Need advice/counsel

[ani007]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I wanted to seek the counsel of the sdn community in regards to what course of action I should take. Currently I am in my 4th year at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a psychology major. The requirements I have left before graduation include: calculus, two more science courses, upper division writing, and one upper division psychology class.

My dilemma right now is I want to study ultimately to become a dentist but my grades are not stellar. In fact, I've taken two bio courses (F and C) and one chem course (F) both from my freshman year in college. While I am completely done with all my psych. classes I have to still take physics, calc, bio, chem, ochem. etc. At this point in my 4th year I just feel leagues behind everyone.

I went to inquire about taking post bac classes at Santa Monica College but my experience with the counselor their was discouraging. I could stay at UCI and finish up and retake the pre reqs. but I don't even know if I have a shot with my grades. I included my transcript below in hopes of getting some serious advice. Should I give up hopes of getting in? Take post-bac classes? Stay at UCI? Pretty lost here so any advice would be most welcomed.

School of Biological Sciences
(F04) FRESHMAN SEMINAR BIO SCI 2A 1.0 P
(F04) DNA TO ORGANISMS BIO SCI 93 4.0 F
(W05) ORGANISMS TO ECOSYS BIO SCI 94 4.0 C-

School of Humanities
(F07) INTRO TO ETHICS PHILOS 4 4.0 C-
(W05) CRIT READING & RHET WRITING 39B 4.0 F
(F07) CRIT READING & RHET WRITING 39B 4.0 P


School of Physical Sciences
(F04) GENERAL CHEMISTRY CHEM 1A 4.0 F

School of Social Sciences
(Y07) ORIGINS GLOBL INTER INTL ST 11 4.0 A
(S05) INTRO POL SCI:MACRO POL SCI 6B 4.0 D
(Y04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9A 4.0 A
(Z04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9B 4.0 A
(Z04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9C 4.0 B+
(S05) ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 120A 4.0 C
(F07) DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH PSYCH 120D 4.0 A-
(F06) HISTORY OF PSYCH PSYCH 120H 4.0 B+
(S05) PERSONALITY THEORY PSYCH 120P 4.0 B-
(W07) SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 129 4.0 C
(F07) HUMAN SEXUALITY PSYCH 129 4.0 B
(Y07) PERCEP & SENS PROC PSYCH 130A 4.0 P
(W07) COG NEUROSCIENCE PSYCH 160A 4.0 F
(F06) ASIAN-AMER PSYCH PSYCH 174A 4.0 C-
(W07) AFRO-AMERICAN PSYCH PSYCH 174E 4.0 B
(Z06) FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 177F 4.0 B-
(Z06) PSYCH ETHNIC CHILD PSYCH 179 4.0 A
(F04) INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY SOCIOL 1 4.0 D
(F06) INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY SOCIOL 1 4.0 B+

**forgot to mention that this is missing a year of courses done at a cc and units from 5 AP tests.

 

[jigabodo]

Fellow UCer hello!

Quick question, what's your total GPA?

 

[dmd2011]

I wanted to seek the counsel of the sdn community in regards to what course of action I should take. Currently I am in my 4th year at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a psychology major. The requirements I have left before graduation include: calculus, two more science courses, upper division writing, and one upper division psychology class.

My dilemma right now is I want to study ultimately to become a dentist but my grades are not stellar. In fact, I've taken two bio courses (F and C) and one chem course (F) both from my freshman year in college. While I am completely done with all my psych. classes I have to still take physics, calc, bio, chem, ochem. etc. At this point in my 4th year I just feel leagues behind everyone.

I went to inquire about taking post bac classes at Santa Monica College but my experience with the counselor their was discouraging. I could stay at UCI and finish up and retake the pre reqs. but I don't even know if I have a shot with my grades. I included my transcript below in hopes of getting some serious advice. Should I give up hopes of getting in? Take post-bac classes? Stay at UCI? Pretty lost here so any advice would be most welcomed.

School of Biological Sciences
(F04) FRESHMAN SEMINAR BIO SCI 2A 1.0 P
(F04) DNA TO ORGANISMS BIO SCI 93 4.0 F
(W05) ORGANISMS TO ECOSYS BIO SCI 94 4.0 C-

School of Humanities
(F07) INTRO TO ETHICS PHILOS 4 4.0 C-
(W05) CRIT READING & RHET WRITING 39B 4.0 F
(F07) CRIT READING & RHET WRITING 39B 4.0 P


School of Physical Sciences
(F04) GENERAL CHEMISTRY CHEM 1A 4.0 F

School of Social Sciences
(Y07) ORIGINS GLOBL INTER INTL ST 11 4.0 A
(S05) INTRO POL SCI:MACRO POL SCI 6B 4.0 D
(Y04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9A 4.0 A
(Z04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9B 4.0 A
(Z04) PSYCH FUNDAMENTALS PSYCH 9C 4.0 B+
(S05) ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 120A 4.0 C
(F07) DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH PSYCH 120D 4.0 A-
(F06) HISTORY OF PSYCH PSYCH 120H 4.0 B+
(S05) PERSONALITY THEORY PSYCH 120P 4.0 B-
(W07) SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 129 4.0 C
(F07) HUMAN SEXUALITY PSYCH 129 4.0 B
(Y07) PERCEP & SENS PROC PSYCH 130A 4.0 P
(W07) COG NEUROSCIENCE PSYCH 160A 4.0 F
(F06) ASIAN-AMER PSYCH PSYCH 174A 4.0 C-
(W07) AFRO-AMERICAN PSYCH PSYCH 174E 4.0 B
(Z06) FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY PSYCH 177F 4.0 B-
(Z06) PSYCH ETHNIC CHILD PSYCH 179 4.0 A
(F04) INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY SOCIOL 1 4.0 D
(F06) INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY SOCIOL 1 4.0 B+

**forgot to mention that this is missing a year of courses done at a cc and units from 5 AP tests.

you will need a masters or a post bacc for sure.

 

[Frederico Albin]

Those F's messed you up man... and even if he does get a masters... its still going to be hard.

 

[ani007]

^^Yeah those two F's and one C in the science courses are making me question what to do. My freshman year was realllly bad and in retrospect I should have just withdrawn from those courses but I was an idiot. My cumulative GPA right now is a 2.8. Is this a lost cause?

 

[ibeflossin]

A couple of bad grades won't hurt you. I know people that have gotten into good dental schools w/ 2.8 GPA's.

 

[ani007]

But should i delay graduating with my degree in psychology @ UCI until I have completed the pre req's or should I go ahead and graduate and then choose a different institution to pursue a postbac/masters??

 

[jigabodo]

Keep in mind that AADSAS doesnt have grade forgiveness policy, so if your university has it you should expect your actual AADSAS GPA to be a bit lower than that.

If you opt to take those prereq classes else where, I would suggest at least try to take them in another 4 year university (cal state) instead of CC.

 

[dmd2011]

A couple of bad grades won't hurt you. I know people that have gotten into good dental schools w/ 2.8 GPA's.

yea but i would imagine that a 2.8 in a science or engineering major would look better than a 2.8 in psychology. i think schools consider how rigorous an undergrad curriculum is.

 

[ani007]

Well part of the reason its at a 2.8 is that none of my cc classes counted toward my UC gpa and also because of those F's I got freshman year. If those F's weren't in science courses I probably wouldn't be as discouraged but I feel now that even if I do a post-bac my gpa is going to be really low because they will still average everything out.

 

[sl2obel2ts]

they do count cc grades... I think. My gpa went down cuz of cc 🙁

 

[ani007]

^^thats true but I didn't take any science courses at cc and it feels like those 3 bad grades are coming back to haunt me now. The main thing I want to figure out is what are my options now, especially regarding delaying graduation at uci versus completing my degree and doing the pre-reqs at another institution?

 

[ani007]

hey guys i'm nearing graduation and still wondering what I should do as far as staying at UCI or finishing up and moving on with pre-reqs for dentistry or something else.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

hey guys i'm nearing graduation and still wondering what I should do as far as staying at UCI or finishing up and moving on with pre-reqs for dentistry or something else.

I'd say extend your graduation date to get the prereqs done and get your UCI GPA up. If you leave and take a post-bac at SMC, you'll still have that stigma of a bad GPA at your 4yr, and your good GPA from a CC only. If you can get that UCI GPA up, those F's from there will be less damaging. You're going to need a good DAT score too so pay for the programs out there. Hole yourself up in the Laudati Reading room at the Science library for 2.5 months.

 

[blankguy]

Delay graduation or if that fails continue taking courses as a nondegree. You need to get the GPA up. Also the overall GPA doesn't tell the whole story is the progression of grades i.e. improving trends.

 

[polospy]

hey guys i'm nearing graduation and still wondering what I should do as far as staying at UCI or finishing up and moving on with pre-reqs for dentistry or something else.

I actually think that you should just finish up your degree and apply to a post-bac program. As your post-bac would be your "second chance" to prove that you can handle intense science load. I would not recommend finishing your pre-req because it wouldn't raise your GPA high enough to be a competitive canidate for dental school. Also study hard and kill the DAT!!

 

[ummjoey]

i would stay at UCI since you already know the campus pretty well.

it seems like you have a lot of pre-reqs left. you said you need physics, calc, bio, chem, ochem, etc....that is like 12 classes or something? just make sure to get As in all of those and your GPA should go up a bit.

im sorry to be negative, but i think you might need to stay at UCI for 2 more years......

that means you will apply the 2010 cycle. you can try to apply this coming may, but i am not sure if you can finish the pre-reqs or if you are even ready to take the DAT?

best,
joey

 

[lgwdnbdgr]

Your GPA is low, but not disastrously low. As others have mentioned, people get in every year with 2.8 GPAs. That's good; it means your GPA won't automatically get your application sent to the circular file.

I think the most important thing for you to do is to very honestly ask yourself if you are ready *right now.* If you get Ds and Fs on your pre-reqs, you will have a very difficult time convincing an admissions committee that your GPA isn't representative of your academic performance. If think you can earn As and Bs on your pre-reqs at UCI, I personally would probably stay and get a second bachelors. Several people pointed out the benefit -- you'll stay at a campus with which you are familiar, you'll help bring up that UCI GPA (can you get it above 3.0?) and I'd imagine you'll save money. Plus, you aren't guaranteed to get into a post-bac program. You'll get schools to look at your app and if they see a dramatic improvement between freshman year and super senior years, they'll definitely take that into consideration.

On other hand, if you don't think you are ready to rock your science classes, you'll probably end up just digging yourself in a deeper hole by staying. Instead, get your degree and go do something really cool and fun outside of dentistry. Turn yourself into someone that academic dentists want to meet. You want them saying, "Ani007? Wasn't that the applicant that carved a life size replica of Mt. Rushmore out of soap and then climbed it blindfolded? That's pretty cool!"

I wanted to seek the counsel of the sdn community in regards to what course of action I should take. Currently I am in my 4th year at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a psychology major. The requirements I have left before graduation include: calculus, two more science courses, upper division writing, and one upper division psychology class.

My dilemma right now is I want to study ultimately to become a dentist but my grades are not stellar. In fact, I've taken two bio courses (F and C) and one chem course (F) both from my freshman year in college. While I am completely done with all my psych. classes I have to still take physics, calc, bio, chem, ochem. etc. At this point in my 4th year I just feel leagues behind everyone.

 

[ani007]

thanks guys i appreciate the feedback. For now, I'm just going to sign up for my classes next qrtr. without graduating so I can keep some options open. Then, worst come to worst I can finish up in the summer. You're correct in that I need to fulfill the majority of the pre-reqs.
Quick question: Should I take calculus right now and get it out of the way or if I am graduating take stats and calc when I'm taking my pre reqs.?
Oh and I went to Santa Monica and spoke to their counselor who "specializes" in post-bacc and I wasn't all the impressed.

 

[ummjoey]

thanks guys i appreciate the feedback. For now, I'm just going to sign up for my classes next qrtr. without graduating so I can keep some options open. Then, worst come to worst I can finish up in the summer. You're correct in that I need to fulfill the majority of the pre-reqs.
Quick question: Should I take calculus right now and get it out of the way or if I am graduating take stats and calc when I'm taking my pre reqs.?
Oh and I went to Santa Monica and spoke to their counselor who "specializes" in post-bacc and I wasn't all the impressed.

i say just take calc and get some pre-reqs done.

however, calc isnt exactly a pre-req? some schools dont require you to take calc. its more like recommended?

i think you should try to eventually take calc and stats. just to be more well rounded?

 

[ani007]

I think i'm going to sign up for stats and take calc later if need be. But honestly folks its discouraging when I read about people with much better stats not getting in or having to apply so many times. Sigh...if only I had a time machine.