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Hi everyone, I'm a recent graduate from Texas A&M University's BIMS (Biomedical Sciences) Masters Program currently applying to dental school. I know how many applicants may not be satisfied with their undergraduate performance, and wish to improve their overall application package to be more competitive for the application cycle. I wanted to share this program with other SDN members, since this degree offered at Texas A&M is specifically tailored to students wanting to apply for professional health schools, yet also want to improve their overall grades and gain more knowledge pertinent to their career.
So, in the style of Reddit (don't lie, most of you browse Reddit anyways), I am open to any questions you may have for the program, any help you need applying, or general advice once enrolled in the program. The website and requirements for applying is below, as well as some basic info about the program.
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/graduate/biomedical-sciences/non-thesis-option
What is this program?
This is a masters degree, non-thesis option provided at Texas A&M University under the School of Veterinary Medicine, aimed towards students looking to enter a professional school within the medical field (dental, medicine, vet, pharmacy, etc). When completed, you will graduate with a Masters degree in Biomedical Science (not biology).
What is required to complete this program?
The program requires completion of 36 hours of graduate-level courses, approved at the discretion of a selected committee consisting of 3 faculty (1 committee chair and 2 other committee members). Only three courses are required: an intro course to the program, a basic statistics course, and human physiology I. The rest of the courses are completely up to the student's choice, as long as it's approved by their committee. At the end of the program, you are required to take a "final exam", which is usually similar to a thesis defense (no lab research is required). The topic and length are discussed and approved with the committee (they are usually very free and open to whatever you pick).
What is the makeup of the class?
About ~100 students are in each "class', although the term is vague since students will have varying times of completion. I would say about 50-60% of the students are pre-vet (since A&M has the only vet school in all of Texas), the rest are split well between pre-medical, -dental, and -pharmacy. Everyone is in the same boat as you, so most people are very willing to work together and help each other out. Most of the class is from within Texas, but there are a good number of out-of-state students as well.
What is the cost of the program?
The costs differ from in-state and out-of-state. For me, being a Texas resident, I would estimate the total cost to be around $12.5-15k, while the cost for an out-of-state student is around $22-25k (this is an estimate based on what I've heard from two classmates who were from out-of-state). If I recall correctly, this is still less than both Rutgers and Barry (both of which quoted me at $35k).
What do graduates end up doing after completing the program?
From what the director of the program tells us, about 65-75% of each class get accepted into their professional program of choice. Students can either graduate first, leave without completing their masters, or return afterwards to complete it. I have also seen students change their major, either to a thesis-option MS, or to an MPH degree (under a different school within A&M though).
How is the support for pre-dental students like?
A&M has a Pre-Dental Society, but it tailors to graduates and undergraduates alike. Meetings are frequent, and constant volunteer projects are available to increase your participation for the club. The society will also forward your activity (based on points) to all three Texas dental schools (UTHSCSA, UT Houston, and A&M Baylor), or so I hear. The society also includes resources to personal statement editing, application advice, and even holding mock interviews.
What's the cost of living like?
Texas A&M is in College Station, TX, which is basically smack dab in the middle of the triangle formed by Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Most of the city centers around two very large streets, and the area is generally very suburban. If you're good at apartment hunting, the average rent per month, including utilities, ranges from $300-600. Add normal cost of living expenses and you're looking at maybe around $1k/month total, less if you live on ramen noodles everyday.
Why the hell should I listen to you?
I have been applying to dental schools for 3 cycles now since 2013, and this cycle, since graduating, has been my most positive cycle yet. My undergraduate performance was absolutely abysmal, and I was actually recommended this program by one of the deans at UT Houston's dental school. So far, compared to previous cycles, I've received no rejections from any of my applied schools, and I have interviews with Nova and Roseman already. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten this far without attending this program.
So there are the basics. If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to ask me via this thread or via PM! I hope I can be of help to other SDN's looking to get into dental school
And of course, stats (because everyone likes numbers):
Undergraduate GPA (science, overall): 2.36, 2.6
Graduate GPA (science, overall): 3.85, 3.89 (damn you anatomy)
DAT (AA/TS/PAT/RC/any section below a 17): 23/21/23/26/no
So, in the style of Reddit (don't lie, most of you browse Reddit anyways), I am open to any questions you may have for the program, any help you need applying, or general advice once enrolled in the program. The website and requirements for applying is below, as well as some basic info about the program.
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/graduate/biomedical-sciences/non-thesis-option
What is this program?
This is a masters degree, non-thesis option provided at Texas A&M University under the School of Veterinary Medicine, aimed towards students looking to enter a professional school within the medical field (dental, medicine, vet, pharmacy, etc). When completed, you will graduate with a Masters degree in Biomedical Science (not biology).
What is required to complete this program?
The program requires completion of 36 hours of graduate-level courses, approved at the discretion of a selected committee consisting of 3 faculty (1 committee chair and 2 other committee members). Only three courses are required: an intro course to the program, a basic statistics course, and human physiology I. The rest of the courses are completely up to the student's choice, as long as it's approved by their committee. At the end of the program, you are required to take a "final exam", which is usually similar to a thesis defense (no lab research is required). The topic and length are discussed and approved with the committee (they are usually very free and open to whatever you pick).
What is the makeup of the class?
About ~100 students are in each "class', although the term is vague since students will have varying times of completion. I would say about 50-60% of the students are pre-vet (since A&M has the only vet school in all of Texas), the rest are split well between pre-medical, -dental, and -pharmacy. Everyone is in the same boat as you, so most people are very willing to work together and help each other out. Most of the class is from within Texas, but there are a good number of out-of-state students as well.
What is the cost of the program?
The costs differ from in-state and out-of-state. For me, being a Texas resident, I would estimate the total cost to be around $12.5-15k, while the cost for an out-of-state student is around $22-25k (this is an estimate based on what I've heard from two classmates who were from out-of-state). If I recall correctly, this is still less than both Rutgers and Barry (both of which quoted me at $35k).
What do graduates end up doing after completing the program?
From what the director of the program tells us, about 65-75% of each class get accepted into their professional program of choice. Students can either graduate first, leave without completing their masters, or return afterwards to complete it. I have also seen students change their major, either to a thesis-option MS, or to an MPH degree (under a different school within A&M though).
How is the support for pre-dental students like?
A&M has a Pre-Dental Society, but it tailors to graduates and undergraduates alike. Meetings are frequent, and constant volunteer projects are available to increase your participation for the club. The society will also forward your activity (based on points) to all three Texas dental schools (UTHSCSA, UT Houston, and A&M Baylor), or so I hear. The society also includes resources to personal statement editing, application advice, and even holding mock interviews.
What's the cost of living like?
Texas A&M is in College Station, TX, which is basically smack dab in the middle of the triangle formed by Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Most of the city centers around two very large streets, and the area is generally very suburban. If you're good at apartment hunting, the average rent per month, including utilities, ranges from $300-600. Add normal cost of living expenses and you're looking at maybe around $1k/month total, less if you live on ramen noodles everyday.
Why the hell should I listen to you?
I have been applying to dental schools for 3 cycles now since 2013, and this cycle, since graduating, has been my most positive cycle yet. My undergraduate performance was absolutely abysmal, and I was actually recommended this program by one of the deans at UT Houston's dental school. So far, compared to previous cycles, I've received no rejections from any of my applied schools, and I have interviews with Nova and Roseman already. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten this far without attending this program.
So there are the basics. If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to ask me via this thread or via PM! I hope I can be of help to other SDN's looking to get into dental school
And of course, stats (because everyone likes numbers):
Undergraduate GPA (science, overall): 2.36, 2.6
Graduate GPA (science, overall): 3.85, 3.89 (damn you anatomy)
DAT (AA/TS/PAT/RC/any section below a 17): 23/21/23/26/no
