The Ultimate Guide To Get Into Dental School Part 1: GPA, DAT, and Major

Full Ultimate Guide To Get Into Dental School Playlist with each video:    • The Ultimate Guide To Get Into Dental Scho...  

0:53 - GPA
4:46 - DAT
9:53 - Major

GPA: As I mentioned in the video, there is no clear GPA or specific number when it comes to answering this question. Schools do report their average GPA, but individuals will be on the high-end of that scale and on the low-end as well. There are so many factors outside of your grades that are considered that I cannot just throw out a specific GPA. As it pertains to you being a competitive applicant and maximizing your chances of being accepted into dental school, aim for the highest possible GPA you can get. Unless you’re an individual who has a high GPA but is not involved in anything outside of school (extracurricular activities, volunteering, research, jobs, etc), you’re really putting yourself in a great position to be accepted. It’s incredibly tough to do well, but just try your best to get the highest grades you possibly can. Utilize every resource the class provides you with, seek advice from your peers, get help from your professors, and most importantly do your best to stay organized and motivated throughout the entire length of the course. I know it’s much easier said than done, but you can and will do it! Keep in mind, AADSAS has a specific way of calculating your GPA and schools tend to mainly focus on your Science GPA and Overall GPA. Again, people with all sorts of GPAs (high, low, and everything in between) are in every dental school class, but in my personal opinion, achieving a GPA on the higher-end of the spectrum puts you in the best possible spot to be accepted. Make sure you keep in contact with people on different admissions committees and call the schools you are interested in applying to and ask them questions about your application because they are helpful and honest with you.

DAT: The DAT is an incredibly important part of making you a competitive applicant because it’s the one thing that every student applying to dental school has to take. Aim for the highest score possible, because a high DAT will really put you in a great position to be a successful applicant. I would personally advise students to aim for a score in the 20s, but there are people in most dental programs with scores in the teens as well. Again, there are so many components that are considered when applying to dental so there is not a specific score you HAVE to get. However, some schools do have cutoffs not only for overall scores but scores in specific sections. For example, a school may not look at your application if you received a 16 in one section even though you got a 21 overall, so make sure you are doing your research prior to applying to dental school so you do not end up wasting your money! Also, as mentioned in the video, make sure you give yourself enough time to study for this exam. If it is in your control, DO NOT work, take classes, or commit to things that will take a lot of your focus off this exam. It really does require A LOT of your time and you will be putting yourself in a great position to succeed and avoiding a lot of stress if you are able to study for this exam without having to deal with other things in life. I know every circumstance is different and it is not possible for some people to just solely focus on the DAT, but if your circumstances allow you to, I would highly advise dropping all your commitments so you have time to study for the exam. There are people out there who study for the DAT in a short period of time, take it with a full course load or working a lot, but I would personally not recommend doing that even though it is possible.

Major: As long as you take the required Pre-Dental courses, it genuinely does not matter what major you pursue. You can do business, philosophy, english, media, it truly does not matter as long as you take the courses that dental schools require. Some schools may find it unique if you’re a nontraditional major so it could also help you in some cases. I would just advise people to not pursue a harder major if it comes at the expense of lowering your GPA. There’s no need to put yourself through tougher majors unless you genuinely enjoy the courses they provide and know you will do well. Compared to dental school, you have a lot more time in undergrad so make sure you take advantage of that and do a major that you would genuinely enjoy and are curious about learning about. Just because you are going into a healthcare profession, that does not mean all your energy has to be dedicated to that prior to dental school. Trust me, you’re going to have a lot of information thrown at you about science and dentistry from the moment you start dental school, so if I were to give my opinion on the whole major topic, do a major that you would enjoy that have courses that you find interesting and genuinely want to learn about.