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I'm a bit new in this forum so I appreciate any help....:D

I am finishing my Master's in Molecular Medicine and I applied to Dentistry this year. I did not get an interview from McGill or UBC. My undergrad GPA is only 3.4.....:( but I thought they would consider me as a special or mature student. Do you guys think I still have a chance for Manitoba or Saskatchewan???? I'm not really familiar with their ranking. I'm just hoping all the high GPA students get accepted to Med or other unis and give me a chance for these 2 universities.......maybe I'm only dreaming??? Somebody burst my bubble before I go crazy....hehehe

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Hi there,

 

My advice to you is to stay optimistic. You have done your DAT and applied. The rest is out of your hands....

 

You're doing a Master's...Did you apply to medicine???? From my experience, the dental application process is very "anonymous" ...I've said this before as well. The focus is primarily on grades...I speak for U of T, Western, McGill (especially if you're out of province).

 

I think with a 3.4 undergraduate GPA ..you're on the lower end of the range. It will be a good choice to apply to medicine if you have a high quality Master's under your belt. I say this because, you have an essay the adcom evaluates + a myriad of reference letters as a graduate applicant. However, with dentistry....Publications mean squat and so does a graduate degree. There is NO special category except I think for Manitoba. But, Manitobal accepts only 28 students ...HA (Go figure).

 

So in conclusion....You have a shot but, I would also look into other alternatives. A phD??? Medicine???? Because dentistry in each school is a very small faculty and they accept few numbers who each excel at least in terms of grades.

 

Good Luck to you.

 

BTW...I am also doing a Master's (2nd yr right now) and have applied to dentistry for 07/08 academic yr. I got cut from UBC because I didn't make their carving cut-off. I am still waiting on u of T and western....Let's hope for the best :cool:

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Thanks for your replies. I actually thought getting to Med is harder than Dent that is why I didn't even bother applying. I'm considering applying to UK. However, I won't be able to practice in Canada and it is also very competitive over there as well. Let say next time I write DAT again and do very very very well on it would I have a chance or they care only for GPA?

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hey,

 

you're DAT is part or an overall application.

you will have to contact the schools that you intend to apply to or have applied and what the breakdown is.

If you do really well on the DAT, thats nice but ..it's one aspect of your application. I think there's a score alloted to each part: for example Grades:40%, DAT: 20%, Interview 40%. If one is too low, it might hinder your chances from getting an interview and subsequently getting accepted.

 

Medicine is not as hard as you think ...but, you need to have a stellar application with respect to other aspects of your life if you're grades aren't super high. I don't know ...a first-author high quality publication, or volunteered as a junior medic in katrina crisis ;)

 

Hope that helps

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I appreciate the advice. I guess applying next year to every school on this planet will be a good option......hehehe maybe someone will care about other achievements other than bunch of marks.....:D

 

Also about the comment I made:

I did not mean all the high GPA students have dentistry as a backup. But assuming 5% means I will move up 5% in the list..........:D

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Incisor,

 

to be honest, with a GPA of 3.4, ur chances of getting into canadian med OR dent school isnt very high. it's POSSIBLE, but not likely. I suggest applying to the US. I think their schools are better and 3.4 is a decent mark to apply with there. LOTs of ppl get into US dent schools with a 3.4. Also, the US application is a lot more detailed...ie theres a personal statement and activities etc. u may be able to impress them with other things other than ur gpa.

 

just my honest suggestion

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Ok here's the deal as I see it. I know someone who is in first yr med and had a 2.9 GPA in astro psysics, she did a masters cleaned herself up a little wrote the mcat a few times and bang she's in. With alot of schools only considering your last 2 years or top 2 years you may have to clean yourself up a little to get in.

 

And you guys are totally right about the dentistry stigma, my gf (3rd yr med) scoffs when I say I might write the mcat and apply to med school if I don't get into dent this yr.

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Well, was the 2.9 during the earlier years of her undergrad because then yes, she had time to fix her gpa. However, the poster said he is finishing his degree with a 3.4 which means unless his GPA consist of a wide range of GPA's per year, there's no more time to so-call "fix" it and a masters will only be a factor for some schools.

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obviously, there are exceptional cases.

 

but the original poster is asking what his chances....which are low. U cant tell him to be optimistic just because you present 1 special case to him. I am a realist. if u dont see ur chances being that great, take action NOW so u dont waste more time. plan another course of action instead of blindly being optimistic when you shouldnt be.

 

to have a more decent shot at getting into dents or med in canada with a 3.4, u have to like blow the MCATs/DATs out of the water. thats not something one can just do easily. like i said, appling to US dent schools is prolly the best option and greatly increases the chances of becoming a dentist. well, at least its better than taking 2 more years, writing the MCATs/DATs, crossing ur fingers that u do exceptional in BOTH, and then praying to get an interview.

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Actually I have a GPA of 3.6 in third year undergrad and a GPA of 3.5 in first year Masters. However, I have been in school for 4+3 years and my overall GPA is 3.4. I never wanted to pursue Med or Dent until last year so I never bothered to get As in all of my courses because in research you only need a B+ so I thought why spend time studying theories while I can actually spend more time in the lab and produce something. I guess applying to US and UK are my other options.

 

BTW I appreciate both the honesty and the optimism. We need both in life to be successful.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The masters should play a great role though cause they are considered different from the other applications (if you look at stats from past years) but at the same time once you get to the interview everything is fair game.

 

I think you should stay optimistic :) and apply to many schools. In my opinion you have higher chances in the States cause of shear number (not trying to be mean) :)

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