Switching to Pre-Dental - Questions

[abr]

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Currently, I am a Pre-Pharmacy student pursuing a B.S. in Animal Science. I have thought of switching to pre-dentistry for some time, as I think it would be a better fit for me.

This is a great resource, and since my university has no pre-dental advisors, I will have to do almost everything on my own.. So, I have several questions.

First, what is considered a competitive GPA for graduate school?
Right now, I have a 3.95. How competitive will that be?

Secondly, I am interested in applying to the University of Minnesota. I looked on their website and found the admission requirements to be less than I had expected. I have most of the requirements done at this point in time.
How many of the "suggested" electives are recommended before admission?

Also, how many job shadowing hours should you have prior to applying?

I am sure I have more questions, but these are the main ones at this point in time.
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year!

 

[jigabodo]

Currently, I am a Pre-Pharmacy student pursuing a B.S. in Animal Science. I have thought of switching to pre-dentistry for some time, as I think it would be a better fit for me.

This is a great resource, and since my university has no pre-dental advisors, I will have to do almost everything on my own.. So, I have several questions.

First, what is considered a competitive GPA for graduate school?
Right now, I have a 3.95. How competitive will that be?

Secondly, I am interested in applying to the University of Minnesota. I looked on their website and found the admission requirements to be less than I had expected. I have most of the requirements done at this point in time.
How many of the "suggested" electives are recommended before admission?

Also, how many job shadowing hours should you have prior to applying?

I am sure I have more questions, but these are the main ones at this point in time.
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year!

Happy new year!

1. Your GPA is competitive. The mean GPA for those matriculated last year was 3.5, I believe.

2. In general, more upperdivision science courses are always good, so try to take as many as you can in the mean time. However, don't sweat it if you haven't gotten all of them under your belt.

3. I would recommend at least 50. But of course the more the merrier.

 

[SuperDuper]

Happy new year!

1. Your GPA is competitive. The mean GPA for those matriculated last year was 3.5, I believe.

2. In general, more upperdivision science courses are always good, so try to take as many as you can in the mean time. However, don't sweat it if you haven't gotten all of them under your belt.

3. I would recommend at least 50. But of course the more the merrier.

1. Ditto
2. Ditto
3. Ditto
😉😀🙂

 

[dentista2012]

Currently, I am a Pre-Pharmacy student pursuing a B.S. in Animal Science. I have thought of switching to pre-dentistry for some time, as I think it would be a better fit for me.

This is a great resource, and since my university has no pre-dental advisors, I will have to do almost everything on my own.. So, I have several questions.

First, what is considered a competitive GPA for graduate school?
Right now, I have a 3.95. How competitive will that be?

Secondly, I am interested in applying to the University of Minnesota. I looked on their website and found the admission requirements to be less than I had expected. I have most of the requirements done at this point in time.
How many of the "suggested" electives are recommended before admission?

Also, how many job shadowing hours should you have prior to applying?

I am sure I have more questions, but these are the main ones at this point in time.
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year!

I dont mean to be rude but did you really not think a 3.95 would be competitive?

 

[makushin]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You need at least a 3.9733 to be competitive. Whatever you do, don't get a B+ in organic chemistry, or else you will have to be a dental assistant. Good luck!

 

[sajjy]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You need at least a 3.9733 to be competitive. Whatever you do, don't get a B+ in organic chemistry, or else you will have to be a dental assistant. Good luck!

u need 3.9733 for Harward and Meharry but for other u definitely need anything above 3.9877

 

[Nowhat14]

Everyone (including you) knows your GPA is competivie. But you gotta keep it up tho. Downward trend and ending up with 3.7 or something may not be as competitive compared to ppl with upward trend with 3.7. Keep up the good work and do as many shadowing as possible.

 

[Frederico Albin]

Lol makushin 😛
gj taking the words out of my mouth.

 

[abr]

Thank you to those who offered input!! I appreciate it!

I guess I should have worded things differently. I was unsure of what the mean GPA was of admitted applicants to graduate school. Thank you, jigabodo, for answering that for me.
Like I said, I'm new to the pre-dental world, and I did not know how competitive it would be.

 

[Frederico Albin]

Well, to be competitive these days you only need to know 2 things.
1. 3.5 cGPA is average... so you if have around that you are competitive, and if you have above that, youre a nerd. (just playing 😀 haha)
2. The scores on DAT's have increased by alot in the last few years, the average used to be 17/18, nowadays is more like 19/20, which is really good, but if you dont get 19 on your DAT, no worries... lots of people are getting into dental schools with 16s-17s, ive seen people with 14s get accepted hahaha... but remember... if you have low DAT scores.. you will need to have another part of your application that makes up for this one. Of course every single part of your application is very important... but I just wanted to clear your head on what "competitive/average" grades are these days.
Good luck 😛