Are there dental schools that won't admit me due to community college credits

[Roland225]

So my situation is that I started out as a finance major at community college and recently switched over to Biology/Pre-Health, I am in my sophomore year about to start my second semester. My current GPA is a 3.3, I haven't taken any science courses which is good because now I am ready to start school seriously. I will be taking Bio 1 and Chem 1 at my community college (also pre calc and stats if that matters) and then will be taking the rest of my pre reqs at a 4 year university. So my question is, how much does it hurt my chances with dental school with these community college credits and are there any schools that will reject me based upon that. Thank you for any informal responses as I am stressing out big time over this haha.

(Also if anyone knows anything about Rutgers Dental school specifically when it comes to this, that would be great too because that would be my top choice)

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[dentalschool123]

Some schools do not accept prerequisites from a community college, tufts and BU to name a few.. but I also know a guy who got into his state school with literally all his prereqs from a community college but he also has a degree in engineering. So depends I guess

 

[pinwheeels]

I'm a post-bacc taking my science pre-reqs at CC myself, so I found some valuable info on this and saved it. However, since you're doing it as a traditional student getting an AA and then doing your science classes at the 4-year university, I think you're in a pretty good position. For those schools who don't take CC credits or have limitations, I still question if that's only for the science pre-reqs. For the "red light" schools listed below, I wonder if they will still accept if a student transferred an AA/AS to a 4-year and finished all their science courses at the 4-year? I guess you'll just have to contact those schools directly to ask if you want to apply to any of these.

According to stats about the dental schools from last year's cycle, this is what I found regarding CC credits:

Red Light
Schools who won't acknowledge CC credits:

1. Tufts
2. Boston
3. Creighton
4. Indiana

Yellow Light
These other schools will accept CC credits, but under certain conditions:

1. NYU - only 1 class per subject
2. Pittsburgh - 30% max credits
3. OHSU - max 32 credits
4. Howard U. - max 48 credits
5. Maurice Kornberg (PA) - max 6 credits

This next lists all the schools who accept a max of 60-65 CC credits:

1. Pennsylvania
2. Nova
3. LECOM
4. Las Vegas
5. Med U. of South Carolina
6. Michigan
7. Rutgers
8. Stony Brook
9. Iowa
10. Maryland
11. Colorado
12. Kentucky
13. East Carolina U.
14. UT Houston
15. Southern Illinois
16. Texas A&M
17. Washington
18. UCSF
19. West Virginia
20. Minnesota
21. UNC
22. Mississippi
23. UCLA (max of 70 semester, or 105 quarter units)

Green Light
And then this list of schools must approve and accept your CC credits, I guess individually? Maybe anyone who applied to these can enlighten us further?

1. USC
2. UoP
3. Buffalo
4. Utah
5. Virginia CU
6. Louisville
7. UMKC

Lastly, as I'm sure you're wondering, these are the schools who flat out accept CC credits without any conditions:

1. Roseman
2. Midwestern (IL)
3. Midwestern (AZ)
4. AT Still (AZ)
5. Columbia
6. AT Still (MO)
7. Western
8. Touro
9. New England
10. UI Chicago
11. Connecticut
12. Louisiana
13. Nebraska
14. Augusta
15. Oklahoma
16. UT San Antonio
17. Puerto Rico

[edited 1/12/20 to update UCLA's criteria]

 

[Roland225]

I'm a post-bacc taking my science pre-reqs at CC myself, so I found some valuable info on this and saved it. However, since you're doing it as a traditional student getting an AA and then doing your science classes at the 4-year university, I think you're in a pretty good position. For those schools who don't take CC credits or have limitations, I still question if that's only for the science pre-reqs. For the "red light" schools listed below, I wonder if they will still accept if a student transferred an AA/AS to a 4-year and finished all their science courses at the 4-year? I guess you'll just have to contact those schools directly to ask if you want to apply to any of these.

According to stats about the dental schools from last year's cycle, this is what I found regarding CC credits:

Red Light
Schools who won't acknowledge CC credits:

1. Tufts
2. Boston
3. Creighton
4. Indiana

Yellow Light
These other schools will accept CC credits, but under certain conditions:

1. NYU - only 1 class per subject
2. Pittsburgh - 30% max credits
3. OHSU - max 32 credits
4. Howard U. - max 48 credits
5. Maurice Kornberg (PA) - max 6 credits
6. UCLA - 3 credits/4 quarters accepted (this one confuses me and would like to hear from anyone else applying here what they know about UCLA's limitations on CC credits)

This next list are all the schools who accept a max of 60-65 CC credits:

1. Pennsylvania
2. Nova
3. LECOM
4. Las Vegas
5. Med U. of South Carolina
6. Michigan
7. Rutgers
8. Stony Brook
9. Iowa
10. Maryland
11. Colorado
12. Kentucky
13. East Carolina U.
14. UT Houston
15. Southern Illinois
16. Texas A&M
17. Washington
18. UCSF
19. West Virginia
20. Minnesota
21. UNC
22. Mississippi

Green Light
And then this list of schools must approve and accept your CC credits, I guess individually? Maybe anyone who applied to these can enlighten us further?

1. USC
2. UoP
3. Buffalo
4. Utah
5. Virginia CU
6. Louisville
7. UMKC

Lastly, as I'm sure you're wondering, these are the schools who flat out accept CC credits without any conditions:

1. Roseman
2. Midwestern (IL)
3. Midwestern (AZ)
4. AT Still (AZ)
5. Columbia
6. AT Still (MO)
7. Western
8. Touro
9. New England
10. UI Chicago
11. Connecticut
12. Louisiana
13. Nebraska
14. Augusta
15. Oklahoma
16. UT San Antonio
17. Puerto Rico

Wow this is wonderful information, thank you so much!

 

[artist2022]

UCLA - 3 credits/4 quarters accepted (this one confuses me and would like to hear from anyone else applying here what they know about UCLA's limitations on CC credits)

From the UCLA website:
"
In order to be considered for the 4-year DDS program at the UCLA School of Dentistry, all applicants must have at least three years of coursework with the majority of applicants having four years of coursework. Likewise, applicants must have at least 90 semester units or 135 quarter units.

* Limitations on accredited community college course work -
(Only 70 semester or 105 quarter units will be accepted.)"

Hope this helps 🙂

 

[The dreamer 18]

So my situation is that I started out as a finance major at community college and recently switched over to Biology/Pre-Health, I am in my sophomore year about to start my second semester. My current GPA is a 3.3, I haven't taken any science courses which is good because now I am ready to start school seriously. I will be taking Bio 1 and Chem 1 at my community college (also pre calc and stats if that matters) and then will be taking the rest of my pre reqs at a 4 year university. So my question is, how much does it hurt my chances with dental school with these community college credits and are there any schools that will reject me based upon that. Thank you for any informal responses as I am stressing out big time over this haha.

(Also if anyone knows anything about Rutgers Dental school specifically when it comes to this, that would be great too because that would be my top choice)

As far as I know about Rutgers, they don’t mind taking some of pre reqs at a community college but when you transfer to a four year university, they wanna see some upper level science courses.

 

[yaya97]

I had CC credits and Tufts still accepted me.

 

[pinwheeels]

I had CC credits and Tufts still accepted me.

Did you take the CC credits first and transfer into a 4-year university? I think if that's the case, they probably would, which is good for the OP.

But my case is different - I'm post-bacc and didn't major in a science degree. So now I'm having to catch up and take all of my prereqs at CC and I'm pretty sure that's what the "red light" schools mean by not accepting them.

 

[Roland225]

I had CC credits and Tufts still accepted me.

Were they pre reqs?

 

[roblesc182]

oh boy. I have 71 credits from a cc.
Most of my upper level bio classes are from a 4 year though. Fingers crossed

 

[670206]

I had about 60 CC credits, and none of the schools in my sig had any issues with that. Finish your higher level pre-reqs at a 4 year university though. That's what I did.

 

[pinwheeels]

I'm a non-traditional applicant with a BA, so no science courses were taken at the 4-year university (graduated 2006). I'm taking all of my needed science pre-reqs at community college because it's what I can afford. I wonder if any others have been in my situation and if the dental schools didn't seem to mind this, considering I'm coming in with lots of life experience over the fresh graduates? However, I'm not coming from a dental field either, so I'm building shadow hours the same as anyone else, never having worked in a dental office.

 

[blkwmn84]

I'm a non-traditional applicant with a BA, so no science courses were taken at the 4-year university (graduated 2006). I'm taking all of my needed science pre-reqs at community college because it's what I can afford. I wonder if any others have been in my situation and if the dental schools didn't seem to mind this, considering I'm coming in with lots of life experience over the fresh graduates? However, I'm not coming from a dental field either, so I'm building shadow hours the same as anyone else, never having worked in a dental office.

I am in this same boat.