Dental Post-bacs!?

[2quik]

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I know it's probably too late to apply to post-bac. But, im curious about it, so for all those who did post-bac, which school did you you do it at? And what exactly makes you qualified for it in terms of being economically or academically disadvantaged?

From what i've googled:
UCSF-you have to be a resident of cali.
Baylor- resident of texas
creighton- too late
tufts- dont really know what they're looking for
and there's a couple others but they dont have dental schools.

Also, ive noticed that some of you guys are post-bacs and have really high gpa's from it (above 3.5), yet you all havent got in yet? I'm confused, where are you guys doing your post-bacs at b/c i thought it was a garruntee thing? Can someone please enlighten me about this, thank you.

 

[purduephigam]

I applied for a post-bacc program last June and was accepted by July. You have to realize graduate programs want a more elite group of kids, but they also want your money. Just take the GRE (if required) and apply to various programs near you. You don't need to apply to programs near your number one choice dental school to become more competitive.

It may sound difficult/intimidating, but if you've come this far, I'm sure you will get into graduate school. My recommendation to you is see/e-mail an admissions member of several dental schools and get their opinions. Do a little research yourself and make a judgement call. If dentistry is something you want, and you're willing to work for it, then you can do it. I was in a similar situation last year, and I was just recently accepted into my number 1. Where there's a will, there's a way!

 

[Mackchops]

There are more post-bac options than just those for econ/academ challenged students. There are grade boosters for those who have already taken the pre-reqs but need to pad their gpa. There are career changers for those who still need to take most of the pre-reqs. Then there's the option that i did where you don't enroll in a formal post-bac program and instead just take classes at your local state university. Best option for me and you don't have to pay the outrageous tuition of a Tufts or Brandeis. Also, if you manage to enroll in a second bachelor's program at your state school you should also be eligible for federal financial aid as a fifth year undergrad.

PM me if you have any questions. Post-bac stuff is hard because there isn't really one way of going about it -- however, that's what makes it so great. You can really find a program that tailors to your needs.

 

[t man]

i don't know if you've already checked this out, but there is some good info here. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

 

[2quik]

the post-bacs in that forum of sdn is geared towards pre-meds. I know pre-meds/pre-dents are basically the same thing but in order to get into thier post-bacs you have to have taken the mcat. So, im just curious anyone out there know of any dental post-bacs?

 

[chomper]

I've heard there is a strong post-bac program at San Francisco State University. You should check it out. maybe google some info on it.

 

[goosestuff]

Temple has one, but it doesn't have a linkage program into the DS.

Penn, Bryn Mawr, and Drexel all have one, but are very geared towards med school.

 

[LoF27]

I agree with Mackchops. Unless you have the money and time to burn and have to seriously pad your undergrad GPA, don't invest in a formal post-bacc program. Take the classes ad-hoc at your local public university (not community college) and you will have a lot more flexibility in completing the pre-reqs. Most of the formal post-bacc pre-med/dental programs are expensive, longer than necessary, and inflexible. If you are a non-traditional applicant, chances are you have to work to support yourself and have to get through the pre-reqs as quickly as possible. All dental schools care about is that you have taken the pre-reqs at a reputable four year university; how much you have learned from those courses will be evident in your DAT scores. I took this approach and found it to be quite successful; even though I submitted my application late (October), I have been invited to interview at five schools and have been accepted into two schools so far.

Good luck!

 

[Cymbidium]

I agree with Mackchops. Unless you have the money and time to burn and have to seriously pad your undergrad GPA, don't invest in a formal post-bacc program. Take the classes ad-hoc at your local public university (not community college) and you will have a lot more flexibility in completing the pre-reqs. Most of the formal post-bacc pre-med/dental programs are expensive, longer than necessary, and inflexible. If you are a non-traditional applicant, chances are you have to work to support yourself and have to get through the pre-reqs as quickly as possible. All dental schools care about is that you have taken the pre-reqs at a reputable four year university; how much you have learned from those courses will be evident in your DAT scores. I took this approach and found it to be quite successful; even though I submitted my application late (October), I have been invited to interview at five schools and have been accepted into two schools so far.

Good luck!

That's what I did!

 

[Nasem]

I am in the same exact place as you.

Last Augest I decided that medical field is where I want to be and I picked dentistry because I thought it was most interesting field.

A little history about me, I graduated with a BS in Computer Science and a minors in Math from U of D mercy in 2004. I have been working as a software developer for some time now and just last augest, realised that I wanted to change my carreer to dental.

Anyways to make story short, I applied to MSU (I work in Holt, which is about 20 minutes away from MSU) last september as a 2nd degree B.S in Chemistry (I could have applied as a masters student, but the tuition fees would be like 2x more than a 2nd degree B.S)..... Anyways, I am still working at my job full time and I am attending MSU and working on Gen Chem I & its lab.

Lucky for me, when I did my bachlors (from 2000-2004), I never took any chemistry or biology, only calc based physics I and II and I did fairly well in those classes (B- for phy-I, B+ for phy-II, and A- / B+ for thier labs). So, if you want to think about it, I don't really have much of a science GPA as of now, everything Im doing right now is building towards my science GPA.
my pre-dental requirements are:
Both General chems
Both Orgo chems
Biology I & II.