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[valherself]

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Hi everyone.

So I am considering dental school. I have looked into the pre-reqs and I am planning to enroll.

The thing is that I'm afraid. I'm 28 and currently a litigation paralegal. I received my B.S. in Business. The pay is okay...I earn about approx. $70K a year, however, I'm bored with what I do and there's no growth for where I am at (unless I become an attorney). I don't want to become an attorney. I actually don't like law. I decided to work in this field because I wanted to know if I would like it and I don't. I should've got out of this field four years ago but I didn't. Thankfully, I did not apply to law school because that would have been a mistake.

I planned to pursue dental school three (3) years ago but I had personal problems and had to put that the side.

Most of the prereqs I need to take are usually in the day time and I need the money to pay for the classes. I'm trying to enroll in night classes but not many science courses are held at night.

I'm not married nor I have any kids so I'm okay there.

I have about 10 years of experience of working in a dental office (I started working when I was about 15 in high school) I was a dental assistant there. I'm familiar to the field so it's not like I decided to get into it out of nowhere. Fyi: I don't want to work at a dental office right now because the pay is terrible.

Where do I start? Do I just quit my job and enroll in the classes so I can finish faster? I don't like my job because I leave everyday not wanting to do anything after work.

Also...should I do a post bacc program? take pre-reqs? obtain a second bachelors? There's a school near me...Southern California University of Health Services...basically the classes I have to take for the bachelors are the prereqs...

Any advice would be appreciated....

 

[jLaws]

Hi everyone.

So I am considering dental school. I have looked into the pre-reqs and I am planning to enroll.

The thing is that I'm afraid. I'm 28 and currently a litigation paralegal. I received my B.S. in Business. The pay is okay...I earn about approx. $70K a year, however, I'm bored with what I do and there's no growth for where I am at (unless I become an attorney). I don't want to become an attorney. I actually don't like law. I decided to work in this field because I wanted to know if I would like it and I don't. I should've got out of this field four years ago but I didn't. Thankfully, I did not apply to law school because that would have been a mistake.

I planned to pursue dental school three (3) years ago but I had personal problems and had to put that the side.

Most of the prereqs I need to take are usually in the day time and I need the money to pay for the classes. I'm trying to enroll in night classes but not many science courses are held at night.

I'm not married nor I have any kids so I'm okay there.

I have about 10 years of experience of working in a dental office (I started working when I was about 15 in high school) I was a dental assistant there. I'm familiar to the field so it's not like I decided to get into it out of nowhere. Fyi: I don't want to work at a dental office right now because the pay is terrible.

Where do I start? Do I just quit my job and enroll in the classes so I can finish faster? I don't like my job because I leave everyday not wanting to do anything after work.

Also...should I do a post bacc program? take pre-reqs? obtain a second bachelors? There's a school near me...Southern California University of Health Services...basically the classes I have to take for the bachelors are the prereqs...

Any advice would be appreciated....

The cheapest way is to do an informal post-bac. You enroll at a university and just start taking the classes you need as you see fit. A formal post-bac costs a lot more but is structured and takes all the planning out of it. If all you need are the sciences, and you go the informal route it will take you about 2 years. I had to declare a major so that I could pick classes as soon as they were available (non-degree students are last in line at my school) but don’t plan on finishing the BS, nor do I think there’s any value in doing that. There is no reason not to work during this time as not working won’t speed up the process by much and working will allow you to pay for the classes out of pocket instead of taking out additional loans. I worked evening shift and took classes during the day, and that worked perfectly. PM me if you have any more questions

 

[Tooth Ferry]

A difficulty with the informal route is that you may get locked out of critical classes that you need. In my personal experience, we were able to register for tough to get classes at the same time as undergrads, whereas when you are not enrolled in a non-degree program, you have last pick of the seats. Just something to consider.

Do the cheapest schooling possible and excel. I'm a 3rd year that's your age (started the postbacc process at 23). It's a long road, I'm not going to lie. Consider that you'll need 1.5 years at minimum (full time in summer + 1 academic year) to get this done. 2 years if you do it part time. That means you'll likely be 30 by the time you're done, maybe 31 to start school, 35 to finish and then finally start your career with 6-figure debt. Are you going to delay having a family until then? Just things to consider.

Best of luck

 

[247_sandwich]

I was actually the same situation as you a few years ago, minus the good paycheck.

I was in the Navy, got out and did a Formal Post-Bac in San Francisco. Perhaps it is a hindsight bias because I did get into dental school this year, but I can say the type of program is going to make a big difference. Especially Formal vs Informal. Guidance, to the availability of the courses you need, is going to make a big difference. I did the bare minimum I needed (Bio, Gen Chem, Ogo, Physics and Biochem/Anatomy) and was did well on the DAT considering I career changed. It took me 1.5 years to finish the program. I did incur manageable debt, and tuition did play a role in my decision-making process for dental schools. Most post-bacs are listed under the AAMC. They're pre-med post-bacs but you can still apply as a pre-dental. The pre-reqs are essentially the same.

I would avoid second bachelors, it is a waste of time and money. Extensions programs are a good option as well if you're in California.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions

Postbaccalaureate - AAMC