Hi all! I need some help "making a path" for myself, thanks!

[nicefella]

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Hello all!

This is a very long thread so I apologize if things get boring but I will greatly appreciate any tips I can get. I will outline my academic history here. I currently finished my first year at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. I am a Canadian who attended high school in the US and moved back for University. During my high school years, I took the following AP courses and received a 4 on all of them.
- AP Biology
- AP Statistics
- AP Microeconomics
I also took AP Calculus, AP French and AP Art History but didn’t take the tests for these courses.
Before I started my first year of university, I attended community college during the summer and completed these courses all with a letter grade of A.
- US History 1
- US History 2
- Macroeconomics
- US Government
During my first year at UBC in Canada, I:
- Finished my 2 semesters of English
- Finished my 2 semesters of calculus
- Finished Biology by taking 1 course and using my AP credit for the rest
- Finished chemistry (haven’t taken Ochem yet)
- Finished 1 semester of physics
- For electives, I took a semester of Global politics and 1 semester of Spanish
6 courses per term, I received a 3.18 GPA. I know not the highest for dental (which is what I want to do but I will try to bring it up)
So my question is, am I on the right path to success for dental?
I have been thinking about studying for the DAT this summer as I am in California (back home) and can’t take summer courses at UBC (Canada). Is my GPA too low?
Also, is it possible for me to take the American DAT and apply for US schools as well as the Canadian DAT and apply for Canadian schools? I am a US RESIDENT and a CANADIAN CITIZEN.
Lastly, because of I have so much “pre university” university credit (from AP and community college) my total semester units for my first year of university was 60 semester units meaning after 1 year, I am technically a junior now. Do dental schools accept ap credit instead of courses because UBC does… I’m not sure if I am required to retake these courses because UBC does indeed accept them.
Thank you so much, I realize this is a long and big paragraph but I would appreciate some guidance, thank you 

 

[BoxerRumble]

Hello all!

This is a very long thread so I apologize if things get boring but I will greatly appreciate any tips I can get. I will outline my academic history here. I currently finished my first year at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. I am a Canadian who attended high school in the US and moved back for University. During my high school years, I took the following AP courses and received a 4 on all of them.
- AP Biology
- AP Statistics
- AP Microeconomics
I also took AP Calculus, AP French and AP Art History but didn't take the tests for these courses.
Before I started my first year of university, I attended community college during the summer and completed these courses all with a letter grade of A.
- US History 1
- US History 2
- Macroeconomics
- US Government
During my first year at UBC in Canada, I:
- Finished my 2 semesters of English
- Finished my 2 semesters of calculus
- Finished Biology by taking 1 course and using my AP credit for the rest
I would look at the prerequisites for the schools. I am pretty sure you need to take the basic biology courses for a letter grade in order for it to count, so I don't think it's a good idea to use your AP credit to fulfill it. Even if they did take your credit, I think having a strong background in biology with a college course is a better idea.
- Finished chemistry (haven't taken Ochem yet)
- Finished 1 semester of physics
- For electives, I took a semester of Global politics and 1 semester of Spanish
6 courses per term, I received a 3.18 GPA. I know not the highest for dental (which is what I want to do but I will try to bring it up)
You should be focusing on fulfilling the prerequisites which are Chemistry, Physics, Bio, and some other classes. Again, go on a few school's websites and they will tell you exactly the courses you need to take. Also, a 3.18 is really not going to cut it at ALL. Dental school is getting more and more competitive. You need to be getting a 3.5+, and acing all your science classes. It doesn't really matter what you get or take for your electives/general education, politics, spanish, history, they don't really care. Once you take the lower division prereq's, look into taking upper division science courses such as neuroscience, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology, microbiology, pharmacology, or any of the relevant courses. Again, the suggested courses are on their website. Also, if you are from California, I am guessing you want to apply to UCSF or UCLA, or UOP. I know at least one of those schools require I think anatomy or physio. I don't remember exactly, but again, look on the school website.
So my question is, am I on the right path to success for dental?
Unless you change your study habits, time management, focus, it is going to be hard. You need a 3.5 or above, and if you want to get into the better schools, well get as high of a GPA as you can. It is not too late to bring up your grades since you've only finished your first year. Make sure you don't take general education courses like history or art to bring your GPA up. You want to bring them up with science courses.
I have been thinking about studying for the DAT this summer as I am in California (back home) and can't take summer courses at UBC (Canada). Is my GPA too low?
Also, is it possible for me to take the American DAT and apply for US schools as well as the Canadian DAT and apply for Canadian schools? I am a US RESIDENT and a CANADIAN CITIZEN.
You can take both and apply to both, but if you are international applicant (Canadian), the standard is set a little higher I think so you really need to be a competitive applicant by having great GPA/DATs. Think about doing some shadowing and research in your sophomore year. The best time to take your DATs, if you want to have a gap year (have a year off between undergrad and dental school because the application cycle takes a whole year, is to take your DATs summer between junior and senior year. Have that WHOLE summer just dedicated to doing well on the DATs. So during the fall/spring semester, you can work on your personal statement, getting LORs, more shadowing, and by June 1st you will have your application ready to go. Too many people apply June and take their DATs that summer which pushes back their application.
Lastly, because of I have so much "pre university" university credit (from AP and community college) my total semester units for my first year of university was 60 semester units meaning after 1 year, I am technically a junior now. Do dental schools accept ap credit instead of courses because UBC does… I'm not sure if I am required to retake these courses because UBC does indeed accept them.
They definitely do not. THey want to see grades, and good grades at that. THey want to see that you can handle the courses and be a successful dental student. AP credits aren't going to tell them that.
Thank you so much, I realize this is a long and big paragraph but I would appreciate some guidance, thank you 

Good luck with your dental school endeavors. Personally, I wish someone told me to buckle the eff down during undergrad, then I wouldn't have to waste so much money on a graduate program and reapplying. I wish more than anything I could go back in time and do undergrad all over again and really push myself and work hard because that's all it takes. I know college is a new experience with meeting new people and having fun and all that, but if you want to get into dental school, you really need to focus.

 

[BoxerRumble]

I was looking through the ADEA Official Guide and some school websites and it looks like some schools do take AP credit for your pre requisites. Should definitely check out different school's website and the Official guide. sorry for the misinformation.

 

[nicefella]

Hey thank you so much for your post, you've been a big help. I will look through ADEA official guide and see, thanks mate 🙂