Okay, so my situation sucks, and I know I'm going to have to make sacrifices, but I desperately need advice- so here goes.
I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Biology just in May of 2015. I went to a tiny (my graduating class was 160) private liberal arts college. I remained Pre-Dental my entire time there. I received C's in OChem, Physics, and Calculus- bringing my graduating GPA to a 2.95. I went into college wanting to be an orthodontist, and I left school still wanting to be an orthodontist.
I took the OAT, as I had decided to take it on a whim when I had the goal of becoming an optometrist that lasted about 2 weeks. So when I went to take the test, I hadn't prepared as I left the optometry goal in the dust, but didn't want to pay a cancellation fee on top of the test-taking fee. Surprisingly, I didn't do mediocre, but I didn't exactly do great either- and putting my money toward the OAT meant that I then didn't have money for the DAT. (I know, it was a really stupid decision and is one of my regrets, but at that time in my life, I doubt I would have done well on the DAT either.)
All through college I worked retail (and still have that job) to pay off in-school loans (a whopping $400 a month) and barely made it by. I sacrificed partying and being a "normal" college student to work every weekend, many nights, and all breaks to make enough cash to pay my bills for school and gas to drive back and forth to work. Being that I worked instead of studying much of the time, I hung on by the skin of my teeth through those intense classes and somehow got out with Cs (No Ds or Fs on my transcript!). Honestly, I can't believe I made it out with a 2.95.
So, here's the current issue: I was denied into the only Master's of Biology program I applied for. I planned on getting a Master's in Biology to enhance my dental school apps. I now see the denial letter as a blessing, as I've done research and it seems like Post-Bacc programs are a better option for enhancing my apps. Plus most have DAT prep courses if they are specialized for pre-dental folks like myself. HOWEVER, the closest program to me is 5 hours away and takes 5 semesters. And I just moved in with my long-term boyfriend, now fiance, who bought us a home. If you haven't already figured this out- I was planning on commuting to this school with the Master's program while living happily in our new home. They do have post-bacc programs, but the closest to my needs are Zoo and Aquarium studies (being in that it has upper level bio courses) and Health Services Administration (being that it is very loosely related to the orthodontic field).
So, what are your thoughts? Should I pay a ton of money to take non-degree courses at this nearby institution or do one of their post-bacc programs and then try to get a Master's to enhance dental school apps or I could see if I could do a create-your-own program type of "post-bacc" nondegree class load? Or should I apply (and risk not getting accepted to a dental prep program and attempt to work a long distance relationship? Or should I not worry about a post-bacc or Master's and just prep to take the DAT, take it, and then do some dental school apps (the problem here is, I have maybe two professors that I was close enough with to write up some recommendations, and I used them up on this Master's app)?
I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Biology just in May of 2015. I went to a tiny (my graduating class was 160) private liberal arts college. I remained Pre-Dental my entire time there. I received C's in OChem, Physics, and Calculus- bringing my graduating GPA to a 2.95. I went into college wanting to be an orthodontist, and I left school still wanting to be an orthodontist.
I took the OAT, as I had decided to take it on a whim when I had the goal of becoming an optometrist that lasted about 2 weeks. So when I went to take the test, I hadn't prepared as I left the optometry goal in the dust, but didn't want to pay a cancellation fee on top of the test-taking fee. Surprisingly, I didn't do mediocre, but I didn't exactly do great either- and putting my money toward the OAT meant that I then didn't have money for the DAT. (I know, it was a really stupid decision and is one of my regrets, but at that time in my life, I doubt I would have done well on the DAT either.)
All through college I worked retail (and still have that job) to pay off in-school loans (a whopping $400 a month) and barely made it by. I sacrificed partying and being a "normal" college student to work every weekend, many nights, and all breaks to make enough cash to pay my bills for school and gas to drive back and forth to work. Being that I worked instead of studying much of the time, I hung on by the skin of my teeth through those intense classes and somehow got out with Cs (No Ds or Fs on my transcript!). Honestly, I can't believe I made it out with a 2.95.
So, here's the current issue: I was denied into the only Master's of Biology program I applied for. I planned on getting a Master's in Biology to enhance my dental school apps. I now see the denial letter as a blessing, as I've done research and it seems like Post-Bacc programs are a better option for enhancing my apps. Plus most have DAT prep courses if they are specialized for pre-dental folks like myself. HOWEVER, the closest program to me is 5 hours away and takes 5 semesters. And I just moved in with my long-term boyfriend, now fiance, who bought us a home. If you haven't already figured this out- I was planning on commuting to this school with the Master's program while living happily in our new home. They do have post-bacc programs, but the closest to my needs are Zoo and Aquarium studies (being in that it has upper level bio courses) and Health Services Administration (being that it is very loosely related to the orthodontic field).
So, what are your thoughts? Should I pay a ton of money to take non-degree courses at this nearby institution or do one of their post-bacc programs and then try to get a Master's to enhance dental school apps or I could see if I could do a create-your-own program type of "post-bacc" nondegree class load? Or should I apply (and risk not getting accepted to a dental prep program and attempt to work a long distance relationship? Or should I not worry about a post-bacc or Master's and just prep to take the DAT, take it, and then do some dental school apps (the problem here is, I have maybe two professors that I was close enough with to write up some recommendations, and I used them up on this Master's app)?
