Lazy first yr student -- Q about course load

[gochi]

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Hey,

Currently I have taken 6 classes and have a CGPA=2.7 I guess I still have a pretty good chance, I mean...I have to finish 90CREDITS!, and I think I have completed 20 so far...my main concern now is getting an A+ in all my classes. Chem, Phy and Math arent a big deal for me...its just BIO....It takes way too much time, and I end up studying for it on the day of the tst.

I can probably get A-'s if I take 4 classes, but I can guarantee A/ A+ if I take 3 classes. My Q is that, will this look bad when applying to d.school ?
Taking 3 courses intead of 4 or 5 ? Ohh and their all science courses with labs, and some math ?


thanks

 

[widsmtooth29]

Take 4 and work your brains off. It will pay off and you won't have any explaining to do to dental schools.

 

[dmd2011]

Hey,

Currently I have taken 6 classes and have a CGPA=2.7 I guess I still have a pretty good chance, I mean...I have to finish 90CREDITS!, and I think I have completed 20 so far...my main concern now is getting an A+ in all my classes. Chem, Phy and Math arent a big deal for me...its just BIO....It takes way too much time, and I end up studying for it on the day of the tst.

I can probably get A-'s if I take 4 classes, but I can guarantee A/ A+ if I take 3 classes. My Q is that, will this look bad when applying to d.school ?
Taking 3 courses intead of 4 or 5 ? Ohh and their all science courses with labs, and some math ?


thanks

you have plenty of time to bring up your GPA. its good you recognized this sooner rather than later. take at least 4 classes per semester. as for your bio classes... you should be reviewing your notes for 20-30 min per night, that way you can keep up with the material. then when you study for the test, you'll know much of the material and you only have to concentrate on the stuff you forgot. i found that this approach worked for me and have used it from sophomore year of HS, all the way through college and it has worked very well.

 

[gochi]

Alright thanks for your opinions.

But Im really scared....I know I can get A's, its just that I ALWAYS make stupid mistakes on test wich bring my grade down below 90 %. OK so what if i take 4 courses presemester, orgo chem, chem II, cell bio, phy....all 4 classes have labs...plus I need to work in order to obatain money.....

I mean come on...looking at my 2.7 GPA, do you guys really believe I can take 4 science lab courses and work and get in A in all courses ? This seems highly imposisble for me....

Again, how bad does it look to not take a full course load ? IF I do get into D.SCHOOL, I dont have to get A's in all my courses, correct ?

Still doubting my intelligence 🙁

 

[Jaba]

Alright thanks for your opinions.

But Im really scared....I know I can get A's, its just that I ALWAYS make stupid mistakes on test wich bring my grade down below 90 %. OK so what if i take 4 courses presemester, orgo chem, chem II, cell bio, phy....all 4 classes have labs...plus I need to work in order to obatain money.....

I mean come on...looking at my 2.7 GPA, do you guys really believe I can take 4 science lab courses and work and get in A in all courses ? This seems highly imposisble for me....

Again, how bad does it look to not take a full course load ? IF I do get into D.SCHOOL, I dont have to get A's in all my courses, correct ?

Still doubting my intelligence 🙁

I think you just need to space out the courses as best as you can. I remember in my 1st year I took all the Pre-req courses and this ended up screwing me over big time. I definately recommend taking less courses, but getting better marks in them. From what i've gathered, its GPA GPA GPA!

Only you know what you are capable of. As you stated, you have done some courses alrady and you can now make decisions on what is best for you.

 

[gochi]

I think you just need to space out the courses as best as you can. I remember in my 1st year I took all the Pre-req courses and this ended up screwing me over big time. I definately recommend taking less courses, but getting better marks in them. From what i've gathered, its GPA GPA GPA!

Only you know what you are capable of. As you stated, you have done some courses alrady and you can now make decisions on what is best for you.

Yeah man...if you dont mind, what is your GPA, as I think Im in the same boat as you were in your first year ?

 

[Jaba]

Yeah man...if you dont mind, what is your GPA, as I think Im in the same boat as you were in your first year ?

i really dont know what my GPA is because I am in Canada and I get letter grades. I think its around a 3.0 now which sucks. 1st year i pretty much got D's in everything, but after 1st year i've been getting very high marks. I'm going to take another year and hopefully it'll bring up my gpa a bit.

Otherwise, masters is always a possibility.

If I could go back in time, I would definately take less courses if I were you. In Canada though, if you dont take the 5 courses/sem then you get a penalty. Some schools wont even accept you if you have less than 5. This is the reason I stuck with it. But whats the use, I want to come to USA anyway.

anyway enough rambling. you'll figure it out.

 

[gochi]

right, I live in Canada as well....but I really dont understand why canadian schools expect you to take 5 courses per semesters...I mean, were all aiming to become dentists, why should other student be "allowed" to take less than 5 courses ?

I have really never understood this.

So, do US schools have a penalty aswell, because ultimatley, I will apply their.

thanks

 

[Jaba]

right, I live in Canada as well....but I really dont understand why canadian schools expect you to take 5 courses per semesters...I mean, were all aiming to become dentists, why should other student be "allowed" to take less than 5 courses ?

I have really never understood this.

So, do US schools have a penalty aswell, because ultimatley, I will apply their.

thanks

From what I gather, it really doesnt matter if you have 4 or 5 in the USA as long as your marks are good. Somone once told me that the person taking more courses is more competitive, but I am not sure about this exactly. Are you from Ontario?

 

[gochi]

No, Im from British Columbia...

So, would taking 3 courses drastically affect my chances of getting in, even if I get all A+'s ?

thanks

 

[Streetwolf]

So what makes you think you'll pass dental school if you can't even handle 4 classes each semester in college?

Seriously...

Take 4 classes each semester and develop good study habits.

 

[masterofpuppet]

If you think you can get all A's if you take 3 classes then do it. You will not impress anyone if you take 4,5 classes and get B's. Dont try to pass classes, try to learn something out of them, it will help you on your DAT. I think most schools dont care about the course load they just say they do. I never took more than 3 science classes per quarter and no one asked me they wanna see if I can get all A's if I take 4 at a time. Im biochem major and I took as many as I could to get A's. Bottom line, the more you learn, the higher DAT score.

 

[mf83]

I'm from BC too,

I couldn't apply to Alberta or Saskatchewan (Thanks to the spell-correction here, otherwise I would never be able to spell it correct)
anyhow, I think there is more competition here in Canada, from what I see, therefore there are some "stupid" criteria to weed some people out.
I applied to states and I got in.
I didn't bother to apply to UBC.

Good luck everyone

 

[gochi]

I'm from BC too,

I couldn't apply to Alberta or Saskatchewan (Thanks to the spell-correction here, otherwise I would never be able to spell it correct)
anyhow, I think there is more competition here in Canada, from what I see, therefore there are some "stupid" criteria to weed some people out.
I applied to states and I got in.
I didn't bother to apply to UBC.

Good luck everyone

Good for you! What was your GPA and what schools did you apply to ?

thanks

 

[mf83]

Good for you! What was your GPA and what schools did you apply to ?

thanks

My GPA was 3.7
PAT 19
Chem 26
Bio 22
Carving (Veryyyy bad!!!) but I didn't want to retake DAT.

Applied to: Boston, Tufts, NYU,UNLV, Loma linda
Interview: UNLV, NYU, Loma Linda
Accepted: NYU

Good luck

 

[americanpierg]

So what makes you think you'll pass dental school if you can't even handle 4 classes each semester in college?

Seriously...

Take 4 classes each semester and develop good study habits.

because quality doesnt matter in dental school? Theres a huge difference between just passing once you're in, and striving for 4.0s when youre trying to get in. Heck the amount of work and effort difference between a 3.0 and a 4.0 is even increadible enough.

 

[pmantz]

Hey,

Currently I have taken 6 classes and have a CGPA=2.7 I guess I still have a pretty good chance, I mean...I have to finish 90CREDITS!, and I think I have completed 20 so far...my main concern now is getting an A+ in all my classes. Chem, Phy and Math arent a big deal for me...its just BIO....It takes way too much time, and I end up studying for it on the day of the tst.

I can probably get A-'s if I take 4 classes, but I can guarantee A/ A+ if I take 3 classes. My Q is that, will this look bad when applying to d.school ?
Taking 3 courses intead of 4 or 5 ? Ohh and their all science courses with labs, and some math ?


thanks

Just becuase a lot of dental schools don'require you to have a bachelors, you should probaly plan on getting one. It will increase the amount of classes to offset your current GPA, some specialties requre a bachelors. If you are a Science Major it will allow you to prepare for D-school by taking classes that aren't required for admission but will make your life a little esier in D-School. Plus its one more year to bask in the splendor of Undergrad, where you can slack, skip class drink beer and still pull A's. I know I won't be able to pull that off next year. Good Luck

 

[Nasem]

The only thing I am going to tell you is don't be a jackass like me and Finish your undergrad with a ****ty overall GPA of 3.01 because you, at the time, thought your never going to go back to school so why worry about a strong GPA...

Yeh that was 3 years ago, I graduated with a B.S in computer science with 3.01 because I NEVER in my life thought I'd ever go back to school again.... Well guess what, right now Im kicking my self in the nadz for being such an idiot......... Right now, I am working through my pre-dental classes and trying my hardest to push for 3.6-3.7+ post-bacc GPA HOPING TO GOD that maybe the ADCOMS will see that I am a much more serious student.... I know its probebly too late, but that doesn't mean I give up