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joooj86

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I am a 4.0 student with 63 credit hours-done with prereqs except for physics. I am studying for the DAT's this summer. I need advice whether to apply this year or wait to get a B.S. I know for a fact that my state schools will not accept me without a B.S.-im in Illinois. I know i will be scoring between 19-21. If i apply i will apply to Nova, lomalinda, case, UMichigan,Ohio state, Marquette. Do you think i should apply, do i have a chance with 63 credit hours? what DAT do i need?? i will probably have 3 science LORs and another 3 from dentists, two in the dental school, i did research, and one from my dentist for shadowing. What do u think? also, should i wait till august when i take the DAT's? or is it gonna be late to apply then? are there any other schools i should consider? Thank you for your help.
 
Check the websites for the school's you're interested in applying to. Loma Linda, for example, requires a minimum of 96 semester units before you can enter. If you think you'll have that completed by the time you matriculate, it's worth a shot.
 
joooj86 said:
I am a 4.0 student with 63 credit hours-done with prereqs except for physics. I am studying for the DAT's this summer. I need advice whether to apply this year or wait to get a B.S. I know for a fact that my state schools will not accept me without a B.S.-im in Illinois. I know i will be scoring between 19-21. If i apply i will apply to Nova, lomalinda, case, UMichigan,Ohio state, Marquette. Do you think i should apply, do i have a chance with 63 credit hours? what DAT do i need?? i will probably have 3 science LORs and another 3 from dentists, two in the dental school, i did research, and one from my dentist for shadowing. What do u think? also, should i wait till august when i take the DAT's? or is it gonna be late to apply then? are there any other schools i should consider? Thank you for your help.

Personally, I wouldn't apply. The reason being is that so many people apply and already have degrees or will have them before school starts. I feel that an admissions committee will look more favorably upon these people. Plus, the overwhelming majority of admitted applicants will have their degree when school starts. So you are up against some tough odds. I know at Detroit Mercy and University of Michigan this is the case - most of the people admitted will have their degrees. So I think you may have a tough chance at Michigan if you plan to apply there. Unless you have a great GPA (which you do) and awesome DAT (above 20) AND a GREAT dental background (lots of shadowing, perhaps work experience, etc.) - which I think is even more important for people without degrees, then I would not apply. But, this is my opinion - I am sure others on here may disagree or may have even been admitted without a degree.
 
I would look at the Guide to Dental Schools or whatever the name of that book is that the ADA puts out every year. It has the stats of the most recent entering class of evey school broken down by whether they had no degree, a bachelor's, masters, PhD, etc. Check it out and see if the schools you are interested in let people in last year without a bachelor's.
 
It really seems to me that you don't meet the minimum requirement for credits. Could be wrong, but 60 credits is only about 2 years. I think they want juniors (at least three years of course work) for a minimum of something like 90 credits. Not sure if that is before you apply or before matriculation, but look into it.

You don't seem ready to apply to me. It is as if you had this sudden idea, "Maybe I could apply right now." Get some research done and understand what you are getting yourself into first.
 
reLAXgirl said:
It really seems to me that you don't meet the minimum requirement for credits. Could be wrong, but 60 credits is only about 2 years. I think they want juniors (at least three years of course work) for a minimum of something like 90 credits. Not sure if that is before you apply or before matriculation, but look into it.

You don't seem ready to apply to me. It is as if you had this sudden idea, "Maybe I could apply right now." Get some research done and understand what you are getting yourself into first.

I think you are missing the point, of course he doesn't have 90 hours right now, but then again, most people applying don't have their degrees yet either. He will have the 90 hours required by the matriculation (if accepted) because he will be taking around 30 hours this year. It seems to me that with those stats, it coulnd't hurt to apply to at least some private schools and your state school. It'll cost between 500 and 1000, and if accepted, you're a year ahead of everyone else and you're not as deep in debt because you skipped that last year of college tuition payments.
 
I say apply for sure.

Just see which schools will actually seriously consider u with 90 credits only. I think theres more than a few. If you have the grades and can skip a year of your Bachelors...then why not???
 
Maxillicious said:
I say apply for sure.

Just see which schools will actually seriously consider u with 90 credits only. I think theres more than a few. If you have the grades and can skip a year of your Bachelors...then why not???

Why not you say? Because you will be up against a TON of other well-qualified individuals who WILL have a degree when they enter dental school. Also, I am assuming you are a sophomore, do you have extensive dental experience? Because this is probably a must when you are trying to apply that early. Why waste a ton of money applying to many schools when you will have a better shot waiting a year. Not to mention, your choices in schools also become limited as many schools hardly ever admit students who will not have their degree or who have only 60 credits at the time of application. If you do decide to apply, don't even try Detroit-Mercy or University of Michigan. Detroit-Mercy admitted zero people into their entering 2004 class with as few credits as you do and Michigan only admitted a couple.
 
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