any non-trads

[anniemal]

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i'm a non-trad myself and i'm seriously thinking about applying for dental school...i was wondering if any of you are non-trads? if so, how did you pin down on dentistry, what made you pick dentistry? and also, how are you completing the pre-reqs?

 

[uesider]

Hi Anniemal-

I'm definitely a non-trad student... I worked in software for a year and a half after college and then decided I wanted to do dental. Teeth have always interested me and I really would like to be the type of dentist that others aren't afraid of! Anyway I shadowed some students and dentists and decided to go for it... but SLOWLY.. because I haven't taken science courses since high school (I was a communications major in college.)

This past spring I completed General Chem I and General Bio I. I tried Chem II in the summer but it was way too much info in too short of a time span, so I'm retaking that in the fall along with Physics I. (I'm taking Bio II this summer). Then I'll have Ochem 1, 2, and Physics 2 to complete by fall 2007. I'm hoping to apply next June.

Anyway PM me if you have any questions... I am really glad I've chosen this route but it's also very expensive to do the classes part-time. I'm working part-time but that's to pay my rent... my parents are helping with the tuition.

Hope that helped!

 

[aggie-master]

i'm a non-trad myself and i'm seriously thinking about applying for dental school...i was wondering if any of you are non-trads? if so, how did you pin down on dentistry, what made you pick dentistry? and also, how are you completing the pre-reqs?

I decided that I definitely wanted to pursue dentistry almost 3 years after finishing undergrad. I don't like taking risks (such as quitting my job to take prereqs in one year), so I decided to take the prereqs at night while working full time. Due to limited availability of night classes where I live, I'm still 8 hours short on the prereqs and it's taken me 2 years to get to the point where I am applying.

If someone could have given me advice from the start I wish they would have told me the following things:
1. Take Chemistry I & II, BIO I & II, and O-Chem I & II before taking Physics I & II or the 3rd and 4th required biologies. Those last 16 hours are required by most schools but aren't needed to help you on the DAT. If you get accepted in December of the year you apply, you can always finish those last 16 hours between December and matriculation.

2. Shadow early to know that you're sure about this and also to get started on working towards a letter of recommendation from a dentist. I actually could have applied last year because I could have finished my prereqs up this summer, but I did not have any connections with dentists and most schools require a letter from a dentist.

3. Take each class with the thought that you might ask that professor for a letter of recommendation. Answer questions in class, talk to the professor, and let them know that you plan on applying to professional school.

4. You don't need all of your prereqs done to apply. Looking back on things, I seriously wish that I would have applied last year. I'd be one more year closer to being a dentist, and it also would have been a better financial move since I'll make more in that one extra year as a dentist than I would in this one extra year in my current career.

 

[bipolardoc]

I decided that I definitely wanted to pursue dentistry almost 3 years after finishing undergrad. I don't like taking risks (such as quitting my job to take prereqs in one year), so I decided to take the prereqs at night while working full time. Due to limited availability of night classes where I live, I'm still 8 hours short on the prereqs and it's taken me 2 years to get to the point where I am applying.

If someone could have given me advice from the start I wish they would have told me the following things:
1. Take Chemistry I & II, BIO I & II, and O-Chem I & II before taking Physics I & II or the 3rd and 4th required biologies. Those last 16 hours are required by most schools but aren't needed to help you on the DAT. If you get accepted in December of the year you apply, you can always finish those last 16 hours between December and matriculation.
Interesting thread... any other non-trads out there...
2. Shadow early to know that you're sure about this and also to get started on working towards a letter of recommendation from a dentist. I actually could have applied last year because I could have finished my prereqs up this summer, but I did not have any connections with dentists and most schools require a letter from a dentist.

3. Take each class with the thought that you might ask that professor for a letter of recommendation. Answer questions in class, talk to the professor, and let them know that you plan on applying to professional school.

4. You don't need all of your prereqs done to apply. Looking back on things, I seriously wish that I would have applied last year. I'd be one more year closer to being a dentist, and it also would have been a better financial move since I'll make more in that one extra year as a dentist than I would in this one extra year in my current career.

Interesting thread, any more non-trads out there going dental?

 

[DMDreaming]

I'm as non-trad as they get. 40ish years old with almost 2 decades of work prior to going back to complete my pre-reqs and get an undergrad degree. I was forced to take some classes at a CC prior to transferring to a 4 year university to complete my studies. With a house payment and other financial obligations, I was unable to quit my job to complete the pre-reqs. Unfortunately, the university didn't offer evening classes so I took most of my core classes in the evenings at a CC then tranferred to finish.
I was careful about which dental schools I selected knowing that some don't like CC credit. Of those I applied to, I received 4 interview invites last cycle and was accepted to 2 schools. Interestingly, I was never asked why I chose to take the lower division classes at a CC.
Being a non-trad brings with it some unique issues but they are not impossible. I'd suggest to any non-trad who is thinking about a change to dentistry to do your homework before you go back for pre-reqs and before you apply so you know what options you have available. If you are set on going only to your in-state school but they don't accept (or limit) CC credits you need to know this so you can plan.

 

[rubyx4soho]

i know this is an old thread, but there are new posts so i thought i'd add. i'm just beginning the process of preparing for dental school, so i have a ways to go. i have a ba in a foreign language and only took what little science was required in undergrad, but i have a master of science in speech-language pathology. the absolute earliest i'd be able to apply is 2 years from now, so i'm trying to put dental school in my 10-year plan... thanks for all of the great tips for non-traditional students, i'm 27 now and the thought of taking lower level bio and chem classes isn't the most exciting, but with the ultimate goal in mind hopefully all will go well!