Dental School, few questions

[FutureDental]

Hey guys so I need all the info i can get right now and i'm going to explain my situation and I need honest answers.

 

Im going into my last year of Biology next year, and i havent taken a full course load every year.

 

I'd say my grades are average, few A's, B+'s and B's, and about 4-5 C's C+'s. I'm planning on writing my DAT this November and if necessary again in February, and apply later next year. I know i can do well in the DAT but i'm afraid my grades aren't good enough. I have the volunteer stuff taken care of (Dental Lab, Dental Office, a few schools groups).

 

In your honest opinion, how important are the grades and if my DAT grades are relatively good how would my chances be of getting into an American Dental School (Im from Toronto).

[human instinct]

DAT is very important for the US....however, to have a good shot at getting a couple of interviews...u should have a gpa around 3.5...also applying early is the key to US so if ure gpa is around 3.3 you may still have a chance if u submit ure app within the first week or two...good luck!

[magnesium]

USA has rolling admissions, so if you want to get in it's super important to submit early. They start filling spots based on the order you apply in, so the earlier you apply the better chance you have of getting in as long as your stats are above their cut-off.

[Suprachiasmatic]

Admissions GPA averages are very low for some American schools (In some cases a 3.3 is more than sufficient). If you apply very early, with solid ECs and a good DAT score (~20 on all subsections is strong), your grades are enough for admission to many schools.

 

You'll have to pick the right school though. Some schools could take state preference and may not have many slots for Canadians, so research schools carefully.

[sciappmed]

Admissions GPA averages are very low for some American schools (In some cases a 3.3 is more than sufficient). If you apply very early, with solid ECs and a good DAT score (~20 on all subsections is strong), your grades are enough for admission to many schools.

 

You'll have to pick the right school though. Some schools could take state preference and may not have many slots for Canadians, so research schools carefully.

 

As an international student you're in a different pool and 3.3 likely won't be enough.

[Keyser Söze]

Actually, generally private schools in the northeast won't put you in a different pool. NYU, Tufts, Temple are all examples of schools that won't put you in a different pool and generally only require a ~3.2-3.3. They even accept the canadian DAT as an alternative to the american DAT! But like someone mentioned before, it is VERY important to apply early - meaning that you need to have your app COMPLETED by the time the aadsas website opens up for new applicants (around june 1). This means have your essay completed, your references ready, your transcripts ready to go, your extracurriculars listed, etc. PM me if you need details of what you need to have ready.

[Xman]

As an international student you're in a different pool and 3.3 likely won't be enough.

 

 

If you do not have the right information, then please make comments and give WRONG information !!!

 

In the schools that are private, NYU, BU, Tuft, USC and ... you are no different from the state students. 3.3 GPA + Good DAT score and great resume will get you interviews. If you need more information on US schools, send me a PM and I be happy to help as I just went through a round of admission and got 4 acceptance.

[sciappmed]

If you do not have the right information, then please make comments and give WRONG information !!!

 

In the schools that are private, NYU, BU, Tuft, USC and ... you are no different from the state students. 3.3 GPA + Good DAT score and great resume will get you interviews. If you need more information on US schools, send me a PM and I be happy to help as I just went through a round of admission and got 4 acceptance.

 

I was speaking from experience. I had a 3.8 AADSAS GPA but I only got 3 interviews and 2 acceptances (and very easy to get in private schools too). My app was completed late as one of my reference letters was mailed in August, but still, I was expecting alot more interviews than that.

 

edit: I had 22AA and TS.

[donnadee]

i agree with sciappmed...i applied with a similar gpa, but with a slightly late application that was complete in August, and did not get a single bite... i think your chances are lower,as an international, even for private schools that do take in internationals...

 

also another thing i have noticed in the US is that too high of a gpa is sometimes not a good thing for schools like BU, NYU since they know you may end up rejecting, if accepted...there is talk about all these issues on the sdn forum...i'd suggest going there

[Xman]

I was speaking from experience. I had a 3.8 AADSAS GPA but I only got 3 interviews and 2 acceptances (and very easy to get in private schools too). My app was completed late as one of my reference letters was mailed in August, but still, I was expecting alot more interviews than that.

 

edit: I had 22AA and TS.

 

Believe me when I tell you this that it was not your GPA or DAT score the limited your number of interview but the other part of your application. My Over all GPA is lower than yours, my DAT is Only 20 for American DAT and I had 6 interviews and 4 acceptance ( Applied to 13 schools though and did it early Aug). US schools look at more stuff than just GPA and DAT.

 

1) Degree

2) Graduate studies

3) Shadowing

4) Research experience

5) Quality of the reference letters

6) WHICH SCHOOLS you apply ( some schools are not International friendly as you know)

7) Having Canadian DAT versus American DAT

8) Letter of Intend

9) Volunteer work

.....

 

How many schools did you apply ? Unfortunately, US schools are not as straight forward as Canadian ones in terms of predicting if you can get in or not.

 

Are you attending a US school now ?

[eugenius]

i agree with sciappmed...i applied with a similar gpa, but with a slightly late application that was complete in August, and did not get a single bite... i think your chances are lower,as an international, even for private schools that do take in internationals...

 

also another thing i have noticed in the US is that too high of a gpa is sometimes not a good thing for schools like BU, NYU since they know you may end up rejecting, if accepted...there is talk about all these issues on the sdn forum...i'd suggest going there

 

my friend completed his application later than that. he had a 22 AA and around 3.9 GPA. interviewed at upenn, columbia, case western. so...it might have to do with the other aspects of ur application. i dont think ur chances are lower as an international student applying to private schools. if anything, ur chances are higher because of the GPA boost based on their conversion system.

 

i agree with ur second point though. he didnt get anything from lower tier schoos like NYU and boston, which is weird.