Dental Low undergrad GPA- Is dental school possible?

[Catalystik]

I'm only starting my second year of undergrad. I had a rough start with my GPA first semester being a 2.41 but I pulled it up to a 3.06. I'm worried I won't be able to get to a 3.6 or 3.7, which will be impossible for me to do. Any advice? Should I retake biology 1 class? My biology 1 grade was a D and my biology 2 grade is to a B+. My friends keep telling me it looks good that I made a jump in grades but I'm not sure. I also have no started shadowing or any hours. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

It's not too late to get your GPA into a competitive range, but you need to excel from now on. Adcomms will appreciate a steep upward grade trend. You may need have less fun, stay in college longer, or add summer school coursework to help compensate for the lower grades.

Retake Bio I. Good job on the B+ for Bio 2.

It's not too early to contact your dentist and ask about shadowing time over school vacations. You want to be sure dentistry is right for you before committing to this path. But otherwise, don't worry about ECs until your study strategies are solid and you can afford those distractions There is no rule about starting professional school immediately after college. It's much harder to repair a damaged GPA than it is to acquire the necessary activities that Dental School adcomms expect to see.

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[Catalystik]

Here are average DAT scores and pre-dental GPAs for first year dental students 2018-2019

		MEAN DAT SCORE2			PRE-DENTAL GPA3
STATE	DENTAL SCHOOL	ACADEMIC AVERAGE	PERCEPTUAL ABILITY	TOTAL SCIENCE	TOTAL SCIENCE	OVERALL
AL	UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA	21.2	20.0	20.9	3.64	3.71
AZ	ARIZONA SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY & ORAL HEALTH	19.1	19.4	19.2	3.21	3.33
AZ	MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY - AZ	20.1	20.5	20.0	3.39	3.46
CA	UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC	22.0	21.0	21.0	3.46	3.55
CA	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO	22.0	21.0	22.1	3.49	3.57
CA	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	23.0	22.0	23.0	3.77	3.80
CA	HERMAN OSTROW SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY OF USC	20.3	19.9	20.1	3.50	3.57
CA	LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.43	3.54
CA	WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES	19.9	20.0	19.9	3.12	3.26
CO	UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO	19.9	19.9	20.0	3.52	3.57
CT	UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT	21.4	20.8	21.4	3.50	3.60
DC	HOWARD UNIVERSITY	18.1	17.9	18.2	3.05	3.22
FL	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	22.0	21.0	22.0	3.68	3.74
FL	NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	21.0	22.0	22.0	3.60	3.60
FL	LECOM SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.45	3.54
GA	AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.56	3.62
IL	SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY	19.5	19.2	19.0	3.49	3.61
IL	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO	21.0	20.0	20.0	3.51	3.58
IL	MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY - IL	19.4	19.7	19.1	3.30	3.40
IN	INDIANA UNIVERSITY	19.9	19.6	19.7	3.45	3.55
IA	UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	21.0	20.0	20.5	3.67	3.69
KY	UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY	20.0	19.7	19.9	3.43	3.54
KY	UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.46	3.58
LA	LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER	20.2	20.0	20.1	3.49	3.57
ME	UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND	19.0	19.4	18.6	3.27	3.44
MD	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	20.8	20.3	20.8	3.48	3.58
MA	HARVARD UNIVERSITY	23.8	21.3	23.7	3.89	3.91
MA	BOSTON UNIVERSITY	20.4	19.9	20.0	3.40	3.49
MA	TUFTS UNIVERSITY	20.0	19.5	20.0	3.26	3.36
MI	UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT-MERCY	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.59	3.65
MI	UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN	21.4	20.8	21.2	3.58	3.66
MN	UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA	20.8	20.4	20.5	3.58	3.66
MS	UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI	19.0	19.9	18.6	3.44	3.62
MO	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, KANSAS CITY	19.8	19.2	19.4	3.69	3.73
MO	MISSOURI SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY & ORAL HEALTH	18.8	19.6	18.7	3.35	3.44
NE	CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY	19.6	20.3	19.3	3.44	3.59
NE	UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER	20.1	20.0	19.5	3.61	3.70
NV	UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS	20.4	20.1	20.2	3.34	3.45
NJ	RUTGERS SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE	21.6	20.4	21.7	3.58	3.65
NY	COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY	23.4	21.2	23.3	3.65	3.70
NY	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	21.2	20.2	21.3	3.34	3.44
NY	STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY	21.6	20.1	21.7	3.60	3.65
NY	TOURO COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE	21.0	20.0	21.0	3.32	3.44
NY	UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO	20.4	19.6	19.6	3.58	3.53
NC	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA	22.0	21.0	22.0	3.53	3.56
NC	EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY	19.9	20.0	19.5	3.40	3.50
OH	OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY	20.1	19.7	19.8	3.52	3.61
OH	CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY	20.9	20.6	20.7	3.59	3.66
OK	UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA	19.6	19.6	21.0	3.50	3.56
OR	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	20.4	20.6	20.3	3.62	3.68
PA	TEMPLE UNIVERSITY	21.1	20.3	21.0	3.48	3.55
PA	UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA	22.1	21.1	21.8	3.68	3.76
PA	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH	22.0	21.2	21.8	3.68	3.74
SC	MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA	20.0	21.0	N/A	3.56	3.64
TN	MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE	18.0	17.0	18.0	3.20	3.30
TN	UNIV. OF TENNESSEE HLTH SCI CENTER	20.1	20.2	19.6	3.52	3.61
TX	TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY	21.0	20.0	21.0	3.54	3.64
TX	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON	21.2	20.3	20.8	3.69	3.76
TX	UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO	20.2	20.4	20.6	3.51	3.61
UT	ROSEMAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES	19.7	20.0	19.7	3.19	3.30
UT	UNIVERSITY OF UTAH	21.0	21.0	21.0	3.58	3.65
VA	VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY	21.0	20.0	20.0	3.60	3.70
WA	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	20.9	20.9	20.8	3.53	3.60
WV	WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY	18.0	19.0	18.0	3.54	3.62
WI	MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY	20.0	20.0	20.0	3.43	3.55
PR	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	18.0	18.0	17.0	3.47	3.45
	UNITED STATES MEAN4	20.5	20.1	20.3	3.49	3.57
1 Dental Admissions Test.
2 DAT scores are based on a 30-point standard scale. The mean DAT score weights the average of each individual dental school equally and considers only non-zero entries. As the number of first-year students varies by dental schoo, the mean DAT scores shown in Table 17 is a weighted figure, and does not represent the true acverage of all first-year students.
3 GPA is based on a 4.0 scale.
4 The mean GPA weights the average of each individual dental school equally and considers only non-zero entries. As the number of first-year students varies by dental school, the mean GPA shown in Table 17 is a weighted figure, and does not represent the true average of all first-year students.
Source: American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute, 2018-19 Survey of Dental Education (United States Group II, Questions 15 and 16.)
© 2019 American Dental Association

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You should plan to retake your biology 1 course because D is not passing. You say you want to go to dental school but you ought to shadow before you really decide. You really should work on your study habits and surround yourself with strong mentors who can lift you up. It's not too late but you need to really focus on making sure you can get ready for a lifetime career.