Career change help.....

[titan305]

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Hi, I stumbled on this site while searching info about the dental profession. I think I may want to start taking classes at the local comm college to meet all of the pre admission classes. I live in Texas(Houston), and have a BS in Aeronautical Science with a GPA of about 3.5 or so. I have been a pilot flying for a major airline for the last 8 years and can qualify for just about any flying job out there that I could want. My college courses for aviation did not include any of the science courses. I am married and have a 2year old and another due in a couple weeks. My plan is to take one class per semester until I meet the requirements to apply. Who knows , I may take 30 mins of Biology and not want to continue. Is this reasonable? Will schools frown on the fact that it took me two or three years just to complete the core reqs? The only classes I have is the English requirement. If I continue with the classes and passed all of the admission tests, I could decide if this is something I may want to do. Of course, getting through dental school and juggling my family and finances will also have to be considered. Flying is #1 for me, but I want to be in a position to have another career to consider along the way. At least have the entry requirements completed. Anybody else out there that that took the long way? Thanks for your help.

 

[bpenly]

Hi, I stumbled on this site while searching info about the dental profession. I think I may want to start taking classes at the local comm college to meet all of the pre admission classes. I live in Texas(Houston), and have a BS in Aeronautical Science with a GPA of about 3.5 or so. I have been a pilot flying for a major airline for the last 8 years and can qualify for just about any flying job out there that I could want. My college courses for aviation did not include any of the science courses. I am married and have a 2year old and another due in a couple weeks. My plan is to take one class per semester until I meet the requirements to apply. Who knows , I may take 30 mins of Biology and not want to continue. Is this reasonable? Will schools frown on the fact that it took me two or three years just to complete the core reqs? The only classes I have is the English requirement. If I continue with the classes and passed all of the admission tests, I could decide if this is something I may want to do. Of course, getting through dental school and juggling my family and finances will also have to be considered. Flying is #1 for me, but I want to be in a position to have another career to consider along the way. At least have the entry requirements completed. Anybody else out there that that took the long way? Thanks for your help.

Hey. I can answer the pre-req issue for you for the TX schools. I did a career change too. I switched from business (worked for six years) to dentistry and took 1 class per semester for two years until I reached a few classes that also required the accompanying lab at the same time (i.e. organic chemistry). I took the DAT and received interviews without ever having taken more than two classes in one semester, though my application showed that the final year before dental school, I was going to take a full load. I received acceptances to all three TX schools last year, passed on them to move to Nebraska with my wife, then received two more acceptances this year to Nebraska and Creighton while I stay at home with my daughter (i.e. without showing any more classroom time).

A key point here might be that I received all A's and did really well on the DAT. Another key consideration is that over the two years I applied, competition seemed to get tighter as this year I saw some wicked high DATs and GPAs. I would also talk to the programs and see what they say about this as they are the ones making the final decisions.

 

[Dutchboy]

I know that schools look at how heavy your science load is to get an idea if you can hack it in dental school. For that reason they might frown upon one class per semester, not to mention it's going to take you forever. Schools also like students to go past just the required bio, chem, and physics, and take other science classes as well. Am I saying it can't be done? No! What I recomend is contact the pre-dental advisor at your local university at set up a meeting and go from there.

 

[adr12]

I have taken organic chem and bio prereqs one course at a time due to full time job and got an offer from Creighton. I would recommend trying to take your prereqs at a 4 yr college or university though. Some schools don't care about the comm college prereqs, but others may not like that. In either case, a 4 yr college would look better. Good luck!

 

[titan305]

I have taken organic chem and bio prereqs one course at a time due to full time job and got an offer from Creighton. I would recommend trying to take your prereqs at a 4 yr college or university though. Some schools don't care about the comm college prereqs, but others may not like that. In either case, a 4 yr college would look better. Good luck!

Why would it matter if I already have a degree. They are all lower division classes anyways. Just a hell of alot cheaper. I think I'll contact one of the local schools and talk with them. No rush for me. Thanks

 

[Dutchboy]

Why would it matter if I already have a degree. They are all lower division classes anyways. Just a hell of alot cheaper. I think I'll contact one of the local schools and talk with them. No rush for me. Thanks

They like you to take your pre-reqs at a four year university because you will be competing against other pre-professional students. If you score A's at a comunity college who cares? Ya you were at the top of the curve but you had no competition. I took a science class at a community college before heading to a four year and it was a joke in comparision.

 

[titan305]

Well, I talked to an admissions rep from one of the local schools here in Texas and she confirmed what most everyone has posted. I need to get the pre-reqs at a 4yr school and then probably another 20 credits in extra science courses to be competitive. She also said 20's on the DAT. She told me that the competition is getting tougher every year and that people that almost made it last year didn't even get an interview this year. The problem for me is that I will have to take a few classes just to meet the pre reqs to take what is needed. I'm still doing alot of research on this.

I believe most of what she said , but there really is alot of different ways to get there. The grass is always greener no matter what your doing! Thanks for the help again.