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GOAL: Practice in Canada

 

I would prefer to stay within Canada. I do not mind going abroad (nice to avoid this). Money is not an issue (within reason). 

 

GPA is mediocre at best. 3.21 cumulative (without dropping a year). Will have to take a year to complete the science pre-reqs.

 

1. How do I improve my GPA to become competitive? 

 

2. Which schools will allow me the best chance? Canadian, or abroad. I know Australian schools do not require me to write equivalency exams or anything. 

 

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. I am early in my research process and and overwhelmed with information. 

 

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GOAL: Practice in Canada

 

I would prefer to stay within Canada. I do not mind going abroad (nice to avoid this). Money is not an issue (within reason). 

 

GPA is mediocre at best. 3.21 cumulative (without dropping a year). Will have to take a year to complete the science pre-reqs.

 

1. How do I improve my GPA to become competitive? 

 

2. Which schools will allow me the best chance? Canadian, or abroad. I know Australian schools do not require me to write equivalency exams or anything

 

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. I am early in my research process and and overwhelmed with information. 

 

1.  Not sure what your looking for in your question....are you looking for study tips? If so, a simple search on the top will give you a ton of threads on how to study.

If you're asking how to get from a 3.21 GPA to a competitive GPA for dental school then I suggest you do another degree. 

If i'm answering your question literally: get higher grades

 

 

2. At that GPA you have a very low chance to be accepted either in Canada or abroad. 

 

I'm sorry to be quite harsh with my answers but if you take a look at any of the threads here and have a read through them you will likely have your answers

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maybe abroad. not sure how that works. In canada try UWO. they take your best 2 years (read more on their website that you need to take 3rd year courses in anythign over ur second year) if you get high gpas in those 2 years that would be ur only bet. 

 

cheers

 

Well at least for this year that rule doesn't apply. That rule comes into effect next year. On the website it states that the class of 2021 will be selected during the 2016-2017 application cycle and that the "bolded" new rules come into effect during the 2017-2018 application cycle. So that would be starting for the selection of the 2022 class.

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1.  Not sure what your looking for in your question....are you looking for study tips? If so, a simple search on the top will give you a ton of threads on how to study.

If you're asking how to get from a 3.21 GPA to a competitive GPA for dental school then I suggest you do another degree. 

If i'm answering your question literally: get higher grades

 

 

2. At that GPA you have a very low chance to be accepted either in Canada or abroad. 

 

I'm sorry to be quite harsh with my answers but if you take a look at any of the threads here and have a read through them you will likely have your answers

 

1. As in like if I repeat courses that I did poorly in, or cushioned my GPA

 

maybe abroad. not sure how that works. In canada try UWO. they take your best 2 years (read more on their website that you need to take 3rd year courses in anythign over ur second year) if you get high gpas in those 2 years that would be ur only bet. 

 

cheers

 

I can't find anything on their website thats says they only count the best 2 years, just the minimum coursework required for 2 years. How would that even work? If I do 2 extra years (get 4.0) they'll count the 2 extra years only? 

 

Well at least for this year that rule doesn't apply. That rule comes into effect next year. On the website it states that the class of 2021 will be selected during the 2016-2017 application cycle and that the "bolded" new rules come into effect during the 2017-2018 application cycle. So that would be starting for the selection of the 2022 class.

 

that is the year I would be applying anyways. 

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1. As in like if I repeat courses that I did poorly in, or cushioned my GPA

 

 

I can't find anything on their website thats says they only count the best 2 years, just the minimum coursework required for 2 years. How would that even work? If I do 2 extra years (get 4.0) they'll count the 2 extra years only? 

 

 

that is the year I would be applying anyways. 

 

Yes you can do 2 extra years taking only senior courses for uwo but what makes you think that you can go from a 3.21 to a really competitive grade that is getting higher every year?  I agree with Cookiemonster.... probably 2 wasted years - you'd be better to opt for an alternative other than dentistry which is so highly dependent on amazing gpa's more than anything else. 

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I suggest trying dental schools abroad (US, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) if money isn't an issue. Canada recognizes dental degrees from these countries making it easier for you to come back to practice. 

Money is not an issue. I would not mind going abroad if it meant I could come home. I'll look into that. Any idea which schools would have the lowest GPA averages for admission in each of those respective countries? 

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I would say look into the US first as that's probably the next best option. 

 

Ireland and Australia both are recognized in Canada however they aren't recognized in the US so you can't practice in the US if you decide on an Irish school or an Australian school.

 

I believe sydney and melbourne are now pretty selective on their applicants and the average of GPA is around a 3.7-3.8 (please correct me if i'm wrong) and also you have to do the DAT as well i think or the MCAT? 

 

I don't know about Irish schools...

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I would say look into the US first as that's probably the next best option. 

 

Ireland and Australia both are recognized in Canada however they aren't recognized in the US so you can't practice in the US if you decide on an Irish school or an Australian school.

 

I believe sydney and melbourne are now pretty selective on their applicants and the average of GPA is around a 3.7-3.8 (please correct me if i'm wrong) and also you have to do the DAT as well i think or the MCAT? 

 

I don't know about Irish schools...

 

I have found some info on US schools. Some that are accredited have average acceptance with GPAs LOWER than mine. Thanks for the guidance!

 

Man, if I had several hundred thousand dollars lying around at your age, I wouldn't spend it on becoming a dentist.

 

What would you spend it on? Its money set aside to support me during my education years. 

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I would invest it and let it grow into a small fortune for a few decades while I also worked doing something else.

 

The longer I work in dentistry, the more I see it as just a job. It's a job I truly love under the right and very specific circumstances, but it's not the be all and end all, and it can be truly truly awful sometimes as well.

 

A decade ago I felt I couldn't live with myself doing anything less than this, and now it really doesn't feel like that big a deal. It's meaningful work, but most of my friends also do very meaningful work, I just didn't understand when I was younger how meaningful a lot of jobs could be.

 

At the end of the day I'm just a dentist and it's just a job and every job has it's joys and its miseries.

If you are smart and talented enough to be a great dentist (and believe me, you need to be great to make the job worthwhile), then you are smart and talented enough to do great things in so many different fields.

 

Go ahead and do dentistry if you want to, and if your family has that much money set aside for your education, then you also will probably inherit or be able to have them help you build your business in the future, in which case, you will already be ahead of the curve in terms of handling some of the major stresses in the career.

 

My point is not to discourage anyone from dentistry, my point is not to be myopic about it, and to offer a personal perspective as someone who loves it that I *personally* would not do it at that astronomical cost.

 

Do you mind elaborating on the meaningful work that you see in other jobs when comparing it to dentistry?

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similar question about the best route to improve my GPA..

I personally feel like a master's program is a waste of money and time for me, there's nothing I'm really interested in doing for another two+ years before applying to dental schools again. Would taking new senior level undergraduate courses be enough to improve things without having to get into a master's program?

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similar question about the best route to improve my GPA..

I personally feel like a master's program is a waste of money and time for me, there's nothing I'm really interested in doing for another two+ years before applying to dental schools again. Would taking new senior level undergraduate courses be enough to improve things without having to get into a master's program?

 

sounds like you're trying to take short cuts.....

your GPA is 3.21........ even if you get a 4.0 in taking senior undergrad courses how much would that improve your GPA?

 

Also what's your best 2 years? Western takes your 2 best years so maybe look into that

 

I'm not trying to discourage you to try for dental school but given your GPA......I suggest looking into why your GPA was so low in the first place, correct it and start another undergrad 

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sounds like you're trying to take short cuts.....

your GPA is 3.21........ even if you get a 4.0 in taking senior undergrad courses how much would that improve your GPA?

 

Also what's your best 2 years? Western takes your 2 best years so maybe look into that

 

I'm not trying to discourage you to try for dental school but given your GPA......I suggest looking into why your GPA was so low in the first place, correct it and start another undergrad 

 

Its not about taking shortcuts (atleast in my case) I did poorly in my first 2 years of university because I had no hopes, ambitions or goals. I have now found something I see myself doing as a lifetime career. Even if I have to spend an extra couple hundred thousand and enter the job market 2-3 years early it is worth it to me because I will surely earn that money back. 

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I would invest it and let it grow into a small fortune for a few decades while I also worked doing something else.

 

The longer I work in dentistry, the more I see it as just a job. It's a job I truly love under the right and very specific circumstances, but it's not the be all and end all, and it can be truly truly awful sometimes as well.

 

A decade ago I felt I couldn't live with myself doing anything less than this, and now it really doesn't feel like that big a deal. It's meaningful work, but most of my friends also do very meaningful work, I just didn't understand when I was younger how meaningful a lot of jobs could be.

 

At the end of the day I'm just a dentist and it's just a job and every job has it's joys and its miseries.

If you are smart and talented enough to be a great dentist (and believe me, you need to be great to make the job worthwhile), then you are smart and talented enough to do great things in so many different fields.

 

Go ahead and do dentistry if you want to, and if your family has that much money set aside for your education, then you also will probably inherit or be able to have them help you build your business in the future, in which case, you will already be ahead of the curve in terms of handling some of the major stresses in the career.

 

My point is not to discourage anyone from dentistry, my point is not to be myopic about it, and to offer a personal perspective as someone who loves it that I *personally* would not do it at that astronomical cost.

 

 

This is the absolute truth, the kind that you don't hear often for various reasons. I'm no longer practicing, but my friends who are often lament over how few people tell it like it is instead of keeping up with appearances. With that said, I think it's hard for someone to really know what their burning desires are in life without living through it. 

 

Anyway, spending money and time on another degree is already a big investment, and that's before you start dental school. Keep your eyes wide open for options and don't immediately shrug off advice that paints a less than ideal picture. 

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I would invest it and let it grow into a small fortune for a few decades while I also worked doing something else.

 

The longer I work in dentistry, the more I see it as just a job. It's a job I truly love under the right and very specific circumstances, but it's not the be all and end all, and it can be truly truly awful sometimes as well.

 

A decade ago I felt I couldn't live with myself doing anything less than this, and now it really doesn't feel like that big a deal. It's meaningful work, but most of my friends also do very meaningful work, I just didn't understand when I was younger how meaningful a lot of jobs could be.

 

At the end of the day I'm just a dentist and it's just a job and every job has it's joys and its miseries.

If you are smart and talented enough to be a great dentist (and believe me, you need to be great to make the job worthwhile), then you are smart and talented enough to do great things in so many different fields.

 

Go ahead and do dentistry if you want to, and if your family has that much money set aside for your education, then you also will probably inherit or be able to have them help you build your business in the future, in which case, you will already be ahead of the curve in terms of handling some of the major stresses in the career.

 

My point is not to discourage anyone from dentistry, my point is not to be myopic about it, and to offer a personal perspective as someone who loves it that I *personally* would not do it at that astronomical cost.

 

This. Well said  :)

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There really isn't anything you can do to get accepted in Canada with a 3.2, if you apply as an OOP to ontario your going to be competing with savages who have a 3.9+, also uoft and uwo accept like a combined 15ish OOP students. Your best bet is to try and go to the US but your going to fork out 500k-600k CAD, which honestly isn't the smartest thing to do given the current saturation of dentist. You can also try Australia the conversion rate isn't as bad but it's more competitive then the US. Good luck bud. 

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Normally I recommend people to apply and give it a shot, but....your gpa is honestly too low for American schools. Even though you found schools with lower GPA acceptances, those cutoffs are most likely for URM students. As a Canadian student your GPA definitely needs to be above those cutoffs, UNLESS maybe you have stellar ECs, shadowing, research, DAT scores, LORs....etc. I would recommend you go to studentdoctornetwork (American version of premed101), to get a better idea of competitive applications. There's also lots of useful threads there too! :)

 

I would actually say Australian schools are easier to get into in terms of just the application process (you only need GPA and DAT scores to apply). I can't quite remember what the GPA cutoff was for this past cycle, but I do remember being very shock when I found out (granted, my GPA was competitive for Canadian schools). However, Australian schools are VERY specific in their course per-requisites. Definitely do you research before you apply. I know it's exhausting, but if this is what you want to do, then it's just the first of many other tiring things you'll have to do before you can practice.

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Do you really think it's a keeping up with appearances thing??

I always just assumed that dentists rarely have much experience in anything else so it's hard for them to contextualize their experiences and perspectives in ways that non-dentists can relate to.

 

It really is a difficult career to wrap your mind around until you do it. Although, that's true of most careers. People tend to choose careers based on the main subject matter of the job, but really, it's the day to day logistical details that determine if someone hates their job, which rarely have anything to do with the main subject matter.

 

A dentist and an audiologist have more in common career wise than a dentist and a dental supply rep whose subject expertise are both dental. The dental supply rep has more in common with a software sales rep, despite totally different subject matter.

 

It's the same way that hiring someone for their skills is the number one mistake in staffing.

 

The main reason I advise so much caution in choosing dentistry is because it's such a huge investment but also closes so many more doors than a lot of other high end careers.

There are very few avenues for career change in dentistry and very few transferable skills. Dental school opens the door to practicing as a dentist and that's it.

 

Dentistry limits you. I know a number of dentists who can no longer practice for health reasons and they are struggling to find careers worthy of the investment they made to become dentists.

 

For me, all of the alternatives to clinical practice are careers that I went to dental school to avoid. If I get injured and can't practice anymore, I will leave dental altogether.

Not having a dental industry back up is probably what weighs on me the most. It makes me terrified of getting injured or sick.

 

A nasty sprain could cost me tens of thousands. Getting cancer or injuring an eye would brankrupt me.

Meanwhile my husband could go blind and lose a limb and still have his career and secure pension.

These are real factors to think about that few young pre-dents ever consider.

 

 

I wasn't referring to non-dentists but more within the dental circles. It's human nature - many people want to present themselves in a positive light. Maybe your experiences are different - but after graduation, I find that many people act like everything is rosy on the outside, but only they admit later in private that it isn't, and the only thing keeping them going is a pay check that goes to paying off a school loan or mortgage. Now we work because we need to pay for things, but the need for self-aggrandizing is sad and misleading. 

 

Does it not happen in other (high end) professions? Sure, but a problem doesn't need to be exclusive. 

 

I totally agree that dentistry is limiting. Not only it limits you to what other career you can embark on later, I find that it is also limiting within dentistry. More likely than not, you are going to be a generalist. There are not a lot of options when you realize (in dental school or later in practice) that general dentistry isn't for you. If you want to get out that, I hope there is a specialty that you want, because this differentiation is as terminal as you can get. 

 

Getting injured or sick is a big concern. Any day you don't work is a day you lose money. Made me feel like a robot. 

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