Dental school without a bachelor's degree?

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HMS26

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Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has gotten into dental school without a bachelors degree? I am currently taking classes as a community college working on the prerequisites. I will take organic chemistry and the necessary physics sequence starting this fall. I have completed the required biology classes, general chemistry, and calculus 1. Assuming all goes well I will have completed all the dental school requirements by the end of next spring. My plan is to take the DAT around May next year and apply to dental school in June.

Just a little background, I became a dental assistant in 2009 and have been working in the dental field continuously since then. I'm very passionate about dentistry 🙂 I'll go on to get my B.S. if I don't get accepted without it. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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You need at least 90 semester unit hours for most if not all the dental schools. Although Bachelor's is usually not strictly required, if you check the stats, most if not all the students who got accepted had at least a Bachelor's.
 
I had/have the same mindset. I'm about to apply on June 1st without a degree, I'll let you know how it goes. ‍♂️


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I applied this past cycle (2016/2017) The beginning of my junior year, hoping to get in without a degree as well. I applied super late, however, not getting my application in until the first week in November 🙁 [Pretty awful right?] That being said, I was still able to get an interview and was waitlisted at one of my top choice schools! [Fingers crossed the waiting list moves enough for me to squeeze in 😀] If your states are outstanding, and you get your application in on time, I think you'd stand a pretty great shot.

That being said, taking a majority of your pre req classes at a community college is not going to help you at all, if anything it will hinder your application. A lot of schools do not like seeing pre reqs taken at CCs. Don't take my word for it, research school requirements and many, if not all, have some limitation on CC units.It gets confusing and I'd do the research and/or talk to a school counselor to make sure the courses you're taking fit the bill...

Best of luck!
 
HMS26 said:
Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has gotten into dental school without a bachelors degree? I am currently taking classes as a community college working on the prerequisites. I will take organic chemistry and the necessary physics sequence starting this fall. I have completed the required biology classes, general chemistry, and calculus 1. Assuming all goes well I will have completed all the dental school requirements by the end of next spring. My plan is to take the DAT around May next year and apply to dental school in June.

Just a little background, I became a dental assistant in 2009 and have been working in the dental field continuously since then. I'm very passionate about dentistry 🙂 I'll go on to get my B.S. if I don't get accepted without it. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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I had one classmate without a bachelors
 
It's technically possible if you have sufficient credits, but very few people manage to successfully do it every year. I'm not sure if you've transferred from community college yet but I don't think you'd be able to do it with two years of coursework alone if all of it was done at the community college.
 
Yeah. I have classmates that did it and other classmates that tried to get in a year early. If all of your stats are amazing and you can conduct yourself well in an interview you'll prolly get in. Especially if it's your state school. I think they would be more receptive to someone from in-state than out-of-state.
 
I was able to pull it off. You don't need amazing stats, but you need higher stats across the board. There's no room for things like "well my GPA is low so I'll try to make up for it with my DAT." Your GPA needs to be solid as well as your DAT, LOEs, shadowing hours, etc. I had a lot of people try and talk me out of it but when all was said and done, I applied to 15 schools, got 9 interviews (only attended 8) and got 7 acceptances. You also need to make sure that you never will need a bachelors in the future. I never though I would, but I've run across 2 situations now where it would have been helpful. Still don't regret it since I was able to save 1.5 years in undergrad doing a major that I wasn't interested in (my school made me switch from graphic design/photography to exercise physiology) and now will be entering the workforce that much sooner. Go for it, but jump in with both feet so that nothing is lacking.
 
Thanks for your response! If you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and DAT score? Also, what schools did you get accepted to?
cooliyak said:
I was able to pull it off. You don't need amazing stats, but you need higher stats across the board. There's no room for things like "well my GPA is low so I'll try to make up for it with my DAT." Your GPA needs to be solid as well as your DAT, LOEs, shadowing hours, etc. I had a lot of people try and talk me out of it but when all was said and done, I applied to 15 schools, got 9 interviews (only attended 8) and got 7 acceptances. You also need to make sure that you never will need a bachelors in the future. I never though I would, but I've run across 2 situations now where it would have been helpful. Still don't regret it since I was able to save 1.5 years in undergrad doing a major that I wasn't interested in (my school made me switch from graphic design/photography to exercise physiology) and now will be entering the workforce that much sooner. Go for it, but jump in with both feet so that nothing is lacking.
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HMS26 said:
Thanks for your response! If you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and DAT score? Also, what schools did you get accepted to?



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Yeah, no problem.
GPA: 3.94
DAT: 21 AA (22 or 23 PAT?)
Accepted Schools: NYU, Buffalo, Minnesota, Western U, Colorado, Detroit Mercy, and Iowa (<--was waitlisted in December at Iowa, but asked to be removed because I had other acceptances, including my top choice. My point with including it in my "acceptances" is because they didn't oppose my "non-bachelors" status and to be put on a waitlist is as good as being accepted for this purpose).

Not the best, but pretty solid. Combined with hundreds of hours shadowing, thousands of volunteer hours, experience as a dental assistant, Predental club president, some awesome LOEs, and anything else I could do to increase my chances, and I had a pretty solid application... and it was enough to get me a pretty good line up of acceptances that was as good as anyone with a bachelors.
 
cooliyak said:
Yeah, no problem.
GPA: 3.94
DAT: 21 AA (22 or 23 PAT?)
Accepted Schools: NYU, Buffalo, Minnesota, Western U, Colorado, Detroit Mercy, and Iowa (<--was waitlisted in December at Iowa, but asked to be removed because I had other acceptances, including my top choice. My point with including it in my "acceptances" is because they didn't oppose my "non-bachelors" status and to be put on a waitlist is as good as being accepted for this purpose).

Not the best, but pretty solid. Combined with hundreds of hours shadowing, thousands of volunteer hours, experience as a dental assistant, Predental club president, some awesome LOEs, and anything else I could do to increase my chances, and I had a pretty solid application... and it was enough to get me a pretty good line up of acceptances that was as good as anyone with a bachelors.
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Did you take your prerequisites at a community college like OP? I think theres a difference between taking your courses at a traditional 4 year university and getting accepted before you graduate and being accepted directly from a community college. I know when I was applying a lot of the schools said they prefer prerequisites be taken at a 4 year university.
 
cooliyak said:
Yeah, no problem.
GPA: 3.94
DAT: 21 AA (22 or 23 PAT?)
Accepted Schools: NYU, Buffalo, Minnesota, Western U, Colorado, Detroit Mercy, and Iowa (<--was waitlisted in December at Iowa, but asked to be removed because I had other acceptances, including my top choice. My point with including it in my "acceptances" is because they didn't oppose my "non-bachelors" status and to be put on a waitlist is as good as being accepted for this purpose).

Not the best, but pretty solid. Combined with hundreds of hours shadowing, thousands of volunteer hours, experience as a dental assistant, Predental club president, some awesome LOEs, and anything else I could do to increase my chances, and I had a pretty solid application... and it was enough to get me a pretty good line up of acceptances that was as good as anyone with a bachelors.
Click to expand...
Your stats are definitely impressive 🙂 I have the grades but I am lacking in the EC area. I have years of work experience as a dental assistant and will have many glowing letters of recomendation from the dentists I've worked with. However, I don't have any volunteer experience to put on my application. Do you know what kind of volunteer work the schools prefer to see? I was thinking I could volunteer as a dental assistant at the dental school clinics and community out reach programs here SoCal.

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iono101 said:
Did you take your prerequisites at a community college like OP? I think theres a difference between taking your courses at a traditional 4 year university and getting accepted before you graduate and being accepted directly from a community college. I know when I was applying a lot of the schools said they prefer prerequisites be taken at a 4 year university.
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Thank you for your response. I don't know what OP is but yes, all my classes have been at community/junior college. From the feedback I've gotten on this forum it seems to be the consensus that university credit will make me a more attractive applicant. I will most likely transfer to a UC at the end of next semester and reevaluate my plan from there.

On a side note, all the biology and chemistry classes I'm taking (in addition to other classes) are UC transferable so what is the difference if I took them at a community college? Is it the community college stigma?

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HMS26 said:
Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has gotten into dental school without a bachelors degree? I am currently taking classes as a community college working on the prerequisites. I will take organic chemistry and the necessary physics sequence starting this fall. I have completed the required biology classes, general chemistry, and calculus 1. Assuming all goes well I will have completed all the dental school requirements by the end of next spring. My plan is to take the DAT around May next year and apply to dental school in June.

Just a little background, I became a dental assistant in 2009 and have been working in the dental field continuously since then. I'm very passionate about dentistry 🙂 I'll go on to get my B.S. if I don't get accepted without it. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

Unless the school states it as a requirement, then you don't need one. If I were you I would be more concerned with taking all of your upper level science courses at a CC. Some schools like to see them completed at a 4 year university, and they often like to see you take 3 upper level science courses at the same time to make sure you can handle a heavy-ish course load. Although if you are working full-time and taking your pre-reqs I would say that counts for a lot 😉 Good luck!
 
HMS26 said:
Thank you for your response. I don't know what OP is but yes, all my classes have been at community/junior college. From the feedback I've gotten on this forum it seems to be the consensus that university credit will make me a more attractive applicant. I will most likely transfer to a UC at the end of next semester and reevaluate my plan from there.

On a side note, all the biology and chemistry classes I'm taking (in addition to other classes) are UC transferable so what is the difference if I took them at a community college? Is it the community college stigma?

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It's the stigma yes and the notion that the science courses taken at the community college are less rigorous than their counterparts at a four-year university.
 
HMS26 said:
Your stats are definitely impressive 🙂 I have the grades but I am lacking in the EC area. I have years of work experience as a dental assistant and will have many glowing letters of recomendation from the dentists I've worked with. However, I don't have any volunteer experience to put on my application. Do you know what kind of volunteer work the schools prefer to see? I was thinking I could volunteer as a dental assistant at the dental school clinics and community out reach programs here SoCal.

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Click to expand...
I think the general consensus is that they like fewer longer-term volunteer experiences rather than multiple short-term ones. I don't think it matters what kind, just as long as you are volunteering, although I would assume the more dental experiences you have, the better.
 
iono101 said:
Did you take your prerequisites at a community college like OP? I think theres a difference between taking your courses at a traditional 4 year university and getting accepted before you graduate and being accepted directly from a community college. I know when I was applying a lot of the schools said they prefer prerequisites be taken at a 4 year university.
Click to expand...
That is a good distinction. All of my classes were taken at a 4 year university. I know that dental schools prefer classes to be at a 4 year university, but like has been said, it depends on the school. Some have a specific requirement when it comes to that so it is always best to check to make sure.
 
cooliyak said:
That is a good distinction. All of my classes were taken at a 4 year university. I know that dental schools prefer classes to be at a 4 year university, but like has been said, it depends on the school. Some have a specific requirement when it comes to that so it is always best to check to make sure.
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It's an important distinction as most of dental schools prefer the science courses and pre-requisite classes completed in a 4 year university. Some dental schools have a credit limitation for community college. I know some have a limit of 60 credits for community college. Like everyone already mentioned, you have to do your own research and apply broadly to schools that take community college credits.
 
HMS26 said:
Your stats are definitely impressive 🙂 I have the grades but I am lacking in the EC area. I have years of work experience as a dental assistant and will have many glowing letters of recomendation from the dentists I've worked with. However, I don't have any volunteer experience to put on my application. Do you know what kind of volunteer work the schools prefer to see? I was thinking I could volunteer as a dental assistant at the dental school clinics and community out reach programs here SoCal.

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Click to expand...
I'd recommend volunteering at a free care dental clinic for underserved populations
 
HMS26 said:
Thank you for your response. I don't know what OP is but yes, all my classes have been at community/junior college. From the feedback I've gotten on this forum it seems to be the consensus that university credit will make me a more attractive applicant. I will most likely transfer to a UC at the end of next semester and reevaluate my plan from there.

On a side note, all the biology and chemistry classes I'm taking (in addition to other classes) are UC transferable so what is the difference if I took them at a community college? Is it the community college stigma?

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You enter the courses into AADSAS based on where the course was completed. It doesn't matter if the credits transfer to a different school. It isn't just a stigma. There is a difference in difficulty in taking advanced science courses at a 4 year university and a community college.
 
Likkriue said:
Specializing. For example OMFS/ortho require it. Not sure about the other specialties. Why shoot yourself in the foot and erase your chances at specializing because you want to fast-track yourself an extra year?
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Yes, that's something to consider, but I, personally, didn't want to specialize. Never have.
What else? And what outside the dental field would require it?
 
Why not transfer to your state school and go there for 3 semesters including summer and try then. At least by then you'll have some credits from four- year university
You can apply, but it's a waste of money if you didn't get accepted.
 
Faefly said:
Why not transfer to your state school and go there for 3 semesters including summer and try then. At least by then you'll have some credits from four- year university
You can apply, but it's a waste of money if you didn't get accepted.
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I think that would be the best plan for me. I'm going to talk to my counselor next week about transferring. Thanks for the advice!

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Likkriue said:
Specializing. For example OMFS/ortho require it. Not sure about the other specialties. Why shoot yourself in the foot and erase your chances at specializing because you want to fast-track yourself an extra year?
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Some combined programs offer a BS upon completion of the DDS or DMD program. No one is shooting him or herself in the foot here besides your deliberate fearmongering.
 
I don't think the original poster is in anything right now so it's possible they will choose one if a BS is desired. I, on the other hand, didn't want it. Why spend the extra time and money to get a BS in a bunch of BS? I would never have used that degree for anything and wouldn't have enjoyed the process along the way.
 
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