Advice

[Guest 2oothfairy]

Okay so my undergrad marks are low 80's in bio and im finishing up my masters this year..I am a dental hygienist and have a lot of dental experience. i wrote the dat for the first time in nov. i applied to western, u of t, bc and man. I dont feel to positive about getting an interview. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what i should next year to help get an interview.. is it best to take a year of random classes to up my marks, retake prereques, take the one year teachers college? I dont know what to do really. Im thinkin i should just give up.

[Guest Dent08]

To get an interview its all about the GPA and the DAT. If you don't have any luck this year and think you can improve in either/both of those areas, give it a shot.

 

A lot of people don't get into dentistry their first try. Don't get discouraged yet. You have to ask yourself how badly you want to become a dentist.

 

Each dental school has different rules about re-taking pre-reqs. Look into this before randomly picking classes.

[Guest johnwoo19]

Dent08, in a general sense, is GPA or DAT more important? Let's say your GPA is 4.0 but DAT is in the average range, is there still a chance?

[Guest Dent08]

Different schools weigh each differently. For example, for the U of A, the breakdown is:

 

30% Cumulative Academic Average

30% Pre-Requisite Course Average

30% Dental Aptitude Test Results

10% Interview Results

 

Yes you can somewhat compensate for lack lustre DAT marks with an amazing GPA (to a point).

[Guest LestatZinnie]

your marks are fine. there are people with high 70's that get in UBC that i know.

[Guest qw1222]

If you have lots of 80s you have at least close to 3.7 average. With 85+ in your DATs, you should get an interview at western for sure.

 

That being said, its all GPA and DAT, so dont bother doing anything else. Even in the interview they do not care what you have done. Though, your "life experience" (such as teaching) can help you answer couple questions uniquely. However, in the end, the most critical part of your applications is your GPA and DAT. My advice: take easy courses and increase your GPA. Or retake the DAT.

 

If you are heart is set on Dentistry, try American schools. They have less strict standards. (success rate is almost 50%). In the end, you probably come out with a higher loan, but you will sure make it up.

 

Oh ya, remember some schools, finishing a Masters is a positive. For example, western gives you "bonus points" for having completing a Masters.

 

Just don’t give up, there are lots of opportunities to get into Dentistry.

[Guest 2oothfairy]

Thanks for your advice. I think i will look into to if it is worth retaking some pre-requisites and maybe take some easier classes to up my GPA... its just so frustrating

thanks again.

[Guest ric]

What kind of life experiences are they looking for in the interviews?

[Guest Adversary]

Life experience will help you answer the interview questions. They draw from your life experiences so if you kept your head under a book all these years, you won't have much to talk about when they ask "tell us of a time...."

[Guest ric]

Thanks. But other than stuff like that, are there any specific experiences that would help (like shadowing a dentist)?

And also what could you do to show your motivation and drive to be a dentist?

[Guest Adversary]

Well, some schools require an essay describing why you chose Dentistry so shadowing a Dentist or knowledge about the career is good to have. In terms of showing motivation and drive, I guess the best method would be to get to know the career as you mentioned, ie. shadow a dentist. A lot of my classmates have shadowed or worked for a Dentist, but there are a few who did not do anything so it is not a necessity.

 

Finally, there is a small part of me that wished I did my undergrad degree in Dental Hygiene. It would have provided me with a greater background in the clinical aspects of Dentistry. It is not a pre-requisite, but certainly something I can imagine would assist in practice.