erick_krn Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hey guys been a long time lurker and have been stressed out about my future for a while now and just thought lets ask the people who have been through it all. So my situation is this I am a kinesiology student who graduated last year I have a cum gpa of 3.4 and last two years is 3.78 every year increased from 2.72, 3.45, 3.7, 3.9. Now I took the dat and got 29 carving and 20 reading and 21 pat with 17 science and 19bio. I do not have stellar grades I know that, but something just tells me to give it a shot. I don't know...I was wondering if I have a shot at even getting an interview at the U of A which is pretty much the only school i can apply to since I live in Alberta. Even getting an interview would be tremendous, but I don't know. I do know that taking a year off like they say gives me a 3.65. That is low. Please be honest and thank youso much for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnesium Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I would say yes, since you exceeded all the minimums and had a killer Carving score and around an average PAT and Reading score and your last 3 years were solid. Plus the application fee is relatively inexpensive (<$100 if I remember correctly). For U of A, if you were applying this year, you may have had a chance at at least getting an interview since your Carving was awesome (+average Reading and PAT) which makes up for a lower GPA. I don't know if there was a GPA cut-off for interviews this year. Their weighting system for selection this year was: 30% overall GPA, 30% pre-req GPA, 30% DAT, and 10% interview. Since you're applying next year, though, the weighting of the selection criteria are changing significantly: From http://www.med.ualberta.ca/education/ume/admissions/dofd_selection.cfm: Beginning the Fall 2012 admission cycle the admission formula will be: •Overall GPA (OGPA) - (50% of overall rank score) is comprised of all transferable postsecondary work completed as a full-time student taken during Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer Terms. For overall GPA calculation full-time study is equivalent to a minimum of *18 taken during Fall/Winter Terms or *12 taken during Spring/Summer Terms. •Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) scores - (25% of overall rank score) is the sum of grades in the reading comprehension, perceptual ability and manual dexterity. •Interview results (25% of overall rank score) For applicants who have completed four or more years of transferable postsecondary work, the cumulative (overall) GPA is calculated with the deletion of the lowest Fall/Winter GPA, provided it is not the most recent Fall/Winter or the only Fall/Winter where *30 was taken. AKA your overall GPA becomes the most important part. With your first year dropped you're probably around a 3.65-3.70. This is within the range of GPA's that they have accepted in the past, so I don't see the harm in applying. I don't know how many times yo'uve taken the DAT, but you can always take that again to strengthen your application. I not sure if U of A penalizes for taking a year off school if you've finished your degree, so you may want to verify that your info is correct. Schools will penalize your GPA for not taking a full courseload, but if you've finished your degree I think the rules change. Hypothetically speaking, if you took another year (open studies? masters?) to upgrade and held a 4.0 you could potentially be up to a 3.75ish range (still only dropping your first year). This still puts you under the cGPA average, but you're well within the range that they've accepted in the past. With the new selection criteria, to have a competitive chance at admission you'd definitely need a KILLER interview, and you may need to bump up the reading and PAT on your DAT as well. TL;DR -- why not give it a shot at U of A. If you've got your heart set on Dent, try applying to a few US schools as well! See if there are OOP schools that place more emphasis on DAT and/or will only consider your pre-req courses or your best or most recent 2 years. Maybe try uSask and uManitoba? http://www.usask.ca/dentistry/admissions/criteria.php?heading=menuAdmissions http://umanitoba.ca/dentistry/prospectiveStudents/dent_preReq.html#dmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erick_krn Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hey magnesium thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my thread with such useful information! Can other people add or have a different opinion would be greatly appreciated and I know these questions are super annoying, but I really need some opinions on my situation! Thank you kindly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xman Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 It really depends which province you are the residence of and which schools !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Do or do not, there is no try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooner Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Do or do not, there is no try. Remember.....whether you think you can or can not....you are right. (Had to add to the motivational speak ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erick_krn Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hey I am a resident of alberta and would like to try for Alberta, and seeing if I can try to get a 3.7 with carving 29 and 21 21 on PAT and reading, respectively. I would like to get an interview and from their on try to get in, but the reason I may ask is because raising a gpa would require me to go back to school and school= money. I know its a tough shot, but since in 2012 admissions will be different since pre req grades aren't part of the ranking process, but rather overall. Please help me out!! and thank you! Oh and I was also looking into UWO and USAS as OOP and since they have percentages (87% OOP cutoff and saskatchewan I don't know) I have a 3.95 in University of Calgary standards and was wondering if that is even close to getting a interview with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_happy Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 I would say yes, since you exceeded all the minimums and had a killer Carving score and around an average PAT and Reading score and your last 3 years were solid. Plus the application fee is relatively inexpensive (<$100 if I remember correctly). For U of A, if you were applying this year, you may have had a chance at at least getting an interview since your Carving was awesome (+average Reading and PAT) which makes up for a lower GPA. I don't know if there was a GPA cut-off for interviews this year. Their weighting system for selection this year was: 30% overall GPA, 30% pre-req GPA, 30% DAT, and 10% interview. Since you're applying next year, though, the weighting of the selection criteria are changing significantly: AKA your overall GPA becomes the most important part. With your first year dropped you're probably around a 3.65-3.70. This is within the range of GPA's that they have accepted in the past, so I don't see the harm in applying. I don't know how many times yo'uve taken the DAT, but you can always take that again to strengthen your application. I not sure if U of A penalizes for taking a year off school if you've finished your degree, so you may want to verify that your info is correct. Schools will penalize your GPA for not taking a full courseload, but if you've finished your degree I think the rules change. Hypothetically speaking, if you took another year (open studies? masters?) to upgrade and held a 4.0 you could potentially be up to a 3.75ish range (still only dropping your first year). This still puts you under the cGPA average, but you're well within the range that they've accepted in the past. With the new selection criteria, to have a competitive chance at admission you'd definitely need a KILLER interview, and you may need to bump up the reading and PAT on your DAT as well. TL;DR -- why not give it a shot at U of A. If you've got your heart set on Dent, try applying to a few US schools as well! See if there are OOP schools that place more emphasis on DAT and/or will only consider your pre-req courses or your best or most recent 2 years. Maybe try uSask and uManitoba? http://www.usask.ca/dentistry/admissions/criteria.php?heading=menuAdmissions http://umanitoba.ca/dentistry/prospectiveStudents/dent_preReq.html#dmd Does that mean for "overall gpa" spring courses are not taken into account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnesium Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 courses taken during Spring/Summer terms will only count if you take at least 12* (12-credits aka ~4 courses) similarly fall/winter courses will only be counted if you took at least 18* (~6 courses in a year, or 3 per semester) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nattydee Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 From your information can see that you are good. I wish you to success as you wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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