what are my options

[dentaltea43]

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Hello,

So im in a bit of a sticky situation and need some good advise. I am about to finish my undergrad degree in Canada and i applied to American dental schools this year but did not get in. My DAT scores are in the 19s and 20s, but my BCP is 2.78 and my overall GPA is 3.2 as of now. The reason my gpa is so low is because i was going through a lot of family stuff last year and i happened to take most of my bcp courses that year and clearly couldn't handle all the stress.
So now I am not sure what to do anymore, I'm thinking of staying at my university for an extra year as a continuing student to attempt to boost my bcp but realistically it will never reach a 3.5 in one year. I am thinking of applying to a masters program, but its a two year program. Is it better to stay an extra year and try to fix my mistakes or do a masters. How do dental schools look at the masters gpa and how do they look at repeated courses (if i decide to stay as a continuing student).

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Hawkteeth]

There are one year masters programs out there you can look into. I think they prefer a masters degree over retaking classes, it shows you can succeed at the higher level.

 

[nikond600]

.

 

[Bis-GMA111]

1 year masters and make sure you do well (3.5+)

 

[Toofly01]

If you scored lower than a C in prereq courses (I believe a C- is too low but individual schools may vary on that, check their websites) then you will need to repeat those first. You can do this during a 5th year "informal postbacc" while simultaneously applying to 1-yr masters programs so you go directly into that without any gaps in your education. Try to select programs with high dental school matriculation rates and/or connections to current dental schools. Many people spend thousands and thousands of dollars and get the shaft because they are seriously in debt (before d-school) and still without an acceptance. Not to scare you but just to give you something else to think about.