Which schools are more forgiving about Undergrad GPA ?

[atoothdoc]

Which schools are more forgiving about Undergrad GPA if you've got great grad GPA and a great DAT score ?

Thanks a million for help !

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[amalgamgrillz]

I think every school will appreciate a candidate who got their act together, but only to a certain point. It's all case-by-case, I'm assuming. There are a few things admissions committees will consider:

Is your grad gpa a 4.0?
Is your cumulative GPA above a 3.0?
Is your DAT at 20+ AA?
How bad was your undergrad?
Where did you go to undergrad?
What was your undergrad program?
Do you have a reason for doing poorly in undergrad?
Do you have 30+ grad hours? what was your Master's in?
Where did you do your Master's?
Was your Master's didactic or research?
Did you take first-year dental courses?

etc.

 

[atoothdoc]

Thanks a lot ! they prefer didactic to research for master's degree ?
Dental research will help a lot ?

 

[MrWilson]

I believe every school and, of course, every situationn is different. Speaking just for myself as an example, UNC fortunately was forgiving of my ugrad academic record (worked, involved in many extra curriculars). I went back to grad school in a research-intensive, thesis based masters (Molecular Bio), earned a 3.7 grad gpa, taught Anatomy labs, 2nd author publication (which raised some eyebrows in interviews), won awards for my research (not dental related), scored 20AA on the dat, showed my face at the dental school many times (so they were able to see my sincere desire to go there-just don't come off as obsessive), and fortunately it worked out. I'm not telling you that stuff to gloat, but I'm just letting you know that it can be done if you really want it. True, a non-thesis masters/post-bac program is fine, but the research/teaching helped round out my apps. Again, every situation is different. It's best to visit/call the Director of Admissions at whichever school(s) you're interested and see what they say, b/c they'll ultimately have the final say. "Don't be shy"-(member of the admissions committee)

 

[DrDSA]

All the answers on here illustrate one overall point: there's way more to an application that a low GPA or DAT score. If you fall into that undefined category of 'low' scores, there's definitely hope. Taking grad classes and doing a masters are excellent suggestions. Many dental schools appreciate a commitment to research, so getting in some research time would be a strong addition to your resume. Beyond that, start thinking about your LORs and what you'll say in your personal statement. People focus so much on GPA and DAT that they neglect the rest of the application. I've seen applications with below average scores get strong consideration based on very strong recommendations and a well-crafted personal statement that really conveys an applicants interest in dentistry to the committee.

I said it on another forum, but to reiterate, don't use mean GPA/DAT to decide which schools you will apply to. Those are averages. Schools with high GPA/DAT averages will still consider a well-rounded applicant with below average scores if that applicant puts the pieces together right. I've seen it firsthand when I was on an admissions committee at a top dental school.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

Thanks a lot ! they prefer didactic to research for master's degree ?
Dental research will help a lot ?

Generally speaking, applicants only do didactic Master's programs to show adcoms they can handle multiple semesters of a full load of dental-school level classes and be successful. Research Master's grades show that you can.....research (for the most part)