Dental School without a science degree?

[miathescientist]

Hi all-

I have BBA (Bachelors in Business) degree and after working at a Marketing Agency to dentistry I have decided to switch my career.

So I am finishing up all of the pre-requisite courses this semester at a local college (with all A's) as a post-bacc student and am studying hard for DAT now.

I know I am "qualified" to apply to Dental Schools this year, but don't really know anybody with a bare minimum of course that got into a Dental School and to be honest, a little scared.

So! I wanted to ask SDN community if you know anybody who did get into a Dental School as a non-traditional student (with non-science degree, with corporate/agency experience, and older 😎)

Thank you in advance for all of your comments/suggestions/advices!

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[Elshaer]

I think if you achieve a high score on the dat (21 or higher) you have a great shot! So just study hard for it and if you can, take a few extra biology courses and you should be okay.

 

[mid]

I had the minimum bcp courses and got in this year.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=945567
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=936830
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453

 

[O2ShootTheJ]

I interviewed with a religions major and a few other non-science majors. As long as your DAT score is competitive and you do well in your required classes you should have a good shot

 

[RaeRae0903]

I had only the prerequisite courses and am non-traditional (28 years old). I am a dental hygienist but my bachelor's degree will actually be a BA in General Studies...so yes, you can def get in without a strong science background. Just do well on the DAT and it sounds like you'd have a pretty good shot. Good luck!

 

[spoog74]

Hi all-

I have BBA (Bachelors in Business) degree and after working at a Marketing Agency to dentistry I have decided to switch my career.

So I am finishing up all of the pre-requisite courses this semester at a local college (with all A's) as a post-bacc student and am studying hard for DAT now.

I know I am "qualified" to apply to Dental Schools this year, but don't really know anybody with a bare minimum of course that got into a Dental School and to be honest, a little scared.

So! I wanted to ask SDN community if you know anybody who did get into a Dental School as a non-traditional student (with non-science degree, with corporate/agency experience, and older 😎)

Thank you in advance for all of your comments/suggestions/advices!

graduated with a philosophy degree with the minimum requirements and got into d school. Have good grades regardless of your degree and youll be a ok.

 

[miathescientist]

I had the minimum bcp courses and got in this year.

congratz!! 😀

 

[miathescientist]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=945567
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=936830
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453

oh wow. what a helpful and encouraging stats/info. Thanks!!

 

[dchoi]

Polisci/econ major, took all prereqs at CC, and 1 year post bacc for upper divs... Got in first try this year (lucky)

 

[kpark829]

i was also an econ major and did just the minimum requirements and will be starting d-school this fall. i also applied only half way through my 2-year postbacc (by that time i had only finished a third of the prereqs since i wanted to apply first batch june 3rd last year), so its definitely possible with minimum requirements etc (strong gpa and dat obviously helps). message me if you have any questions and i'll be glad to help

 

[sacapuntas]

bare minimum on pre-reqs (actually not even finishing the physics pre-reqs) and got 10 interviews of 12 schools I applied to. Went to 7 interviews, got into 6 schools. Was a business major. Sorry I don't have much time to give you details, but know that it doesn't matter if you only have the minimum, at least for acceptance. I assume our first year science coursework may be more challenging since we don't have the background classes other students have. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[DarlingDDS]

There are lots of threads on this topic. Check out this one and good luck!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=13517221

 

[MrLocrian]

i was in the same situation as you and i got in. non trad, business background, not much past the bare science minimums (a few classes plus some other good stuff on my resume) etc. so it definitely works. good luck!

 

[jHoon]

Reading all these posts is so encouraging!

I'm an Anthro major and applying this summer, with minimum requirements and a much lower GPA.

I think I have a "decent" shot, meaning if I were you, I'd feel pretty confident. Best of luck on the DAT's!!

 

[ERicci8996]

I was a history major during my undergraduate career and also did the required pre dental courses. It is possible to get into dental school, and often helps set your application apart, by having a different major.

In my case though, I needed a broader science background and am in the process of finishing a master's in biology - I needed that graduate coursework to beef up my DAT scores and overall science GPA. After I accomplished these things, I got into several dental schools!

That's just my $0.02

Good Luck!