Applying to Dental School without a Bachelor's Degree

[chickensoupdr]

Hello.

I just finished my sophomore (undergrad) year of college. And at this point, I am quite certain that I would like to pursue a career in dentistry. I have taken cell biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy, and physiology. And I have done pretty well in those classes so I have a relatively high gpa. And I am going to take DAT in a couple months.

However, I still have to complete a lot of hours from out-of-major classes in order to graduate. This ultimately means that it would take about 3 more years of taking out-of-major classes (like philosophy, education, etc.) for me to receive a bachelor's degree.

Should I work to complete these graduation requirements and recieve a bachelor's degree in biological sciences before I apply for dental school? Or would it be best for me to go ahead and apply to dental schools the next cycle with just the classes, gpa, and dat scores that I have...

Thank you.

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[Dr.Millisevert]

Hello.

I just finished my sophomore (undergrad) year of college. And at this point, I am quite certain that I would like to pursue a career in dentistry. I have taken cell biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy, and physiology. And I have done pretty well in those classes so I have a relatively high gpa. And I am going to take DAT in a couple months.

However, I still have to complete a lot of hours from out-of-major classes in order to graduate. This ultimately means that it would take about 3 more years of taking out-of-major classes (like philosophy, education, etc.) for me to receive a bachelor's degree.

Should I work to complete these graduation requirements and recieve a bachelor's degree in biological sciences before I apply for dental school? Or would it be best for me to go ahead and apply to dental schools the next cycle with just the classes, gpa, and dat scores that I have...

Thank you.

Just go ahead and apply... Why not?

Every year people get into dental school without a previous bachelors degree. You don't need a bachelor in bio or medical science to get a dental license. You only need a dental degree.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=602095

 

[crmdental]

APPLY!!! While your waiting to hear back from dental schools you can continue with your college career. If they accept you, go. If not, get your bachelors.

 

[chickensoupdr]

I'm not too familiar with this whole applying process, but... would dental schools recognize students who didn't get accepted the first time? And would that be considered when you apply the second time? Because I don't want to give the wrong impression that I am applying everytime I get a chance to do so... Also, does anyone have any statistics on how many undergrads actually get accepted to dental schools without a bachelor's degree?

 

[Dr.Millisevert]

I'm not too familiar with this whole applying process, but... would dental schools recognize students who didn't get accepted the first time? And would that be considered when you apply the second time? Because I don't want to give the wrong impression that I am applying everytime I get a chance to do so... Also, does anyone have any statistics on how many undergrads actually get accepted to dental schools without a bachelor's degree?

UOP in San Fran has a 5 year dental program specifically for high school graduates... and they don't require nor give you seperate bachelors degree.

 

[Vicviper]

Are you sure you want to jump into it so fast? Undergrad was one of the best times of my life, and I'll tell you that dental school is going to be hell, that's the nature of the beast. I don't think there's any harm in applying, but what's wrong with being a super senior? I was, and I took my time and enjoyed it. Also, if you take summer and winter intersession classes, you still wouldn't be able to finish in 2 years?