Worried about low academic perfomance

[Marcos0789]

Last two semesters I had been worried about personals/economics problems with my family and I haven't been able to focus in class, I even have been working 45 hours per week leading to fail some of my class. My GPA went from 3.6 to a low 3.1. I had a DAT of 19 AA with 15 in RC (I have been living in the United States for 4 years and English is not my first language, I took the DAT a year ago). Besides this, I was thinking to apply this next cycle to some dental schools, but I am not sure if I should. I have been feeling worried during this time, but this semester I am focusing in change and go back to the path. What is your opinion, advice or experience? Thank you for your time.

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[WaveRace]

Many people face depression, it isn't an uncommon issue. What you need to do is figure out how to manage it, which isn't something anyone on the forum has the ability to adequately help you with. Seek professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist. Nothing to be ashamed about. Get that figured out and then academic advice on fixing your application will be relevant.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

That's not the mentality Lee would have. He risked his life to walk again. Be like Lee. Be a man. Do the right thing.

 

[Marcos0789]

That's not the mentality Lee would have. He risked his life to walk again. Be like Lee. Be a man. Do the right thing.

You are right! I will improve that GPA. But I am still not sure if I should apply this year or wait for the next cycle.

 

[mcbnerd]

I would wait. Show them that you overcame your depression and worked hard to get back up. I think that's better than applying now with a dropped academic performance.

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[deleted696582]

Applying with a 15 in RC will almost guarantee that you won't receive interviews. Schools consider RC very important. What's most important, though, is your mental health.

45 hours a week is not sustainable if you want to get grades that get you into dental school. Maybe there are superhumans out there that have done it, but I think it's a recipe for disaster. If you are feeling down, doing poorly in class and failing to get into dental school will make things even worse. Things can spiral out of control in life - believe me.

It'd be great thing to get help with what you suspect may be depression. A licensed professional can give you some direction. In my opinion, you shouldn't apply next cycle. Take a year or two, put your mental health first, and find an alternative to working 45 hours a week.

 

[8_man]

Why are you working 45 hours a week?

Loving the profile pic, btw.

 

[LaughingGas]

I agree with @Fets
IMO, if you are truly working 45 hours a week to provide your family financially, you should either stop going to school or lower your course loads.
Unfortunately, not many people will give 2 craps whether you are working 45 hours a week if you are not getting good GPA, and that includes some of the adcoms.
GPA repair is more difficult, time consuming and harder to do financially.
You have 3 major problems here:
1 - Financial burden / Personal problems
2 - Depression due to #1
3 - Poor academic performance that could contribute to 2.

I highly recommend you resolve #2 first before anything. If you feel like you are falling behind, you are not. You will regret more if you can't keep up the GPA and you have long way to repair your GPA.

 

[redhotchiligochu]

I cannot emphasize the whole "academics first" mantra. Dental schools get thousands of applications a year, and as much as they want to care (they probably don't, frankly), personal issues/financial burden are things they DON'T want to hear.

HOWEVER, what will convince adcoms is your ability to bounce back. Can you overcome your struggles? Of course, easier said than done. But like @LaughingGas said, seek professional help first. Take a semester or so off, then resume schoolwork. If dentistry is REALLY what you want, take some loans and financial aid to support yourself through undergrad.

I agree with @Fets
IMO, if you are truly working 45 hours a week to provide your family financially, you should either stop going to school or lower your course loads.
Unfortunately, not many people will give 2 craps whether you are working 45 hours a week if you are not getting good GPA, and that includes some of the adcoms.
GPA repair is more difficult, time consuming and harder to do financially.
You have 3 major problems here:
1 - Financial burden / Personal problems
2 - Depression due to #1
3 - Poor academic performance that could contribute to 2.

I highly recommend you resolve #2 first before anything. If you feel like you are falling behind, you are not. You will regret more if you can't keep up the GPA and you have long way to repair your GPA.

 

[SEW413]

One thing that made me decide to wait a year was the amount of money it costs to actually apply. It's a lot. Given you have some financial struggles, it might be a good idea to check if applying is in your budget.

 

[Marcos0789]

@SEW413, @redhotchiligochu, @Fets, @LaughingGas, @8_man

Thank you all for your support and your responses.

 

[johna72481]

Dont fret homie. I dealt with depression and I know how you feel. It sucks, I was at a point that I had no motivation to do anything and I slept for almost 12 hours a day. It was rough. I got help though. I went to see a psychiatrist and he helped me realize that theres a bigger picture and the day to day things that made me feel not good about my self were irrelevant. If you ever need to talk, just DM me and ill tell you my story and things i did to get through it. Nonetheless, just try your best right now to do what you can to get your GPA up. I would say you would defiantly need to retake the DAT again before you apply. Are you graduating this semester?

 

[deleted696582]

@SEW413, @redhotchiligochu, @Fets, @LaughingGas, @8_man

Thank you all for your support and your responses. I really don't have a money problem anymore. I need to work 45 hours per week to collect a huge amount of money to bring part of my family from Cuba before they change the law that allowed them to stay in the states. I really was depressed more about how I didn't have control over my life and I really wanted to go to dental school since I was 10. (My mother is a dentist in Cuba). I know the schools doesn't want to hear a story, they want a student that guarantee that he or she will pass the boards and will stay in the school for 4 years.
But before that happen I was getting straights As and a couple of Bs but I was doing well. In the DAT preparation Tests I got several times 18-20 in my RC but in the Test I lost perception of the time and end up guessing the last passage (that is 30% of the questions). I know I can get a good grade on my DAT , I know that I can get good grades again if I put the time on it, and I know that I can become a good applicant next year. I just wanted to apply this cycle to no lose one year.
By the way I have more than 100 shadowing hours to 3 different doctors, 100 volunteer hours in a hospital, I had been part of dental club for 2 years now, also official of a business club for 2 years too, and many extracurricular activities that can look good in a resume. My DAT score besides that RC looks good (BIO 19, GC 21, OC, 19, PAT 21, RC 15, QR 21). I will go and see an adviser and a specialist to help me overcome the depression problem. Thank you guys for your time and your support, it really means a lot for me.

You're welcome - that's what SDN is here for.

It's okay to take a year off, even if you were set on applying soon. A 15 in RC won't get you interviews, so a higher DAT retake and a higher GPA will set you on the right path. A lot of dental students I met said their years off really made a positive impact.

Also, dental schools do want to hear stories. Students aren't just numbers to them. Maybe in the future you can talk about how you overcame a low point and turned your dental school aspirations around.

Plan ahead for A's and a great DAT, but don't forget to try and enjoy things in the moment too. Sometimes you can achieve amazing things, only to look back with disappointment at the time you spent achieving them. Good luck.

 

[StudentDentistsRock]

You are right! I will improve that GPA. But I am still not sure if I should apply this year or wait for the next cycle.

Keep up that upbeat attitude, just like rock lee! Stay confident and strong! You are in your youth!