Undergrad degree from a crappy college?

[optimistic01]

Hello all...

So my question is how heavily do dental schools weight what undergraduate college you went to? I was young and dumb and unfortunately completed a B.S. in Network Communications Mgmt. at DeVry University with a 3.4 (yeah the one with all the commericals - "I was serious about success!") While it is an accreditted University, I have this feeling that it will be highly frowned upon by dental admissions.
A semester before graduating, I realized the mistake I made and enrolled into a community college. I have completed a couple of A.S. in Biology and in Health Sciences and am now finishing up my prereqs for dental school. When finished with my prereqs, I should have a 3.4 bcp gpa and a bit higher for my overall. As well, I have been shadowing/observing a dentist and I think dentistry is awesome! ....I know I'd have to do well on the DAT's.
This DeVry thing is killing me....I mean I laugh at Devry. Makes me think dental admissions reps would too. I want to apply, but don't know if I'll even be considered. What do you guys think? Should I apply or will I be an "automatic rejection?"
Thanks for all your responses!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[eilrahcmi]

I was talking to a dental student at this clinic I volunteer at about this very same topic. He said he was worried that because he went to a small school in Alabama that nobody has ever heard of that it might hinder his chances of being accepted and not look good or something. He brought it up during his interview and the interviewer laughed. He said the top student graduating that past year was from the very same school!

I don't think taking courses at a CC will hurt your chances either, a lot of people get in who have gone that path.

 

[qwerty86]

During my interview I was asked if my undergraduate school was top in the state. They do care.

 

[musl85]

i dunno, i mean i went to a CUNY (city university of New York) school. They are not terrible, but lets just say that at $4,000 per year, the resources and facilities arent the best. I dunno if anyone outside of NY has even heard of the CUNY system. Anyway, it was never brought up and i managed to get 6 interviews, 2 acceptances, and 2 waitlists and my app wasnt complete until early december. Maybe it depends on interviewer? If i can make it out of CUNY, anyone can make it.

 

[Minh77]

just apply and find out.

 

[optimistic01]

Thanks for the encouraging words.

While I know that graduating from DeVry shouldn't hurt me, I can't see why it would help me...I guess I'll never know until I apply.

Considering my situation, what can I do to strengthen my application? Thanks again.

 

[blankguy]

My take on this.
Unknown school--->GPA
Top School----->GPA+School but school is a very distant secondary consideration.

However personality will override schools once you get the interview.
This will be the great equalizer if you get the interview.

 

[ummjoey]

i always thought devry was pretty good? if you really want to be a dentist, then just apply. there isnt really much you can do about going to devry, unless you are going to retake all the pre-reqs at a "better" university. i dont think this is something to worry about because there really isnt much you can do.

what you can do is get a killer dat score.

 

[jay47]

Although actual course load may come into play when they look at your app, your GPA and DAT will be crucial in all circumstances. If you really want to be a dentist, show them in your application, apply early, and be confident at your interview.

"Top Schools" don't mean anything unless you really put in the effort. Anyone can take Biochemistry at Harvard/Princeton/MIT/other top school if they get there. ( I don't attend Harvard btw) But not everyone can make an A. NO ONE, and I mean no one understands biochemistry, anatomy, physiology without putting in the appropriate amount of work.

"Top Schools" in undergrad are way overrated anyways. In grad school is where it really matters.

Don't worry about DeVry, I'm sure that anyone can learn a lot from there, just depends on how much effort they put in.
On the downside, your GPA is about .2 lower than the average acceptance rate. Make some A's at CC and boost your GPA for a better shot.

 

[eilrahcmi]

My take on this.
Unknown school--->GPA
Top School----->GPA+School but school is a very distant secondary consideration.

However personality will override schools once you get the interview.
This will be the great equalizer if you get the interview.

This sounds right.

 

[DrReo]

They will take in consideration of your DAT. That is, essestially, the equalator. Whether you went to a hick university in Montana or Harvard. They teach the same material. The DAT tests over that material. Hence the standardized test with repective percentiles. Rock your DAT and then you will not have to worry.


Once all is done, 5ish years down the road, are you going to get paid more if you spend an extra 30-40k/yr at Harvard. No, that filling will be the same whether you went school X or Y.

 

[airsimon]

They will take in consideration of your DAT. That is, essestially, the equalator. Whether you went to a hick university in Montana or Harvard. They teach the same material. The DAT tests over that material. Hence the standardized test with repective percentiles. Rock your DAT and then you will not have to worry.


Once all is done, 5ish years down the road, are you going to get paid more if you spend an extra 30-40k/yr at Harvard. No, that filling will be the same whether you went school X or Y.

I resent that statement. Montana is beautiful!

 

[DrReo]

I resent that statement. Montana is beautiful!

OK. How about North Dakota, since that's where I'm from. But the point of the story is noted, regardless

 

[blankguy]

Remember the threshold in dentistry is to get to dental school and pass. Rank only matters if you want to meet certain threshold in pursuing further studies but in the long run personality will be king. Nobody wants to be treated by a conceited and arrogant individual who may have graduated top in the class but everybody wants a dentist who is nice and respectful who may not have been at the top of the class. In the long run a more respectful person will be more successful than a arrogant individual barring something else going on.

 

[midiland]

Remember the threshold in dentistry is to get to dental school and pass. Rank only matters if you want to meet certain threshold in pursuing further studies but in the long run personality will be king. Nobody wants to be treated by a conceited and arrogant individual who may have graduated top in the class but everybody wants a dentist who is nice and respectful who may not have been at the top of the class. In the long run a more respectful person will be more successful than a arrogant individual barring something else going on.

I learned this in one of my bio courses =) and i do agree with ur statement

 

[optimistic01]

Thanks so much for everyones feedback. I've def gone too far to give up now. Hopefully I rock the DAT's.

I think I should enroll in that Kaplan course...(hopefully it pays off...to some its great, to some it sucks..I dont know what to think about it)

Thanks again for everyones input.

 

[Sephisabin]

This actually varies from school to school. I know some schools that heavily weight which university you went to (My Columbia interview was literally the who's who of top 50 universities), while other schools have explicitly stated that they don't take undergrad institution into account (USC, for example). You should definitely apply and make sure you do wel on the DAT because that's usually the great equializer when comparing students-- it doesn't matter where you went to school, the DAT is the DAT. When picking your "safety schools" (not that safety schools really exist for dental school, but bear with me here...), you may want to call around to the schools and ask whether they take undergrad univ. into consideration... besides, in my experience, schools are a little more willing to overlook shortcomings in your record if you call them up and talk to them...