what are my chances??

[rashad951]

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my gpa is 2.8, still have another year and a half to bring it up. will take the DAT's this summer, took a practice scored in the low 20's. Also, i work as a dental assistant, have participated in the USC dental summer program, and can get pretty good recommendations. just wanted to ask all you guys out there who have an idea of what my chances are, and what schools would i most likely get in to. by the way, im from CA, and hope to stay in CA for dental school..oh and i know the admissions counselors at USC...but i heard that can be a bad thing cuz they dont want to show any bias. please, let me know what you think, share your thoughts. thanks.

 

[jigabodo]

Just focus on raising your GPA first.

A year and half is enough to bring a 2.8 to 3.2ish, given the fact that you also take some units during the summer. I was actually in your exact position 2 years ago. My GPA was a little bit over 2.9 back then and 2 years was enough to bring it up to 3.3+.

If you can do that, provided that you also have a decent DAT score, I think your chances of acceptance would be much better.

Good luck!

 

[Regmata]

Your chances are slim unless you pull up that GPA...

 

[ChaseitHall]

My undergrad GPA is a 3.0, so I decided to get a master's degree. My grad GPA is 4.0 and I've had 3 interviews thus far.

Hang in there...

 

[yorkiepoo]

Work your butt of next semester.. get all A's .. take the exam --- you'll do well. then continue getting good grades.

 

[AnonymousADCOM]

currently with your stats, you have no chance. good luck.

 

[ibeflossin]

currently with your stats, you have no chance. good luck.

Wow. That was harsh.

And yes you do have a chance. Just keep in mind everything you lack in, you have to make up for something else. As long as you are above a 3.0 average I would say you have a pretty good chance, esp w/ high DAT scores. But practice DAT's are easier than the DAT's so be careful with that. Also some schools look for diversity (if you worked, if you volunteered, etc) and being an assistant will help you for sure because you've had hands on experience in patients' mouths. So keep that in mind.

And also don't listen to people that tell you that you have no chance of getting in. They are not the admissions committee and they don't know ****. Just take advice from people who are positive and tell you good things (like someone above who said focus on getting your grades up.) GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[stdmufin27]

AnonymousADCOM is an idiot! Don't listen that bull#$^* comment. You should definitely raise your GPA above 3.0 but with your experiences (the summer program/assistant job) you can impress some schools. Don't get discouraged just yet. See it through for these next couple of semesters/quarters and do well. Save all this anxiety your feeling now for when you actually apply.

 

[benchod]

Except Adcom was being honest. With his current stats, he does have no chance. You guys are only saying he has a chance if he works his ass off and raises his GPA above 3.0, which makes both of your statements correct.

You hear about the random case of some student getting in with a GPA below 3.0, but do the math. Arbitrarily, assuming 100 students get in with GPA's under 3.0 nationwide still means his chances are slim to none.

Don't be delusional, he only has a shot if he shows serious improvement in his remaining school time, otherwise getting a Masters is required.

 

[Katalyst]

My GPA was 3.15 upon graduating in 2005 w/ DAT of 20. Applied for 2 years and got nothing but waitlisted. After working in a dental clinic in New Orleans for a year after Hurricane Katrina, I came back to California to live and take more classes. I took about 24 units of solid A's and retook the DAT getting a 21. Applied a 3rd year and wouldn't you know it, I got an early interview. My GPA isn't even that much higher now, nor are my DAT scores. Reapplying has finally begun to pay off. I'm prepared to apply again a 4th year, but hopefully this is the year I'll get accepted.

As a California resident, I know that I still do not stand a chance of landing an interview at any CA school. I also think that unless you have grades and DAT scores, admissions people would not even look at the rest of the application (letters of recommendation or your personal statement). Dental school is becoming increasingly competitive.

Also, in my mind a 3.2 GPA from Berkeley is much more impressive than a 4.0 from Westmont, but if I had it to do over again, I would rather have gone to the easier school just to get a better GPA. The school from which you graduated holds very little clout, especially when applying out of state. i.e. all Californians know that Cal Poly is a good school to get educated at, but ask admissions guys in Florida if they've heard of it and they'll ask if it's a Career College.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[ibeflossin]

Except Adcom was being honest. With his current stats, he does have no chance. You guys are only saying he has a chance if he works his ass off and raises his GPA above 3.0, which makes both of your statements correct.

You hear about the random case of some student getting in with a GPA below 3.0, but do the math. Arbitrarily, assuming 100 students get in with GPA's under 3.0 nationwide still means his chances are slim to none.

Don't be delusional, he only has a shot if he shows serious improvement in his remaining school time, otherwise getting a Masters is required.

Well I can tell you one thing. I sure as hell would rather have a dentist that had a lower GPA but was a NICE person, rather than some dingus who feels better when he says that someone's chances of getting in are slim to none. If you want to be REAL you can give constructive criticism... but you want to feel better about yourself, you should go ahead and continue with your non-helping comments.

OH and PS... I know someone that got into UoP with a 2.5 OVERALL, and someone that got into UNLV with a 2.7 overall, and I know 4 people who got into NOVA with a 2.2-2.8 overall's LAST YEAR. There is more to being a dentist than being "smart" on paper. But I guess you are very smart since you can diagnose people as delusional based off of comments via le internet.

 

[stdmufin27]

Hey OP. Granted I'm not accepted to a school yet but I have 4 interviews from 6 schools who have decided my fate already and I have a 2.99 Overall/3.1 science and 18/21 DAT. I guess I'm a lucky guy or it kind of proves that scores don't mean everything. But yeah, do at least a "little" better than me and you got a good chance like the poster above me pointed out.

 

[americanpierg]

what are your chances...? better than mine...