Anyone here graduate with a non science degree + work before applying to DS?

[TM27]

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Hi all,

I graduated with a Finance degree in the winter of 2004 (3.5gpa), and have been working in the real world ever since. I am now taking my science pre-reqs so that I can take, and ultimately apply for Dental School. I am curious to know if others here are on, or have taken, similar paths? If so, I have questions for you 🙂 Such as did you find that your business background + work experience helped in interviews/resume? Do admissions committees show clemency to us full time working stiffs as I am only able to take night classes (which in my area means I can only fulfill my science credits at Community Colleges 🙁 ) Did you find yourself at a disadvantage when taking the DAT due to not having 4 years of science courses, when compared to many of the science majors that apply for Dental School? I will have 1 year of Chem, 1 year of Biology, and 2 quarters of OChem prior to taking the DAT, will these suffice (under the assumption that I study hard, take the Kaplan course, Destroyer material, etc. And also with the understanding that I will complete remaining science pre-reqs after the DAT)? Or are there other classes that I should take first (MicroBiology, BioChem, A/P, Immunology, etc)?

Any advice on these subjects is appreciated.

Best regards,
TM

 

[scottyhoop]

I'm in kinda the same boat as you. I have a music degree and taught HS band for 10 years before deciding on pursuing dentistry. I did night classes for 1 year, then decided it was going to take too long to do them all, plus the classes I needed were not offered at night. I am finished with all of my prereqs now and am waiting to hear from schools. Here's a couple of things that I've been told or figured out along the way.
First off...1 year of gen. biology is def. not enough bio for the DAT. There are people on here with 4 year Bio degrees that struggle. I took the DAT a month or so ago and Bio was by far the most challenging section of the DAT. Kaplan is NOT enough. If possible, before the DAT, I would recommend cell bio for sure. Biochem if you have time, and A/P would be nice. Is it possible to do well w/o all the upper level Bio classes? Sure....but you are going to have to bust your butt, and use every resource you can find. 1 year of gen. chem and ochem should be plenty. If you take Kaplan, you should be fine on these sections. One thing you may want to consider is this....Some schools (not all) look at your academic load and the amount of upper level bio classes you have taken. For example, if you take 1 class/semester and only have the bare minimum prereqs, you are going to have a hard time comparing to someone who has 10 upper level bio classes that takes 18 credits/semester. This isn't always the case, but at least 1 dean of admissions sat me down and talked to me about this when I decided to pursue dental school. Because of this, I quit teaching and went to school full time. I hope my gamble pays off!! They give you prereqs, but I would guess not many people get accepted these days with just those prereqs.
As far as the real life experience...I have been told by some adcom people that they do like to see people with real world experience. I don't know if that's true, but I guess it can't hurt. Ok...sorry for the long post and take my advice with a grain of salt. I would try to sit down with a dean from a school in your area and ask them what they think. I'm lucky in that the dean at my #1 sat down with me a few times and gave me pointers on what he's looking for from me. Anything else I can do to help let me know!
Scott

 

[Cymbidium]

I graduated in 2000 with a degree in Art History (see my predents profile to the left for more stats). I worked in law for 4 years then quit and went back to school full time and took 2 years of pre-reqs then got a job in commercial bank/finance while I applied. I applied last cycle, had 4 interviews and one acceptance (Temple, Tufts, Penn and NYU). I deferred for a year and will start NYU in the fall of 2008. So it can be done! And I'll be 29 when I start D-school.

 

[Smuv_Chick]

Our stories sound similar. Do you have any good study habits that you can share? Anything to share particularly for the PAT section?

 

[CMistry]

I graduated a Psychology major (B.S. tho), and applied this year while I was working as a dental assistant. I got a 20/20/20 on the DAT when I retook it, and I am into VCU so far, waiting for more interviews! I had two interviews and neither questions my science background whatsoever.

-Cyrus

 

[sads786]

i think you have an advantage if you dont hav a bio degree because it sets you apart from so many applicants.Sometimes all some schools just look for someone different and u have a great gpa, great Dat scroes should get u in

 

[SouthPaw4416]

i think you have an advantage if you dont hav a bio degree because it sets you apart from so many applicants.Sometimes all some schools just look for someone different and u have a great gpa, great Dat scroes should get u in

I hope that's true... I'm a senior Business Management major at a private college in Minnesota. I've applied to a total of five schools (Marquette, Creighton, U of M, Nebraska, and Iowa) and have only received two interviews thus far (U of M and Creighton). Iowa rejected me instantly this summer, even though I didn't have my application complete yet, and I'm still under review at Nebraska and Marquette. I like to think that being a management major sets me apart from others, but at the same time I've only taken the minimum required courses - which may set me back. In addition, my scores are only average (DAT 18/18/21, cumGPA 3.5, sciGPA 3.4), but I hope there's still a chance...

 

[jdoc04]

To all of you that are non-science majors do yourself a favor and take a few more courses in addition to the pre-reqs. Add some upper level bio's to boost your background and exposure in order to drive home the point that your ready for dental school. This will also make the transition into dental school easier.

Suggestions:
Microbiology
Anatomy
Physiology
Biochem
Histology

Good Luck!!👍👍

 

[jdoc04]

Our stories sound similar. Do you have any good study habits that you can share? Anything to share particularly for the PAT section?

Use Kaplan's techniques for the PAT. For practice use Achiever. It's way harder than the actual PAT on the DAT which makes for good practice. Good Luck, I'm so glad I never have to take that exam again!! 😀