Hello everyone,
In 2014 I began attending UC Santa Barbara as a Biology major. For the first two years of my undergrad, I did not have the maturity or study skills to perform in my science courses. Despite excelling in high school, it was obvious that I was not ready for university at 18 years old. During this time, I took the Gen Chem series and half of the Intro Bio series. I received mostly C's in these courses, as well as a D repeated for a C, and an F. During the worst quarter, I received a 1.44 GPA. At this point I decided to change my major to Environmental Studies.
Soon into my third year, I realized how poorly I had been performing and starting taking school seriously. I have earned straight A's with the exception of one B+ for the past two years, and earned Dean's Honors for three quarters. My overall GPA went from a 2.76 to a 3.25. I finished my degree, but was recommended to stay a 5th year for a Professional Writing Program. During my 5th year I intend on creating my pre-dental plan. The improvement in GPA is not due to the switch to a far easier major. Looking at my transcripts, there is not really an upward trend. It is simply because I came to some realizations about how those grades could end career opportunities. I am more than confident that at 22 I can take science courses and excel.
I have family in dentistry and realized that I want to make it my career after talking with them and working at their office. I understand that whatever pre-dental path I take will be long because of my previous performance. I've begun looking into career-change oriented post bacc programs, as well as taking all of the pre-reqs at CC. I was hoping to get some insight on the possibility of making it to dental school, especially with those who have gone through similar situations. What paths did you take after undergraduate? What obstacles did you face? And its it really worth dedicating several years if there is a slim to none chance of becoming a competitive candidate?
Thank you,
CJ
In 2014 I began attending UC Santa Barbara as a Biology major. For the first two years of my undergrad, I did not have the maturity or study skills to perform in my science courses. Despite excelling in high school, it was obvious that I was not ready for university at 18 years old. During this time, I took the Gen Chem series and half of the Intro Bio series. I received mostly C's in these courses, as well as a D repeated for a C, and an F. During the worst quarter, I received a 1.44 GPA. At this point I decided to change my major to Environmental Studies.
Soon into my third year, I realized how poorly I had been performing and starting taking school seriously. I have earned straight A's with the exception of one B+ for the past two years, and earned Dean's Honors for three quarters. My overall GPA went from a 2.76 to a 3.25. I finished my degree, but was recommended to stay a 5th year for a Professional Writing Program. During my 5th year I intend on creating my pre-dental plan. The improvement in GPA is not due to the switch to a far easier major. Looking at my transcripts, there is not really an upward trend. It is simply because I came to some realizations about how those grades could end career opportunities. I am more than confident that at 22 I can take science courses and excel.
I have family in dentistry and realized that I want to make it my career after talking with them and working at their office. I understand that whatever pre-dental path I take will be long because of my previous performance. I've begun looking into career-change oriented post bacc programs, as well as taking all of the pre-reqs at CC. I was hoping to get some insight on the possibility of making it to dental school, especially with those who have gone through similar situations. What paths did you take after undergraduate? What obstacles did you face? And its it really worth dedicating several years if there is a slim to none chance of becoming a competitive candidate?
Thank you,
CJ
