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Dentistry Entry Discussion and Questions

Hey guys, I am looking to apply for Dentistry to study at University of Adelaide. I will fall under higher education category as I already hold onto Bachelor's degree. However, I believe my secondary school GPA and Bachelor's degree GPA is nowhere near competitive enough for me to be accepted. For that reason, I am trying to study 1 semester with Adelaide this year (as 1 semester of study would allow me to meet pre requisite papers aswell), If i gain GPA 5+ from this 1 semester study, would this GPA be taken into consideration when they are looking to accept me or not? Or will other previous studies GPAs will also be taken into consideration? (Eg. Say I had GPA 3 from Secondary school. GPA 4 from Bachelor's degree and GPA 5+ from 1 semester study from Adelaide, will my highest GPA be chosen or will all my GPA will be chosen and averaged out?).

I know that Adelaide prioritises Interview and UCAT more than GPA, but I still want to have high GPA as I dont want any trip up..
If there is anyone who has gone through what I am going through or heard anyone who has gone through this, please help me out :(.

PS. I had to leave my question as a comment as I couldnt figure out how to create my own post.. (Someone please help me with this hahahah).

THanks guys!!!
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Hey guys, I am looking to apply for Dentistry to study at University of Adelaide. I will fall under higher education category as I already hold onto Bachelor's degree. However, I believe my secondary school GPA and Bachelor's degree GPA is nowhere near competitive enough for me to be accepted. For that reason, I am trying to study 1 semester with Adelaide this year (as 1 semester of study would allow me to meet pre requisite papers aswell), If i gain GPA 5+ from this 1 semester study, would this GPA be taken into consideration when they are looking to accept me or not? Or will other previous studies GPAs will also be taken into consideration? (Eg. Say I had GPA 3 from Secondary school. GPA 4 from Bachelor's degree and GPA 5+ from 1 semester study from Adelaide, will my highest GPA be chosen or will all my GPA will be chosen and averaged out?).

I know that Adelaide prioritises Interview and UCAT more than GPA, but I still want to have high GPA as I dont want any trip up..
If there is anyone who has gone through what I am going through or heard anyone who has gone through this, please help me out :(.

PS. I had to leave my question as a comment as I couldnt figure out how to create my own post.. (Someone please help me with this hahahah).

THanks guys!!!

You posted your question in the ‘Questions’ thread, we don’t need people to create a personal thread each time they have a question, the forum would look ridiculous!

As to your GPA, Cal or Yamster will know more about the specifics, but have you looked at the Dent Entry table that details requirements or the collated offer data pages? My gut instinct says a GPA of 5.00 wouldn’t be enough and you’d need closer to 6.50.
 
You posted your question in the ‘Questions’ thread, we don’t need people to create a personal thread each time they have a question, the forum would look ridiculous!

As to your GPA, Cal or Yamster will know more about the specifics, but have you looked at the Dent Entry table that details requirements or the collated offer data pages? My gut instinct says a GPA of 5.00 wouldn’t be enough and you’d need closer to 6.50.
Hey thanks for your reply!! Yeah i know that i would need minimum GPA of 5 but i would need close to GPA 6.5 or more. However, my question was about whether all my previous studies GPA would be weighted and averaged out or one of the best GPA out of previous studies (including 1 semester of prerequisite papers study that i am about to do) will be chosen. :)
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
Typically non standard application only look at the latest degree studied, I haven’t heard of any non standard uni doing otherwise.

Keep in mind what they usually do is convert a selection rank from your GPA, and the selection rank from 1 semester of study is very low, and will likely not be competitive at all.

Also, uni’s typically stipulate that they will consider only the latest Full Time 1 Year equivalent study...

I don’t think your 1 semester of study plan will be feasible.
 

Cal

vibe
Moderator
Hey guys, I am looking to apply for Dentistry to study at University of Adelaide. I will fall under higher education category as I already hold onto Bachelor's degree. However, I believe my secondary school GPA and Bachelor's degree GPA is nowhere near competitive enough for me to be accepted. For that reason, I am trying to study 1 semester with Adelaide this year (as 1 semester of study would allow me to meet pre requisite papers aswell), If i gain GPA 5+ from this 1 semester study, would this GPA be taken into consideration when they are looking to accept me or not? Or will other previous studies GPAs will also be taken into consideration? (Eg. Say I had GPA 3 from Secondary school. GPA 4 from Bachelor's degree and GPA 5+ from 1 semester study from Adelaide, will my highest GPA be chosen or will all my GPA will be chosen and averaged out?).

I know that Adelaide prioritises Interview and UCAT more than GPA, but I still want to have high GPA as I dont want any trip up..
If there is anyone who has gone through what I am going through or heard anyone who has gone through this, please help me out :(.

PS. I had to leave my question as a comment as I couldnt figure out how to create my own post.. (Someone please help me with this hahahah).

THanks guys!!!
I would assume they will take the highest rated 1 FTE from your studies. I am sure that a 5+ GPA of 0.5 time FTE wouldn't be worth enough for a 90 atar. But on the whole Uadel doesn't really look super high amounts into GPA. Although historically it has been that 6.5 and above range. The interview is really what is important to distinguish yourself from the 300 interviewees. So I think since the ucat cycle is only once a year, it would be ideal to try and study 1fte this year and aim for a GPA of 6+ as this would give you the best chance along with a solid interview. Also opens you up for jcu and CSU, uq and Griffith also if GPA is good enough.

Good Luck! :)
 
I would assume they will take the highest rated 1 FTE from your studies. I am sure that a 5+ GPA of 0.5 time FTE wouldn't be worth enough for a 90 atar. But on the whole Uadel doesn't really look super high amounts into GPA. Although historically it has been that 6.5 and above range. The interview is really what is important to distinguish yourself from the 300 interviewees. So I think since the ucat cycle is only once a year, it would be ideal to try and study 1fte this year and aim for a GPA of 6+ as this would give you the best chance along with a solid interview. Also opens you up for jcu and CSU, uq and Griffith also if GPA is good enough.

Good Luck! :)
heyy thank you for your reply :). Would you know if there is any certain level of study that I need to do? Or as long as it is university level study, it is fine? (Eg. Graduate dip in Science vs Postgrad dip in Science?).
 

Tomato

Regular Member
Also opens you up for jcu and CSU, uq and Griffith also if GPA is good enough.

Good Luck! :)
Is UQ dent out of the equation? They started to require Rank 99.95 (including the adjustment), so that GPA must reach 7? Also it seems UQ looks back to the past 5 years of academic records if you have more than 1FTE of tertiary study. Can you confirm this info?
 

Cal

vibe
Moderator
Is UQ dent out of the equation? They started to require Rank 99.95 (including the adjustment), so that GPA must reach 7? Also it seems UQ looks back to the past 5 years of academic records if you have more than 1FTE of tertiary study. Can you confirm this info?
Uq is a bit of a wild on, but yes mb if they have poor tertiary units in the past, then Uq would be removed from contention. But there nothing saying uq won't change their entry requirements for next year, so not off the cards completely
 

tksm

Member
Hi everyone :) Just wondering if anyone has any advice on non-standard dentistry entrance. I am a second year uni student planning on doing the UCAT for the first time and applying to most/all non-standard dent courses for 2022.

I have completed 1 year FTE with a 7gpa/94wam (unfortunately Griffith didn't work out this year due to the timing of my results), however I am starting at a different university in a different degree this year for a fresh start (didn't enjoy my previous course). Fortunately, I was able to cobble together some RPL so that's how I am sort of in second year.

Sorry for the preamble but I guess my main question is whether doing a lighter study load this year (6-7 units) will create any issues with admissions since they generally look at the latest tertiary study? I am planning on taking on a bit less at uni for personal wellbeing reasons but cab try to play catch-up in later terms if it's necessary to have at least a year's worth of results. However I am not anticipating as many 7's (or any at all for that matter) since lvl 2+ courses tend to be more difficult. I have played with the idea of taking a gap year to preserve my old gpa but I don't think it's right for me at this point in time. Also any general application advice would be greatly appreciated as well :)

Thanks in advance for the help guys :))))
 

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Cal

vibe
Moderator
Hi everyone :) Just wondering if anyone has any advice on non-standard dentistry entrance. I am a second year uni student planning on doing the UCAT for the first time and applying to most/all non-standard dent courses for 2022.

I have completed 1 year FTE with a 7gpa/94wam (unfortunately Griffith didn't work out this year due to the timing of my results), however I am starting at a different university in a different degree this year for a fresh start (didn't enjoy my previous course). Fortunately, I was able to cobble together some RPL so that's how I am sort of in second year.

Sorry for the preamble but I guess my main question is whether doing a lighter study load this year (6-7 units) will create any issues with admissions since they generally look at the latest tertiary study? I am planning on taking on a bit less at uni for personal wellbeing reasons but cab try to play catch-up in later terms if it's necessary to have at least a year's worth of results. However I am not anticipating as many 7's (or any at all for that matter) since lvl 2+ courses tend to be more difficult. I have played with the idea of taking a gap year to preserve my old gpa but I don't think it's right for me at this point in time. Also any general application advice would be greatly appreciated as well :)

Thanks in advance for the help guys :))))
If you have a 7gpa, and you are keen on dentistry, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a gap year and sit ucat. This is because uq needs it, and if you end up dropped below it you aren't eligible according to the current system. This is unless you would rather, and rightfully so, continue study towards another degree.
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
If you have a 7gpa, and you are keen on dentistry, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a gap year and sit ucat. This is because uq needs it, and if you end up dropped below it you aren't eligible according to the current system. This is unless you would rather, and rightfully so, continue study towards another degree.

Would the 7.00 also all but guarantee Griffith? When do their changes come in (or have I imagined those?!)

ETA: oh, just read Yamster's reply and saw that UCAT and interview start for next year at GU.
 
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Hey Tomato and cjpark1992, maybe try applying for GU dent next year too as they're introducing interviews and UCAT next year so will probably be less competitive than the other uni's due to the FFP masters. My fingers be crossed for the both of you! :)
Hi Yamster would you know if gpa can be taken into consideration by studying 1 year of grad dip/post grad dip in any sort of degree?? As my previous degree GPA is below 5, I dont think that degree GPA is competitive enough. Also, if they do look at post/grad dip as a separate study and allow GPA on that course to be used, would you know if i would have any form disadvantage? As I would be competing against possible 3year degree holder's GPA. Thank you
 
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Yamster

Dental Moderator
Emeritus Staff
I'm not too sure to be honest cjpark1992 - I know GU accepts grad dip/post grad dip in their GEMSAS calcs so maybe they do for their undergraduate courses too? If they do, they'd look at it separately and only use your previous GPA's secondary ranking as a tie breaker if they were tossing up between you and another applicant.
 
Hi guys, sorry for re-posting similar questions again.
I just wanted to ask for decent advice so that I can prepare myself for Dental school properly :).
I am looking to apply for 2022 undergraduate admission as a non-school leaver..
I have done GCSE (Cambridge Exam) in 2010 in my high school in NZ. However, grades weren't that great. Could this study still be used to meet the pre-requisite requirement?
Also, I do have a degree in Bachelor of Health Science from AUT in NZ. But, my GPA is not that great.
Therefore, I am thinking of studying the first year of either Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Health Science to come up with a new high GPA. Would Universities (Griffith, Adelaide, QU, and JCU) consider my GPA from this 1 year of study independently? Or will they average it out with my previous degree?
Also, since I could be doing Bachelor of Health Science in Physiotherapy from AUT, I will be repeating 4 out of 8 papers. Is repeating the same papers and using a new GPA allowed? Or will it be better to take the first year of Bachelor of Science (which only repeats 1 out of 8 papers)?
What would my chance be in this route? (Considering I obtain competitive UCAT and interview score?).

Any additional pieces of information/advice, please feel free to tell me :))
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Hi guys, sorry for re-posting similar questions again.
I just wanted to ask for decent advice so that I can prepare myself for Dental school properly :).
I am looking to apply for 2022 undergraduate admission as a non-school leaver..
I have done GCSE (Cambridge Exam) in 2010 in my high school in NZ. However, grades weren't that great. Could this study still be used to meet the pre-requisite requirement?
Also, I do have a degree in Bachelor of Health Science from AUT in NZ. But, my GPA is not that great.
Therefore, I am thinking of studying the first year of either Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Health Science to come up with a new high GPA. Would Universities (Griffith, Adelaide, QU, and JCU) consider my GPA from this 1 year of study independently? Or will they average it out with my previous degree?
Also, since I could be doing Bachelor of Health Science in Physiotherapy from AUT, I will be repeating 4 out of 8 papers. Is repeating the same papers and using a new GPA allowed? Or will it be better to take the first year of Bachelor of Science (which only repeats 1 out of 8 papers)?
What would my chance be in this route? (Considering I obtain competitive UCAT and interview score?).

Any additional pieces of information/advice, please feel free to tell me :))

When I applied to UTAS Med having sat year 12 a very long time ago, I had to re-do Chemistry (the pre-requisite). I think the cut-off was 5 years (ie. it had to have been completed in the last 5 years). So it's possible you'll have to re-do any pre-requisite subjects if you're relying on having studied them over a decade ago. It's possible you could work the pre-requisites into any degree that you start (though I haven't looked at the pre-reqs for the various universities, so you'd need to double check). It would be worth asking the universities directly if there is a cut off period for recency of pre-reqs, too. It may vary.
 
When I applied to UTAS Med having sat year 12 a very long time ago, I had to re-do Chemistry (the pre-requisite). I think the cut-off was 5 years (ie. it had to have been completed in the last 5 years). So it's possible you'll have to re-do any pre-requisite subjects if you're relying on having studied them over a decade ago. It's possible you could work the pre-requisites into any degree that you start (though I haven't looked at the pre-reqs for the various universities, so you'd need to double check). It would be worth asking the universities directly if there is a cut off period for recency of pre-reqs, too. It may vary.
Thank you so much :). I already have sent out an email to those Universities that I am thinking of (Griffith, Adel, QU, and JCU). What do you think about studying the first year of another Bachelor's degree to come up with a better GPA and using them? Do you know anyone that has succeeded in doing it this way? The reason I am doing Bachelor's degree study is as I have the option to choose papers out of Levels 5,6 and 7. Whereas in graduate diploma, I need to be doing the majority of my study in Level 7 papers.

Thank you
 

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dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
We definitely have a lot users who took similar routes to get into med/dent school and it’s a pretty common route. You should also intend to apply to CSU + LaTrobe Dentistry because they also take non standards.

Generally universities will only take the latest completed degree to calculated a GPA... but i’m not sure if the fact that your doing the same degree at the same university but with a different major will impact this. Although, if you re-complete this course you will 100% be using the new results.

I would probably pick the health sciences because you get to repeat 4 papers (which you will already be familiar with, albeit likely faintly) and you get on the track to being a physiotherapist which is a good backup.

There is a post in the dental thread that has the selection criteria and cutoffs, which can help you guesstimate your chances. I believe it’s outdated for UQ but for that you will need a 7/7 GPA and a high UCAT score (~90th percentile iirc)
 
We definitely have a lot users who took similar routes to get into med/dent school and it’s a pretty common route. You should also intend to apply to CSU + LaTrobe Dentistry because they also take non standards.

Generally universities will only take the latest completed degree to calculated a GPA... but i’m not sure if the fact that your doing the same degree at the same university but with a different major will impact this. Although, if you re-complete this course you will 100% be using the new results.

I would probably pick the health sciences because you get to repeat 4 papers (which you will already be familiar with, albeit likely faintly) and you get on the track to being a physiotherapist which is a good backup.

There is a post in the dental thread that has the selection criteria and cutoffs, which can help you guesstimate your chances. I believe it’s outdated for UQ but for that you will need a 7/7 GPA and a high UCAT score (~90th percentile iirc)
Thank you so much for your reply. Also, thank you for the additional information. Does it have to be a 'completed' degree? As I am thinking of doing the first year of study and using 1 year of GPA to apply.
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
Nope. Non standard universities will take the lastest incomplete degree. Your 1 year GPA plan is solid.
 

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