Advice on choosing undergrad school

[arvininfinity]

Basically I'm an applicant from UK (done A-levels) planning to do dentistry in US but I was told by dental admission that I need to complete a undergrad course and then apply for a dental school.
Good friend of mine advised me to do my undergrad course in JMU(james madison uni)

wondered if anyone could advice me on that? Also what are schools like JMU should I be looking for.

Also I dont mind where the uni is located ..cause my aim is to just complete to course and then apply for dental school (I know it can take up to 4 years but really dont mind)

I appreciate anyone commenting on this cause its very important for me to finish off my application as quick as possible

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[BU2012]

I don't know what A-levels are, but to matriculate to dental schools in this day and age you must have a 4-year bachelors degree from an accredited university. It doesn't matter if that's a small liberal arts college, a big state school, or an Ivy/public Ivy. You can get into any dental school from pretty much any university if you have a solid GPA, great DAT scores, letters of rec, shadowing/internship experience, and extracurriculars. Applying early is key, as well.

Good luck to you.

 

[arvininfinity]

I don't know what A-levels are, but to matriculate to dental schools in this day and age you must have a 4-year bachelors degree from an accredited university. It doesn't matter if that's a small liberal arts college, a big state school, or an Ivy/public Ivy. You can get into any dental school from pretty much any university if you have a solid GPA, great DAT scores, letters of rec, shadowing/internship experience, and extracurriculars. Applying early is key, as well.

Good luck to you.

Ohh .. A-level GCE (UK education system)

Yh I hear different ideas about choosing where to get the degree from! cause some say go to (UVA) its more prestigious you might even get a lower gpa but still looks good on your application..some say it doesnt matter where you go just go where you can get highest GPA

I mean if I had a bit more time I would have asked the dental admissions but am rushing a bit..
in fact I did hear back from one dental admission and they mentioned it doesnt matter where you get the degree but that was only one school!!

also am not very familiar with the whole US education system..say I got to this JMU can I transfer to different unis after the first year!! would that look ok on my application?

I appreciate you commenting

 

[BU2012]

ALWAYS, if you have the option, choose a school/degree program where you can earn the highest GPA and still learn the information to destroy the DAT. Don't go to some crap school, but VCU, Richmond, Virginia Tech, and UVA would all be equal footing for dental school. I promise a 3.9 in public health ALWAYS looks better than a 3.5 in bioengineering.

 

[arvininfinity]

ALWAYS, if you have the option, choose a school/degree program where you can earn the highest GPA and still learn the information to destroy the DAT. Don't go to some crap school, but VCU, Richmond, Virginia Tech, and UVA would all be equal footing for dental school. I promise a 3.9 in public health ALWAYS looks better than a 3.5 in bioengineering.

thats good to know..v crucial actually

Also JMU is higher up in ranking than UVA..and apprently getting gpa in there is not that hard..you dont think so?

 

[crax]

A good site to look at US schools is collegeboard.org , the left side has a compare colleges and similar colleges.

One thing to consider, is some dental schools have early admittance programs where you apply early (guessing, your 1st year) and you can be conditionally accepted. For example : http://dental.buffalo.edu/Education/DDSProgram/EarlyAssuranceProgramDDS.aspx

I think you are probably well off looking for schools that have dental schools with it, and preferably state schools. Are you planning on becoming a US citizen? If so, you can become a resident of that state, and gain "in state tuition" ( cheaper) to that state school, and have some ties to the state dental school as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dental_schools_in_the_United_States#New_York
I am from new york, and this helped me in applying to all of the new york & new jersey schools.
I went to a state school in new york (SUNY - state university of new york). If you want to look into the top state schools in new york. they probably are Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Albany.
http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/attendance-costs.html
If you become a us citizen, and get in state tuition, it will cost around 15K / year if you live off campus (alot cheaper).

feel free to ask all the questions you want here on us education system.
-also im not sure, but are you allowed to stay in USA for 4 years getting a undergrad degree? I know many students from turkey at my school would spend 2 years and have to leave.

As long as you are dedicated to studying hard (even 3-4 hours a day most likely) you will do well if you study efficiently , and are intelligent. And you will have time to go out. Like mentioned above, i might stray away from very time consuming majors such as Engineering, but you dont need to declare a major immediately anyway.

You want to make sure that all your classes go towards you graduating. Schools have gen-ed's (general education) requirements and many classes overlap. So for example when you pick your school, you want to make sure you take the requirements for dental school (1 yr english, 1 yr chemistry, 1y organic chemistry, 1y physic, 1y biology, 1y math).For me, some of the chemistry courses has writing components which satisfied my english requirement. I ended up taking a class i didnt need to take.

On this note also, i wouldnt plan too much on transferring because while it probably would work, sometime schools dont accept certain courses from another school, so you may need to repeat a general course that could satisfy a gen-ed like history.
http://www.suny.edu/student/academic_general_education.cfm

 

[doc toothache]

ALWAYS, if you have the option, choose a school/degree program where you can earn the highest GPA and still learn the information to destroy the DAT. Don't go to some crap school, but VCU, Richmond, Virginia Tech, and UVA would all be equal footing for dental school. I promise a 3.9 in public health ALWAYS looks better than a 3.5 in bioengineering.

You shouldn't make promises you cannot deliver. It would be safe to bet your bottom dollar that a 3.5 will be just as good, if not better, than a 3.9 in basket weaving, unless all the other bio engineering (engineering) applicants have higher stats than a 3.5.

 

[arvininfinity]

A good site to look at US schools is collegeboard.org , the left side has a compare colleges and similar colleges.



I am from new york, and this helped me in applying to all of the new york & new jersey schools.
I went to a state school in new york (SUNY - state university of new york). If you want to look into the top state schools in new york. they probably are Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Albany.
http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/attendance-costs.html
If you become a us citizen, and get in state tuition, it will cost around 15K / year if you live off campus (alot cheaper).




feel free to ask all the questions you want here on us education system.
-also im not sure, but are you allowed to stay in USA for 4 years getting a undergrad degree? I know many students from turkey at my school would spend 2 years and have to leave.

As long as you are dedicated to studying hard (even 3-4 hours a day most likely) you will do well if you study efficiently , and are intelligent. And you will have time to go out. Like mentioned above, i might stray away from very time consuming majors such as Engineering, but you dont need to declare a major immediately anyway.

You want to make sure that all your classes go towards you graduating. Schools have gen-ed's (general education) requirements and many classes overlap. So for example when you pick your school, you want to make sure you take the requirements for dental school (1 yr english, 1 yr chemistry, 1y organic chemistry, 1y physic, 1y biology, 1y math).For me, some of the chemistry courses has writing components which satisfied my english requirement. I ended up taking a class i didnt need to take.

On this note also, i wouldnt plan too much on transferring because while it probably would work, sometime schools dont accept certain courses from another school, so you may need to repeat a general course that could satisfy a gen-ed like history.
http://www.suny.edu/student/academic_general_education.cfm

Amazing post!
I was actually using the colleg board its quite good

One thing to consider, is some dental schools have early admittance programs where you apply early (guessing, your 1st year) and you can be conditionally accepted. For example : http://dental.buffalo.edu/Education/DDSProgram/EarlyAssuranceProgramDDS.aspx

I think "A-level" does count as the first year ..that being said the deadline for all dental entry is already passed

I think you are probably well off looking for schools that have dental schools with it, and preferably state schools. Are you planning on becoming a US citizen? If so, you can become a resident of that state, and gain "in state tuition" ( cheaper) to that state school, and have some ties to the state dental school as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dental_schools_in_the_United_States#New_York

well Ive heard that you can get citizenship after a few years of study but not entirely sure on that

Would any of the schools you mentioned accept me for fall 2012 ..or all the deadlines are passed? I mean Im going to check on their website and perhaps email them cause sometime they do accept late applicant -

yh am actually applying as freshman but e.g. JMU mentioned that they do accept some credits


also something that I really wanna know atm is you know when I apply to these uni some ask me to declare majors..would I be able to change my mind say later on?
say I put down biology BSc and ..

Its been very helpful ...cheers

 

[BU2012]

I have a 4.0 in public health and was accepted to Harvard. I hardly consider it basket weaving.

 

[dantemac]

Why not stay in the UK and do dental school? They have a few of them!

 

[arvininfinity]

I have a 4.0 in public health and was accepted to Harvard. I hardly consider it basket weaving.

Sorry what you mean

 

[arvininfinity]

Why not stay in the UK and do dental school? They have a few of them!

In fact I do have an offer+scholarship to do that in UK! but then the degree I get here is not acceptable for US-canada dental schools

 

[dantemac]

If you would not like to stay in the UK, then yes you will need to earn a Bachelor's degree in the US before applying to dental school after the summer of your 3rd year.

 

[crax]

Amazing post!
I was actually using the colleg board its quite good



I think "A-level" does count as the first year ..that being said the deadline for all dental entry is already passed

I would believe that you can apply for the early dental admssion programs during the first year @ uni, where you are pursuing your 4 year bachelor degree, so after you start uni you should be able to apply, but keep in mind most people do NOT follow this early route, and end up applying ^as stated above^ between your 3rd and 4th year@ uni.


well Ive heard that you can get citizenship after a few years of study but not entirely sure on that

Would any of the schools you mentioned accept me for fall 2012 ..or all the deadlines are passed? I mean Im going to check on their website and perhaps email them cause sometime they do accept late applicant -
i would check the websites, and call admissions. Should be pretty easy to find out.You should also research and find out if attending A-level makes you a transfer applicant. Junior college may just be a stepping stone, and you can still possibly apply as a freshman. Call and find out, or google
http://www.binghamton.edu/admissions/apply/transfer/index.html
http://www2.binghamton.edu/admissions/apply/freshman/index.html
one of the schools for example, found by google ^



yh am actually applying as freshman but e.g. JMU mentioned that they do accept some credits


also something that I really wanna know atm is you know when I apply to these uni some ask me to declare majors..would I be able to change my mind say later on?
say I put down biology BSc and ..
yes, from my understanding, that question is more of a formality. I believe i picked some majors of interest when applying, and then the same thing during orientation whehn i was assisted in choosing courses. It was not until second semester of second year that i declared my major. You can usually switch majors, but the longer you wait, the long it will take to complete your major. Like i said earlier, you want to make sure you take courses that you think you really HAVE to take (just as a priority) so no matter what, you will be working towards finishing.

Its been very helpful ...cheers

~~

 

[crax]

Students who complete dental school in a school outside of the USA, can apply to USA dental schools. With a degree in dentistry from a foreign school, this usually allows them to start USA dental school as a 3rd year.

So theoretically, if you have a scholarship to UK DENTAL school, not UK uni, then you can complete 4yr dental in UK, and 2 yr dental in USA.
as opposed to 4yr undergraduate uni in usa, and 4 year dental in USA. It will save you 2 years to go in the UK, and im not sure how competitive international applications are (i think there might be a forum for it on here). Also though, going to uni is really fun, and alot easier too so it might be worth it to spend the two extra years.

Let me know if anything doesnt make sense. And by the way, this is just my opinion, so make sure to do your own research too!

 

[doc toothache]

I have a 4.0 in public health and was accepted to Harvard. I hardly consider it basket weaving.

An exception, a rule doesn't make.

 

[Yachi]

Students who complete dental school in a school outside of the USA, can apply to USA dental schools. With a degree in dentistry from a foreign school, this usually allows them to start USA dental school as a 3rd year.

So theoretically, if you have a scholarship to UK DENTAL school, not UK uni, then you can complete 4yr dental in UK, and 2 yr dental in USA.
as opposed to 4yr undergraduate uni in usa, and 4 year dental in USA. It will save you 2 years to go in the UK, and im not sure how competitive international applications are (i think there might be a forum for it on here). Also though, going to uni is really fun, and alot easier too so it might be worth it to spend the two extra years.

I agree. You would be saving yourself time and money by staying in the UK. US dental schools can be much more expensive. I'm sure you are very bright and have done very well on your A-levels to be offered a placement in UK dental school. You would need to do very well in US undergrad and DAT to impress US dental schools. If I could do it again, I'd go to dental school in the UK, and try to come via the advanced placement way. It is said to be very very very competitive to get a placement in AP, but I'm sure you can do it.