Whats more important to dental admins, overall GPA or trends?

[throwawayacc2]

My overall GPA is low but my trend is high. Like, will dental schools give benefit of the doubt if they see a poor freshman year but an upward incline for later years? Especially given how in terms of difficulty senior year/classes tend to be more difficult than freshman year/classes.

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[Ryxndek]

My overall GPA is low but my trend is high. Like, will dental schools give benefit of the doubt if they see a poor freshman year but an upward incline for later years? Especially given how in terms of difficulty senior year/classes tend to be more difficult than freshman year/classes.

Yes, they should but it will depend on the overall application too along with a strong DAT score. Keep doing well and working and finishing strongly

 

[throwawayacc2]

Yes, they should but it will depend on the overall application too along with a strong DAT score. Keep doing well and working and finishing strongly

also, which way is best to look at my trend? The last quarter of credits (comprised of a summer sem, my senior year, and a fall semesters of master) or the last 60 credits, which is roughly a third of my credits?

 

[Ryxndek]

also, which way is best to look at my trend? The last quarter of credits (comprised of a summer sem, my senior year, and a fall semesters of master) or the last 60 credits, which is roughly a third of my credits?

I’m not in admissions so I can’t speak on what they specifically look for. They might view masters and undergrad separately as their gpas in AADSAS are calculated separately.

I’ve just heard they’ll generally look at your last 1-2 years of courses if you started out not doing as well since higher level classes are more difficult than intro classes. So doing well in the courses you are taking now is important whether it’s undergrad or a masters program

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My overall GPA is low but my trend is high. Like, will dental schools give benefit of the doubt if they see a poor freshman year but an upward incline for later years? Especially given how in terms of difficulty senior year/classes tend to be more difficult than freshman year/classes.

I can't answer for every dental school out there, but in surveys, we have all stated (>90% anyway) that we employ some principles of holistic review. I do think many of us have examples of students admitted to their programs who fit your description of being late bloomers in college. Some of us have even accepted total career-changers. So to be clear, I'm in the camp that overall GPA is not the GPA to measure applicants against each other. I do look at the last 45-60 credit hours taken by the applicant. What have you done lately.

That said, I will challenge the presumption that senior year classes are more difficult than freshman year classes. Not everyone is as prepared for college as a freshman, going from your high school classes of maybe 20-30 people to a large lecture hall where you are really anonymous among 200 or more, in one of many huge sections of classes. As a typical freshman, you probably have few friends that you can trust as you also navigate college life as an independent adult, balancing your studies with conforming with social expectations and culture. By senior year, the material may be different, but your coping skills and ability to collectivize your studying effectiveness and problem-solving make your ability to handle the material (with closer relationships with professors in smaller classes) easier. My experience (teaching on the undergraduate side) tells me I should EXPECT there to be an upward trend in your junior and senior year classes, and having that trend assures me that you had support to complete your degree.