The future of the "Under 3.0 Club?"

[busupshot83]

A long, long time ago in a forum far, far away....

The great Yah-E created the "Under 3.0 Club":http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=28491&page=29&pp=20

In the past, many applicants, with under 3.0 GPAs, were given the chance to pursue their dream: becoming a dentist.

However, dental admissions is getting extremely competitive, and it looks like it's going to get even more in years to come. Has the days of the "Under 3.0 Club" already started to diminish?

What is everyone's take on this?

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[denty]

I know what you mean *sigh*. For whatever reason people had a "non-competitive" gpa, it will be difficult to get into dental school with the surge (or at least it seems like it) of new competitive applicants. Unlike medicine there are less dental schools and more restrictions like being foreingly trained. I know many medical students that maybe didnt have theh greatest gpas but have gone to other countries to practice (carribiean, mexico, argentina, and poland), some are there now and the others are pracitcing and even specializing. People are going to have to be very commited to wanting dentistry if they don't get accepted the first time around or second or whatever the case

 

[ItsGavinC]

I think that those in Yah-E's position will still be competitive applicants, but we need to remember exactly what his situation was.

Did he have a poor (under 3.0) undergraduate experience? You bet.

Did he do post-bacc work and get excellent grades? Yes, he did.

So although he was under 3.0 from undergrad, he did something to show adcoms that he could handle workload and that he could rememdy some of the mistakes from his earlier days.

That's VERY different than people with a 2.7 from undergrad complaining because they aren't getting interviews. I wouldn't expect them to get interviews.

I propose that the days of the under 3.0 applicant have actually been over for quite some time (minus the rare occurances here and there).

 

[Utes]

Just wanted to let people know...

My pre-dental advisor gave me a sheet of stats from kids that applied last year and someone got in with a 2.69 from my school (University of Utah). They don't match GPA's to DAT scores but the Avg AA was 19.2 and the PAT avg was 19.5.

In case anyone was wondering, we do not have a state dental school.

 

[demonicr]

it also boils down to who you know also. but lately, i have been seeing a lot of students with gpa under 3.0 asking if they have a shot at dental school. does anyone know what is the average gpa of all the applicants?

 

[Biogirl361]

i'm guessing he/she had something "different" about them than most predents that made them unusually desireable to schools, that their bad grades could somehow be overlooked. i would not look at this and assume that many people with 2.6 could get in.

 

[hockeydentist]

END Of Story!

If you have less than a 3.0, don't bother applying. Lets leave it at that, shall we!

HD

 

[justletmein]

No! not yet..

 

[luder98]

END Of Story!

If you have less than a 3.0, don't bother applying. Lets leave it at that, shall we!

HD

How would you say something like that?

 

[hockeydentist]

What we should start is the 3.0-3.3 club, were the dying breed here.

If you get into dental school with a 3.0 below gpa, good for you. Your incredibly lucky, but its getting more unlikely that sub 3.0 people are getting into dental school.

 

[luder98]

I doubt that a few tenths make that big of a difference to adcoms. It has shown that they value other things even more than gpa's and dat's.

 

[blankguy]

Oh great! A gloom and doom thread
As I said before I hope this applicant bubble of the last few years burst eventually. It's just reaching ridiculous heights. I mean nearing 10,000 come on! That stat isn't going to last that long. Of course the economy has a lot to do with this. It's about time that it should turn around from being stuck in neutral.

 

[busupshot83]

Oh great! A gloom and doom thread
As I said before I hope this applicant bubble of the last few years burst eventually. It's just reaching ridiculous heights. I mean nearing 10,000 come on! That stat isn't going to last that long. Of course the economy has a lot to do with this. It's about time that it should turn around from being stuck in neutral.

No gloom and doom here buddy, just keeping it real. I mean, if you can make it in to dental school with under a 3.0 GPA, then more power to you. However, no matter which way you slice it, I see the days of the "Under 3.0 Club" being limited because dental school is getting more and more competitive with each application cycle. While excellent DAT scores can make up for a weak GPA in current application cycles, I don't see this being the case in the not-so-distant future.

You mentioned that the "near 10,000 applicants" stat is not going to last long? Even if the economy settles down, it isn't uncommon to find pre-meds switching to pre-dental now-a-days. IMHO, more and more medical students will begin to switch to dentistry, once they see what it entails. Add that with the already pre-dents, and I see the number of applicants continuing to raise. In fact, if there is a health professional school that does begin to get *easier* to get into in the future, I see it being Medical School. Not easier as lowering stats, but easier because of increased class sizes to ease the nearing physician shortage.

As I was told on the Dental Town forums: "This is the golden age of dentistry." Get ready for the competition...

 

[Sprgrover]

No gloom and doom here buddy, just keeping it real. I mean, if you can make it in to dental school with under a 3.0 GPA, then more power to you. However, no matter which way you slice it, I see the days of the "Under 3.0 Club" being limited because dental school is getting more and more competitive with each application cycle. While excellent DAT scores can make up for a weak GPA in current application cycles, I don't see this being the case in the not-so-distant future.

I agree with this statement. I am of course still haggling through this admissions cycle, but from what I have gathered from years past and this current one, from both SDN and some adcoms from the various schools I have visited, applicants numbers are getting more and more competitive. This trend is evident in various articles by the ADA, schools' statistics, and here on SDN. With dentistry becoming an attractive alternative to other careers (medicine, computers, and so on) and attracting competitive students and it is for these reasons that I believe it is a given that the 'bar' is raised across the board. Furthermore, the number of applicants is increasing while the number of seats in dental schools is remaining constant, so it should be no surprise that Darwinian forces of survival come into play. I don't mean to be the harbinger of doom, but getting into dental school is becoming very competitive and probably will continue to do so into the next few years. So, to continue the Stars Wars thematic from the OP, I suppose the best thing to do is warm up the ol' Death Star and go after those grades.

 

[busupshot83]

So, to continue the Stars Wars thematic from the OP, I suppose the best thing to do is warm up the ol' Death Star and go after those grades.

The force will be with you ... always. Good luck everyone!

 

[ItsGavinC]

it also boils down to who you know also. but lately, i have been seeing a lot of students with gpa under 3.0 asking if they have a shot at dental school. does anyone know what is the average gpa of all the applicants?

Average of all matriculants might be a better question.

 

[busupshot83]

Average of all matriculants might be a better question.

Well assuming the average applicant is around 3.2-3.3, I would say the average matriculant is around 3.3-3.4. Does this sound correct?

 

[sonicultrascrub]

What do you guys think....
Barrons guide to medical and dental schools published a GPA chart for self-evaluation, for dental school admission:
>3.2 = superior
2.8- 3.2 = adequate
<2.8 = poor

Do you think these values will cange for the 2004-2005 cycle (of course, I think), and what do you guess the new "standard" is?

I agree with busup, 3.0 is like minimum for "poor" this year, 3.0-3.4 is adequate, and ~3.4 and higher is superior

 

[ItsGavinC]

What do you guys think....
Barrons guide to medical and dental schools published a GPA chart for self-evaluation, for dental school admission:
>3.2 = superior
2.8- 3.2 = adequate
<2.8 = poor

I was in the 2002-2003 cycle, and I don't think those "self-evaluation" GPAs were applicable even then.

I know sure as hell that a 2.8 would NOT make me feel at all adequate when it comes to applying.

I'd say a 3.5+ is excellent, a 3.2-3.5 is average, a 3.0-3.2 has a chance but needs a strong application, and below 3.0 better have a strong upward grade trend AND a really great DAT.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Well assuming the average applicant is around 3.2-3.3, I would say the average matriculant is around 3.3-3.4. Does this sound correct?

I'd say it is probably right on, when all schools are taken into consideration, but that's just my opinion (of course!).

 

[Biogirl361]

I agree with your analysis Gavin. I am not sure where those Barron's figures came from but i think they grossly underestimate what applicants should be aiming for.
there's nothing wrong with dental school admissions getting more competitive! this will lead to (generally) more knowledgeable practitioners and increased respect in the community at large. and i know that each and every applicant can achieve a 3.4+ if they set their mind to it.