D School Prereqs Time Limit

[qkchen]

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hi guys,

i was wondering if dental schools had a time limit as to how long ago pre-reqs (biology, chemistry, physics, etc) had to be completed prior to admission/matriculation. i know that loma linda school of dentistry explicitly states that pre-reqs had to be within five years on their website. i wasn't sure if this was the case for for d schools or if this was some unspoken rule of adcoms.

i remember reading a thread about this somewhere but have not been able to locate it in the search. if anybody could shed some light on this matter, that would be greatly appreciated. thank you and i will also call up schools i'm interested in

 

[dentalWorks]

I'm very curious about this as well cause MOST of my pre-dents are from my recent post-bacc EXCEPT physics 1 & 2, those were taken back in 2001 and 2002

 

[quillow]

Hmm... I'm also interested in this. Most of my pre-reqs were done years ago (general chemistry 10 years ago). I've done a little research and it looks like some schools don't care (I forgot which ones). I didn't know that Loma Linda cared (though I didn't plan on applying there anyway). If I find out any more info, I'll pass it along.

 

[qkchen]

yeah, i was comparing admission requirements of some schools and noticed that time limit thing for loma linda. i'm not interested enough in loma linda to call them up and see if they offer exceptions or not if you've been working in science, such is the case for some pharmacy schools with prereq cut offs.

 

[pacific2013]

I'm not 100% sure but I think doc toothache, who is a dentist with useful info posted a thread about which schools have a time limit. I would look for threads he started because many of the info he has are very useful.

 

[NonTradHopeful]

I'm not 100% sure but I think doc toothache, who is a dentist with useful info posted a thread about which schools have a time limit. I would look for threads he started because many of the info he has are very useful.

I agree, doctoothache will have the definitive answer, but I'll tell you what "chatter" I've heard about your question...just to give you a general idea.

The answer is: it depends on the school. Some schools require you to have taken your prereqs within five years of matriculation...others do not. So if a school does have a "shelf-life" on your prereqs, it's generally five years. The best thing to do would be to contact the schools that you are interested in, and ask them directly.

doctoothache, you want to chime in with a previous thread or any of your great wisdom?

 

[qkchen]

yup, you guys are right. the answer is, it really depends on the particular school. most of them that i contacted did not have this particular time limit so if this is something on your mind, just contact the specific school.

 

[JohnniesK9]

yup, you guys are right. the answer is, it really depends on the particular school. most of them that i contacted did not have this particular time limit so if this is something on your mind, just contact the specific school.

i applied to loma linda this year. they do have a 5-year time limit but are willing to make an exception if you have taken recent coursework and are doing well. they will also look at your DAT scores to evaluate you and determine if they can make an exception on classes taken a long time ago. i had some classes over 10 years old but i did okay on my DATs and recent coursework. i am on the waitlist this year.

 

[herkulease]

I called up UOP about this 1.5 years ago. They recommended that I retake the courses. They followed that with so that I would be better prepared for the DAT. They didn't explicitly say I had to retake them. But I took it as I should. My prereqs were completed also in 01/02 and I had not really touched any hardcore science courses since then.

Chemistry and Ochem didn't really change. Maybe newer ways of looking at things and newer equipment. Maybe that's just me. Biology there were some new things. A lot of it has to do with technology and some slight changes to taxonomy and Neil Campbell died. The Campbell's Biology author.

I feels it helps to retake them, especially if you been away from science. Some things you don't forget but other things you could relearn makes it easier for the DAT.

Hah. I just realized this is month old thread.

 

[CANgnome]

I am now interested as well! What was the response from Doctoothache?

I took my first year courses in 2003 !

 

[qkchen]

gosh, i thought i had it all figured out now you guys have to resurrect this issue once again. if a school does not have that specific time limit policy, then don't worry about it (i don't know if UoP has this policy or not as i did not call them). if the school does have this course expiry policy (and depending on the school in question), they may waive it depending on a lot of other factors - DATs, upper level science classes, etc. so unless the school has explicitly asked you to retake courses (because it is their policy), then retaking courses over again will only be for your own benefit (although money could be better used elsewhere, imo).