Graduating a Quarter Later

[Laceigh]

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Hi everyone,

Do you think taking a gap quarter before graduating will in any way hurt my chances of getting into dental school?

Also, how possible is it to study effectively during the school year?

I will be a senior this year, and plan on applying next summer. I'm kinda stressing over the DAT- I feel like there's no option for me but to score in a 20-21 range (trying to get into UOP or UCSF in order to stay close to home). Unfortunately, 20/21 doesn't seem feasible right now.

So anyway- I'm thinking to take the spring quarter off and study through the beginning of summer, have a good 3 months for studying in order to maximize my chances of getting a good DAT score; finish the last quarter in the fall. Any opinions about that?

Oh, and my GPA is science-3.8, overall-3.9, but to me, doesn't really take the pressure off doing well on DAT because it seems like the DAT is more important than GPA.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Laceigh]

Any thoughts?

 

[skifastrokclimb]

I know people in my undergrad class who took a Kaplan or Princeton review course during the college semester and studied on their own while also taking classes, and they achieved DAT results equivalent to mine. I studied for 2.5 months full time in the summer before senior year. So yes, it is possible; those people got 20s and 21s (AA) while also in class. You will not be having fun, but it's doable.

As far as graduating late, I had to write an honors thesis that I was not able to finish and defend in time for the normal May graduation, so I had to graduate in August. I was already admitted to dental school at that time, and the school had no problem with it. I really can't speculate on what they will think of this before you are admitted. If it were me, I'd take the time off and try to kill the DAT, for what it's worth.

Good luck.

 

[Maygyver]

I studied on my own for a month while taking classes and got a 22AA/23TS/22PAT so it is definitely possible. Just think of it as another class and study for it. It's not really that bad, you jsut have to get in the mindset.

 

[Laceigh]

Goodness, you guys have amazing scores... yeah, it's all about time management. Thanks for the input 🙂