Yet another, what are my chances thread

[advair250]

Hi,

 

I'm a current UBC student, and would like input from students who have applied to Dent, gotten in, or just about anyone who has a shred of knowledge!

 

My stats:

 

-Completed 3 years, 1st year was abysmal so that will be the one to be dropped.

-Year 2 and year 3, averages were high 70 and low 80.

-Year 4 will for sure be high 80's.

 

I'm looking at anywhere between 78-84 for my cGPA once I'm done.(With the first year dropped)

 

-I have over 100 hours of shadowing experience in a dental office.

 

-I have 4 very long term volunteer commitments, which have progressively increased in responsibilities ect.

 

-I have excellent co-op terms in research, and entry-level management in industry.

 

- I still have to take the DAT, but I will be able to put the time and effort into it. The PAT section is a piece of cake for me( I am in engineering and have done much more complex design).

 

 

A few questions:

 

1) Maybe i'm wrong since I haven't seen the application itself, but it doesn't seem that UBC Dentistry cares at all about any extra-curricular involvements?

 

2)Does anyone have any more specific strategies for Letters of Reference?

 

3) In the worst case scenario, that my 4th year average isn't high 80's, I will end up with a cGPA of ~79. Would that, accompanied by a good DAT score give me a shot?

 

 

Thanks for your help in advance:D

[omgwut123]

A few questions:

 

1) Maybe i'm wrong since I haven't seen the application itself, but it doesn't seem that UBC Dentistry cares at all about any extra-curricular involvements?

 

counts for like ~ 10% of your entire app [just an estimate]

 

 

2)Does anyone have any more specific strategies for Letters of Reference?

 

heard getting good letters from dentistry/related field profs may be a plus

 

3) In the worst case scenario, that my 4th year average isn't high 80's, I will end up with a cGPA of ~79. Would that, accompanied by a good DAT score give me a shot?

 

79 is below average, an above average DAT will compensate

if GPA is 79, shoot for at least 23 AA, 24 carving/PAT

[CDent2010]

GPA a little too low for canadian schools IMO, maybe 1-2 special years after the undergrad will be needed to up that stat. Or US schools.

[soaring-sun]

lol 23AA is easier said then done. It's good to try and aim high, but don't assume that you'll be in the top 1%. You are competing with other students who are just as capable as you are.

Look into US schools... your GPA should be good for some private schools.

[cleanup]

Just make sure you honestly think about whether or not you want to go to into the U.S. It's massive debt, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and getting back into Canada may be a hassle if you don't feel like practicing in the states. It may be to your benefit to do a masters degree and apply to schools that like mature students (like U of T). Unsure if UBC is into that, though. That's my plan, at least.

[magnesium]

- I still have to take the DAT, but I will be able to put the time and effort into it. The PAT section is a piece of cake for me( I am in engineering and have done much more complex design).

 

I also did engineering co-op, and here are my experiences with UBC:

 

1) DAT: The PAT questions will definitely be a joke for you. The only hard part of that section will be the time management because there are so many questions. 25+ on PAT is definitely within your grasp. RC is another time-crunch test that requires practice otherwise you won't finish. Depending on how recently you took the science pre-reqs, I'd very strongly recommend reviewing for biology and chemistry since about 0% of basic science curriculum is explicitly used in engineering.

 

2) There is a small section on the UBC application for extra-curricular activities so you can talk about your stuff there. Make sure this is strong, and have someone else edit it before you submit. (400 word limit)

 

3) Strong letters of recommendation are also important. Go to professors or supervisors who know you well (and like you!) and have experience writing reference letters (or reading good ones if they're part of an admissions committee). Always provide them with a CV/resume/list of extracurriculars. If you've been shadowing a lot with a particular dentist they could probably write you a good letter. For profs, usually the higher they are in the academic "food chain" the better it looks to an admissions committee.

 

4) Engineering is no walk in the park, and the admissions committee might(?) look favourably on someone who isn't "just another (honours) science student". Diversity++! As long as you can keep your average close to 80%, being (above) average in all the other categories will help get you an interview. All your co-op experience and design projects will give you lots of examples to use in the interviews, and the collaborative nature of engineering should make PBL seem a little less foreign. Strong interview is a must!

[advair250]

Hi all, thanks for the replies, please keep them coming.

 

@ magnesium :

 

I'm glad there is another engineer out there! The PAT is indeed really straight forward with an engineering mindset. All those design courses really have come into play! The carving isn't too bad either, i'm used to working on small detailed circuits and metal fabrication, ect. I'm hoping I can use the great experience of co-op to my advantage!

 

As for PBL, yeah, I can't even count how much group work and PBL we've done! It's innate.

 

I wish they would release a more detailed statistic spread of the applicant pool and accepted instead of just the averages..

[advair250]

If my average ends up being 81-83% after dropping my lowest year, I have a chance.

 

Does anyone know of any american schools that might be a bit easier( and less gpa heavy, and consider higher DAT / extracurriculars?)

 

I know I should probably search, but it'd be nice to have it on this thread too.

[MaVerick01]

If my average ends up being 81-83% after dropping my lowest year, I have a chance.

 

Does anyone know of any american schools that might be a bit easier( and less gpa heavy, and consider higher DAT / extracurriculars?)

 

I know I should probably search, but it'd be nice to have it on this thread too.

 

A low 80% average will get your foot in the door, but you will for sure need a stellar DAT score and awesome letters of reference to make sure you get an interview. UBC does not look at the RC part of the DAT so if that is the school you want to go to just keep that in mind. The problem in Canada is that most of the seats are saved for in province applicants (with the exception of McGill, Sask and Manitoba I think), so you're best chance will likely be with your resident school. Since UBC is by far the most expensive school in Canada, looking to the States may not be that big of a deal as far as cost goes.

 

As far as ECs go, I didn't have many and I got accepted, mind you the ones that I did have were directly related to me gaining some valuable life skills (things like ski patrol for crisis management, team work and advanced first aid).

 

If you want to go to the States (by the way if you want to get in for next year you should have already applied, or you should be ready to apply ASAP as they work on rolling admissions), keep in mind that only a handful of American schools will accept that Canadian DAT. With your current stats and a decent Canadian DAT you would probably be a candidate at NYU or Boston U. The thing with the States is that as the ease of acceptance increases, so does the tuition (for NYU, you're looking at 68k a year plus living expenses). Also, not every school will drop your lowest year...

 

Good luck!

[advair250]

Hi Maverick,

 

Thanks for the tips! I wont be applying for another year, so I should look into the american dat too. Do you know if you can write the american dat, in a canadian location? (I'll look it up)

[cleanup]

Hi Maverick,

 

Thanks for the tips! I wont be applying for another year, so I should look into the american dat too. Do you know if you can write the american dat, in a canadian location? (I'll look it up)

 

You sure can. It's also offered multiple times throughout the year. I have some friends writing it this Wednesday.

 

Clicky here:

http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx

[dave-d14]

Hey guys I wrote the mcat early this summer and got a 29O any predictions on what I will get on my DAT?

[Adversary]

Apples and Oranges

 

Hey guys I wrote the mcat early this summer and got a 29O any predictions on what I will get on my DAT?

[cleanup]

21 Bio

19 Chem

14 RC

19 PAT

 

^that's my prediction.

 

What a load of crock. Like Adversary said, it's apples and oranges. The tests aren't related at all. The DAT is based on content (Bio and Chem), reading ability (not interpretation) (RC) and perceptual ability. The MCAT is 2/3rds critical thinking (far less content than you would think) and tests additionally physics, general chemistry, a far more difficult verbal section (which is NOT simply reading comprehension as it is on the DAT) and a comprehensive writing section that tests not only your ability to write clearly and with impact but also your knowledge and understanding of politics, economics, ethics and various other social issues. You also need to be far more proficient in quick off-the-head math.

 

Quite simply, they're entirely different. You didn't even give us your PS, VR, BS breakdown.

 

Good luck.

[sciappmed]

think 1t5dent was being sarcastic....

[jkay]

^ Oh really? I was going to ask for this weeks winning lottery numbers.

[cleanup]

Forgive me for not realising that. Though I think it's unwise to say something like that, given the chance that dave-d14 actually ends up trusting him.