Need advice on prereqs

[patricke]

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Hi SDN!
I'm in my third year at NYU finishing up a TECHNOLOGY B.S degree. I have ZERO prereqs and I'm going back and forth on whether to do a formal postbacc or ala carte. At my age (39) time is somewhat of the essence. My goal is Dental School. The problem I have is 1)schedule - I'm working full-time and 2) NYU is so dang expensive. I can't seem to find suitable science courses to take in the evenings. NYU has a summer ( 2 six week units) that offer all the science courses and after speaking with NJ dental school - just need to make sure I get high GPA for it not to be frowned upon.

 

[UpwardTrend]

You don't have to take them all at NYU. I'm in a relatively small college town but we have 3 schools and I have mixed and matched between schools to make my post bacc work for me. I would imagine in New York you have tons of options to find what fits you. If you can go without financial aid then most schools will let you take courses as non degree seeking without any qualifying. Can you afford to take a year off of work to do a formal post bacc and DAT study?

 

[patricke]

Interesting approach - can't really afford to take off of work. i'm using the salary to help pay for it. Does a non-degree course taken hold similar weight when applying?Thanks!
How are you doing with your prereqs?

You don't have to take them all at NYU. I'm in a relatively small college town but we have 3 schools and I have mixed and matched between schools to make my post bacc work for me. I would imagine in New York you have tons of options to find what fits you. If you can go without financial aid then most schools will let you take courses as non degree seeking without any qualifying. Can you afford to take a year off of work to do a formal post bacc and DAT study?

 

[UpwardTrend]

The non-degree seeking part makes no difference when adcoms qualify you. One of the schools I go to makes me wait until all the degree seekers register before I do. I make sure I talk to the professor beforehand if the class is expected to fill up. Being a non-trad, they usually are understanding and willing to give an override if it fills up. I am on my last pre-req (Organic 2) and I have maintained a 3.93 (1 B in Orgainc 1 lecture). Find what works best for you but I liked 8 week courses for Gen Chem and Bio and 16 week courses for Physics and Organic. If you're working full time then the post bacc will probably take almost 2 years by itself. I wouldn't take more than 2 lectures and 2 labs every 16 weeks. That means you could get 5 done in a calendar year (maybe 6 with those 6-week summer sessions you mentioned). Good luck

 

[patricke]

Thanks for your input an sounds like you are doing great! Good luck to you as well.

The non-degree seeking part makes no difference when adcoms qualify you. One of the schools I go to makes me wait until all the degree seekers register before I do. I make sure I talk to the professor beforehand if the class is expected to fill up. Being a non-trad, they usually are understanding and willing to give an override if it fills up. I am on my last pre-req (Organic 2) and I have maintained a 3.93 (1 B in Orgainc 1 lecture). Find what works best for you but I liked 8 week courses for Gen Chem and Bio and 16 week courses for Physics and Organic. If you're working full time then the post bacc will probably take almost 2 years by itself. I wouldn't take more than 2 lectures and 2 labs every 16 weeks. That means you could get 5 done in a calendar year (maybe 6 with those 6-week summer sessions you mentioned). Good luck