Canadian Student Applying to US Dental

[DMDtobe]

Hello,

I am a Canadian student planning to apply to the US.

I have around a 3.5 GPA, taking my DAT next November so hoping to get at least 20+, and I have extensive amount of extracurriculars and shadowing experience. 

Honestly, my extras are amazing. I started 2 university clubs catering towards the healthcare field, I am on the pre-dental committee, I started an organization that connects young entrepreneurs to attract mentorship opportunities in my community, I have been working as a pharmacy technician for 3 years, and I have around 500+ shadowing hours at 2 dentists and an orthodontist.

Overall, My extracurriculars are really strong. (Pm if you want the full list), my GPA would be around a 3.5 at the time of admission, and hoping my DAT score would be around a 20+. 

That being said, what are my chances of getting into an American dental school? Considering I would be an international student and my GPA isn't as high as most international students, can my extracurriculars, personal statement, and letter of recommendations potentially make up for that? 

Also, The reason for my low GPA is only due to my first year of university studies. All my other years have been an A average or above. (3.85+) . Would they also take that into account?

I would appreciate all your thoughts and opinions!

[FridayTheThirteeth]

44 minutes ago, DMDtobe said:

Overall, My extracurriculars are really strong. (Pm if you want the full list), my GPA would be around a 3.5 at the time of admission, and hoping my DAT score would be around a 20+. 

That being said, what are my chances of getting into an American dental school? Considering I would be an international student and my GPA isn't as high as most international students, can

I think it would depend on the school you want to go to (private vs public) - private schools such as NYU would probably be pretty easy to get into, especially since NYU seems to like Canadians (or at least, they don't seem to care if you're not from the US). I had much worse stats (~3.3 GPA, very little shadowing experience) and I got into NYU first round about 3 years ago. That said, I think NYU had a weird process - their interview process was much less structured than I was expecting. Unfortunately I don't have much experience with other schools.

Why do you want to go to the US? Why not stay in Canada? It'd be much less expensive.

[DMDtobe]

8 minutes ago, FridayTheThirteeth said:

I think it would depend on the school you want to go to (private vs public) - private schools such as NYU would probably be pretty easy to get into, especially since NYU seems to like Canadians (or at least, they don't seem to care if you're not from the US). I had much worse stats (~3.3 GPA, very little shadowing experience) and I got into NYU first round about 3 years ago. That said, I think NYU had a weird process - their interview process was much less structured than I was expecting. Unfortunately I don't have much experience with other schools.

Why do you want to go to the US? Why not stay in Canada? It'd be much less expensive.

Tbh I was planning on applying to over 25 different schools (mostly private) after my 3rd year of University studies. & tbh, the reason I want to go to the US is because I want to get accepted as quick as possible. Like if after my 3rd year I have a 3.5 GPA and a good DAT score, with my extras I guess I have a decent chance. 

Honestly, I don't think my GPA is good enough for Canada. Although I just had a really bad first year, I think it would be extremely competitive and difficult to get in anywhere in Canada. (I'm an Ontario resident so my best bet is either uoft or Western, both of which are really competitive and require 90+ marks). 

I don't know if it would be worth it to stick around and complete my undergrad here and apply. Due to my terrible first year, I am taking an extra year now to redo some courses and take some easy electives to switch into another major. So overall, I won't finish my undergrad for 4 more years. I just want to get in to dental as quick as possible but I don't know if going to the States is worth the extra 2 years I'd save

[stealth]

Dude don't go to the U.S unless you plan on practicing there full time after graduating, or your parents are super super rich and can pay for the degree. The exchange rate is 1.3 right now and may be worse in coming years. Also the tuition in the United States for dental school all in is 3x - 4x as much as in Canada. 

[DMDtobe]

7 hours ago, stealth said:

Dude don't go to the U.S unless you plan on practicing there full time after graduating, or your parents are super super rich and can pay for the degree. The exchange rate is 1.3 right now and may be worse in coming years. Also the tuition in the United States for dental school all in is 3x - 4x as much as in Canada. 

My parents have money but no way can we afford to drop 500K on tuition without taking out loans, my initial goal was go to the states, get my degree, come back and open a practice, until I found out how ridiculously expensive tuition is there.. plus what bank is gonna give me a loan to open a practice when I'm already 500k in debt LOL

[chlxealexa]

Imo your GPA isn't terrible when it comes to Canadian schools because some schools (such as UofT, UBC, UWO) drop your worst year.

[DMDtobe]

On 12/5/2018 at 9:20 PM, chlxealexa said:

Imo your GPA isn't terrible when it comes to Canadian schools because some schools (such as UofT, UBC, UWO) drop your worst year.

Yeah that's true... but my problem is, since my first year GPA was too slow to switch my program, I had to take an extra year (during second year), to redo some pre-reqs and take some easy ass electives to boost my GPA to switch programs, Idk how that will affect me though, or how schools will see that and what they would think of me..

[dentp]

Apply! I got in with similar stats to a US school and wait-listed at a Canadian.  I had bad two years but made it up with really high GPA and great extracurriculars in subsequent years. I decided to jump in to a US dental school and love it there.  Message me if you have any specific questions. 

 

 

[Starburst]

On 12/3/2018 at 2:03 AM, stealth said:

Dude don't go to the U.S unless you plan on practicing there full time after graduating, or your parents are super super rich and can pay for the degree. The exchange rate is 1.3 right now and may be worse in coming years. Also the tuition in the United States for dental school all in is 3x - 4x as much as in Canada. 

 

lol that's not true. Tuition at american schools are usually 1.5-2x more expensive than Canadian schools but CIBC raised their loans to $350k this year so money shouldn't be an issue as long as you're confident that you'll make it through dental school

@DMDtobe I think you should apply, you have a good chance of getting into good schools depending on your DAT scores. American schools are also more holistic than Canadian schools so they'll weigh in the fact that your GPA improved every year. I would also apply to Canadian schools too since some drop your lowest years/ look at your best 2 years.

But keep your options open. Many people on these forums will try to deter you from applying to American schools even though it's a viable option. Just keep in mind that by going to an american school you'll probably end up with your american licence too which is way more difficult to get than the Canadian licence. To give you a perspective, you need to write NBDE part 1 and 2, CDCA exams (5 individual exams with a few requiring you to have real patients patients with specific board lesions). So getting your training in the US isn't as bad as you think it is especially since most major cities in Canada are saturated whereas in the US you'll make 1.5-3x you'll make in Canada.  

Edit: I heard from a friend that CIBC gives out 500k in loans for dental students but the CIBC website says they only do 350k in loans.

[VivaColombia]

2 minutes ago, Starburst said:

lol that's not true. Tuition at american schools are usually 1.5-2x more expensive than Canadian schools but CIBC raised their loans to $500k this year so money shouldn't be an issue as long as you're confident that you'll make it through dental school

@DMDtobe I think you should apply, you have a good chance of getting into good schools depending on your DAT scores. American schools are also more holistic than Canadian schools so they'll weigh in the fact that your GPA improved every year. I would also apply to Canadian schools too since some drop your lowest years/ look at your best 2 years.

But keep your options open. Many people on these forums will try to deter you from applying to American schools even though it's a viable option. Just keep in mind that by going to an american school you'll probably end up with your american licence too which is way more difficult to get than the Canadian licence. To give you a perspective, you need to write NBDE part 1 and 2, CDCA exams (5 individual exams with a few requiring you to have real patients patients with specific board lesions). So getting your training in the US isn't as bad as you think it is especially since most major cities in Canada are saturated whereas in the US you'll make 1.5-3x you'll make in Canada.  

I agree with this provided you do stay in the US. If you plan to come back to Canada with a loan that could potentially exceed 500k with rising interest rates, bad exchange rate, etc, I'd really reconsider doing that. I'd rather apply in Canada multiple times than jumping down the US just based on the cost difference. You'll earn in USD, pay fewer taxes, have a lower cost of living in midsized cities (Denver, Dallas, etc) and have more opportunities to open up clinics there. Plus, they don't have the ITD issues like Canada does so I'd def apply and see what happens!

[DMDtobe]

58 minutes ago, Starburst said:

lol that's not true. Tuition at american schools are usually 1.5-2x more expensive than Canadian schools but CIBC raised their loans to $500k this year so money shouldn't be an issue as long as you're confident that you'll make it through dental school

@DMDtobe I think you should apply, you have a good chance of getting into good schools depending on your DAT scores. American schools are also more holistic than Canadian schools so they'll weigh in the fact that your GPA improved every year. I would also apply to Canadian schools too since some drop your lowest years/ look at your best 2 years.

But keep your options open. Many people on these forums will try to deter you from applying to American schools even though it's a viable option. Just keep in mind that by going to an american school you'll probably end up with your american licence too which is way more difficult to get than the Canadian licence. To give you a perspective, you need to write NBDE part 1 and 2, CDCA exams (5 individual exams with a few requiring you to have real patients patients with specific board lesions). So getting your training in the US isn't as bad as you think it is especially since most major cities in Canada are saturated whereas in the US you'll make 1.5-3x you'll make in Canada.  

Wow thank you! Yeah I agree, especially if my GPA is increasing every year I should have a good chance, especially since I'm applying everywhere. Where did you see that CIBC gives out 500k? I tried looking on their website but I did not find it.

[stealth]

Be careful mate. I would consult with students who have completed a US Dental degree and are swimming in debt. Getting advice on a predent forum is a good first step but do your research! 

[DMDtobe]

4 minutes ago, stealth said:

Be careful mate. I would consult with students who have completed a US Dental degree and are swimming in debt. Getting advice on a predent forum is a good first step but do your research! 

I agree. Thank you!

[HopefulDDS]

3 minutes ago, Chickentenders said:

He has 0 chance in canada with a 3.5 GPA.

 

Not true if he has a great best 2 years

[dentaldaichi]

On 12/21/2018 at 11:51 AM, dentp said:

Apply! I got in with similar stats to a US school and wait-listed at a Canadian.  I had bad two years but made it up with really high GPA and great extracurriculars in subsequent years. I decided to jump in to a US dental school and love it there.  Message me if you have any specific questions. 

 

- Hi! Do you mind messaging me privately to what schools you applied to and what extracurriculars you had? I am also a Canadian student and would like to apply to the states.