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Amazing!!! Congrats!! 🎉🎉🎉

Thank YOU!! ❤

Some schools have a cutoff and others don’t. Had to check with the schools individually to find out. I had the same issues when I transferred so I ended up with a downward trend in my GPA. Definitely change study habits or eliminate major distractions to focus on what you can change to help your GPA. Time management is really key. It helps to talk to professors or upperclassmen to figure out how to study/manage your time. Honestly, I had to revamp my study methods completely when I got to dental school, I didn’t realize how bad they were before. Dental school really is a learn at a REALLY fast pace.

Best of luck to you!!!

Thank you ❤

Hello!! I made a video on my interviewing experience and it’s probably a lot more detailed than what I can type up. Best of luck!!

I had a very similar determination to get into dental school, and similar mindset of “just pass classes and get through” now that I’m in dental school. But dental school really does beat you to a pulp though. I understand now why they accept high GPA/DAT and have in their contract that essentially you need to be mental stable enough to handle dental school because MAN it has put me through the ringer. I don’t have imposter syndrome to be here and I’m really not competing with my classmates or anything, but I do see a lot of that in the school in every year. But taking 16 classes (29 units) this fall really does make you constantly tired and stressed. The unfortunate reality is that most students in dental school were at the top of their class and now the 91% A students in undergrad are C students in dental school and the 99% A students are A students since the curve has now been shifted (I mean this figuratively bc there are no curves in dental school) but what that also means is C students in undergrad are failing in dental school. And dental schools don’t want students who fail or remediate/drop out. They want their stats for graduating and passing the boards high. Determination WILL get you into dental school, but unfortunately stats are something all dental schools can’t overlook either since that’s a predictor on if you can make it through dental school. Determination will help get your stats up and will help you get through dental school. They just want to make sure you can handle taking 29 units per semester and handle 2-3 exams every week without breaks (like 1 week between semesters and an exam the day you get back) and not burn out or fail for 4 years.

@@ThinkingInProgress Yea, the workload is goin to be a big step up. But I think it will make a really big difference when I am finally learning about what I have set out to learn about. No classes I have taken in undergrad really make feel like "this is what I do." If this doesn't burn me out then there is no way doing what I love will stand a chance. I WANT to be exhausted from doing what I love... not from doing what I don't. Ur right though. I think I have a strong mindset and a beautiful story to tell, but my stats wont lie. I don't have the best GPA and if they just look they will find a stronger applicant than me. But I hope to get in early enough and be just good enough to get an invite somewhere... anywhere. I feel I'm getting old. I'll be 34 this year and I'm just so ready for the next phase of my life. It's my understanding that there 2 main pillars that get one accepted are GPA and DAT score. There is a small amount of give and take with them. I'm just doing the only thing I know how. I wish I had a coach that could say more than just get good grades! I need someone to really assess my situation and give me a plan of action that probably involves a masters program. Just tell me which wall to run into! Lol

@@TheDedloc I do really like your attitude about it, because you sound exactly like me as well. But I just want you to keep in mind that a lot of what we learn in dental school is just as related to the field and just as applicable as the classes you took in undergrad. I don’t mean to say all of them are like that, just like 70%. I’d love to chat sometime about your situation. Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram: @ThinkingInProgress. Also, a strong applicant isn’t only about stats. You mainly just need to be above the minimum so they can see the other aspects of your application. Also the two parts are more like: stats (GPA, DAT, shadowing/volunteer hours) and the rest of the app (personal statement, letters of rec, diversity statement, ect.). You want to be strong in both but one can compensate for the other, although both still need to meet a minimum.

I was able to get more time and a separate testing area, but it depends on your disability what they would offer.

16 AA or in a specific section?

@@ThinkingInProgress AA? If not is okay to score 16 on Chem and ochem?

@@jazzyjazz6986 most schools have a cutoff at 18, but few schools will make exceptions if it’s in a single section

@@ThinkingInProgress thank you! Im really not good with chemistry and I’m using dat bootcamp and still not understanding. I take my test this month

@@jazzyjazz6986 I wish I could help. I tutor for Gen Chem but I’m about to start my semester and don’t have a lot of time to tutor anymore

I can tell you that now that I’m in dental school and finished my first year that I haven’t struggled any more than my peers. If anything I stress less than they do because I have failed and learned from it and keep going. I don’t worry about getting straight A’s or having to do well on every single exam; tbh grades matter even less to me now. But I mainly focus on the clinical portion and am doing well on that. Dental schools need to look beyond just GPA because the biggest thing I see is people who are extremely smart but lack any sort of social skills and communication, or that they are very interested in the dentistry but lack being able to see that there’s a patient attached to that tooth. Students without passion, drive and persistence struggle in dental school because they don’t see the bigger picture on who they are here to help. They focus on exams and grades and that’s not why we’re here to become health providers. People who struggle with the grades are also the people I see having to put more work and have a better grasp on the material. There are SO many reasons why people have low GPAs and academic aptitude is only one of them.

💚

Nevermind. Just saw the video of your personal statement paper. It was really really good and I’m sure that was your edge. Congrats.

@@Greeneggsandham123 I don't believe I had anything extensive over others who were applying necessarily (except maybe volunteering hours, I had 1500+). Also to answer your question, yes this was my first cycle applying. I think that some schools look at applicants more holistically than others, Maryland just happens to be one of those schools. There are other schools who, while liking the other aspects of my application, chose to deny me or have a conditional offer based on raising my GPA. I applied very early in the cycle, which I think was the major thing that helped me out since schools are trying to fill seats quickly. I like to think about it like there weren't as many applicants I was being compared to at the time that I applied as opposed to waiting later and being compared to those with higher stats. I hoped that other aspects of my application stood out to them and ultimately that was the case. I am not struggling in dental school, so I believe they made the right call, but it's mainly trying to convince them that. If you have characteristics that help you stand out, make sure to highlight that in the application. Not all schools care about the applicant (they only care about stats) and I tried to stray away from those schools. I had hope that there were schools that look beyond the statistics and looked at the student and their capabilities. Luckily I was correct about that, but you have to look for them.

I had to take my dental IG down, it was causing issues with my class/the school. Which is why I also had to remove any of my videos also involving the school. You can always connect with me on my personal IG: @thinkinginprogress just send me a message first so I know it’s not spam.

I transferred most of them over to university, but not all of them transferred over. Nonetheless, I still submitted my transcripts from CC to AADSAS and they were on my dental school apps. They don't see CC credits transferred to university any different than just CC credits, they're the same thing

@@ThinkingInProgress thanks for replying! I was asking because I took chem at cc but it was all online and I found it hard for me to understand concepts teaching myself so I withdrew. I transferred to UMD and took it this semester but also withdrew due to a lot of circumstances and my school only allows 2 retakes unless I appeal. In the case they don’t allow me to take it again, I was going to take it at cc but I don’t think it would be allowed to be transferred over and I know it’s a dental school Pre req. withdrawing from gen chem 2x already looks horrible but then to not have it be transferred to my bachelors degree feels like a serious blow. Do you have any advice you could give me?

@@lesleynicole1658 you can take the class over at community college without having to transfer it over as a prereq, the attempts at CC should also not count towards how many times your school should allow you to retake a class, but that would be something to check with your school about (I've never heard of that being a problem in California, but it might be different at UMD). I wouldn't worry about having the W on your record, I had one for Organic Chemistry as well from CC and retook it at university and got a C. You may have to explain it to the schools you apply to if they ask in interviews though, but that shouldn't be an issue.

Sure, send it to my email: carlastewart@umaryland.edu

It helps to have research experience and a variety of volunteer work

I got an associates in biology. I took a year of biology, physics, Calc, Gen Chem, essentially most of my lower division science

@@ThinkingInProgress uhm thanks tho but like what did u major in like in your associate degree, can u major in psychology

@@richardchurchill2942 I got an associates in biology. You can major in whatever you want, as long as you meet the requirements that you need for the dental schools that you are applying to, but as I said I just did biology

@@ThinkingInProgress so sorry but is it a must to offer cal like offer something other than org Chem, what course are u offer other than cal or org chem

@@richardchurchill2942 I’m not sure I understand

I’m trying to knock off classes to be able to apply in a certain cycle but I need to take both parts of ochem. They only have ochem one during summer but it’s only offered online so idk if I should do it

@@aylin7567 during the summer is fine, but I don’t think schools are accepting ochem online. They begrudgingly accepted them during COVID but it’s been long enough that schools are back in person. Especially since you are required to complete the lab and an online lab is not equivalent. I hope that helps

Thank you so much for watching 💚💚💚

Yes, they should post an updated (new) form in January.

You have to apply for and get approved for the waiver BEFORE you register to take it. Once you have the waiver, the discount should show up on your account, then you can register and pay for the DAT.

@@ThinkingInProgress Thanks for replying! In one of the screenshots you showed of what they sent you after you submitted the fee waiver application, it says “candidates are allowed to submit an application in advance (if approved for a fee waiver you will be refunded 50% of the application fee)” does that mean they can refund 50% of it AFTER I had already registered to take it and had already paid the 495$?

@@maryamhayyawi6616 theoretically but you'd need to contact them asap, but I'm not sure. It was easier to apply for the waiver first and then submit the app as to not run into any issues with them refunding you

I'm not too familiar with the requirements for international students, but from what I've read it can vary by school. Some have cutoffs at 3.0 so I would be selective about where you apply and look into each individual school.

Thank you!! I wish I could have made more videos this semester but I'm not sure which videos are useful for everyone. It's also been a rough few months in my first semester of dental school. I appreciate your comment. It helps give me perspective sometimes when I'm lost during the semester to look back.

Thank you!! Im glad to hear and wish you the best on your journey!! 🍀

What do you mean by first line input?

@@ThinkingInProgress like the space before starting the first paragraph. The space that you do with the tab bottom

@@valeriawilson5450 Oh! When you copy + paste it into the box it will get rid of those

@@ThinkingInProgress thank you so much 🙂

Honestly, I didn't think it mattered much. I think I switched between using the two but you get to select the classes that meet the requirements for each school so that'll be when you can specify

@@ThinkingInProgress thank you so much !

I wouldn’t give up on dental, especially if you really want to! You can definitely do it! My counselor told me the same thing, yet here I am. Your science GPA is a bit concerning, but that’s something you have control over and can change. There are also SO many options to do that as well. I was working on it as well since my sGPA was so low. But know that if you really wanna go into dental, your GPA won’t stop you, but you still have to make changes in order to succeed.

@@ThinkingInProgress if i was to take classes again it wouldnt replace my grade right. It would just average it.

@@paulinaflores6441 yeah most likely, but if you got a C- or less in prereqs for dental school than you will have to retake them anyway. But if you also haven’t finished taking prereqs or if there are more classes you can take, it will help your overall GPA. Like for example, I was taking anatomy and microbiology since I didn’t get a chance to take them in undergrad but taking them also opens up the chance to apply to more dental schools who require those prereqs

You give up on dental when YOU want to, don’t let others tell you what to do with your life.

Definitely! I know many people who have done that. The main thing is to make sure that you’ve met all the prerequisites for the schools that you’re interested in

@@ThinkingInProgress 👍

Thank you!!!

Characters are letters as well as symbols. So, for example: "words!" would have 6 characters

@@ThinkingInProgress thank you so much !

Thank you!! Best of luck to you!

27:28 is the section you’re looking for :)

@@ThinkingInProgress thank you so much (:

Are you trying to enter dental school as a foreign student?

Thank YOU! You’ll definitely get there if you’ve got the drive!!

Thank you! I have been so far :)