Full Course Load

[howdysir]

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Do all US dental schools require 30 credits or 5 full courses per year? What happens if your course load is below that for one year? The reason I'm asking is because last year in my first year I took 26 credits, but they were 5 full year courses with two of them being 4 credit courses instead of 6.
For those who unfamiliar with the system I'm talking about, 6 credits = one full year course, 3 credits a half year, but sometimes at my university a full year or half year can be 4 credits. I hope I haven't confused you too much. 😛

 

[dmoney]

I don't remember seeing any specifications for the amount of classes per semester that one needs to take when I applied. I can just tell you that I had two semesters that I only took 13 credits in one (4 classes) and 14 credits in the other (again, 4 classes) and the adcoms never said anything about it. I think it's ok to take that few classes as long as there is a reason for that. For me, I was taking that DAT at that time as well as having to work twice a week for that semester so I wanted to take a easier load. Hope this helps 🙂

 

[UBTom]

In the U.S., 12 credits per semester is considered full-time.

As long as you don't drop below that (and become a part-time student), there should be no questions.

 

[howdysir]

Thanks for your help. I was just wondering because in Canada all the dental schools require 30 credit years for all years they calculate your GPA, which is another reason why I'm only applying to American schools besides the other reason of needing at least a 3.8 GPA to be competitive in Canada.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Hey richboy,

I know what you mean by full courseload, but it doesnt mean the same in the States....in Canada, dental schools such as UWO wanna see people take 5.0 course, but in the States, that doesnt matter.

 

[blankguy]

The most obvious exception to taking a full course load, is work committments, but I think it would have to be substantial, like 20+ hrs and maybe 2 or 3 courses(depending on the flexibility of the schedule).