Anyone work during undergrad?

[Tooth Trek]

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With the need for near perfect grades, shadowing, studying for the DAT and volunteering, my wife and I are hoping to get by on loans alone while we complete our undergrad. Adding work to the mix sounds like a recipe for failure.

Anyone work at all (part-time, full) while getting their bachelor's? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Impulse155]

GPA's/semester

First year: 3.15/1.98
Second year: 2.55/3.09
Third year: 3.45/3.75

Can you guess what two semesters I worked.

Dont do it. Its not worth it.

 

[Blarelli]

I worked 40-50 hours a week during my freshmen and sophomore years, and worked 20 hours a week since then. I graduated with a 3.89, got a 24 on the dat and still had plenty of time for family and friends. It's all about time management.

 

[NguyenDDS]

I agree with the above 🙂 It's tough. It's not worth the risk. I went full-time at the end of my Freshman year. First semester I had a 4.0..... then it plummeted from there until I got "used" time management and the flow of things... my grades got a little better since, but it was still bad. But given the scenario if I did NOT work.... I think I could have pulled a 4.0 all undergrad.

 

[Dusk]

How many hours are we talking here? 10-20 hrs a week should be no problem. 20+ and either you will either need to do some serious time management, or just be good at your subjects. Working 15ish hrs a week on average was the right fit for me.

 

[woof44]

Well what are you good at? I work for Information Technology Services (computers) and I can do my homework half of the time at work. If you can find a job where you can study a little bit, I highly recommend it. I worked as a bartender for two years, and I HIGHLY recommend against that.

 

[sacapuntas]

I work 20-30 hours a week, depending on the week. I find working 12 hour overnight shifts on weekends to fit my schedule best...it doesn't interfere with anything besides sleep that way.

 

[Impulse155]

Well what are you good at? I work for Information Technology Services (computers) and I can do my homework half of the time at work. If you can find a job where you can study a little bit, I highly recommend it. I worked as a bartender for two years, and I HIGHLY recommend against that.

I was a swim instructor/supervised 2 pools working 20 hours a week.
No down time to study lol

 

[rccostner]

I worked 40-50 hours a week during my freshmen and sophomore years, and worked 20 hours a week since then. I graduated with a 3.89, got a 24 on the dat and still had plenty of time for family and friends. It's all about time management.

I agree - time management is the key. I worked 30-35 hours a week during my undergrad but was terrible at managing my time and my GPA suffered. I spent the last year doing postbac studies carrying a heavier course load than I ever did as an undergrad, working 40+ hours each week, and spending time with my wife and two kids and pulled a 4.0 both semesters because I learned to manage my time better. If you can be efficient with your time you can do it.

 

[chippy]

I work about 15 hours a week as a chem TA and tutor. It helps a little with tuition and looks great on a resume and app.

 

[Tooth Trek]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, you gave me a lot to think about.

 

[txlonghorn]

I worked about 30+ hours a week during undergrad and ended up with a pretty high GPA. However, I took only 12-13 hours per semester and I was a business major, so I had a ton of time. When I did my post bacc, I did not work, aside from working at my dad's business. I would imagine that if I had worked the same amount while taking all science classes, it would have ended up with a lower GPA around 3.5 -3.7. As for the DAT, I would take time off from work for about a month or so to study hardcore for the test - unless you can manage to spread it out over a semester. I mean, it will be about the same amount of time, so why not just cram for the test?

 

[mitrieD]

I quit my job because I was afraid that it would eventually lower my GPA. The small money wasn't worth the risk to me... so I took more units instead.

 

[wwuviking]

yup! work work work

 

[dantemac]

I got by with no job but I worked for the university doing research, teaching as a TA, and volunteering. I could have worked if I wanted to, but I decided to limit employment to acadamia/research interests only to double as useful resume entry.

 

[txlonghorn]

I got by with no job but I worked for the university doing research, teaching as a TA, and volunteering. I could have worked if I wanted to, but I decided to limit employment to acadamia/research interests only to double as useful resume entry.

👍 If you play your cards right, you can get credit for a class, get a scholarship, and improve your CV by doing research at your school.

 

[UltimateHombre]

With the need for near perfect grades, shadowing, studying for the DAT and volunteering, my wife and I are hoping to get by on loans alone while we complete our undergrad. Adding work to the mix sounds like a recipe for failure.

Anyone work at all (part-time, full) while getting their bachelor's? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I think you might find that it takes quite a bit of money to live off of. I have been married for my last 3 years of undergrad. Both of us were also going to school full time. We both ended up working about 30 hours a week and squeaked by financially.

Working is def doable during school, i would recommend just taking a lighter load for the first couple semesters while working. The last thing you want to do is overload yourself.

My advice would be to evaluate your finances, your current debt, and budget out how much you will need to borrow to live off of. Tuition and living for 2 people can easily be over 25K a year. Do you want to be 100K or even 50K in debt before dental school?

Not to mention, if you have a decent job, you can often get insurance and tuition reimbursements. For me it has always been retail banking and sales. Good luck!

 

[txlonghorn]

I would also recommend looking into attending some non-name brand college. The biggest ripoff is attending a name brand university (unless it is an ivy) for undergrad, as the school you attend does not matter at all. I did my post bacc at a local city college. This school was very cheap, where tuition for 12 hours was about $2,600, and there was a program in place to increase minority enrollment that offered about 2k/semester for tuition and fees. This program was, of course, open to all students. I am certain that this was not a unique program and that it probably exists at many schools that have large minority student bodies. Be smart where you attend and you will end up walking away with very little debt.