Hello,
I am a relatively new poster on here. I need advice on whether or not taking a year off is a good idea. I'm going to be a junior this coming year (I'm between my 2nd and 3rd years in the UC system), and I'm also going to take my DAT this summer before school starts. My original plan was (assuming I get around a 21 on my DAT) to apply at the end of my junior year and go straight into dental school after I graduate. Here's the problem, I have around a 3.7 GPA (will have around a 3.8 if I were to apply next cycle), but if I were to apply on June 1st of next year, I would have only completed 2 upper div bio courses. Is that enough? I would potentially take a 3rd upper div bio course in the spring quarter of next year, but my understanding is that if I apply on June 1st, my grades for that spring quarter (which ends on June 10th and I believe the grades can't be finalized and sent until around the 21st or 28th) won't be factored into my application. I'm not worried about the GPA part or anything, but I'm worried about not having enough upper div bio courses that show the dental schools that I'm able to handle a tough course load.
I guess the 3 options I'm entertaining are 1) apply June 1st with 2 upper div bios only (I will have a 3.8 and am fairly confident I can score around a 21 on my DAT), 2) Apply "late" on June 21st or 28th with around 3 upper div bios, or 3) Take a year "off" so I would have all of my upper div bios on my app plus labs.
Sorry for the long post, but here are the other things I was considering. Some of my friends who have gotten into dental school said I should take 2 upper div bios my fall quarter of next year and apply June 1st (I would have 3 upper div bios on my app). I will be starting dental/oral cancer research in the fall and although I've done research this past year, I'm not sure how much of a time commitment it will take up (it isn't based on a set number of hours, but instead we have a certain amount of time to get projects done and everything is based off of patient availability). Because of that uncertainty, I'm just not sure if I would have time to take 2 upper div bios, physics, an upper div bio writing course, 5 units of research, and 2 units of peer tutoring.
At the same time, I also would like to kind of take a year "off" after I graduate. I wouldn't be lounging around and sitting on my butt all day, but I would probably continue interning for the same dentist, potentially work as Kaplan instructor (don't bag on me haha) or continue to tutor privately or through the university, and I also would like to volunteer/intern at a dental lab so that I can increase my dexterity (my dad, who's a dentist, said that his friends who worked in dental labs had an advantage on the lab practicals in dental school). I also have reflected on my 2 years so far in college and I have honestly studied my butt off year round, so after 4 years of that, it would be nice to have a more relaxed, final year before dental school and everything else begins.
So, all of this being said, which do you guys think is the best choice? Am I just being lazy for trying to take a year off? Thanks in advance for any advice.
I am a relatively new poster on here. I need advice on whether or not taking a year off is a good idea. I'm going to be a junior this coming year (I'm between my 2nd and 3rd years in the UC system), and I'm also going to take my DAT this summer before school starts. My original plan was (assuming I get around a 21 on my DAT) to apply at the end of my junior year and go straight into dental school after I graduate. Here's the problem, I have around a 3.7 GPA (will have around a 3.8 if I were to apply next cycle), but if I were to apply on June 1st of next year, I would have only completed 2 upper div bio courses. Is that enough? I would potentially take a 3rd upper div bio course in the spring quarter of next year, but my understanding is that if I apply on June 1st, my grades for that spring quarter (which ends on June 10th and I believe the grades can't be finalized and sent until around the 21st or 28th) won't be factored into my application. I'm not worried about the GPA part or anything, but I'm worried about not having enough upper div bio courses that show the dental schools that I'm able to handle a tough course load.
I guess the 3 options I'm entertaining are 1) apply June 1st with 2 upper div bios only (I will have a 3.8 and am fairly confident I can score around a 21 on my DAT), 2) Apply "late" on June 21st or 28th with around 3 upper div bios, or 3) Take a year "off" so I would have all of my upper div bios on my app plus labs.
Sorry for the long post, but here are the other things I was considering. Some of my friends who have gotten into dental school said I should take 2 upper div bios my fall quarter of next year and apply June 1st (I would have 3 upper div bios on my app). I will be starting dental/oral cancer research in the fall and although I've done research this past year, I'm not sure how much of a time commitment it will take up (it isn't based on a set number of hours, but instead we have a certain amount of time to get projects done and everything is based off of patient availability). Because of that uncertainty, I'm just not sure if I would have time to take 2 upper div bios, physics, an upper div bio writing course, 5 units of research, and 2 units of peer tutoring.
At the same time, I also would like to kind of take a year "off" after I graduate. I wouldn't be lounging around and sitting on my butt all day, but I would probably continue interning for the same dentist, potentially work as Kaplan instructor (don't bag on me haha) or continue to tutor privately or through the university, and I also would like to volunteer/intern at a dental lab so that I can increase my dexterity (my dad, who's a dentist, said that his friends who worked in dental labs had an advantage on the lab practicals in dental school). I also have reflected on my 2 years so far in college and I have honestly studied my butt off year round, so after 4 years of that, it would be nice to have a more relaxed, final year before dental school and everything else begins.
So, all of this being said, which do you guys think is the best choice? Am I just being lazy for trying to take a year off? Thanks in advance for any advice.