What can I do to "guarantee" myself admission to dental school in the future?

[nicholas2]

In other words, what steps do I take to ensure that at least one dental school will give me a shot? I know it can't be guaranteed, but bear with me. I want to go to dental school just like most of you, and before working as hard as I can I want a perfect systematic approach to getting there. I know there is a lot of information on this, but I'm posting this because I am looking for a custom response to my situation. Can you help me plan my path to dental school?

I just turned 24 and graduated from Wisconsin in the spring with a chem degree, cgpa 2.74. I started off college poorly in my classes due to partying and skipping class. I tried pretty hard after that and got my cgpa up to 3.2 by the end of my junior year. I took the DAT in 2014 and got 20 AA, and applied during the 2015 cycle. I didn't get any interviews (I applied to 7 schools) and that shot down my hopes. I started skipping class, and failed a couple, leading to an extra year of undergrad. I successfully appealed an academic suspension before my last semester.

After I was denied, I put dental school in the back of my mind and haven't applied since. Now that I have graduated I've been thinking, my chances aren't completely dead, are they?

Feel free to expand on the following or reply with other possibilities. From what I have gathered, I believe it would be my best option to find a post bac dental program to help improve my academic record. If you agree with this, could you recommend one specifically? It seems that most of them start in the fall, in which case I would have to wait another year. Is there something I should/could do in the meantime?

TL;DR - How can I (who has fulfilled all pre reqs, recently acquired B.S. in chemistry, poor academic record but proven capability of success, denied in 2015 cycle) get into dental school?

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[socal6]

The Rutgers GSBS masters program is actually geared towards low-GPA applicants and I think it would be a great place for you to start. I just started this fall and am enjoying the program so far. The school is very supportive and graduates have traditionally fared well in the application process. I believe you can start either in the fall or spring, so definitely check it out if you're looking into doing something sooner rather than later.

 

[dentalinthemental]

I would consider Rutgers as well, I have heard great things about that program. I would additionally start getting as many volunteer hours and shadowing hours as possible if you have not done so already in the mean time. I think you have a fair shot if you perform well in a masters program, have hope!


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[LuckBloodandSweat]

Retake the DAT or get your grades up even more imo. Also, apply to more than 7 you are on the lower end of the stats spectrum.

 

[super frank]

Address your academic history in your PS. You're probably going to have to retake the DAT as it will be outdated. I would also suggest a SMP (Rutgers, as others have suggested) and make sure that you EXCEL (~4.0). Before you even do anything you have to ask yourself how bad you want this. If you commit to a SMP and falter, your chances are cooked.

 

[8_man]

Just throwing out some "by ear" knowledge here, but I think there are certain dental schools that are especially lenient towards upward trajectory (GPA and DAT) applicants. I don't know any names off the top of my head, but maybe someone else can pitch in.

 

[super frank]

Just throwing out some "by ear" knowledge here, but I think there are certain dental schools that are especially lenient towards upward trajectory (GPA and DAT) applicants. I don't know any names off the top of my head, but maybe someone else can pitch in.

I think majority of them are. I started junior year with a 3.0/2.9 and finished with a 3.5/3.5 and have interviews at places where my GPA is below the average. Everyone likes a success story.

 

[nicholas2]

Address your academic history in your PS. You're probably going to have to retake the DAT as it will be outdated. I would also suggest a SMP (Rutgers, as others have suggested) and make sure that you EXCEL (~4.0). Before you even do anything you have to ask yourself how bad you want this. If you commit to a SMP and falter, your chances are cooked.

Thank you all for the discussion. I am looking in to the Master's programs at Rutgers. For anyone else that might be considering the same, the admission deadline for the spring is 11/1, so get on it.
Is one of the programs preferred by dental schools over the others (MS vs MBS)? Or is it rather up to a personal preference of my own?

From their website:
MS (Master of Science in Biomedical Science) - 25 credits of course work, plus original laboratory research culminating in a written thesis (5 credits) acceptable to an advisory committee and the graduate school (thesis research option).

MBS (Master of Biomedical Science) - 30 credits of coursework and maintain a “B” average.

Also, how should I go about choosing the campus (Newark vs New Brunswick/Piscataway)? Do you recommend one over the other?

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Nova has a masters program that admits some students to Dental School guaranteed but you need to do good. Don't know the specifics

 

[Cello]

Your best chance would be doing a Master's.