Tricky situation. Reapplying after 7 years. Good DAT, poor GPA.

[whatisit350]

Hey whats up guys, so I'm in a bit of a pickle, and would appreciate any advice.

Short background.
I took the DAT 7 years ago, did good in sciences, but had 17's in QR and RC. Also had a 3.04 GPA-o and 2.77 GPA-s from undergrad. Needless to say, didn't get it. Moved on with life. Then did 11 pre-reqs, A's and one B, and then did nursing school. I had a 3.68 GPA throughout nursing school. Worked 3 months in neuroICU, and regained interest in dentistry. Retook DAT recently with 24AA, 26TS, and 18PAT, with no other 17's. My GPA has an upward trend. Did poor in undergrad (Baylor), but did well in recent courses. Overall, my GPA-o is 3.22 and GPA-s is 3.05. I have a decent amount of volunteer hours, and will begin shadowing the day after tmrw up until application time. I'm prepared to defend the career change.

My GPA is my main concern. I have a pretty good DAT, just not sure if it will offset a poor GPA.

I have read the post by Scumbag Steve, and saw the Excel sheet at the bottom with the 2014 ranking of DS. I'm a Texan resident, but all the Texas schools have average GPA's of like 3.5. I'll probably still apply anyways.

My question is, should I aim for some of the lower GPA requiring schools, or just go do a one year masters?
I'd rather get into dental school asap, but am fine with the masters program. I'm also fine with paying to apply to ~15 schools. I have no school preferences; just want to get in somewhere.

Any brutally honest advice would be much appreciated.

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[osker246]

No need for a masters. I got into 3 schools with a 22 DAT and 3.0 sGPA/cGPA. Just research schools and cast a wide net. I applied to 17 schools and in the end only interviewed at 5. Just make yourself standout in your PS and sell yourself during the interviews!

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[Stanelz]

Give it a go man. Get some dental experience. Nice DAT!

 

[periopocket]

Hey whats up guys, so I'm in a bit of a pickle, and would appreciate any advice.

Short background.
I took the DAT 7 years ago, did good in sciences, but had 17's in QR and RC. Also had a 3.04 GPA-o and 2.77 GPA-s from undergrad. Needless to say, didn't get it. Moved on with life. Then did 11 pre-reqs, A's and one B, and then did nursing school. I had a 3.68 GPA throughout nursing school. Worked 3 months in neuroICU, and regained interest in dentistry. Retook DAT recently with 24AA, 26TS, and 18PAT, with no other 17's. My GPA has an upward trend. Did poor in undergrad (Baylor), but did well in recent courses. Overall, my GPA-o is 3.22 and GPA-s is 3.05. I have a decent amount of volunteer hours, and will begin shadowing the day after tmrw up until application time. I'm prepared to defend the career change.

My GPA is my main concern. I have a pretty good DAT, just not sure if it will offset a poor GPA.

I have read the post by Scumbag Steve, and saw the Excel sheet at the bottom with the 2014 ranking of DS. I'm a Texan resident, but all the Texas schools have average GPA's of like 3.5. I'll probably still apply anyways.

My question is, should I aim for some of the lower GPA requiring schools, or just go do a one year masters?
I'd rather get into dental school asap, but am fine with the masters program. I'm also fine with paying to apply to ~15 schools. I have no school preferences; just want to get in somewhere.

Any brutally honest advice would be much appreciated.

Very strong chances of getting in! GL

 

[deleted740991]

Brutally honest - a 24 AA:26 TS as an older non traditional applicant (who I assume is currently a nurse) is highly desirable. Guaranteed, you will get 3-5 interviews if you apply to private OOS schools or OOS schools with high OOS numbers.

 

[whatisit350]

No need for a masters. I got into 3 schools with a 22 DAT and 3.0 sGPA/cGPA. Just research schools and cast a wide net. I applied to 17 schools and in the end only interviewed at 5. Just make yourself standout in your PS and sell yourself during the interviews!

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Hey! Thats great! and thank you for the advice. I'm building my list of schools to apply to now. Would you mind sharing the 3 schools you got into?

 

[whatisit350]

Give it a go man. Get some dental experience. Nice DAT!

haha thank you! and ok cool. I probably will give it a go. And I definitely will be getting some dental experience. I plan on shadowing at least 2, possibly 3 different dentist, for as much as possible until test time. I don't intend to work, just focusing on getting experience. Thanks again

 

[whatisit350]

Very strong chances of getting in! GL

Thank you very much! I'm so glad to hear that.

 

[whatisit350]

Brutally honest - a 24 AA:26 TS as an older non traditional applicant (who I assume is currently a nurse) is highly desirable. Guaranteed, you will get 3-5 interviews if you apply to private OOS schools or OOS schools with high OOS numbers.

Hey! Thats great news. Thank you. I am currently a nurse. I have my license still, just not working. Had to quit to study for the DAT. Also, I am 30 years old. I definitely will apply to some of the private OOS schools. I'm just ready to get started somewhere. I am currently building my list of schools to apply to. Did you have any of those private OOS schools in mind? If not, its cool. I will certainly do my research, just wondering if you knew of any off the top of your head. Thanks again

 

[osker246]

Hey! Thats great! and thank you for the advice. I'm building my list of schools to apply to now. Would you mind sharing the 3 schools you got into?

I was accepted into Touro, Roseman, and UNLV. I was also waitlisted at NYU.

Pick up a copy of the ADEA guide book and look for schools with high OOS acceptances that you think you have a shot at. But make sure you apply to your state school too, if you have one.

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[deleted632307]

Your story is crazy motivational. Just goes to show that if you put in work, you can bounce back and achieve your dreams!

Like everyone else said, I wouldn't do a Masters if I were you. Dental schools do look at your GPA in its entirety, but they also heavily take upward trends into account. Just apply to as many schools as you can so you can get in next cycle (15-20 total).

With your nontrad background + killer DAT score + upward GPA trend, I have a feeling you'll snag a Texas school! Good luck OP, I'm rooting for you!

 

[67552931811]

Hey whats up guys, so I'm in a bit of a pickle, and would appreciate any advice.

Short background.
I took the DAT 7 years ago, did good in sciences, but had 17's in QR and RC. Also had a 3.04 GPA-o and 2.77 GPA-s from undergrad. Needless to say, didn't get it. Moved on with life. Then did 11 pre-reqs, A's and one B, and then did nursing school. I had a 3.68 GPA throughout nursing school. Worked 3 months in neuroICU, and regained interest in dentistry. Retook DAT recently with 24AA, 26TS, and 18PAT, with no other 17's. My GPA has an upward trend. Did poor in undergrad (Baylor), but did well in recent courses. Overall, my GPA-o is 3.22 and GPA-s is 3.05. I have a decent amount of volunteer hours, and will begin shadowing the day after tmrw up until application time. I'm prepared to defend the career change.

My GPA is my main concern. I have a pretty good DAT, just not sure if it will offset a poor GPA.

I have read the post by Scumbag Steve, and saw the Excel sheet at the bottom with the 2014 ranking of DS. I'm a Texan resident, but all the Texas schools have average GPA's of like 3.5. I'll probably still apply anyways.

My question is, should I aim for some of the lower GPA requiring schools, or just go do a one year masters?
I'd rather get into dental school asap, but am fine with the masters program. I'm also fine with paying to apply to ~15 schools. I have no school preferences; just want to get in somewhere.

Any brutally honest advice would be much appreciated.

Not a dentite but have some good buddies who are in dental school so I wanted to just drop in to wish you all the best, man. I know a couple of "older" peeps who got in with similar stats. GL!

 

[DC206R]

I can say with confidence that you will get numerous interviews if you apply. Best of luck!

 

[CareerNumTwo]

Just read your DAT breakdown, very helpful info. Could you tell us which schools you contacted that said they wanted to see how you handle a full course load of upper level sciences? Thanks!


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[digzthis]

Your yr bud!!

 

[whatisit350]

I was accepted into Touro, Roseman, and UNLV. I was also waitlisted at NYU.

Pick up a copy of the ADEA guide book and look for schools with high OOS acceptances that you think you have a shot at. But make sure you apply to your state school too, if you have one.

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Great! I will definitely look into those 4 schools. Also, good call on the ADEA guide book. I forgot about that. And, great, I'll be looking for OOS high acceptances. Thats good advice. I do have a state school. I'm in Texas, which has 3 schools. The problem is, their GPA's are like 3.5. But I'll apply anyways, because I think it's only like $150, and can't hurt.

 

[whatisit350]

Your story is crazy motivational. Just goes to show that if you put in work, you can bounce back and achieve your dreams!

Like everyone else said, I wouldn't do a Masters if I were you. Dental schools do look at your GPA in its entirety, but they also heavily take upward trends into account. Just apply to as many schools as you can so you can get in next cycle (15-20 total).

With your nontrad background + killer DAT score + upward GPA trend, I have a feeling you'll snag a Texas school! Good luck OP, I'm rooting for you!

Wow, thank you so much! It always feels great to have support. And ok! That seems to be the general consensus. You better believe I'll be applying to 15-20 schools. And you're right. With some hard work, there's not much that is impossible. I wish I had this kind of motivation earlier in life, but hey! Better late than never.

 

[whatisit350]

Not a dentite but have some good buddies who are in dental school so I wanted to just drop in to wish you all the best, man. I know a couple of "older" peeps who got in with similar stats. GL!

Hey! Thanks so much. and that's excellent. I was very curious if there were people out there with similar stats, and what their outcomes were. Good to hear they got in.

 

[whatisit350]

I can say with confidence that you will get numerous interviews if you apply. Best of luck!

Thank you very much. I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that. I will definitely be applying to several schools.

 

[whatisit350]

Just read your DAT breakdown, very helpful info. Could you tell us which schools you contacted that said they wanted to see how you handle a full course load of upper level sciences? Thanks!


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Great! Glad you got something out of that. So, truthfully, I only personally contacted one school, and that was their response. I emailed the dean of UTHSCSA and that's what she said. Could have been a generic response, but still. I have a few friends, from undergrad, who also didn't have good gpas. Two of them went and did a one year masters, and are now in dental school. One just finished a one year masters, and is applying now. However, they also didn't have a nursing degree. I also had friends tell me that I didn't need a masters, so I was genuinely torn about what the correct move was. I also watched several youtube videos of Deans speaking to predental clubs, and that seemed to be their general advice.

BTW, if you're still studying for the DAT, first off, good luck! you can totally beat that thing. Just gotta put the time in. And feel free to ask me any questions. I love doing what I can to help make that experience less stressful for people. Lord knows I've had a ton of help to get where I am, so I'm happy to do the same.

 

[whatisit350]

Your yr bud!!

"OUR" year broski! haha thank you

 

[queenki]

No need for a masters. I got into 3 schools with a 22 DAT and 3.0 sGPA/cGPA. Just research schools and cast a wide net. I applied to 17 schools and in the end only interviewed at 5. Just make yourself standout in your PS and sell yourself during the interviews!

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oh I just found the later comments. Thanks!
Do youthink UNLV give favors to non traditionals?

 

[predent2151]

Penn would be a great school for you to apply to IMO

 

[Brazilfan]

Make sure you apply very early to the Texas schools! Applications open may 1 for TMDSAS