Help out this utterly confused student

[ichbinharuko]

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Hi.
I've been lurking around this forum for months now and I've gathered, or at least I've tried, information and everyone is scarying me because they have all high stats and not getting into many schools. It's just scares the crap out of me. So I am wondering if I am on the right track. There is the 'official' pre-med advisor at my school, however there isn't any 'official' pre-dent advisor. In fact, I only know two other pre-dent students so I am totally lost. I've done researches online to gather information but I think it's best if I get words from current dent students.

I am a junior, yes, and I've decided to be a pre-dent student. I am currently majoring in biochemistry and mathematics and minor in biology. Here is the list of classes that I've taken so far or taking at the moment that might be required by dental schools:

Calculus I-IV
General Chemistry w/ labs (1 year)
Physics w/ labs (1 year)
General Biology w/ labs (currently taking, 1 year)
Organic Chemistry w/ labs (currently taking, 1 year)
Physical Chemistry w/ labs (currently taking, 1 year)

And I am planning to take:

Biochemistry (2 quarters, or should this be 1 year?)
Quantitative Analysis (1 quarter)
Genetics
Microbiology (2 quarters)
Anatomy & Physiology
General Vertebrate Embryology

I transferred from a CC to a university so I am quite behind. I am planning to stay in undergrad for five years. My GPA isn't too high compared to many of people here. I haven't taken any DAT or have time to study for it because my schedule is rather hectic. I am planning to shadow a dentist this summer and take more classes to catch up. I live in Washington state and definately planning to apply to UW but I do not know where else to apply to.

Any advice would help me greatly, I really really would appreciate it. I thank you.

 

[USUaggie]

Hallo Haruko, und herzlich wilkommen! Kannst du wirklich Deutsch oder nicht? What many people aren't telling you is the time of the application cycle in which they applied. High stats with late application is as good as low stats with early application. If you're already on top of things now I'm sure you'll be fine. I would recommend getting aadsas done in May of whatever year you apply and then taking some serious time off to study for and rock the DAT in either May or June. I took it at the end of July and was still fine but wouldn't recommend putting it off any more than that. UW is competetive so you could research what schools take more out of staters and have lower average entering stats. Best of luck!

 

[ichbinharuko]

Hallo Haruko, und herzlich wilkommen! Kannst du wirklich Deutsch oder nicht? What many people aren't telling you is the time of the application cycle in which they applied. High stats with late application is as good as low stats with early application. If you're already on top of things now I'm sure you'll be fine. I would recommend getting aadsas done in May of whatever year you apply and then taking some serious time off to study for and rock the DAT in either May or June. I took it at the end of July and was still fine but wouldn't recommend putting it off any more than that. UW is competetive so you could research what schools take more out of staters and have lower average entering stats. Best of luck!

I can speak & write German a little bit, not much. I understand that applying early to schools will help me to a certain degree. However, what I am wondering is that do people apply during their senior year and skip classes a day or two to get interviewed by dental school? Or do they usually do this after they graduate? Because it seems like interviews can go from September - March ? Correct me if I am wrong.

I also understand that UW is rather competitive school so as a out-of-state resident, where can I apply? It seems like UT, Howard, and USC are a few of them? Or am I getting a wrong impression?

I am sorry that I am asking many questions but it's frustrating to have no one to help me.

 

[USUaggie]

Only apply to Howard if you're black. Same with Meharry, the stats are really low so it looks like it would be easy to get into but these two school rarely admit white people or other non-blacks. I faced the same dilemma where I have no state school to go to so I evaluated what was important to me in schools and where I would likely get in and narrowed my list to eight. I would recommend Nova, Case, VCU, and UNLV. THe last two are state schools but they admit 30+ out-of-staters. Do some research on the school websites and see if you can look through the adea book on dental schools (your pre-health advisor might have it) I'm not sure about the # of out-of-staters USC admits.
Many students apply before their senior year. I missed about 10 days of classes because of interviews but the teachers were really understanding and willing to work with me because they respected what I was doing. You'll have plenty of time in airports and on planes to catch up on reading and homework.
Feel free to post more questions or PM me if you'd like.