UNDER 3.0 but Still Got in to D-School

[polarnut]

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i bet you're the same kid who said "who the hell needs algebra!?" back in middle school.

 

[Dental Jedi]

i bet you're the same kid who said "who the hell needs algebra!?" back in middle school.

hahahahaahha

well, yes I am. Actually, what do you need it for to be a dentist?

I can count to 32!

 

[colt]

i bet you're the same kid who said "who the hell needs algebra!?" back in middle school.

Didn't we all 😀

 

[colt]

I also thought calculus wasn't needed. College algebra and maybe trig(I hear its not really needed) should be enough for algebra-based physics.

 

[Badtz-Mawu]

Some schools only have calc-based physics to satisfy the pre-health requirement, so calc is required before you take the class unless you are taking it concurrently. I know that was the case at my undergrad.

 

[colt]

I really have nothing to show - i've said it all in my past posts....I have a 2.5 in my BS Accounting Grad in 1991.( Sci GPS (3.0)
I just started my per-rec in Jan.06...w/ chem and Calc so far Some b's some a's....I will take my DAT April of 2007. I talked to Admissnions and they said I really need A's even to be considered and 20's on DAT.
SO....I'm Freeeeekin b/c I'm busting my butt and all i'm getting is hi B's. I won't even take o-chem till Fall 06, So I have a while to go. I'm panicing b/c this is what I really want to do and balancing twins / and working 45 hrs a week is tough on top of school.

So I was wondering what others got into school with...Inspirational Success stories.
At the end of my pre-rec journey ...I will come back to this post and put mine in...🙂

If the admissions committee has any common sense, they wont look heavily at your 1991 grades.....I'm sure you weren't planning on becoming a dentist then.

 

[Dental Jedi]

If the admissions committee has any common sense, they wont look heavily at your 1991 grades.....I'm sure you weren't planning on becoming a dentist then.

If you are struggling with not gettin A's wait till you take organic chemistry. You will get a low grade for sure. Shoot for a C.

If they said you HAVE TO GET ALL A's then your wasting money and time.

Sorry!

 

[NA4242]

Organic chemistry was my easiest class. I got an A+ in that class 🙂

 

[geckel]

Organic chemistry was my easiest class. I got an A+ in that class 🙂

I agree......it was so easy for me that I made a D in it the first time so that when adcoms read my app they wouldn't know how easy it was. Pretty slick huh?

 

[darius99]

i wish u could get A+'s at my school

 

[colt]

If you are struggling with not gettin A's wait till you take organic chemistry. You will get a low grade for sure. Shoot for a C.

If they said you HAVE TO GET ALL A's then your wasting money and time.

Sorry!

A C in organic probably wouldn't be a big deal, overall. I'm saying that if someone in her position could get a 3.0+ on the sci. prereqs and tie in the full time job+kids into the personal statement/interveiw, they may have a good shot at DS. If you really love the dental field, it's worth the uncertain outcome. You miss all the shots you don't take...and various other sayings 😀

 

[Dental Jedi]

A C in organic probably wouldn't be a big deal, overall. I'm saying that if someone in her position could get a 3.0+ on the sci. prereqs and tie in the full time job+kids into the personal statement/interveiw, they may have a good shot at DS. If you really love the dental field, it's worth the uncertain outcome. You miss all the shots you don't take...and various other sayings 😀

Well finally I agree with someone on here.

I guess Ill lighten up on this chick and say - Shoot away baby.

 

[Grasshoper]

If you are a minority, that probably helps a lot too. Minorities don't have the achieve the same high numbers that white students have to.

I'm sure there's truth to this statement, but I really resent it.
I'm a minority and I don't think my stats are much lower than most "white" students.
Dat: 20/21/19
Science Gpa: 3.8
Overall Gpa: 3.4
How about the fact that us "minorities" have to work twice as hard to prove ourselves equal?

 

[samwY]

are Asians considered minorities? i ask this considering the fact that I heard dental schools in cali 50%+ Asian...

DR JEDI - calculus usually fills in for required science pre-requisites

most dental schools require a quarter or half-year of calculus

and in my school, physics requires NO calculus..however, there are calculus based physics courses for engineering majors and what not...much harder~

 

[Mustt Mustt]

are Asians considered minorities? i ask this considering the fact that I heard dental schools in cali 50%+ Asian...

Unfortunately we are not considered as a minority when it comes to professional school admissions etc. even though we are minority in the population. This has something to do with we asians being hardworking and having higher % of students in college/professional schools than their relative population %. However, I do belive that these system exists for a reason and I like it. Minority students have to work hard to get through in life becasue they don't come from the same background as many of us do and there is a reason for that. I know few of them personally who were born in big cities in ghettos and had to work lot harder to just get out of there and I think they need little extra help to succed.

 

[astrife]

.

 

[packbacker]

This has to be one of the more ignorant statements I've read in a long time. You have no idea how someone arrived at a sub 3.0 undergrad GPA nor the circumstances surrounding it. Take your foot out of your mouth and head out of your rear end...it'll make your argument a lot clearer.

How can you take pride in something like this? A sub 3.0 in college to me says you guys basically slacked your entire 4 years yet you get to enjoy the benefits of a "profession". It kind of just pisses me off to be honest. They should make dentistry appart of medical school and then this kind of stuff wouldn't happen.

 

[sumozmom]

SO .....anymore success stories>?😉

 

[mochafreak]

How can you take pride in something like this? A sub 3.0 in college to me says you guys basically slacked your entire 4 years yet you get to enjoy the benefits of a "profession". It kind of just pisses me off to be honest. They should make dentistry appart of medical school and then this kind of stuff wouldn't happen.

Thanks packbacker, but you ought to go easy on the kid...he's a hard-working HIGH SCHOOL student. Maybe after he takes some college courses he'll mature and he won't post such annoying, ignorant crap.

 

[geckel]

SO .....anymore success stories>?😉

Yes, I also would like to hear some more success stories........not opinions that have nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

 

[Chemiguy]

This has to be one of the more ignorant statements I've read in a long time. You have no idea how someone arrived at a sub 3.0 undergrad GPA nor the circumstances surrounding it. Take your foot out of your mouth and head out of your rear end...it'll make your argument a lot clearer.

I can't agree more. I come from a music conservatory and for a reason I deicided to throw myself into the whole science intensive post-bac pre-req courses and it's been about 3 semesters and I am actually orgo chem II and physics II away from completing the pre-req.
I come to this forum to gain hope and sometimes feel somewhat better by reading about people in my shoe who get into d-schools.

For a person who did not have any science courses in their bac or who picked it up after awhile since graduation is, in my opinion a lot more difficult for various reasons.

For a college students who decided early on to become a dentist, well congrats. But life is one tricky bastard who throws you curve balls more often than others. It certainly has its way of catching up to you.

what I am trying to say is that if you have a valuble info and/or opinion to share with others, then feel free to do so. IF you don't then just read on and then leave. Besides whether she spendsmore time browing web than studying is NONE of your business.

Good luck everyone who's in my shoe and hope to hear more success stories in the future.

 

[sumozmom]

I can't agree more. I come from a music conservatory and for a reason I deicided to throw myself into the whole science intensive post-bac pre-req courses and it's been about 3 semesters and I am actually orgo chem II and physics II away from completing the pre-req.
I come to this forum to gain hope and sometimes feel somewhat better by reading about people in my shoe who get into d-schools.

For a person who did not have any science courses in their bac or who picked it up after awhile since graduation is, in my opinion a lot more difficult for various reasons.

For a college students who decided early on to become a dentist, well congrats. But life is one tricky bastard who throws you curve balls more often than others. It certainly has its way of catching up to you.

what I am trying to say is that if you have a valuble info and/or opinion to share with others, then feel free to do so. IF you don't then just read on and then leave. Besides whether she spendsmore time browing web than studying is NONE of your business.

Good luck everyone who's in my shoe and hope to hear more success stories in the future.

thankyou - good post!

 

[astrife]

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

 

[sumozmom]

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

the topic is about success stories ....i'm sure there are other topics out there about beating each other up....
thnx for ur input

BUMP

 

[dentropy]

Organic chemistry was my easiest class. I got an A+ in that class 🙂

Too bad AADSAS only counts that as an A in your GPA calculations

 

[DIRTIE]

How can you take pride in something like this? A sub 3.0 in college to me says you guys basically slacked your entire 4 years yet you get to enjoy the benefits of a "profession". It kind of just pisses me off to be honest. They should make dentistry appart of medical school and then this kind of stuff wouldn't happen.

Valid point. But in general in order to get admitted with such a low GPA you need to prove yourself on the DAT. That isn't an easy test. It all equals out in the end. Someone with a sub 3.0 might find Dental school a little more of a shock than others.

 

[syn_apse]

Too bad AADSAS only counts that as an A in your GPA calculations

AADSAS counted my A+ credits as 4.3 even though my undergrad only counted them as 4.0

 

[packbacker]

You certainly have a right to an opinion, but this particular one has little or no basis in reality. The fact of the matter is that admission committees for excellent schools all over the country are admitting students with under 3.0 GPAs even in today's extremely competitive environment. See Yah-e's Under 3.0 GPA club thread for a multitude of examples. Committees (in theory) look at the whole applicant and while GPA is a significant part of the equation, it's not everything. Obviously, these students are passing boards and getting licenses to practice dentistry. Therefore, they must be qualified for graduate or professional school.
That being said, GPA is important. Having a sub-3.0 undergrad GPA placed a ton more hurdles in my way that I ever realized. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have double majored, taken 20+ hours a semester so I could graduate in 4 years, and worked 15 hours as a tutor/teaching assistant. Then again, I ended up with a great deal of life experience and learned how to deal with situations that weren't scripted in a textbook.

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

 

[jfitzpat]

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

Others would argue that someone as closed minded as you has no place in a profession that is centered around helping people. I don't mean to jump all over a kid who is still in high school, but you don't have enough life experience (or college experience for that matter) upon which to base your opinion.

I had a 3.19 in undergrad, but I graduated Magna Cum Laude (only eight people out of a class of 135 gaduated magna or higher) from law school. Following your argument, I barely deserved to be there in the first place.

 

[jmac44]

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

Undergrad GPA:2.96, Mechanical Engineering
Post-Bac GPA:4.00, just pre-req's
Cum GPA: 3.22
DAT: 22/22/22
Applied:Nova, Maryland, FLorida, Temple, Pitt, Penn, OSU, and Harvard
Interviews: Maryland (12/14), Florida (1/6), Nova (2/10), Pitt (withdrew), Temple (withdrew)
Waitlist: Florida
Accepted: Nova, Maryland
Age: 30

Your "numbers" don't have to define you. Good luck everyone.

 

[mochafreak]

Let me emphasize that this is an anonymous forum, and to put it plainly my opinion has just as much right to be here as yours. Whether you like the fact that I pointed out that someone with a sub 3.0 gpa is completely unqualified for graduate or professional school is none of my concern.

Your opinion does have a right to be here, I was merely pointing out why your opinion was so narrow-minded. I'll give you another example of how you can get into (and deserve to get into) a professional school with a sub-3.0.

<imagine Dr. Evil describing his childhood and you won't go into a coma...maybe>

When I was 15, I was a junior in high school with straight A's. I wanted to be a fighter pilot/navigator, so I was a major overachiever. I applied to a competitive early-admit program at a very respected engineering-oriented university. The program picks students from across the country and also internationally. I was accepted and when I was 16 I went to my freshman year of college. I lived in a junior dorm and took calc-based engineering physics, calc, chemistry for engineers, FORTRAN programming for engineers, and english. Unfortunately, my high school didn't have honors or AP classes so I never had pre-calc. In fact, I never took high school physics (that would've been senior year). I also had friends for the first time, was away from a VERY overprotective mother, and finally realized that as a girl I was not going to be allowed in a fighter jet. I lost all my focus and not surprisingly my freshman year gpa sucked. I then put myself into a very challenging chemical engineering program for very bad reasons.

After being a miserable engineer for a few years, I decided I wanted to do something positive that directly affected my community. I resigned from my job and became a caretaker at an assisted-living house. At night, I took an EMT-B course. I became a certified EMT and was a volunteer EMT/firefighter, and a professional EMT. I soon realized that I wanted a professional health care career. So, with a 2.73 overall and 2.3 sci gpa I went back to school and started a post-bacc. The first year I took a few courses and worked graveyard shift at the local ER. The second year I took 18 credits of science in one semester and took 19 overall (13 sci) the next semester. I got straight A's (amazing what a little focus can do). I nailed the DAT.

Even though my gpa is a 3.04 and my sci gpa is a 2.97, apparently some adcoms thought my post-bacc 4.0, DAT scores, volunteer and life experience make me qualified to enter a professional program. I'll be (deservedly) going to dental school this fall.

Hopefully some of these stories and a little more life experience will increase your maturity before you become a doctor who unjustly judges his patients.

 

[sumozmom]

great job----this is what i was lookin 4. How did u succed geting a 4.0?

Your opinion does have a right to be here, I was merely pointing out why your opinion was so narrow-minded. I'll give you another example of how you can get into (and deserve to get into) a professional school with a sub-3.0.

<imagine Dr. Evil describing his childhood and you won't go into a coma...maybe>

When I was 15, I was a junior in high school with straight A's. I wanted to be a fighter pilot/navigator, so I was a major overachiever. I applied to a competitive early-admit program at a very respected engineering-oriented university. The program picks students from across the country and also internationally. I was accepted and when I was 16 I went to my freshman year of college. I lived in a junior dorm and took calc-based engineering physics, calc, chemistry for engineers, FORTRAN programming for engineers, and english. Unfortunately, my high school didn't have honors or AP classes so I never had pre-calc. In fact, I never took high school physics (that would've been senior year). I also had friends for the first time, was away from a VERY overprotective mother, and finally realized that as a girl I was not going to be allowed in a fighter jet. I lost all my focus and not surprisingly my freshman year gpa sucked. I then put myself into a very challenging chemical engineering program for very bad reasons.

After being a miserable engineer for a few years, I decided I wanted to do something positive that directly affected my community. I resigned from my job and became a caretaker at an assisted-living house. At night, I took an EMT-B course. I became a certified EMT and was a volunteer EMT/firefighter, and a professional EMT. I soon realized that I wanted a professional health care career. So, with a 2.73 overall and 2.3 sci gpa I went back to school and started a post-bacc. The first year I took a few courses and worked graveyard shift at the local ER. The second year I took 18 credits of science in one semester and took 19 overall (13 sci) the next semester. I got straight A's (amazing what a little focus can do). I nailed the DAT.

Even though my gpa is a 3.04 and my sci gpa is a 2.97, apparently some adcoms thought my post-bacc 4.0, DAT scores, volunteer and life experience make me qualified to enter a professional program. I'll be (deservedly) going to dental school this fall.

Hopefully some of these stories and a little more life experience will increase your maturity before you become a doctor who unjustly judges his patients.

 

[ElCubanito]

ElCubanito...are you Cuban? Just curious.

Yes, I am Cuban. I was born in Cuba and came to the US in 1995 with my family. Now I live in California. 🙂

 

[mochafreak]

great job----this is what i was lookin 4. How did u succed geting a 4.0?

I studied and punished myself when I didn't do my best (that will cut down on your stupid mistakes). 😉

 

[ElCubanito]

If you are a minority, that probably helps a lot too. Minorities don't have the achieve the same high numbers that white students have to.

Yes this is true. There's a need for spanish speaking dentists in the US. A lot of patients in dental school and in hispanic communities do not speak any english and this poses a problem. A lot of schools now are even implementing mandatory spanish classes for all students (UNLV). Two of my interviewers told me this. Spanish is my native tongue so even though my grades are very low I was in high demand in all my interviews. People have different things going for them. Some have high grades, I know how to speak spanish. 👍

 

[Hybridgen3]

partied wayyyyy too much fresh and soph years...got my act together junior n senior year...busted my a$$ off for the DATs...n got lucky i guess because i only got one interview...really grateful even though a lot of you guys look down on NYU but sall good...really want to hear back from USC or any west coast schools since im from la but it looks pretty bleak right now as time keeps on ticking away...but see u guys at NYU!!...pretty excited to live in NYC not to mention getting the chance to attend a great dental school...

sci gpa: 2.79
cum gpa: 2.84
AA/TS/PA: 23/24/19
applied: 14 in total...
interview: Temple (Nov)
accepted: NYU (w/o interview)

 

[sumozmom]

partied wayyyyy too much fresh and soph years...got my act together junior n senior year...busted my a$$ off for the DATs...n got lucky i guess because i only got one interview...really grateful even though a lot of you guys look down on NYU but sall good...really want to hear back from USC or any west coast schools since im from la but it looks pretty bleak right now as time keeps on ticking away...but see u guys at NYU!!...pretty excited to live in NYC not to mention getting the chance to attend a great dental school...

sci gpa: 2.79
cum gpa: 2.84
AA/TS/PA: 23/24/19
applied: 14 in total...
interview: Temple (Nov)
accepted: NYU (w/o interview)

good luck - NYC is my home town 🙂
it's a great place!

 

[sumozmom]

AADSAS counted my A+ credits as 4.3 even though my undergrad only counted them as 4.0

wow interesting! I didnot think they did that!

 

[blankguy]

Bump, this thread contains useful information, like which schools are willing to take a 2nd look at an applicant.

Has anybody gotten into UConn with a sub 3.0???

 

[Lidopaine82]

Year Applied: for c/o 2010
Number of School applied: 6
Interview Earned: 1
Schools Accepted: Case
Schools Weightlisted: none
Undergrad GPA: 3.45
Sci GPA: 3.3
DAT: AA18/PA15
Age: 23

 

[DMD2005]

Hi - I saw your Rottie picture and I had to answer!

School: Boston University 2001-graduated 2005
Stats: 18 on DAT, 2.3 Science, 2.89 Overall
Age: 28 years old

Do NOT give up - the interviewer might just like you - I was accepted during the BU interview on a Friday! I glowed with excitement all weekend long and then was super-confident on Monday morning at my NYU interview and was accepted there as well...I swear if I hadn't been told in my BU interview that I was accepted, I would've been more nervous at NYU.

Hello All...

would ya'll identify yourself:


WHAT SCHOOL:

WHAT STATS:

WHAT AGE:


thnx!
😎

 

[Joeybag]

I dont question that people w/ sub 3.0s can make great dentists, it just hurts the more qualified applicant whose spot is being taken. I myself am upset by some people getting in w/ sub 3.0's. I for one made a 3.6 overall/3.4-3.5 sci from UNC and 23/21/18 on my DAT's. I however did not get into my state school of UNC. I understand interviews come into play, though I dont feel one day where most people are likely nervous should outweigh 4 yrs of hardwork, extracurriculars, and great test scores. When I read about people w/ sub 3.0s and lower dat's getting in it does upset me. It makes me question effort put forth in undergrad, (studying for my test rather than celebrating a UNC win over Duke etc.) while people who likely slacked off the entire time are getting admitted. And yes the dat is a bit of an equalizer, but anyone who is slightly motivated (and you should if you have sub 3.0) can easily make 20s. I know there is a bigger picture and your application is not just stats but there are plenty of people, who have great grades, DAT's and good volunteering/research/dentistry experiences who arent getting into their number one.

 

[Babylo]

Graduate school was much more focused. For some reason, I had a difficult time taking the HUGE variety of courses offered in undergrad. Focusing down to several related topics in grad school worked wonders for my GPA. 🙂

What graduate school program did you do? Do you think an MPH is good enough or is it better to do a hard science major like biology or something...???

 

[rdsmithdds]

I dont question that people w/ sub 3.0s can make great dentists, it just hurts the more qualified applicant whose spot is being taken. I myself am upset by some people getting in w/ sub 3.0's. I for one made a 3.6 overall/3.4-3.5 sci from UNC and 23/21/18 on my DAT's. I however did not get into my state school of UNC. I understand interviews come into play, though I dont feel one day where most people are likely nervous should outweigh 4 yrs of hardwork, extracurriculars, and great test scores. When I read about people w/ sub 3.0s and lower dat's getting in it does upset me. It makes me question effort put forth in undergrad, (studying for my test rather than celebrating a UNC win over Duke etc.) while people who likely slacked off the entire time are getting admitted. And yes the dat is a bit of an equalizer, but anyone who is slightly motivated (and you should if you have sub 3.0) can easily make 20s. I know there is a bigger picture and your application is not just stats but there are plenty of people, who have great grades, DAT's and good volunteering/research/dentistry experiences who arent getting into their number one.

You are right! stats arent everything. People that get the best grades and best dat scores don't always make the best dentists!

 

[sumozmom]

Hi - I saw your Rottie picture and I had to answer!

School: Boston University 2001-graduated 2005
Stats: 18 on DAT, 2.3 Science, 2.89 Overall
Age: 28 years old

Do NOT give up - the interviewer might just like you - I was accepted during the BU interview on a Friday! I glowed with excitement all weekend long and then was super-confident on Monday morning at my NYU interview and was accepted there as well...I swear if I hadn't been told in my BU interview that I was accepted, I would've been more nervous at NYU.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWO- congrats-what was ur secret....ur grades are similas to mine-can i ask what other schools u applied to and whatthe status is....great encouragement thnx-
my rotti is 12 now and has been my best friend 🙂

 

[wimmcs]

WOWOWOWOWOWOWO- congrats-what was ur secret....ur grades are similas to mine-can i ask what other schools u applied to and whatthe status is....great encouragement thnx-
my rotti is 12 now and has been my best friend 🙂

Hi - I wish you luck applying for d-school. I know it's tough w/kids, but it's definitely doable. Be confident, that will help you tremendously, obviously not cocky, but confident, this shows through. Just like the last post, I had been accepted to 3 other schools when I interviewed at AZ and I really wanted to stay here. Quite honestly I wasn't very nervous and I felt super confident. After I told them I got into UW and Iowa, they were like "wow!" so I really think that the fact that I had been accepted to other schools and also that I felt comfortable and myself during the whole interview, helped me to get accepted here. Continue working hard and you'll see the benefits at the end. Good luck!!

 

[sumozmom]

Hi - I wish you luck applying for d-school. I know it's tough w/kids, but it's definitely doable. Be confident, that will help you tremendously, obviously not cocky, but confident, this shows through. Just like the last post, I had been accepted to 3 other schools when I interviewed at AZ and I really wanted to stay here. Quite honestly I wasn't very nervous and I felt super confident. After I told them I got into UW and Iowa, they were like "wow!" so I really think that the fact that I had been accepted to other schools and also that I felt comfortable and myself during the whole interview, helped me to get accepted here. Continue working hard and you'll see the benefits at the end. Good luck!!

thnx!

 

[sumozmom]

Hi - I saw your Rottie picture and I had to answer!

School: Boston University 2001-graduated 2005
Stats: 18 on DAT, 2.3 Science, 2.89 Overall
Age: 28 years old

Do NOT give up - the interviewer might just like you - I was accepted during the BU interview on a Friday! I glowed with excitement all weekend long and then was super-confident on Monday morning at my NYU interview and was accepted there as well...I swear if I hadn't been told in my BU interview that I was accepted, I would've been more nervous at NYU.

don't fprget to post ur stats on www.predents.com

 

[colt]

I dont question that people w/ sub 3.0s can make great dentists, it just hurts the more qualified applicant whose spot is being taken. I myself am upset by some people getting in w/ sub 3.0's. I for one made a 3.6 overall/3.4-3.5 sci from UNC and 23/21/18 on my DAT's. I however did not get into my state school of UNC. I understand interviews come into play, though I dont feel one day where most people are likely nervous should outweigh 4 yrs of hardwork, extracurriculars, and great test scores. When I read about people w/ sub 3.0s and lower dat's getting in it does upset me. It makes me question effort put forth in undergrad, (studying for my test rather than celebrating a UNC win over Duke etc.) while people who likely slacked off the entire time are getting admitted. And yes the dat is a bit of an equalizer, but anyone who is slightly motivated (and you should if you have sub 3.0) can easily make 20s. I know there is a bigger picture and your application is not just stats but there are plenty of people, who have great grades, DAT's and good volunteering/research/dentistry experiences who arent getting into their number one.

Sorry to hear you didn't get in to UNC. 50% of me agrees about the stats and people with lesser accomplishment over 4 yrs getting in(not fair). On the other hand, I'm sure many people with great stats got in over people that would've made better doctors(also not fair).

 

[DMD2005]

Hi Sumozmom,

I applied to all the California schools and BU & NYU - I had no luck in California and I'm sure it was due to my sub 3.0 gpa. I think the key is you have to be willing to go anywhere. I debated waiting another year, taking more prereqs to boost my gpa and then re-applying to Cali schools - I didn't do this, I bit the bullet and moved with my husband and Rottie back to Boston. (The Rottie passsed during my 3rd year, now we have our second Rottie) It's the best thing I ever did. I'm glad I didn't wait one more minute to go to dental school.

I know this sounds strange but the key is also who you get as your interviewer - some of them like to go over your academic record with a fine-tooth comb, others are more interested in life experiences...you want the latter.

I was 28 when I started and finished at 32 and now am doing a residency back here in Southern California. I finished dental school with better grades than I had in undergrad - probably mostly due to maturity. I also never had to repeat anything like many people who had above 3.0's coming in.

My only regret is that I didn't go to dental school sooner - like when I was 21 and straight out of college. My advice to you is to do whatever it takes to finish up those pre-reqs and apply ASAP!!!

How old will your kids be by the time you start and how easy will it be to relocate?

WOWOWOWOWOWOWO- congrats-what was ur secret....ur grades are similas to mine-can i ask what other schools u applied to and whatthe status is....great encouragement thnx-
my rotti is 12 now and has been my best friend 🙂