Need your feedback on my situation

[Olgie]

---

Members don't see this ad.

(in a nutshell)

In my first two years of college I was a psychology major and then realized that I want to persue my childhood dream job as a dentist. I love everything about the dental field. Anyway, now that my major is Life Science at Penn State Abington, I have only about 1 1/2 years left. This semester coming up in a week I will be taking orgo chem and 3 other bio classes. It will be my toughest semester but I know if i push myself hard enough I can get through it. The problem with my past year since i've changed my major is that I only have a 3.1 and science around 3.0. I've taken all my easy classes so now all I have left is science classes in order to graduate such as micro/biochem/upper bio's/orgo2. Once i finish this fall semester, I will be starting to focus on the DAT's while i have about 3-4 classes in the spring. Then in april-june I plan to take KAPLAN DAT courses at a nearby location to get prepared for the DAT's. Then in august I will take the DAT's and start applying afterwards. To me it sounds like a hectic fast paced schedule. I have already put in about 100 of volunteering hours and helped shadow my aunt at her dental office. Does my plan sound like it can be achieved? I will do everything in my power to try to raise my GPA up because I am competing with so many other people who have better grades then me. Do I still have a chance? And how can I stand out and look like a student who can get through dental school?

 

[Golfguy]

The part where you want to take the DAT and apply afterwords should be flipped. It's time for you to buckle down and make all A's. It won't be easy, but get yourself organized, lose much of your social life (but still unwind on occasion), and fully dedicate yourself. You can do it!

Oh, and don't just use Kaplan for the DAT. Check out the sticky thread at the top of this forum, labeled "dentalWorks DAT schedule."


Good Luck!

 

[Olgie]

Thanks for your input. So you recommend to apply and then send in the DAT scores? If that is the case I would be able to study all summer and take DAT around september right?

 

[Goose340]

Why are you waiting so long to take the DAT? There is an advantage submitting all your application stuff and DAT scores in June. Plus if you take the DAT in June or end of May, then ochem and your bio classes will be fresh in your head.

 

[Olgie]

Thats the thing, I dont know what month to take it. I planned on july because first week of may will be my last week of classes and i will have finished orgo 2 with lab. So I do agree with you that I should take it right away since it will be fresh in my head but I also will need a month to prepare my self with all the other subjects. I will have to take a class somewhere to prepare me for the DAT because I know nothing about what the actual DAT test is like.

 

[bing12]

I read through ur situation.quickly. Correct me if im.wrong. You have a 3.1 taking all ur easy.classes. What makes u thnk u.can handle a very difficult load and do well( not giving attitude..its an actual question. I thinkyou should take 2 science classes and ease ur way into this.

 

[Golfguy]

Thanks for your input. So you recommend to apply and then send in the DAT scores? If that is the case I would be able to study all summer and take DAT around september right?

No, I would take it in June or July if you can. I just took mine in July, and wished I would have bumped it up some.

Time management is the key to doing well in your undergrad courses, so make sure you use google calendar or something like that to help you.

Oh, and as bing12 suggested, you may want to ease into this next semester.

 

[Olgie]

Of course my time management would have been better if I knew from the beginning that I wanted to persue dental but since i switched majors, it threw me back a little bit. I agree with you guys on making my load coarse easier but thats not an option for me because if I want to take my DAT next summer I need to completete all these classes. and then after next summer i will only have one semester left which ill include micro and physics and another upper level bio. Am I able to finish the last semester and apply at the same time? Around what month did you start applying to schools?

 

[mc719]

Of course my time management would have been better if I knew from the beginning that I wanted to persue dental but since i switched majors, it threw me back a little bit. I agree with you guys on making my load coarse easier but thats not an option for me because if I want to take my DAT next summer I need to completete all these classes. and then after next summer i will only have one semester left which ill include micro and physics and another upper level bio. Am I able to finish the last semester and apply at the same time? Around what month did you start applying to schools?

The first day to apply is June 1st. There is a big rush to apply early because it should give you a better chance. Your situation sounds just like mine. I was a psych major for my first 2 years and switched like you. Psych is interesting, but I'd rather be a dentist. Anyways, you're going to have to really focus this next year, but just remember it is only 1 year. I would suggest taking the DAT as soon as possible once you finish orgo, like within a week. I also wouldn't recommend taking the study course. It's expensive and I heard its just a bunch of practice tests. I did well on the DAT and I just used kaplan's study guide and Crack the DAT. I would suggest starting to study several months before you take the DAT. I studied two hours first thing every morning, after a BIG cup of coffee, for about 2 months. I went through the entire study guide twice and made note cards on everything I didn't already know, and then I made sure I knew all of the note cards. I don't know if that would work for everyone, but it worked well for me.

 

[jackalo34]

Of course my time management would have been better if I knew from the beginning that I wanted to persue dental but since i switched majors, it threw me back a little bit. I agree with you guys on making my load coarse easier but thats not an option for me because if I want to take my DAT next summer I need to completete all these classes. and then after next summer i will only have one semester left which ill include micro and physics and another upper level bio. Am I able to finish the last semester and apply at the same time? Around what month did you start applying to schools?

I don't want to come off mean, but it seems to me like you're making excuses. Adcoms may ask you why you're grades weren't up to par initially and you want to have an honest answer but NOT an excuse.