Dentistry Entry Discussion and Questions

[youngsvet]

Should also be noted that it might be possible to complete the dentistry degree in Russia then apply for graduate entry into the Australian dental schools - seeing as though the chances that the russian dentistry degree is recognised is slim. Not sure about the inner workings of this strategy however - but it might be something you would also want to look into.

Yes, I checked, Russian dentistry diplomas are not recognized in Australia, but I found this site and document:

Dental Board of Australia - Overseas qualified practitioners

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

www.dentalboard.gov.au

and it says that I should undertake some examinations to receive a limited registration, with which I can apply for postgraduate training. Though I am not sure what are my chances of getting in with a limited registration

Because you are an Australian citizen, you classify as a domestic and thus have to sit the UCAT exam. Under the 2021 Admissions Guide for entry, the ranking system for the Adelaide interviews is same as the past few years where the interview results get the first ranking level, followed by ucat marks then your academic results in that order. Based off my experiences with talking with others here in Adelaide dentistry, there are several people who got in with atar marks in the low 90's. Whilst this is not officially stated by Adelaide uni, it does feel as though the interview has a 100% (if not 100, a VERY HIGH) weighting with the ucat marks being the primary tiebreaker and the school/uni marks being a secondary tiebreaker (NOT CONFIRMED). As a result, make sure that your GPA is enough to meet the conversion rank of 90 ATAR. Once that is dusted, the highest priority is getting into the interview stage which from memory was a UCAT percentile of around 88 (not too sure on this one). Once you reach that stage, it's all up to your performance in the interview to decide your entry into adelaide uni.

However, it is really interesting for me to understand why you may have developed mental health problems. Was it because the dentistry course at the Russian university was not up to scratch in terms of an education standpoint? Was it because your interest in dentistry was not what you originally expected to be and as a result do not enjoy the career aspect? From the looks of your interest in Adelaide uni, it doesn't seem to be the latter which is very great to hear about since you could definitely touch upon your experiences from one year of dentistry school to bolster your interview performance above that of other candidates.

University of Adelaide - Sign In

Wishing you the best and feel free to ask me more questions.

I really like dentistry, and I am really happy I chose it, I just don't like the way it's taught here and there is not enough hands-on experience. My senior roommate had only 7 patients throughout her university career. I must admit though, the theory is taught really well and on a really high level here.
I had mental health issues before I started studying. Just the factors of being alone, not having friends, a really bad educational system, played their part and my mental health is getting worse. So far I can manage to study, but I'm afraid I'll get expelled if it gets even worse.

Firstly, I think its important to prioritise mental health over ANYTHING. If you are developing extreme home sickness from being in Russia when your friends are in the US and family is in Australia i think its incredible valuable to consider your ability to complete the course if you are unable to keep yourself healthy.

It is always worth applying. From their international students website (i know your actually a domestic student due to your citizenship) Entry to dentistry for international applicants it looks like they only consider SATs for American High School students. IIRC the average atar for adelaide dentistry is probably around 97+ (i cant seem to find a direct source - you could probably email them and ask). Given that I cant find a direct SAT-ATAR conversion table, my estimates will be a bit off but ANU reckons that a SAT score of 1960/2400 or 1390/1600 is equivalent to a 96 so you're probably looking at SAT scores of 2000+/2400 or 1400+/1600 (https://www.anu.edu.au/files/resource/2017 International student qualifications table - August.pdf.pdf) but not all uni's are equivalent so take that with a grain of salt.

Is there any reasons Adelaide in particular? All dental degrees in Australia are equivalent and by restricting yourself to only ~30 places you are slimming your chances. A few other options might be CSU, JCU, or UQ. UQ fortunately is clear about their academic requirements for things other than ATAR (https://future-students.uq.edu.au/f...-for-international-undergraduate-programs.pdf)

Lastly, I cant tell you how to prioritise your time. But all the schools (except for JCU) requires UCAT scores into the 90 percentiles. However UCAT is a test best prepped in short amounts over a long period of time so that might alleviate your stress.

Edit: and because your Australian you get HECS debt which is interest free student loans, so you wont have to pay back your uni fees until you start earning money. It significantly reduces the financial burden if that was a concern of yours

Thank you for your response I want to apply specifically to Adelaide because my family lives there, and since I'm so homesick, it would kind of deceive the purpose if I would live in a different city, also it would save me rent money. But if I'm looking at just applying to Australia, then yes, I would apply to all universities possible.

 

[dotwingz]

Thank you for your response I want to apply specifically to Adelaide because my family lives there, and since I'm so homesick, it would kind of deceive the purpose if I would live in a different city, also it would save me rent money. But if I'm looking at just applying to Australia, then yes, I would apply to all universities possible.

I think you’ll find that living anywhere else in Australia will make you alot less home sick than Russia...

One thing that was not mentioned is that Adelaide has reduced entry requirements for current Adelaide Uni students through their tertiary transfer pathway.

Although I wouldn’t recommend it to most people. Considering your not having a great time in Russia and due to Russian dental schools not being accredited with the dental board in Australia so it might not be so likely you work in Australia as a dentist. What you could do if you really want is to apply for an alternative program at Adelaide (say Physio, Pharmacy, etc) and try to use the reduced entry pathway as a way to get in. This way you could roll the dice and make it easier to get in. Also I think you’ll put yourself in a better position GPA-wise living at home and studying in Adelaide if you wanted to apply for a different uni in Australia

 

[tdnii]

If you were at UQ for that degree, a Gpa of 5.85 is actually just above the cut off, I am not exactly sure about starting a new degree at another institution, but if you start a second one at uq, then they can forget past education and go based off the uq results if it favours you. Also I think a 5.85 is actually high enough for most other dent schools if you have a good ucat and interview. It is good enough for usyd (5gpa cut off with GAMSAT), uadel, csu and possibly jcu based off of rurality. Also UWA states a 5.5 GPA cut off and unimelb states no cutoff but obviously although possible, would require a great GAMSAT score. I am not sure about Latrobe (although I think they only do entry based off of ucat for non-standards). So your 5.85 GPA can get you into various dental schools, depending on your ucat. So depending on scenario Griffith is the only uni that I can guarantee that you are ineligible without starting a second degree (UQ as well if you completed the degree elsewhere)

Hi Cal, I am also considering applying for Griffith to increase my chance to get into dental school. Do you know how does Griffith calculate the GPA from a graduate diploma? If I get a GPA of 6.875, will this GPA meet the cut-off? Thanks.

 

[Crow]

Hi Cal, I am also considering applying for Griffith to increase my chance to get into dental school. Do you know how does Griffith calculate the GPA from a graduate diploma? If I get a GPA of 6.875, will this GPA meet the cut-off? Thanks.

I’m not sure whether they consider graduate diplomas - they may just look at your bachelor degree GPA instead. Best to contact the dental admissions team directly and ask.

 

[Cal]

Hi Cal, I am also considering applying for Griffith to increase my chance to get into dental school. Do you know how does Griffith calculate the GPA from a graduate diploma? If I get a GPA of 6.875, will this GPA meet the cut-off? Thanks.

Just to add to what crow said, yes a Gpa of 6.875 has historically been enough to get a spot in Griffith dentistry. It has dropped as low as 6.75 previously but don't rely on it. And yeah I agree, I am not too sure about the graduate diplomas sorry

 

[tdnii]

Hi Crow and Cal, thanks for the replies.
I've got the reply from Griffith today, they accept GPA from graduate diploma for dental admission, which is so great.
Below is the origin email:
The GPA from a Graduate Diploma is assessed on the same schedule as a Bachelor degree ie a minimum GPA of 6.5 is required to be competitive and for admission in 2020 applicants required a GPA of 6.85.

 

[Crow]

Thanks very much for that info tdnii - very helpful

 

[janerose]

Hi! New here and have a question I was hoping someone might be able to answer about whether my GPA is competitive compared to previous years. I'm mainly looking at Adelaide dentistry if anyone has any specific information for there. I got a 6.25 last year and my GPA this year will be separate to that, so they'll go with my best GPA out of the two I'll have. I've spoken to a program advisor who suggested 6.0-6.5 would be competitive but I'm nervous since I'm in the middle of that range. Please be honest! Thanks

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi! New here and have a question I was hoping someone might be able to answer about whether my GPA is competitive compared to previous years. I'm mainly looking at Adelaide dentistry if anyone has any specific information for there. I got a 6.25 last year and my GPA this year will be separate to that, so they'll go with my best GPA out of the two I'll have. I've spoken to a program advisor who suggested 6.0-6.5 would be competitive but I'm nervous since I'm in the middle of that range. Please be honest! Thanks

These are the successful scores reported here for 2020 entry via GPA. Obviously your UCAT and interview will play a huge role but, generally speaking, it looks like 6.25 would be borderline and you’d possibly be relying on a second round or top up offer. That said, the data we get here is only a snap shot.

“GPA: 7.00, UCAT: 2820, second round, deciding between offers
GPA: 6.875, UCAT: 2800, top up offer, declining for UQ
GPA: 6.625, UCAT: 2830,
GPA: 6.60, UCAT: 2800, 88th%ile
GPA: 6.50, UCAT: 3090, second round, declining
GPA: 6.50, UCAT: 87th%ile
GPA: 6.44, UCAT: 2990, 96th%ile, declining for JMP
GPA: 6.375, UCAT: 2930, second round
GPA: 6.00, UCAT: 2810, top up offer 18th Feb”

 

[janerose]

Thanks so much LMG! Hopefully I can do a bit better this year but I think 6.25 might still be my best GPA. I've never sat for the UCAT before either, do you know what someone with my GPA should be looking at percentile-wise? I'm guessing it'll have to be better to compensate for a lower GPA?

 

[ponyswordz]

Thanks so much LMG! Hopefully I can do a bit better this year but I think 6.25 might still be my best GPA. I've never sat for the UCAT before either, do you know what someone with my GPA should be looking at percentile-wise? I'm guessing it'll have to be better to compensate for a lower GPA?

Not sure if this applies to GPA specifically but I know of several HS leavers in my cohort who had atars in the 93-95 range and still managed to get a first round offer if that helps. Just remember that UCAT and INTERVIEW (in particular) is the most important criteria to getting an offer. This is because Interview>UCAT>Academic in terms of weighting.

GPA: 6.50, UCAT: 3090, second round -> Exemplifies how important the interview is no matter how high your GPA or UCAT scores are so don't feel too down about yourself if your GPA is at 6.25. Get into the interview stage (88ish% -> obviously aim higher) and Ace your interview

Wishing you the best.

 

[janerose]

Thanks ponyswordz that's really helpful! I don't have my ATAR to fall back on but this makes me feel a bit more confident in my GPA if I can do well enough in the UCAT and interview

 

[Accurate]

What combination of ATAR and UCAT is required for Dentistry?

 

[Crow]

What combination of ATAR and UCAT is required for Dentistry?

Aus Med and Dent Place Offers 2020 - Collated Data Here are scores reported to receive an offer for 2020 entry.

 

[nb]

Just a quick question, although UQ med has an interview process this year, does UQ dent still have atar hurdle req of 99, and then give place offers solely based on UCAT score?

 

[Cal]

Just a quick question, although UQ med has an interview process this year, does UQ dent still have atar hurdle req of 99, and then give place offers solely based on UCAT score?

Yes, UQ dentistry still has the same entry requirements as before, 99 hurdle then ucat with no interview. I imagine after the med pathway has been tested, they might add it for the dent down the road, but it isn't this year that they are doing that

 

[nb]

Yes, UQ dentistry still has the same entry requirements as before, 99 hurdle then ucat with no interview. I imagine after the med pathway has been tested, they might add it for the dent down the road, but it isn't this year that they are doing that

Phew, so if I get like a 92+ percentile on the UCAT and a 97 atar (boosted to 99), UQ dent should be a 'safe bet' sorta thing.

 

[Cal]

Phew, so if I get like a 92+ percentile on the UCAT and a 97 atar (boosted to 99), UQ dent should be a 'safe bet' sorta thing.

Yeah I would say so, although still kinda borderline, the ucat/umat cutoff has never been above 90/91 so yeah I would imagine unless something changes drastically you would gain entry

 

[Ying1216]

Hi, I've got a 5.4/7 GPA & MCAT score of 503 (~60%), any advise on what aremy chances for acceptance into USYD/UWA MD/DMD programme? Should I try my luck?

 

[nb]

Hi, I've got a 5.4/7 GPA & MCAT score of 503 (~60%), any advise on what aremy chances for acceptance into USYD/UWA MD/DMD programme? Should I try my luck?

Assuming that MCAT percentiles are looked in a similar way to UCAT percentiles, I don't believe a 503 and a 5.3 GPA will be sufficient for any of these programs unless you are a rural applicant. Have you considered applying to JCU? I think that would be your best shot.

Addit by Crow: International students are in a separate pool to domestic students, and there are no rural quotas in the international student pool.
Addit by noodleboy123: Thanks, didn't know about that!