My one year plan...Please HELP!!:P

[paulee1983]

Hello every SDNers!
This is a ver yimportant year of me, and I want to know my chances in getting in dental school in this way.

First off, I am an undergraduate student from Bakersfield College, who major in Biology and just completed IGETC and waiting to transfer to one of the UCs. Because of my not-to-bad GPA (about 3.8+ transferrable), I have signed up TAAs with four of the UCs (UCD, UCSB, UCSC, UCR). I am now looking towarding getting into UCLA or USC. But in the mean time, I want to try enroll in the application cycle of Dental school for 2006.

Now my plan is, wait until I got the transfer result in April, then caculate the courses I need to take in UCs to obtain my B.S. in Biology (What I have left is O.Chem and some upper division Bio classes and other), which I may able finishing the degree in one year (3 quarters).

After that, I will prepare my DAT test for two months since May, and take it around in July or August (I've already bought Kaplan, Barron, Topscore). In the mean time, I will find a dental clinic to have some shadow experience (my cousin is a dental hygenist, so I may able to volunteer for her boss), or even join a research program.

By then I should know all my classes I will take in the next year (05-06 in UCs) and the DAT score, so I will try to submit my AADAS application in Sep or Oct.

Is this plan applicable? I took a look on the stats of dental school applicants, and I know there is 90% of them already have their B.S. prior applying. But still there is my 10%.

I would be glad to have SDNers advices on my plan!! either negative or positive^^"

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[paulee1983]

Thx for your advices!

But about that 2 years residency, is that means staying in UCLA or in California?
if what you said is true, then is that better to goto other UCs to have a higher chances getting a better grade? Or can even get my degree faster?

Because I know some of the dental school applicants get accepted without B. degree (that 10% I mentioned), so if I do really good in DAT, can I get into dental school while fulfilling the dental school requirement but not the B.S. degree one? (As I know dental school requires less classes than that of completing a B.S. would be)

 

[msf41]

Wow you are really thinking ahead! That's great!

Many dental schools will not accept any credits taken at community colleges for their core prerequisite courses:

physics
organic chemistry
general chemistry
biochemistry
anatomy
physiology
cell biology
zoology

If you are planning on transfering any of these classes, they may be accepted by your undergrad for credit, but they may get rejected by the dental school later on.

 

[msf41]

Also, you do not need to complete your degree BEFORE applying.

You can apply at the beginning of your senior year, and get accepted for dental school for the year following your graduation. I dont have my degree yet and I haven't finished my anatomy pre-requisite. I'll graduate in May with a bachelors in chemistry and finish my anatomy. I got accepted for dental school in the fall, but it is contingent upon me finishing all my pre-req courses and graduating.

 

[paulee1983]

thx msf41!
I got what you mean, and what I am thinking is would that be possible to get all the classes for B.S. in 4 quarters/3 semester/1 yr. I know, as AUG2UAG said that, the registration for the upper classes would be very competitive. But I want to give it a shot-- e-mail the instructor way early from the schoolday, let them know how desperately I am to enroll in his class (this method works wonder in my college LOL), etc.

By the way, I want to make something clear first...

1. If I take DAT in Aug 05, how long will it last? (Can it be used for 06 and 07 application cycle?)

2. Where can I check the courses that ADAAS confirmed to be transferable as credits?

3. Right now I've completed all G.Bio, G. Chem, Math, Calculus based Phys, and Eng Comp. courses. What classes do I need to take in the next year to get my B.S. degree in Biology?( I mean after I transfer to UCs)

4. Continue from 3., is there any other UCs beside UCLA that can finish up the B.S. faster? (Like UCLA demands Cal based Phys, but UCD only demands the normal one)

5. Should I give a try for that 10% chance getting into Dental? LOL



thx for the helps!!!^^

 

[amartins02]

Is anatomy a prereq for all dental schools or just some?

 

[USUaggie]

Only some. I believe OHSU and it is strongly recommended by UOP but those are the only ones I'm aware of, I'm sure there's others too.

 

[Ruprick]

this is false information

Not really. Tufts will not accept biochemistry credit unless its taken from a 4-year university, per the admissions department. Maybe there are exceptions to the rule but this is straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[Ruprick]

ummm, biochem is not a basic "pre-req"
biochem should not be taken at a JC because in 95% of instances it is an upper division class; the only reason Tufts will not accept biochem from a JC is b/c it's lower division not because it's from a JC (I was invited for interview at Tufts and they had no problem with JC classes from my transcripts)

Semantics. Fact is many schools require biochem and biochem is offered at the community college level (just like Ochem which is considered upper division, right?)--and Tufts isn't the only school that requires it be taken at a 4-year university. Like I said, though, there are likely exceptions to the rule.

 

[egpndoc]

Hello every SDNers!
This is a ver yimportant year of me, and I want to know my chances in getting in dental school in this way.

First off, I am an undergraduate student from Bakersfield College, who major in Biology and just completed IGETC and waiting to transfer to one of the UCs. Because of my not-to-bad GPA (about 3.8+ transferrable), I have signed up TAAs with four of the UCs (UCD, UCSB, UCSC, UCR). I am now looking towarding getting into UCLA or USC. But in the mean time, I want to try enroll in the application cycle of Dental school for 2006.

Now my plan is, wait until I got the transfer result in April, then caculate the courses I need to take in UCs to obtain my B.S. in Biology (What I have left is O.Chem and some upper division Bio classes and other), which I may able finishing the degree in one year (3 quarters).

After that, I will prepare my DAT test for two months since May, and take it around in July or August (I've already bought Kaplan, Barron, Topscore). In the mean time, I will find a dental clinic to have some shadow experience (my cousin is a dental hygenist, so I may able to volunteer for her boss), or even join a research program.

By then I should know all my classes I will take in the next year (05-06 in UCs) and the DAT score, so I will try to submit my AADAS application in Sep or Oct.

Is this plan applicable? I took a look on the stats of dental school applicants, and I know there is 90% of them already have their B.S. prior applying. But still there is my 10%.

I would be glad to have SDNers advices on my plan!! either negative or positive^^"

]
you are way ahead fo yourself. worry about transferring first, then 1 year and one month before you graduatre with a Bachelors, apply to dental school, take the DAT in a month or 2. dont put the cart before the horse, u still have a long way to go. good luck.

 

[wimmcs]

Many dental schools will not accept any credits taken at community colleges for their core prerequisite courses:

I also agree that this statment is FALSE. I took ALL my pre-req science classes from a JC and got into very respectable dental schools including UWashington, UIowa, ULouisville and ASDOH.

I took both bios, both gen chems, both ochems and both phyisics at my local community college. Don't be mislead.

 

[Hassan_OSU2009]

I also agree that this statment is FALSE. I took ALL my pre-req science classes from a JC and got into very respectable dental schools including UWashington, UIowa, ULouisville and ASDOH.

I took both bios, both gen chems, both ochems and both phyisics at my local community college. Don't be mislead.

Me too. I took ALL my science pre-requisites in a community college and was accepted by Ohio State and Buffalo. In all my interviews, there was no mention of the fact that I took all my pre-reqs in a JC. I think there are some exceptions to this, one that comes to mind is University of Michigan, where I read in their QA section in their website something to the effect that they don't accept students who take all their pre-reqs in a community college, and that is why I did not apply to UofM.

But as a general rule, I would say that most schools do not require completing your pre-reqs in a 4-year college. I think I have the right to say that since I applied to a total of 26 schools and was invited to interview at most of them.

So again, I second what wimmcs stated "DON'T BE MISLEAD".

 

[edkNARF]

Not really. Tufts will not accept biochemistry credit unless its taken from a 4-year university, per the admissions department. Maybe there are exceptions to the rule but this is straight from the horse's mouth.

I think you are okay if you have both 2-year and 4-year courses. I took Bio, G Chem, Orgo at a CC, but I took Physics, Genetics, Evolution, Biochem, and Micro at a 4-year.

PS-I was accepted to Tufts.

 

[paulee1983]

thx guys!! Really appreciate the hospitalities of SDNers!

most schools accept DAT scores for 2 to 3 years


AADSAS doesn't do that- AADSAS distributes your transcripts to the schools; ask the schools directly if they accept your college coursework before you apply


speak with your advisor at UCLA, there are many different options and routes you can take


all of the UC's require you to spend at least 2 years to finish your degree after transfer from a JC, there is not going to be anyway for you to finish your last n units of upper division classes "faster" since you'll do the same amount of work anywhere; UCLA will tend to offer more courses than other UC's, thus you'll have more options at UCLA and UCB


yes, look into which schools tend to accept more 3rd year students and apply to as many as possible, keep your GPA high and get 20+ DAT scores and you're a shoe-in for a 3rd year acceptance

so what I should do right now is wait until I got the transfer result, decide where should I go, and determine the best route to obtain the ticket to dental schools...questions again:

1. from what you said, that means I definitely have no chance in getting a B.S. degree within one year. But is it possible to complete all the dental schools pre-requisites within that year? (I know it may depends on school, but I want to know the general possibilities)

2. is it too late to submit my AADAS in Sep or Oct? Because I read from AADAS web site that some of the dental schools may close their gates early in Oct.

3. As I will fill in my AADAS in Sep, all the classes I will be taking in UCs will be IP, would that be kinda weird to most of the dental schools? LOL

4. Where can I see the detail stats of the dental applicants, like which school tend to accpet more 3rd year students?

5. Which dental schools would you guys apply to if you were in CA?

6. Which one is the best for orthodonist?

thx guys!!

 

[paulee1983]

Oh, after I walked through the forum, several more questions pop out from my head:

7. I read that applicants should sumbit their AADAS soon after it is avaiable. But I will do my shadowing /research experiences late in summer. Would that be a bad idea to send out my AADAS without filling those information?

8. How do you guys get your shadowing experiences? Just call the local dental practice and ask them for volunteer?^^"

9. For the recommendation letter, what is the best number to get? and do I need to get it from different sources? (Because I can mainly get it from my college instructors....)


thx guys^^

 

[bruinbear]

as a ucla student, I would like to say no one can finish (BS) less than 2 years. Because you have to take 60 min upper division units and major req. Some classes are really hard (no joke) likes mimg 101, biochem 153a, 154 (class avg around 40%) so you can't take more than 4 classes per quarter. The best thing you can do right now is maintain your gpa at UCs, volunteering and shadowing. For the research in ucla (srp, 199), you have to find the real prof: (I mean most of my friends end up beaker-washing job for their prof). By the way, U Pitts will not accept many jr college course credit (check out their web site). But most of them (NYU, U Penn, Bufflo....etc) are ok. good luck!

 

[paulee1983]

bump up and hopefully get more helps from you guys