Specific Pre-dental Advice Needed Please~!!!

[TempuraShrimp]

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Hi everyone,

Right now, I'm sitting on a overall gpa of 3.2 and a science gpa of 3.0 (I majored in engineering and did pre-med at the same time and took some severe beatings 🙁 )
I took my DAT this September and received
AA 19
PA 17
TS 17
Factoring in my low GPA, I know that my DAT should be substantially higher (I am planning on a retake this coming December).
Experience includes Oncology Research and Research in a Pain clinic during college and Dental Shadowing ~90 hours this past summer.
My question is....

What should I do? 😕

Should I...
1. Apply now and hope for a miracle?
2. Apply after I get a (hopefully) higher DAT score in December?
3. Wait til next year to apply? If I do wait til next year, what can I do to beef up my application in the meantime?

Also, does anyone know if second time re-applicants are looked upon more favorably or less favorably compared to first time applicants? Or does that not matter at all? 😕

haha sorry for all the questions. any input will be heavily considered. many many thanks in advanced. 😕😕😕😕😕😕

 

[bing12]

choice 3. the only way I would tell you to apply now is if you live in a state that has relatively lower standards for admissions

 

[NguyenDDS]

If I were in your shoes, I would wait for next year to apply because your retake is in December and that is late for committees to review your application on top of your below-average sGPA. Your chances for next year will definitely be higher if you take the right steps in the meantime. In the meantime, study hardcore for your DAT retake in December and do well on it. I would recommend taking additional upper-science courses and acing them. This will boost all three GPAs (cGPA, sGPA, BCP). If you haven't taken anatomy & physiology yet, I would recommend you do so and ace them. Some schools require those classes to enroll and acing them would benefit you anyways. Good luck! 🙂

 

[pkt205]

Another way you could boost your resume in your years off next year is to apply for a pre-professional master's program offered at many schools. It is a great way to earn your master's in a year and demonstrate to dental schools that you can perform well in graduate level science classes. Also a lot of the classes you will take in these programs will be very similar to your first two years of dental school making them more of a review when you get there. Best of luck!

 

[berryberry]

choice 3. the only way I would tell you to apply now is if you live in a state that has relatively lower standards for admissions

Ditto on this. Choice 3 hands down. Don't think that you are wasting another year preparing for D-school. Just make sure you use the year well by gaining good experiences and doing well in DAT. It will be worth it!