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I plan to apply to the local school's DDS program Fall 2014 semester and I have a few questions about how I can improve my application. I have not taken the DAT, but my undergrad GPA is 3.87 and my science GPA is 3.81 for the prerequisite science courses. My chemistry GPA is 4.0 so far, which I am really proud of. However, I still need to take the Physics sequence and Organic Chemistry II.
I intend to complete the prerequisites during the 2012-2013 school year at a local university, not the one where I graduated from. I also plan to begin shadowing during this time, and I will take the DAT next summer. My letters of recommendation will have to come from the professors who I take Physics/ O. Chem with, since my other science courses were completed some time ago (6-7 years).
I feel that after all of this is completed, I will meet the minimum requirements for the program. One big issue for this particular school is that the school's catalog explicitly says "correspondence courses will not be considered in calculating QPA or total semester hours." My final two years of undergraduate work were completed through a distance program with a well-respected state university. I have a BS in Natural Resources. It was an excellent program, and many of the courses had proctored exams to prevent dishonesty. I am concerned that the Dentistry school will not consider my GPA from any of these courses since they were offered from a distance, and that even my degree may be questioned. That said, I have taken more than 90 credits (but less than a full degree) with a 3.7+ GPA through courses in-person, so I will still be eligible to apply, just not too stellar if they disregard the last two years of my education.
None of my science prerequisites were taken by correspondence. All of those courses and the labs were in-person (leading to the 3.81 science GPA). Although, I did complete my first chemistry sequence at a community college during one summer.
Ultimately, my undergraduate degree was earned through a non-traditional combination of correspondence work, community college work (during summers, when summer courses were not offered by my primary institution) and two universities that I attended in-person. While I value my experience, I know that it may raise a lot of questions and I'd like to do what I can to have the strongest academic application possible.
What I am considering is either:
a) Completing the prerequisites and just applying, in hopes that just meeting the minimum requirements for GPA and credits will be enough.
b) Completing the prerequisites and additional science courses to tack on another year of full-time work in science (and improve my chances of getting a good letter of recommendation, since there will be more profs to choose from.) This is a more expensive option.
c) Completing the prereqs then enrolling in a master's program/ or predental post-bacc type program so that I can get more intentional pre-professional training, and the likelihood that I will have a committee letter rather than simply professor letters. As a post-bacc student this is the most expensive option, but it would only set me back another year at most and I think it would definitely increase my chances.
What do you all think? Option C looks really appealing to me, as far as building my credibility, but it might be overkill and I don't want to burn myself out before even getting into dental school. Do you think that is warranted, given my circumstances?
I intend to complete the prerequisites during the 2012-2013 school year at a local university, not the one where I graduated from. I also plan to begin shadowing during this time, and I will take the DAT next summer. My letters of recommendation will have to come from the professors who I take Physics/ O. Chem with, since my other science courses were completed some time ago (6-7 years).
I feel that after all of this is completed, I will meet the minimum requirements for the program. One big issue for this particular school is that the school's catalog explicitly says "correspondence courses will not be considered in calculating QPA or total semester hours." My final two years of undergraduate work were completed through a distance program with a well-respected state university. I have a BS in Natural Resources. It was an excellent program, and many of the courses had proctored exams to prevent dishonesty. I am concerned that the Dentistry school will not consider my GPA from any of these courses since they were offered from a distance, and that even my degree may be questioned. That said, I have taken more than 90 credits (but less than a full degree) with a 3.7+ GPA through courses in-person, so I will still be eligible to apply, just not too stellar if they disregard the last two years of my education.
None of my science prerequisites were taken by correspondence. All of those courses and the labs were in-person (leading to the 3.81 science GPA). Although, I did complete my first chemistry sequence at a community college during one summer.
Ultimately, my undergraduate degree was earned through a non-traditional combination of correspondence work, community college work (during summers, when summer courses were not offered by my primary institution) and two universities that I attended in-person. While I value my experience, I know that it may raise a lot of questions and I'd like to do what I can to have the strongest academic application possible.
What I am considering is either:
a) Completing the prerequisites and just applying, in hopes that just meeting the minimum requirements for GPA and credits will be enough.
b) Completing the prerequisites and additional science courses to tack on another year of full-time work in science (and improve my chances of getting a good letter of recommendation, since there will be more profs to choose from.) This is a more expensive option.
c) Completing the prereqs then enrolling in a master's program/ or predental post-bacc type program so that I can get more intentional pre-professional training, and the likelihood that I will have a committee letter rather than simply professor letters. As a post-bacc student this is the most expensive option, but it would only set me back another year at most and I think it would definitely increase my chances.
What do you all think? Option C looks really appealing to me, as far as building my credibility, but it might be overkill and I don't want to burn myself out before even getting into dental school. Do you think that is warranted, given my circumstances?
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