What to do next...?

[Concepcion10]

I haven't heard anything positive from this application cycle and I'm starting to worry about what to do next. I dont have a state school, will be graduating in Spring 09 in Spanish with a minor in chemisstry and many upper division hours of biology. I had a few bad semesters way back before an LDS mission and my AADSAS stats are:

2.9 science
3.1 overall
AA-18
TS-19
PAT-18
OC-19
GC-18
RC-21
QR-14
I would like to hear if anyone has been in this situation and what are some suggestions on what to do next.
Move to get an "instate school" and apply next year
More classes?
SMP?
and any other thing you know of.
Thanks again for the help I really appreciate it

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[ak47]

I haven't heard anything positive from this application cycle and I'm starting to worry about what to do next. I dont have a state school, will be graduating in Spring 09 in Spanish with a minor in chemisstry and many upper division hours of biology. I had a few bad semesters way back before an LDS mission and my AADSAS stats are:

2.9 science
3.1 overall
AA-18
TS-19
PAT-18
OC-19
GC-18
RC-21
QR-14
I would like to hear if anyone has been in this situation and what are some suggestions on what to do next.
Move to get an "instate school" and apply next year
More classes?
SMP?
and any other thing you know of.
Thanks again for the help I really appreciate it

no offense but i think you need to retake the DAT and aim for a 20 or so. that QR isn't helping and all the other scores are about average.
also you should prob do a post-bac or a masters to get that GPA up to around a 3.4 or 3.5!

good luck

 

[DrReo]

I believe twenties on the DAT will not compensate for the subpar GPA. 22/22/22 might get some heads turning but some schools have automatic rejection points at 3.0 and 17 scores.

 

[montag925]

looking at your stats this is my opinion. keep in mind that I am only a college student recently accepted. however, getting into dental school has been a "hobby" of mine for a few years now so I am familiar with stats and dat scores.

1. biggest thing is your gpa. being a spanish major is awesome and I am sure many schools like that diversity. however, it does not matter if you are a biology, spanish, or secondary education major.. a 3.1/2.9 gpa is a detriment. (I recently just got in with a 3.0/3.3).
2. It looks like you arn't getting in this year. I am not saying that in a negative way. If you do not have any interviews by now things arn't looking good. That being the case you will need to wait a year to apply. THe question is what you should do for that year... get your GPA up. don't keep taking undergrad classes. get a masters or post-bac. It will not only raise your GPA (hopefully), but it will only add to your resume.
3. Those dat scores arn't bad, but they arn't good either. If your gpa was above a 3.5, id say keep them. even with raising your GPA as discussed in the previous point, it will not be above a 3.5 next year, even if you ace all of your classes. That being the case, I would retake the DAT for the next cycle. I had to retake the DAT twice, and believe me, the second time is much easier.

In-state/out of state does not matter a huge amount. Its nice to live in a state with a dental school, but I would concentrate my time and brainpower to raising your DAT and GPA. Best of luck.

 

[Concepcion10]

Thanks for all the input. I appreciate it. I am thinking of doing an SMP.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=502682
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527700
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527690

 

[Concepcion10]

After I enter my summer 2008, Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 grades I think Ill be around a 3.00 science GPA. I guess it puts me at that 3.00 region which will look better than the 2.8-9 or so region. Retaking the DAT is goin to be a "must" I really am confident that I can get a better score. WHen I took it I had only taken gen chems, 1 o-chem, anatomy and thats about it. When I retake in May I will have taken. Embryology, Physiology, Biochem, O-chem 2 which I think will be a bigger difference. We'll see. Either way I have my work cut out for me!

 

[Clubby]

I believe twenties on the DAT will not compensate for the subpar GPA. 22/22/22 might get some heads turning but some schools have automatic rejection points at 3.0 and 17 scores.

Quoted for truth.

 

[chober]

I have a 2.99/2.93 and a 21/21/20 so my grades are in a really similar situation to yours, and my DAT scores are a bit better. I'm still waiting to hear this cycle so we will see. I did get a handful of interviews though. So just keep at it. I do have a really really strong upward trend in terms of grades however and alot of schools will take another look at that.

 

[Kach1713]

Thanks for all the input. I appreciate it. I am thinking of doing an SMP.

General question for everyone --> If you apply next cycle and do a SMP, how will dental schools know what grades you made? Even if you apply early, they would not be able to judge your improvement until your 1st semester grades of your SMP are sent to the dental schools, which would be most likely mid-december.. Correct?

 

[oreoson]

General question for everyone --> If you apply next cycle and do a SMP, how will dental schools know what grades you made? Even if you apply early, they would not be able to judge your improvement until your 1st semester grades of your SMP are sent to the dental schools, which would be most likely mid-december.. Correct?

Most SMPs recommend you to apply upon completion of their program, so it would be next next cycle.

 

[Hordel]

Yeah, that is kind of the same problem I am having. I need to retake the DAT's and get some "life experience", but if I apply next cycle none of this will appear on my application. Thus, I am going to have to sit the next cycle out and than reapply the following session. The point I am trying to make is that waiting until these new grades appear seems to be the only way to go sad to say.

 

[DentalRocks09]

well to be honest..ur QR is too low to even be considered...i recommend taking the DAT again and getting 20+..if u can get that on each subject of the test then u wont need to do a masters..a masters would definitely help but not 100 percent necessary

 

[dc0617]

I completely disagree, the QR section is the least important component of your application, I have been told this by 3 interviewers because my QR was not very high either. However, I did get good grades in calc, physics, and physical chemistry, which shows I can actually do some math! I think a high GPA says a lot more than a test score, especially if the rest of your app is pretty strong. So focus on the big things and don't worry about the DAT that much, it's stressful enough as it is!

 

[chober]

GPA is all fine and dandy, but if you fudged up your grades early on, then trying to raise them later is really difficult. So if you're a decent test taker take a month or 3 and study for the test and raise those DAT scores up.