Admissions Question

[FCIllini]

Just a general question that I thought y'all might be able to help me with. I won't have my bachelor's degree by August 2006 - I have been working full time for the past four years & will be 26 years old when I start dental school (hopefully). I've completed approx. 110+ semester hours, have a 3.88 GPA (approx. 3.85 science GPA), but can only take 1-2 courses a semester now due to working 60-70 hours/week & trying to support my wife & baby.

What DAT score should be competitive enough for me to get into d-school without the bachelors?

I live in Texas & am applying to the 3 schools here, plus I'm applying to Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Case Western, UMKC, Nova, & UAB. Which of these would you expect I would have a better chance of getting into without a bachelor's and say a 19-20 DAT score?

Thanks.

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[Mayusea]

You need a 20 to be considered for an interview at UMKC (b/c you are out of state). However, if I were you I would worry less about crunching numbers and just study your tail off. And no worries about the 26 years old thing…one of my classmates is 45.

 

[Mayusea]

…I forgot to mention, I got in without my bachelors. Good Luck!

 

[ISU_Steve]

Forget UAB unless you're an Alabama resident. Just a piece of advice that I received from their admissions staff.

 

[Biogirl361]

with that gpa and 20's on the DAT i think you will get some interviews without the bachelors, especially if you make sure to explain your situation somewhere on the application. Potential questions I see the schools having: 1)Instead of working 70 hours a week, why didn't you take out loans, get just a part time job, and finish the classes you needed to graduate? 2) If you don't have time to take enough classes to finish your bachelors, what are you going to do in dental school when you're taking 10 classes at a time?
Just be prepared for questions like these if you get interviewed, and maybe you should think about adressing these kinds of things in your essay.

 

[FCIllini]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Biogirl - in regards to the questions, my response would be: I'll make just north of $100K this year but real estate is not what I love, dentistry is. I couldn't take too many classes because of the demands of work & trying to support my wife and 4-month old baby. Once I begin d-school, I will be quitting my job & my wife will be going back to work.

How does that sound?

ISU-Steve: I thought I read that UAB accepts a good number of out-of-staters??

 

[ISU_Steve]

http://dentalstats.tripod.com/03-04.htm

347 applicants----->57 slots------>6 out of state

But I was told by their admissions staff when I called that even with a 3.75 GPA (I asked a couple of hypothetical questions) I'd be hard pressed to find a spot because I'm not a good ol' boy.