Everything about me. Need constructive criticism

[MrGixxerMan]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi guys. I wanted to post on here today to get some constructive criticism about my stats. But I have to start off with a little bit about myself. Ahem, me me meeeee mmeeeeehhh.:

Okay, I started off at a community college, Moorpark College, out here in southern California. During my years at CC I was still very unsure about what I wanted to do with my life. So goofed off a lot. I’ve just recently transfered to UCLA and am currently declared as a Physics major (might change it though). Here’s an unofficial transcript

Summer 2000 (still in HS at the time) grade unit
College Algebra and Trig: B / 5

Summer 2001
Intro to Psych : B / 5

Fall 2001
Physical Anthro : A/3
General Bio : B /4
Gen. Chem : W / 6


Spring 2002

Earth history : W / 3
Calc 1 : A/ 5
Fitness lab : C / 1
Beginning American Singlanguage : A / 3
Spanish 1 : A / 4
Conversational Spanish : A / 3


Summer 2002
English Comp : A / 3
Fitness lab : A / .5

Fall 2002
Gen Bio 2 : B / 4
Gen Chem : B / 6
Calc 2 : W / 5
Fitness lab : A / .5


Spring 2003
Gen Chem 2 : B / 6
Calc 2 : A / 5

Summer 2003
Calc 3 : A / 5

Fall 2003
Art : B / 3
O-chem : W / 5
English lit : A / 3
Music App : A / 3
Physic 1 (mechanics) : A /4
Physics 1 lab : A / 1



Spring 2004

Electricity and Mag : C / 4
Electricity and Mag lab : A / 1
Sociology : Pass / 3


UCLA

Fall 2004

linear Algebra : C+ / 4

Winter 2005

Differential Eq : B / 5
Physics 1c : B / 4
History : Pass/


Spring 2005 (Current)
Programming 10A : 5
O-Chem 30A : 4


Community college goes by the semester system and UCLA goes by the quarter system.

I have a few concerns:

1. In some semesters I only took two classes. However, given the amount of units at CC, two classes amounts to 12 units which is full time status. At this time I was also working.

Q: Will the fact that I only took 2 classes put me at a disadvantage even though I worked?


2. I’ve dropped a lot of classes. I have a total of 4 W’s on my transcript. The reason was mostly because the school load and work became unbearable.

Q: How bad does that look? Will the Adcom’s be forgiving because I went back and did well?


3. In my first quarter at UCLA I only finished 1 class which amounts to 4 units. The reason for this is because I actually live 50 miles away from UCLA and commute to school everyday.

Q: How bad does that look?

Those are a few of the concerns that I have about my transcript. If any of you guys could comment on them I’d really appreciate it.


As far as extra curricular activities go, I have none!!!

However, I do have some form of experience with a medical field. For the past 2 years I’ve been an aid to a child that’s handicap with a condition called Muscular Dystrophy. During these years that I worked with him, I’ve been introduced to his Physicians, surgeons, and dentists. I’ve worked closely with his Physical Therapists in coordinating an exercise program for him and also help him perform these exercises. I’ve had interactions with his doctors prior and after his various surgeries, mainly focused on how to help him with his everyday tasks given his condition before/after his surgeries. I hope the Adcoms would see this as me being “familiar” with a medical field.


This quarter I’m thinking about volunteering as a tutor to help reach out the inner city children.

If things go well I may have time to join the Peace Corps this summer.


What do you guys think so far? Am I marketable to the adcoms? If not, how can I make myself seem more appealing?


I haven’t takened the DAT yet. I’m planning on applying for the 07 cycle. As for GPA, well , I’m not too sure how to calc my cumulative and science gpa because I have work done from both the semester and quarter system.


Sorry for the long post guys. I just wanted to put everything out on the table and get some constructive criticism.


Cheers!!


EDIT: My appologies for the messy transcript, I hope it's still readable. Also, I would like to apply for the 06 cycle but I haven't taken the DAT nor do I have any Letters of Recs just yet. Should I go ahead and apply to 06 anyways?

 

[Fermata]

Do withdraws count as F's?

If so, you are in some trouble.

 

[MrGixxerMan]

Do withdraws count as F's?

If so, you are in some trouble.

I don't think they do. They just mean that I dropped out of the class at a later stage.

 

[Tooth Fixer]

I don't think they do. They just mean that I dropped out of the class at a later stage.

Here is what I think. From my knowledge that i've been getting from SDN and stats. It appears that in order to have a good chance of getting into dental school u need 2 simple things GPA and DAT. Youve got those your set. The rest of the extracurriculars and bs that everyone does they don't seem to matter much but if u don't have it it will look bad. So right now u seem average with what uve got just keep it up and do descent on your dats youll get in. gluck

 

[MrGixxerMan]

No need to sugar coat anything. Just give it to me straight.

 

[Sprgrover]

What's your combined gpa (I don't want to calculate it myself)? If you have questions on how to do this, and it might be useful for you to keep track of your gpa, here is a website that explains it. From what I can tell thus far you'll be fine. A lot of applicants, current dental students, and practicing dentists made some mistakes in their first couple of years in dental school. As long as your transcripts demonstrate an upward trend in grades (no more W's, etc.) then you stand a very good chance. It still is a bit early to really assess your chances as your DAT scores are another important component of your application, how early you apply, and so on. Best of luck, and keep studying!

 

[blumnday99]

No need to sugar coat anything. Just give it to me straight.

I think that you might be asked to justify why you withdrew from three classes, especially since three of them are in the pre-reqs for dental school.

When are you planning on taking the DAT and where are you planning on applying?

Mark

 

[bruinbear]

First of all, I believe you need to take minimun 3 classes per quarter in order to be full time student status in ucla. Right now you take only 2 classes per quarter so it will be disadvantage for your application. By the way, you can apply this cycle. The only thing is you need to do well on dat. You should apply srp, 199 for summer. If you don't take DAT this summer, take biochem 153a (prereq for most school) at summer. I heard the prof is easier than Dr. Bates.

 

[angeeeeee]

On when to apply:

Not having a numerical GPA from your classes my advice is this:

If you want to apply for 06:
If your GPA is borderline: you want to apply ASAP when the starting gun is fired, so get your LOR's done NOW and get ready to take the DAT this spring or early summer (plan on doing above average)
If your GPA is pretty good: timing is less of an issue, but still try to get everything in early (before end of July) and do pretty well on the DAT this spring or summer

If you want to apply for 07:
Get some shadowing experience (some schools just look for a min. of 40 hrs) Try to raise your GPA some and take a full course load (to show a positive trend and commitment, which ADCOMS love) and take the DAT (obviously) The more stuff you do related to the dental field, the more you will see if it something that you really want to do AND the more you will have to talk about at your interviews/in your essay.

My advice is what I would do if I were you, some people may recommend earlier/later dates for applying/DAT/etc. Hope my opinion helps! Good Luck!!

 

[dexadental]

::sigh::...I really should be studying for my microbio final, but o well. You'll be just fine, and you've picked a major you are hopefully interested in and one many do not pursue. That should set you apart a little, but really try to get shadowing or dental experience. This shows you are serious. I think if you get a little shadowing experience, and continue to do well in your classes, you should be just fine.