3.7 GPA chances in Uoft Dental School

[help_sos]

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone can give me advice on what other pathways I can do to get into UofT dental school? I have always wanted this career but my undergrad GPA at UofT can only get to 3.7 assuming I get straight As this year (lowest year dropped). I am also only eligible for UofT because I took 4 courses in my winter semester last year and this year. Western requires full credits for the last 2 years.  

Please give me any advice on other pathways I can do. I understand that my GPA is poop but I tried very hard

[aoaks]

Western requires full credits for two years, but they don’t necessarily have to be your last two! I’m pretty sure you can use any two years. And western places lower emphasis on GPA, so that could potentially be a good option for you.

[rocky123]

I would apply to US schools. The minimum GPA for an interview at U of T is usually a 3.85, as noted on their website. US schools tend to have lower GPA requirements and a 3.7 can be much more competitive there then it is in Canada

[dentistrydmd]

If you think you can do better then do a second bachelors and reapply with a better gpa it you need 3.90 or above ideally.

[help_sos]

Does anyone know if a Masters would help? or is it risky? 

[FabFeb]

It will give you a 0.05 GPA boost!

[dentistrydmd]

13 hours ago, help_sos said:

Does anyone know if a Masters would help? or is it risky? 

Better to do a second bachelors than a masters

[Fred VanVleet's Tooth]

Do you know what your GPA would be for schools if you did a 5th year of undergrad instead of a whole other degree? Would it help?

[help_sos]

On 2/21/2021 at 7:55 PM, Fred VanVleet's Tooth said:

Do you know what your GPA would be for schools if you did a 5th year of undergrad instead of a whole other degree? Would it help?

Taking a 5th year would be risky for me though  do you not recommend a masters?

[dentistrydmd]

11 hours ago, help_sos said:

Taking a 5th year would be risky for me though  do you not recommend a masters?

Masters it is typically easy to get 4.0 gpas so typically schools don’t put much weight on your masters gpa but will give you a slight advantage over someone with your undergraduate gpa. However if you feel you can significantly improve your undergraduate gpa doing an additional year or two of undergrad can give you a much better chance than a masters would. In fact I’d say a masters can be riskier if you don’t know how much you’d enjoy doing research or if you by any chance get stuck with a supervisor you dont jive with. This would be a greater risk in my opinion. 

[help_sos]

On 2/21/2021 at 7:55 PM, Fred VanVleet's Tooth said:

Do you know what your GPA would be for schools if you did a 5th year of undergrad instead of a whole other degree? Would it help?

I am acc pretty traumatized to even go back to school lol im trying to finish my undergrad at uoft this year and based on my calculations, a 5th year would not even boost my mark as much -- I would end up wit a 3.83 with straight As in 5th year (still couldnt make it to the cut even if i got As which is already pushing it.  

[Aspiring4DDS]

I applied to UofT with cumulative ~3.86 GPA. Didn't get an interview invite. Unfortunately, UofT places too much emphasis on a cutoff GPA (all this talk of being holistic is nonsense!). I inquired and they said that it was just my lower GPA that prevented me from getting an interview (I have a robust extracurricular profile, DAT scores were decent, no red flags in casper). For 2019, I believe the cutoff GPA was ~3.94! Right now I am in a Master's prog, but since I didn't finish it by application deadline (December), they didn't give me bonus marks for it. Also someone above mentioned that it is easier to get a higher GPA in Masters; however, this is misleading as neither UofT or Western considers your Master's GPA (just undergrad). Also, keep in mind that if you do end up doing Masters, you will need to be in the final year to be eligible to apply for the DDS prog again (you can't apply if you are in 1st year of a 2 year masters for e.g.). I learned this last part the hard way. 

[Fred VanVleet's Tooth]

10 hours ago, Aspiring4DDS said:

I applied to UofT with cumulative ~3.86 GPA. Didn't get an interview invite. Unfortunately, UofT places too much emphasis on a cutoff GPA (all this talk of being holistic is nonsense!). I inquired and they said that it was just my lower GPA that prevented me from getting an interview (I have a robust extracurricular profile, DAT scores were decent, no red flags in casper). For 2019, I believe the cutoff GPA was ~3.94! Right now I am in a Master's prog, but since I didn't finish it by application deadline (December), they didn't give me bonus marks for it. Also someone above mentioned that it is easier to get a higher GPA in Masters; however, this is misleading as neither UofT or Western considers your Master's GPA (just undergrad). Also, keep in mind that if you do end up doing Masters, you will need to be in the final year to be eligible to apply for the DDS prog again (you can't apply if you are in 1st year of a 2 year masters for e.g.). I learned this last part the hard way. 

cutoff for 2019 as in the class of 2023?

[help_sos]

17 hours ago, Aspiring4DDS said:

I applied to UofT with cumulative ~3.86 GPA. Didn't get an interview invite. Unfortunately, UofT places too much emphasis on a cutoff GPA (all this talk of being holistic is nonsense!). I inquired and they said that it was just my lower GPA that prevented me from getting an interview (I have a robust extracurricular profile, DAT scores were decent, no red flags in casper). For 2019, I believe the cutoff GPA was ~3.94! Right now I am in a Master's prog, but since I didn't finish it by application deadline (December), they didn't give me bonus marks for it. Also someone above mentioned that it is easier to get a higher GPA in Masters; however, this is misleading as neither UofT or Western considers your Master's GPA (just undergrad). Also, keep in mind that if you do end up doing Masters, you will need to be in the final year to be eligible to apply for the DDS prog again (you can't apply if you are in 1st year of a 2 year masters for e.g.). I learned this last part the hard way. 

Hi, thanks for sharing your experience. Seems like my chances are zero in that case  

Regarding the masters calculation, I have emailed uoft about whether or not they would calculate masters and they told me this:

We calculate your GPA using all the years of university you have completed including your graduate courses and drop your one lowest year only.

So I think your masters would definitely pay off if you apply after you're done. 

[Aspiring4DDS]

On 3/14/2021 at 11:16 AM, Fred VanVleet's Tooth said:

cutoff for 2019 as in the class of 2023?

For the class that entered in 2019 (It's on the UofT website on the admissions page)! 

[Aspiring4DDS]

23 hours ago, help_sos said:

Hi, thanks for sharing your experience. Seems like my chances are zero in that case  

Regarding the masters calculation, I have emailed uoft about whether or not they would calculate masters and they told me this:

We calculate your GPA using all the years of university you have completed including your graduate courses and drop your one lowest year only.

So I think your masters would definitely pay off if you apply after you're done. 

 

That's very interesting! They change their requirements a lot and unfortunately, are not very transparent about it... I know for sure though that Western only considers undergrad and gives points for graduate studies. Anyways, thanks for getting that info out! Though, I do wonder how they treat GPA from masters. For e.g., is the entire Master's considered one GPA or do they look at specific years.

With that said, I don't want you to feel despair. The annual GPA criteria for UofT changes every year (and on their website they still say 85% is competitive). UofT until very recently also didn't require Casper, and now from 2022 onwards they will require manual dexterity as part of DAT. So, things are changing. It may very well be the case that in few years GPA won't be as big of a hurdle. Besides, there are many other universities that are truly becoming more holistic. So, do your best and aim for ahead. Don't let statistics discourage you. 

[DDS 2025 Hopeful]

On 3/13/2021 at 11:25 PM, Aspiring4DDS said:

I applied to UofT with cumulative ~3.86 GPA. Didn't get an interview invite. Unfortunately, UofT places too much emphasis on a cutoff GPA (all this talk of being holistic is nonsense!). I inquired and they said that it was just my lower GPA that prevented me from getting an interview (I have a robust extracurricular profile, DAT scores were decent, no red flags in casper). For 2019, I believe the cutoff GPA was ~3.94! Right now I am in a Master's prog, but since I didn't finish it by application deadline (December), they didn't give me bonus marks for it. Also someone above mentioned that it is easier to get a higher GPA in Masters; however, this is misleading as neither UofT or Western considers your Master's GPA (just undergrad). Also, keep in mind that if you do end up doing Masters, you will need to be in the final year to be eligible to apply for the DDS prog again (you can't apply if you are in 1st year of a 2 year masters for e.g.). I learned this last part the hard way. 

They told you that it was ur GPA? I thought they didn't give feedback! nice to know this. How many extra points do they give u for Master's?

 

[Aspiring4DDS]

1 hour ago, DDS 2025 Hopeful said:

They told you that it was ur GPA? I thought they didn't give feedback! nice to know this. How many extra points do they give u for Master's?

 

That was the advice I received directly! I am not sure about how the master's is treated. All I know is that there is some kind of bonus involved. Sorry, don't have the answers... Also, I didn't receive bonus because I didn't finish my masters prior to the deadline in Dec.