need some advice

[socalkev79]

I was in school for 3 years then I took one year off. I am transferring to UCR this coming winter and hoping to graduate by the following summer. I have 96 semester units and have completed most the prereq except one more semeter of O- chem. Haven't taked the DAT yet but plan to take by the end of the year. My cum. gpa is only 3.16 and my sci gpa is 3.53. I am not too sure if I can graduate by summer 2003. So should I still try to apply for this year or wait until next year since a bachelor's degree is highly recommended?

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[UBTom]

Heya,

How many credits do you need for your Bachelors? The standard 124, right?

If that's the case, completing another 28 credits should not be hard... If I need only 28 more credits, I'd take 12 credits this fall semester and 12 credits in the spring semester, then 4 more during the summer session.. 12 credits is the minimum for full-time students at most schools, and it's a relaxed schedule that will afford you plenty of time to study and do well.

And be in time for the start of dental school next fall too.

Just about the only negative aspect of this scheme: You give up a chunk of summer. But that ain't too bad either-- It keeps your studying skills fresh and you WILL need them in dental school.

Good luck!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Tom listed a perfectly ideal situation as far as completing the necessary credits. If you don't want to attend a summer session of school, then you certainly could take 14 credits each of the next two semesters. 14 is still fairly lax (okay, I find it extremely easy), and should allow plenty of time for studying.

The bigger problem in what you are proposing is that you say you will take the DAT by the end of the year. Do you mean by the end of Dec.? That simply won't cut it with the application cycle. Most schools will have classes 50% full by the time schools receive your DAT scores, and as it is right now, if you were to mail in your AADSAS application, schools wouldn't get it until the beginning of November. Secondaries and interviews would be pushed too far back to be extremely competitive.

In my opinion, you could get acceptance at a school or two, but they may not be at the schools you really desire to attend, and acceptances may not come at all.

Bottom line: you can EASILY graduate by next summer. Given that, go ahead and apply, but plan on taking your DAT within the next 30 days. This will DRASTICALLY improve your application and chances of acceptance. Trust me on this one. Waiting any longer than Oct. 11 to take the DAT will simply ruin many of your chances to be competitive.