nataliemint Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi everyone! This is gonna be a lenthy post, so please bear with me. I'm currently a first-year thesis-based Master's student in Pathology, but have alway wanted to get into dental school. I wrote the DAT a year ago with pretty decent grades for my first try (though I know that I can definitely do better, with more prep) so I'll have to re-write it again for my next application. I'm also an Ontario resident. Here are my stats: cGPA from undergrad = 4.0 (is this incorrect? My overall GPA% is 88.34)Top 2 years (for UWO) = 90.6% Top 3 years with 4th year included (for UofT) = 88.23% (My fourth year was the worst due to family problems) DAT Scores Science: 21 RC: 22 AA: 21 PAT: 25 As a grad student, I have two questions: 1) Has anyone written the DAT while they were in grad school? This semester I was taking two courses on top of balancing lab work, and it's been brutal. My labmates - who are applying to med school and therefore have experience in studying for the MCAT - strongly recommend that I focus on my Master's and just take a few months off after I'm done to focus on studying for the DAT, but part of me also doesn't want to take a year off from school yet again. I did this after my undergrad and the idea of moving back home a third time just makes me cringe. Living at home is toxic for me for a number of reasons, so I want to avoid that option as much as possible...but is it worth studying all that material when I'm at the lab 5-7 days a week?2) Also, how likely would my undergrad GPA + Master's land me an interview in Canadian schools? I've already been interviewed at UWO last year, and they only factor the grad school boost AFTER the interview (I asked)...how about the other schools? I ask for UofT and McGill especially, as I'd rather stay as close to Ontario as possible.Anyone out there who's in dental school and was a grad student, your input would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StriveP Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 how is it possible that your cGPA is 4.0 but your % score is 88.34% There seams to be something wrong in the way you calculated your GPAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 I think your grades are good enough for Western and UofT and so is your DAT have you applied this cycle? given ur DAT and best 2 years you should get an interview for Western and your masters at UofT gives you a boost because almost half the class at UofT are students that did a masters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicuspid Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Hi everyone! This is gonna be a lenthy post, so please bear with me. I'm currently a first-year thesis-based Master's student in Pathology, but have alway wanted to get into dental school. I wrote the DAT a year ago with pretty decent grades for my first try (though I know that I can definitely do better, with more prep) so I'll have to re-write it again for my next application. I'm also an Ontario resident. Here are my stats: cGPA from undergrad = 4.0 (is this incorrect? My overall GPA% is 88.34) Top 2 years (for UWO) = 90.6% Top 3 years with 4th year included (for UofT) = 88.23% (My fourth year was the worst due to family problems) DAT Scores Science: 21 RC: 22 AA: 21 PAT: 25 As a grad student, I have two questions: 1) Has anyone written the DAT while they were in grad school? This semester I was taking two courses on top of balancing lab work, and it's been brutal. My labmates - who are applying to med school and therefore have experience in studying for the MCAT - strongly recommend that I focus on my Master's and just take a few months off after I'm done to focus on studying for the DAT, but part of me also doesn't want to take a year off from school yet again. I did this after my undergrad and the idea of moving back home a third time just makes me cringe. Living at home is toxic for me for a number of reasons, so I want to avoid that option as much as possible...but is it worth studying all that material when I'm at the lab 5-7 days a week? 2) Also, how likely would my undergrad GPA + Master's land me an interview in Canadian schools? I've already been interviewed at UWO last year, and they only factor the grad school boost AFTER the interview (I asked)...how about the other schools? I ask for UofT and McGill especially, as I'd rather stay as close to Ontario as possible. Anyone out there who's in dental school and was a grad student, your input would be greatly appreciated! I was also in grad school when I wrote the DAT- I can relate. Yes, it was super stressful trying to balance studying with the demands of being a grad student. I would not recommend re-writing it- I was accepted outright at UWO and WL at U of T with way lower scores than you. Keep in mind that the DAT is not worth a lot in terms of the school's calculation of all your components they use for acceptance (Academic Average, interview score, DAT). I think the DAT is worth 10% at U of T and 15% at UWO. Last year the cutoff average for UWO was 87% and 19 for RC- it should not increase significantly this year; guaranteeing yourself another interview. You should land an interview no problem at these two schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sktoddl Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 I don't think you got your GPA calculation right but if it is right I don't think you have to rewrite your DAT. I understand that your DAT can get higher but it certainly is not worth risking your Master GPA for 1 or 2 point bumps in DAT. Remember that your GPA is always worth more than your DAT. If I were you I would try to maintain high Master's GPA and you will have a good shot for U of T as well as Western. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nataliemint Posted December 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone! Yeah I'm not sure how to calculate my GPA on a 4.0 grading scale...when I was referring to it, it said an 87% (or something, I don't remember now) or above was considered a 4.0, which I don't believe is correct o_o If anyone can direct me on how to properly calculate that then I would also be super grateful!The thing is that the DAT only lasts for 2 years, and like I mentioned I wrote it one year ago (ie. November 2013). If I were to apply next year for September 2016 entry then I'd have to re-write it regardless. UofT and UWO only accept DAT scores from tests that have been taken within the previous 2 years of applying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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