school in the world) and I have crazy amazing extracurriculars better than anyone they said since Im not really a academic kid (volunteer at 2 disadvatged clinics for 4 years, modeled for magazines to raise money for schools in africa, and i play violin, and do every sport you can imagine). They just want you well rounded. so dont worry, just make sure you volunteer, and relax and youll get in. if you have anymore quesstions, just ask. ciao.

 

[ktrain315]

If you live near a dental school, try contacting people there first. If not, just do what I did and look through the yellow pages and contact some of those dental offices, sometimes you might get lucky!

Good Luck

Thanks for the good advice, but I've already been accepted so I am done volunteering for life! Maybe.

 

[Rezdawg]

my science is like a 2.9 my overall is 3.0 and I am already in 3 really good schools. NYU, temple, and michigan. dont ask we how though? i only studied for the DATs for a month on my own and I got 20(overall),19 (PAT). But what i do have that I realized got me into and invited to so many school was that I go to UC Berkeley for undergraduate (which is now rated the #1 or 2 school in the world)...

Just curious as to how UC Berkeley is rated the #1 or 2 college in the world...

I thought my college would give me an edge, but Im willing to say it has almost zero impact. Undergrad is undergrad.

 

[ecrdoubles15]

Just curious as to how UC Berkeley is rated the #1 or 2 college in the world...

I thought my college would give me an edge, but Im willing to say it has almost zero impact. Undergrad is undergrad.

yeah i cant believe it either. i already knew that berkeley was the #1 public school in the US, but it was just recently ranked #1 or 2 next or harvard in the world. and my interviewers say that is the reason why i am getting all these interview because of that. they treat a 3.0 from berkeley as if it is way higher other places because this school is TOO HARD. so now i know im not stupid at least

 

[edkNARF]

The school you go does make some difference, but it can't guarantee acceptance. I was told at many interviews that since I went to school X, they know I can handle the curriculum. It was flattering to hear that, but I still got a few rejections. It is never a good idea to rest on somebody else's laurels.

 

[Dukie]

Yes, where you go to school does make a difference. Graduating from Duke has helped a great deal. By the way, Berkley is # 21 in the last US News rankings, not #1 or 2...

 

[sdnmember]

I'll tell you this- many of the people on SDN seem to be extremely focused on statistics. Schools are, of course, interested in your academic performance but they are also looking for interesting people who have life experiences and participated in a variety of activities in college. Anyone can just study and get good grades, but it takes a real interesting applicant to serve others through volunteering and extracurriculars. That's my two cents...

haha, hardly. If even half of these people who apply, volunteered or did EC's because of ALTRUISM, then tehy deserve to get in. But exactly how many people are volunteering, etc ONLY to pad their application? I'm sure that's most people.

 

[Neon Black]

Yes, where you go to school does make a difference. Graduating from Duke has helped a great deal. By the way, Berkley is # 21 in the last US News rankings, not #1 or 2...

They're close...
The research that goes on at that school if crazy sick.


http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2004/2004Main.htm


Top 500 World Universities (1-100)


World Rank Institution Country Total Score Score on Alumni Score on Award Score on HiCi Score on N&S Score on SCI Score on Size
1 Harvard Univ USA 100.0 98.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 60.6
2 Stanford Univ USA 77.2 41.2 72.2 96.1 75.2 72.3 68.1
3 Univ Cambridge UK 76.2 100.0 93.4 56.6 58.5 70.2 73.2
4 Univ California - Berkeley USA 74.2 70.0 76.0 74.1 75.6 72.7 45.1
5 Massachusetts Inst Tech (MIT) USA 72.4 74.1 78.9 73.6 69.1 64.6 47.5
6 California Inst Tech USA 69.0 59.3 66.5 64.8 66.7 53.2 100.0
7 Princeton Univ USA 63.6 61.0 76.8 65.4 52.1 46.8 67.3
8 Univ Oxford UK 61.4 64.4 59.1 53.1 55.3 65.2 59.0
9 Columbia Univ USA 61.2 77.8 58.8 57.3 51.6 68.3 37.0
10 Univ Chicago USA 60.5 72.2 81.9 55.3 46.6 54.1 32.7
11 Yale Univ USA 58.6 52.2 44.5 63.6 58.1 63.6 50.4
12 Cornell Univ USA 55.5 46.6 52.4 60.5 47.2 66.2 33.6
13 Univ California - San Diego USA 53.8 17.8 34.7 63.6 59.4 67.2 47.9
14 Tokyo Univ Japan 51.9 36.1 14.4 44.5 55.0 91.9 49.8
15 Univ Pennsylvania USA 51.8 35.6 35.1 61.2 44.6 72.6 34.0
16 Univ California - Los Angeles USA 51.6 27.4 32.8 60.5 48.1 79.9 24.8
17 Univ California - San Francisco USA 50.8 0.0 37.6 59.3 59.5 62.9 48.8
18 Univ Wisconsin - Madison USA 50.0 43.1 36.3 55.3 48.0 69.2 19.0
19 Univ Michigan - Ann Arbor USA 49.3 39.8 19.3 64.8 45.7 76.7 20.1
20 Univ Washington - Seattle USA 49.1 22.7 30.2 57.3 49.6 78.8 16.2
21 Kyoto Univ Japan 48.3 39.8 34.1 40.0 37.2 77.1 46.4
22 Johns Hopkins Univ USA 47.5 48.7 28.3 43.7 52.6 71.7 14.2
23 Imperial Coll London UK 46.4 20.9 38.1 46.2 39.4 65.8 44.5
24 Univ Toronto Canada 44.6 28.1 19.7 39.1 41.2 78.4 42.8
25 Univ Coll London UK 44.3 30.8 32.9 41.0 41.0 61.1 42.6
25 Univ Illinois - Urbana Champaign USA 43.3 41.7 37.4 46.2 36.0 58.2 17.8
27 Swiss Fed Inst Tech - Zurich Switzerland 43.2 40.3 37.0 39.1 43.2 47.1 41.5
28 Washington Univ - St. Louis USA 43.1 25.1 26.6 41.9 46.8 56.2 44.9
29 Rockefeller Univ USA 40.2 22.7 59.8 31.5 43.6 27.1 38.6
30 Northwestern Univ USA 39.5 21.8 19.3 47.9 35.8 57.2 37.0
31 Duke Univ USA 38.9 20.9 0.0 48.6 46.8 62.7 36.2
32 New York Univ USA 38.7 33.9 25.0 43.7 39.3 50.9 19.1
33 Univ Minnesota - Twin Cities USA 38.3 36.1 0.0 53.9 35.9 69.6 12.8
34 Univ Colorado - Boulder USA 37.8 16.6 29.8 43.7 38.3 47.5 27.4
35 Univ California - Santa Barbara USA 37.0 0.0 28.5 45.4 41.4 44.0 36.2
36 Univ British Columbia Canada 36.3 20.9 19.3 36.0 31.6 59.5 34.9
36 Univ Texas Southwestern Med Center USA 36.3 16.6 33.9 33.8 40.5 40.0 34.9
38 Vanderbilt Univ USA 35.1 12.6 30.2 37.1 23.8 50.2 41.7
39 Univ Utrecht Netherlands 34.9 30.8 21.4 31.5 29.9 58.1 22.1
40 Univ Texas - Austin USA 34.8 21.8 17.1 50.2 28.8 53.7 12.8
41 Univ Paris 06 France 33.9 35.7 23.9 23.1 24.7 56.7 32.6
42 Univ California - Davis USA 33.6 0.0 0.0 48.6 37.2 64.7 20.7
43 Pennsylvania State Univ - Univ Park USA 33.5 14.1 0.0 50.2 37.7 58.7 14.2
44 Rutgers State Univ - New Brunswick USA 33.4 15.4 20.4 38.1 36.1 48.2 19.5
45 Tech Univ Munich Germany 33.3 43.1 24.1 27.6 20.4 50.0 32.0
46 Karolinska Inst Stockholm Sweden 33.0 30.8 27.8 32.7 21.6 49.8 21.5
47 Univ Edinburgh UK 32.9 22.7 17.1 27.6 36.7 49.1 31.6
48 Univ Paris 11 France 32.5 33.3 34.2 21.4 21.3 46.8 31.2
48 Univ Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh USA 32.5 18.9 0.0 42.8 26.5 67.0 20.0
48 Univ Southern California USA 32.5 0.0 27.3 41.9 23.0 53.5 20.5
51 Univ Munich Germany 32.4 37.2 21.1 12.4 32.0 56.0 31.1
52 Univ Rochester USA 32.0 33.3 9.1 30.3 27.2 44.9 50.1
53 Australian Natl Univ Australia 31.9 17.8 12.9 41.0 31.4 43.6 30.7
54 Osaka Univ Japan 31.5 12.6 0.0 26.2 31.2 72.1 30.2
55 Univ California - Irvine USA 31.4 0.0 25.0 33.8 29.6 47.2 29.9
56 Univ North Carolina - Chapel Hill USA 31.2 12.6 0.0 38.1 34.5 60.5 20.3
57 Univ Maryland - Coll Park USA 31.1 25.9 0.0 40.0 33.2 54.0 17.4
57 Univ Zurich Switzerland 31.1 12.6 27.3 21.4 30.3 48.9 29.9
59 Univ Copenhagen Denmark 31.0 30.8 24.7 23.1 22.6 48.1 29.8
60 Univ Bristol UK 30.6 10.9 18.2 32.7 26.6 49.1 29.4
61 McGill Univ Canada 30.4 28.8 0.0 31.5 26.3 59.0 29.2
62 Carnegie Mellon Univ USA 30.3 18.9 30.2 32.7 17.4 38.8 34.0
63 Univ Leiden Netherlands 29.8 25.1 15.8 30.3 22.0 47.3 30.3
64 Univ Heidelberg Germany 29.7 10.9 27.7 23.1 22.1 49.7 28.5
65 Case Western Reserve Univ USA 29.6 37.2 11.8 23.1 22.2 46.1 40.6
66 Moscow State Univ Russia 29.5 51.5 34.9 0.0 8.1 58.5 28.3
67 Univ Florida USA 29.3 15.4 0.0 33.8 24.3 66.4 16.3
68 Univ Oslo Norway 29.2 25.9 34.1 19.5 17.2 42.1 28.0
69 Tohoku Univ Japan 28.8 18.9 0.0 19.5 26.1 69.3 27.7
69 Univ Sheffield UK 28.8 23.5 14.4 23.1 28.8 46.2 27.7
71 Purdue Univ - West Lafayette USA 28.7 18.9 17.1 31.5 22.1 50.5 13.8
72 Univ Helsinki Finland 28.6 18.9 18.2 15.1 23.7 56.9 27.5
73 Ohio State Univ - Columbus USA 28.5 17.8 0.0 41.0 20.6 61.3 9.6
74 Uppsala Univ Sweden 28.4 25.9 32.9 0.0 30.4 52.5 14.5
75 Rice Univ USA 28.3 21.8 22.3 26.2 23.7 30.2 44.6
76 Univ Arizona USA 28.1 0.0 0.0 31.5 37.7 56.5 18.1
77 King's Coll London UK 28.0 16.6 23.5 23.1 19.8 46.2 26.9
78 Univ Manchester UK 27.9 25.9 19.3 21.4 18.2 48.6 26.8
79 Univ Goettingen Germany 27.4 38.8 20.4 17.5 18.2 42.8 26.3
80 Michigan State Univ USA 27.0 12.6 0.0 39.1 28.4 50.5 10.5
80 Univ Nottingham UK 27.0 15.4 20.4 23.1 20.1 45.1 25.9
82 Brown Univ USA 26.8 0.0 13.9 30.3 27.9 41.4 30.4
82 Univ Melbourne Australia 26.8 15.4 14.4 21.4 19.2 53.0 25.8
82 Univ Strasbourg 1 France 26.8 29.5 22.9 21.4 21.3 35.2 25.7
85 Ecole Normale Super Paris France 26.5 47.9 25.0 17.5 18.2 29.6 25.4
86 Boston Univ USA 26.3 15.4 0.0 32.7 29.6 51.5 9.6
86 Univ Vienna Austria 26.3 25.1 15.8 8.7 22.0 54.5 25.3
88 McMaster Univ Canada 26.0 16.6 19.3 23.1 16.2 45.2 25.0
88 Univ Freiburg Germany 26.0 25.1 21.4 19.5 18.0 40.9 25.0
90 Hebrew Univ Jerusalem Israel 25.9 15.4 0.0 26.2 29.5 48.3 24.9
91 Univ Basel Switzerland 25.8 25.9 17.5 21.4 24.2 35.5 24.8
92 Lund Univ Sweden 25.6 29.5 0.0 26.2 22.0 54.0 11.2
93 Univ Birmingham UK 25.5 25.1 11.2 24.7 14.0 47.6 24.5
93 Univ Roma - La Sapienza Italy 25.5 16.6 15.8 12.4 24.3 57.4 7.9
95 Humboldt Univ Berlin Germany 25.4 29.5 21.9 8.7 14.8 49.7 24.4
95 Univ Utah USA 25.4 0.0 0.0 32.7 30.7 48.4 20.1
97 Nagoya Univ Japan 25.2 0.0 14.4 15.1 23.7 55.3 24.2
97 Stockholm Univ Sweden 25.2 29.5 30.2 17.5 14.9 35.7 15.3
99 Tufts Univ USA 25.1 18.9 17.1 19.5 19.1 40.6 29.2
99 Univ Bonn Germany 25.1 19.9 20.4 17.5 16.7 43.9 24.1

 

[ecrdoubles15]

Yes, where you go to school does make a difference. Graduating from Duke has helped a great deal. By the way, Berkley is # 21 in the last US News rankings, not #1 or 2...

actually two weaks ago it was posted as #1 or 2.

 

[ecrdoubles15]

actualy berkerley is #1 or 2 now, it was announced liek 3 weeks ago. those are a bit old

 

[hockeydentist]

I'll tell you this- many of the people on SDN seem to be extremely focused on statistics. Schools are, of course, interested in your academic performance but they are also looking for interesting people who have life experiences and participated in a variety of activities in college. Anyone can just study and get good grades, but it takes a real interesting applicant to serve others through volunteering and extracurriculars. That's my two cents...

Trust me dude, stats matter

I am applying for second time becuase my stats were not up to par. I had a crap load of extracurriclar, research and volunteer work in a denta clinic, office and mission trip, didn't matter much at all.

This year is a different story, higher gpa, and higher DAT, interviews rolled in, and now just waiting to hear from schools about acceptances. this gotta be the year.

HD

 

[reLAXgirl]

I think you need to stop worrying. I got a few C's and have been struggling to overcome them ever since. I applied to 11 schools because I was very worried about getting in. I had very similar stats to yours and interviewed at every school I finished the application to except one and have been accepted to multiple with half tuition scholarships at 2. Stats aren't everything. I had a lot of extracurriculars and stuff that helped me stand out. So don't give yourself an ulcer. Just make sure you are improving, that's the important part. Also, apply early! That's the most important thing you can do if you are worried I would say. Better to be competiting with the first round candidates than with ALL the candidates.
Good luck!