I’m currently a 3rd year as a Biology major at a pre-dental/pre-pharmacy dominant university.
My current GPA is a 2.66 (not including the fall 2016 semester). I have a lot of C’s and two of which are C-'s which I’m debating if I should retake.
A lot of people suggested I should still try to apply but I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars knowing that I will get rejected. Furthermore, I’d have to rush studying for the DAT over winter break.
I was planning on doing my post bach regardless and then applying after but should I still TRY to apply?
You definitely need to retake the C-'s if they are to be used toward dental school prereqs. If you got at least a C, move on. If you want to show that you are competent in that material, take an upper level course with that course as a prereq, and do well in it.
I think your better bet is to hold off on applying until you get your overall GPA up to at least a 3.0.
Sorry to tell you but dental school is very competitive and you’re not going to get into dental school with a bunch of C’s. If you are still interested in dental school then you need to retake those required classes so you can get at least a B+…
I am not sure about other schools, but at Umich, the repeat policy is usually that if you receive a C or higher, you cannot repeat the course without some sort of approval from the administration (and that petition process is not easy). In addition, if granted that permission, it does not earn you credits towards progress, nor does it affect your GPA.
Also, if you repeat a course because you failed or withdrew the first attempt, anything less than an A on your second attempt is implicitly unacceptable. Keep in mind that AADSAS calculates your GPA considering all attempts at a course, even if your school only counts the highest or most recent attempt towards your GPA. The GPA that dental schools use in the admissions review process may in fact be lower than what your school has on file for you.
I would consider pharmacy or whatever. From your description, this is an ordinary school, where most biology majors aren’t premed. Therefore, a 2.7 average there is not what dental schools are looking for.