To get into Dental School would a 3.88 GPA get you in?

Answer 1

Anything is possible. It would help knowing your GPA. But your GPA isn't the only thing dental schools take in to consideration. If you have a low GPA, you'll want to score high on your DAT (Dental Admissions Test). Another thing they will take into consideration, is if you had a job, extra curriculars etc. It will help if you've worked in a dental office to show that you already have a head start on some medical knowledge in the field.

If you don't get high scores on your DAT and don't get into dental school, I suggest applying for grad school and taking some extra science classes to bring up your GPA.

Speaking of science classes, dental schools will look at two different GPA's; your overall GPA and your Science GPA. you science GPA is actually much more important than your overall, although your overall is still very important. But with a heavy emphasis on science, they want your science GPA to be strong.

You will also want to write a very strong essay to the schools you apply to. This can be your "make or break". Your essay allows the school to get to know you on a somewhat personal level. With great luck, they want to set up an interview with you. If you're lucky enough to get an interview, then they are considering you, which is awesome news! You REALLY want to nail the interview. Make them remember you. It will make all the difference in the world.

Best of luck!

Dr. T

Answer 2

Probably. However, your GPA is not the only thing they look at when considering you.

Each school has its own admission process and requirements - your best bet is to look up the school you are considering attending and see what they require.

For example, my dental school admissions office used a point system plus had a few other requirements.

GPA worth XX points, DAT score worth XX points, in person interviews (3 of them) worth XX points each; we also had to have a letter of recommendation from a practicing dentist (not at the school) with whom we had visited their office and interviewed, we had to write an essay about why we thought we would make a good dentist, and also had to have a good CV to explain job experiences, school experiences, and other things that were pertinent.

The way the system worked was that the canidates did all these things, and then the school scored everything and lined up all the scores highest to lowest and sent out acceptance letters to the top 100 or so students and tried to fill their class. It was set up to provide an objective way of sorting out the candidates, but had a little room for subjective data to be taken into account during the interviews.