Original post below. I'd like to use this thread as a continually updated account of my journey. Here's my list of prerequisites (note that chemistry labs are separate classes with separate course numbers at my school but for Bio lab is included):
Original UGPA: 3.49
Physics 1 from 2003 (4 hours): A
Chem 1 (3 hours), Summer 1 14: A
Chem 1 lab (2 hours), Summer 1 14 : B+
Chem 2 (3 hours), Summer 2 14: A
Chem 2 lab (2 hours), Summer 2 14: B+
Bio 1 (4 hours) Fall 14: A
Bio 2 (4 hours): A
Ochem 1 (3 hours): Summer 1 15 A
Ochem 1 lab (2 hours): Summer 1 15 B (B is for blech)
Ochem 2 (3 hours): Summer 2 15
Ochem 2 lab (3 hours): Summer 2 15 I dropped this...turns out all the schools I'm applying to either don't require lab or they just require 8 hours which I will already have.
DAT: Taking on July 24th
Applications: UNC, UF, OSU, VCU, ECU --> if I can square away my residency
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Original post
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Good evening all! Prior lurker but first post. I am a non traditional student looking to apply to dental school in the 2015 cycle. I didn't realize this was what I wanted to do until just a few months ago. Seriously.
I'd like to introduce myself, share the credentials I do have, talk about what I'm still working on, and see where my non-traditional credentials might serve to break me out of the crowd (in good and bad ways). Please pardon the lengthy introduction and feel free to tell me TLDR.
First, the bad (what I think does NOT reflect well on me in a D-school application):
I'm 31 years old, I got my bachelor's from a major state university in the Southeast in political science in 2006. I suffered for a long time under the delusion that I was "not a science brain but into history and politics", not realizing that that was a cop out for not wanting to have to work hard in college. So I majored in political science and drifted along at about 13 credits a semester on average, but managed to graduate in 4 years with a combination of summer school and by-exam credits. My UGPA is 3.49 (non-URM) but the only hard science I took in college was one semester of physics, with a smattering of credits in the soft sciences including economics (3 credits), psychology (6 credits) and anthropology (6 credits). For a long time I wanted to go to law school but market realities and the advice of lawyer relatives have steered me clear of that.
Now, the good (What I think MIGHT reflect well on me on an application):
Strength in Science: That one physics that I took (sophomore year), I did get a full A in. This means my science GPA technically currently stands at 4.0, though yes I have a LOT more science to take. I did also get a full A in each of those soft science classes I mentioned except a B in one of the psychologies. Not sure if any of these other than the physics factor into my "science GPA" as it will be considered on a D-school application, but it's still solid academic performance.
Upward trend: I did finally turn myself around at the tail end of college. I married my now-wife in the summer between my junior and senior year, and we promptly became pregnant, and I began to take college more seriously. As I mentioned, my overall UGPA was 3.49, however in my senior year it was about 3.85, on full loads of credits, while working part time to try to save up some money for my new family.
Military service: Still not knowing what I really wanted to be when I grew up, and law school no longer being an option (needed a real job, and fast), I joined the military as a naval flight officer. In that capacity I've deployed twice (total of about 17 months at sea) with all the sacrifices that entails, accumulated 1,000 flight hours in the E-2C Hawkeye and over 200 catapult shots and arrested landings. I finished up my fleet tour and now I'm on shore duty as an NROTC instructor at a regional university in the midwest. All the while my family has continued to grow. We are now up to three children with another on the way and have been happily married for nearly nine years now.
What I'm working on right now is finishing up my time in the Navy and taking all the D-school prerequisites except for the physics I already took (plenty of English/composition credits under my belt too). I'm just now finishing up the first semester of summer school chemistry and lab and am most likely looking at an A and an A- in these, respectively, for 5 credit hours. Second semester chem and lab the second half of this summer, then Bio 1 and 2 in the fall and spring, then Ochem 1 and 2 with labs next summer, take the DAT right after (mid-August timeframe), and apply to dental school, then depending on who (if anyone) takes me, finish the prerequisites accordingly and separate from the Navy in the summer of '16, take a few months off then hit the ground running.
I've been in the real world now for a while. Why do I want to be a dentist? I suppose I want a job that is more vocational and less managerial than what I do now, with flexible work-life balance but an income which will nevertheless support a large family. I also feel a deep spiritual need to redeem myself for my lazy ways as an undergrad by facing a new, tough set of academic challenges and succeeding. All that and my wife is in health care; she's an RN working on an MSN in Women's Health and Nurse Midwifery, and I find it very inspiring.
So, with all of the above said, and if you're still reading thank you, am I just engaging in mental masturbation here? Is dental school a plausible option at this point in my life? How much can these non-traditional factors serve to offset a mediocre GPA? Will it be enough, assuming I don't absolutely crush the DAT (I can't make life plans and decisions about getting out of the Navy based on such an assumption, so I'm assuming I get something in the 19 territory all around and if I do better, great).
Original UGPA: 3.49
Physics 1 from 2003 (4 hours): A
Chem 1 (3 hours), Summer 1 14: A
Chem 1 lab (2 hours), Summer 1 14 : B+
Chem 2 (3 hours), Summer 2 14: A
Chem 2 lab (2 hours), Summer 2 14: B+
Bio 1 (4 hours) Fall 14: A
Bio 2 (4 hours): A
Ochem 1 (3 hours): Summer 1 15 A
Ochem 1 lab (2 hours): Summer 1 15 B (B is for blech)
Ochem 2 (3 hours): Summer 2 15
Ochem 2 lab (3 hours): Summer 2 15 I dropped this...turns out all the schools I'm applying to either don't require lab or they just require 8 hours which I will already have.
DAT: Taking on July 24th
Applications: UNC, UF, OSU, VCU, ECU --> if I can square away my residency
.
.
.
Original post
-----------------------------------------------
Good evening all! Prior lurker but first post. I am a non traditional student looking to apply to dental school in the 2015 cycle. I didn't realize this was what I wanted to do until just a few months ago. Seriously.
I'd like to introduce myself, share the credentials I do have, talk about what I'm still working on, and see where my non-traditional credentials might serve to break me out of the crowd (in good and bad ways). Please pardon the lengthy introduction and feel free to tell me TLDR.
First, the bad (what I think does NOT reflect well on me in a D-school application):
I'm 31 years old, I got my bachelor's from a major state university in the Southeast in political science in 2006. I suffered for a long time under the delusion that I was "not a science brain but into history and politics", not realizing that that was a cop out for not wanting to have to work hard in college. So I majored in political science and drifted along at about 13 credits a semester on average, but managed to graduate in 4 years with a combination of summer school and by-exam credits. My UGPA is 3.49 (non-URM) but the only hard science I took in college was one semester of physics, with a smattering of credits in the soft sciences including economics (3 credits), psychology (6 credits) and anthropology (6 credits). For a long time I wanted to go to law school but market realities and the advice of lawyer relatives have steered me clear of that.
Now, the good (What I think MIGHT reflect well on me on an application):
Strength in Science: That one physics that I took (sophomore year), I did get a full A in. This means my science GPA technically currently stands at 4.0, though yes I have a LOT more science to take. I did also get a full A in each of those soft science classes I mentioned except a B in one of the psychologies. Not sure if any of these other than the physics factor into my "science GPA" as it will be considered on a D-school application, but it's still solid academic performance.
Upward trend: I did finally turn myself around at the tail end of college. I married my now-wife in the summer between my junior and senior year, and we promptly became pregnant, and I began to take college more seriously. As I mentioned, my overall UGPA was 3.49, however in my senior year it was about 3.85, on full loads of credits, while working part time to try to save up some money for my new family.
Military service: Still not knowing what I really wanted to be when I grew up, and law school no longer being an option (needed a real job, and fast), I joined the military as a naval flight officer. In that capacity I've deployed twice (total of about 17 months at sea) with all the sacrifices that entails, accumulated 1,000 flight hours in the E-2C Hawkeye and over 200 catapult shots and arrested landings. I finished up my fleet tour and now I'm on shore duty as an NROTC instructor at a regional university in the midwest. All the while my family has continued to grow. We are now up to three children with another on the way and have been happily married for nearly nine years now.
What I'm working on right now is finishing up my time in the Navy and taking all the D-school prerequisites except for the physics I already took (plenty of English/composition credits under my belt too). I'm just now finishing up the first semester of summer school chemistry and lab and am most likely looking at an A and an A- in these, respectively, for 5 credit hours. Second semester chem and lab the second half of this summer, then Bio 1 and 2 in the fall and spring, then Ochem 1 and 2 with labs next summer, take the DAT right after (mid-August timeframe), and apply to dental school, then depending on who (if anyone) takes me, finish the prerequisites accordingly and separate from the Navy in the summer of '16, take a few months off then hit the ground running.
I've been in the real world now for a while. Why do I want to be a dentist? I suppose I want a job that is more vocational and less managerial than what I do now, with flexible work-life balance but an income which will nevertheless support a large family. I also feel a deep spiritual need to redeem myself for my lazy ways as an undergrad by facing a new, tough set of academic challenges and succeeding. All that and my wife is in health care; she's an RN working on an MSN in Women's Health and Nurse Midwifery, and I find it very inspiring.
So, with all of the above said, and if you're still reading thank you, am I just engaging in mental masturbation here? Is dental school a plausible option at this point in my life? How much can these non-traditional factors serve to offset a mediocre GPA? Will it be enough, assuming I don't absolutely crush the DAT (I can't make life plans and decisions about getting out of the Navy based on such an assumption, so I'm assuming I get something in the 19 territory all around and if I do better, great).
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