What Else Should I do?

[DentBaller]

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I am a 5th year senior in college and I am looking to apply to dental school next cycle. I just want to know what else I should add to my resume. For example, if I should do more shadowing or get different experiences. I would take any suggestions or ideas anybody has.

Science GPA: 2.8 Overall GPA: Probably 2.5 when I graduate
Most lower-level science classes were done in community college. The rest were done at a Florida university.

Dat (taken August 2020): PAT: 20, QR: 15, RC: 16, Bio: 13, Gchem: 19, Ochem: 19, TS: 16, AA: 16 Most likely taking the DAT again in summer 2022.

I have 100+ shadowing hours with a general dentist who also happens to be my mom. I don't know if I should get some more hours with a dentist whos not my mom.
100+ hours of community service.

I am looking into doing a 1-year master's program. Though, I feel if I get a great score on the DAT I won't have to do that.

Please let me know what else I should do or if you have any ideas or suggestions for me. I'm open to literally anything. Thoughts, comments, and ideas are welcome and appreciated.

 

[Tvirtumas]

Your gpa is too low even with a good DAT score. I would figure out why you did so poorly in undergrad before taking the masters since it could be the final nail in the coffin (Try to get a 3.5-3.7+). I would say take the DAT in the summer, but also plan to take it after your masters as well.

You should shoot for more extracurriculars in general. At the very least increase those community service hours

 

[macsak]

You're gpa is too low even with a good DAT score. I would figure out why you did so poorly in undergrad before taking the masters since it could be the final nail in the coffin (Try to get a 3.5-3.7+). I would say take the DAT in the summer, but also plan to take it after your masters as well.

You should shoot for more extracurriculars in general. At the very least increase those community service ours

has to be nearly 4.0...

 

[carsandmedicine]

You definitely have some work to do before you apply, but don't worry you can do it!
1. Your gpa is too low, even if you got a 22 DAT. You're gonna need to do a post acc program and get 3.8+. Figure out why you got low grades and be ready to hit the ground running when post acc starts

2. With a 16 AA, I do not believe any school would be okay with that. You are going to need to retake it and get like a 22. Again, this is something you'll have to figure out. Look through the SDN and reddit forums to see what worked for people.

3. I do not think they are going to like that all your shadowing hours came from your mom, I would go get 150 hours from other dentists.

4. Maybe work as a dental assistant or get research experience?

Yes this sounds like a lot, but if you cannot cope/excel in undergrad courses or DAT, then dental school may present significant challenges. The last thing you want is getting into dental school and having to drop out after the 1st or 2nd year. Then you are stuck with 300k debt that you can't get rid of. That is the worst scenario, so I would make sure you are able to handle 25 or 30 units per semester whereas now you seem to find trouble with less than half of that.

 

[DentBaller]

You definitely have some work to do before you apply, but don't worry you can do it!
1. Your gpa is too low, even if you got a 22 DAT. You're gonna need to do a post acc program and get 3.8+. Figure out why you got low grades and be ready to hit the ground running when post acc starts

2. With a 16 AA, I do not believe any school would be okay with that. You are going to need to retake it and get like a 22. Again, this is something you'll have to figure out. Look through the SDN and reddit forums to see what worked for people.

3. I do not think they are going to like that all your shadowing hours came from your mom, I would go get 150 hours from other dentists.

4. Maybe work as a dental assistant or get research experience?

Yes this sounds like a lot, but if you cannot cope/excel in undergrad courses or DAT, then dental school may present significant challenges. The last thing you want is getting into dental school and having to drop out after the 1st or 2nd year. Then you are stuck with 300k debt that you can't get rid of. That is the worst scenario, so I would make sure you are able to handle 25 or 30 units per semester whereas now you seem to find trouble with less than half of that.

Thank you so much for the response!

Im definitely going to start with the DAT and get more experience since I'm not done with undergrad until the summer. Do you think that I should apply the next cycle if I do a one year post bacc or masters?

 

[dent222hasdf]

Thank you so much for the response!

Im definitely going to start with the DAT and get more experience since I'm not done with undergrad until the summer. Do you think that I should apply the next cycle if I do a one year post bacc or masters?

I would recommend a master's and retake the DAT. Only reapply when you have completed a masters. Also I wouldn't do a post bacc. I did a post bacc bc I also had pre recs to complete. I would recommend retaking the DAT after you have completed some master coursework. It will help you with knowledge for the DAT. As a 2nd time reapplicant, I understand the struggle, but before you spend tons of money applying with your GPA, just to have such a slim chance of acceptance, I would work on your GPA and DAT. The first time applied I had a 20 AA 20 TSand 3.3 OGPA and 3.1 SGPA. I did a post bacc raised my ogpa to a 3.4 and sgpa 3.4, and then retook my DAT 23 AA 25 TS. That showed that I could be competitive in dental school. I was accepted this cycle.

 

[dent222hasdf]

Thank you so much for the response!

Im definitely going to start with the DAT and get more experience since I'm not done with undergrad until the summer. Do you think that I should apply the next cycle if I do a one year post bacc or masters?

additionally some schools only take into account your master gpa, so it will give you almost a clean slate.

 

[sharkdent]

I am a 5th year senior in college and I am looking to apply to dental school next cycle. I just want to know what else I should add to my resume. For example, if I should do more shadowing or get different experiences. I would take any suggestions or ideas anybody has.

Science GPA: 2.8 Overall GPA: Probably 2.5 when I graduate
Most lower-level science classes were done in community college. The rest were done at a Florida university.

Dat (taken August 2020): PAT: 20, QR: 15, RC: 16, Bio: 13, Gchem: 19, Ochem: 19, TS: 16, AA: 16 Most likely taking the DAT again in summer 2022.

I have 100+ shadowing hours with a general dentist who also happens to be my mom. I don't know if I should get some more hours with a dentist whos not my mom.
100+ hours of community service.

I am looking into doing a 1-year master's program. Though, I feel if I get a great score on the DAT I won't have to do that.

Please let me know what else I should do or if you have any ideas or suggestions for me. I'm open to literally anything. Thoughts, comments, and ideas are welcome and appreciated.

This is a blessing in disguise. Do not go to dental school. It is financial suicide. Go search for salary threads from Reddit or buzzfeed. Real people posting their salaries. You will graduate with over $500K in debt and makes $150K a year. If you search, you will find manager from Panda Express, truck drivers, nurses, car salesman make more than dentist. All new grad going into tech starts with $200K plus salary including stock options and bonuses. Amazon has starting base salary at $320K. All my dentist colleagues and dentist friends are constantly complaining how much debt they have and how little money that make. Time to look for another career.