Is this Possible??

[hardwork2009]

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I need help! I'm a 20 year old junior at ASU and am planning to apply for dental school. My original plan was to take the DAT next Spring, I am taking Organic Chem 1 in the Fall, and apply for schools next summer before graduating Fall 2010. I am also a wife and a mother of a 2 year old, and this semester after having to switch to a new advisor I have learned that I can graduate next summer, August 2010. My question is do you think that I would be crazy to try to apply to schools this cycle instead of waiting. I haven't taken the DAT but I was thinking that since the deadline for the DAT results, I am pretty sure, is not until late November, that I could wait until the Fall to take it giving me time to learn a little about Organic since it's on there. I know that it would be hard work, but my son keeps me very motivated..I just don't want to set my self up for disappointment by applying too early.

 

[msunii]

i waited until i take my biochem during summer so my first dat was on 8/29 last year. however, i already had my gen chem/ochem/bio/physics done before the summer. schools didnt receive my score until early-mid october but since at least i had my app in, they put my app on hold until they receive my dat score. so far 3 interview, 1 accepted, 1 waitlisted, 1 denied. i personally think i wasnt able to get what i got for my dat score if i didnt wait until i finish my biochem. so yes i was late compared to others but it saved me from not getting accepted from anywhere. there were at least a 1 or 2 ppl who applied late (nov) and got invited for the interview. if this is only b/c of your ochem, i found orgoman to be really helpful in terms of studying for dat. my ochem grades were the lowest among all science classes, but i got 30 on my dat and that all came from orgoman.. BUT, i cant say anything for sure and this is just my case so dont take my advise too seriously. i'm just saying what happened to me so i hope this helped. 🙂

 

[smileforme31]

its always good to apply early early early. you get more chances for invites for interviews esp. if your dats and gpa is good. my dent school advisor told me its so sad to see the '2nd half ' of the batch to have better scores etc and they have to let them pass because they are overbooked already. so i think u should wait... take your ochem (even tho the ochem on dats is verry basic it does help you to be familiar with it) and then apply next cycle EARLY instead of LATE this cycle (late being if you dat scores are sent in after august...) it'll save you alot of money... it takes a lot to apply to dent schools.

i didn't take biochem before i took my dats. and i did fine (above 20s) butt i think u should take ochem 1 at least before you take your dats.

 

[kingsingh]

I was in a similar situation last year and did not take my DAT till September. I was in 2 minds about applying last year but am glad that I did (turned in the application in September) as I will be starting dental school this fall. A lot of people are going to tell you to wait so that you have your DAT score in hand till you apply but I'll say just go ahead and apply, maybe just to a few schools. Best case scenario- YOU GET IN. Worst case scenario- You will have to reapply but you will have your application materials, letters of reccs etc. ready for that(since you applied this year) and that will make life much easier. Only thing I will do though is try to take that Ochem course in summer, or teach myself some basic ochem as there is a whole seperate ochem section on the DAT and it can also make or break your Total Science and Academic Average scores.

 

[hardwork2009]

I was in a similar situation last year and did not take my DAT till September. I was in 2 minds about applying last year but am glad that I did (turned in the application in September) as I will be starting dental school this fall. A lot of people are going to tell you to wait so that you have your DAT score in hand till you apply but I'll say just go ahead and apply, maybe just to a few schools. Best case scenario- YOU GET IN. Worst case scenario- You will have to reapply but you will have your application materials, letters of reccs etc. ready for that(since you applied this year) and that will make life much easier. Only thing I will do though is try to take that Ochem course in summer, or teach myself some basic ochem as there is a whole seperate ochem section on the DAT and it can also make or break your Total Science and Academic Average scores.

Well this makes me feel a lot better! I really want to apply since I do have a chance to get in earlier than I expected. I do have a few questions though, If I opt to just try to teach myself some of the basic concepts of Ochem do you think that will be enough to score well enough..I do have the DAT Kaplan study book, and also I'm not sure if I'm correct on this one, but can I submit my application to the dental school say this summer and then wait til the fall to submit my DAT scores, or do they have to be submitted at the same time?

 

[Badgerfaithful]

Yes, you can submit your application and dental schools will pretty much wait to consider it until they receive your DAT scores. Whether you can succeed on the O chem section self taught obviously depends. Once you know the basic concepts it is almost strictly memorization, so depending on your understanding of chemistry in general you should probably be fine on your own. If you start looking at O chem now, and if you find it confusing or too hard you can wait on the DAT until after you've taken the class. If I were you, though, I would definitely get something other than the Kaplan DAT book to help with it.

 

[Jake8]

Just be careful that you can have your necessary prereqs done before that summer. Most schools want final transcripts and required classes completed before July 1st. Its ok if you have classes that are bogus after that but your core needs to be completed by then. Also some dental schools start early August like Maryland for me this year is August 5th I believe.

I am not going to weigh in otherwise just giving you something to consider in your planning.