New Non-traditional Pre-Dent, Introducing Myself.

[NonTradHopeful]

Hey guys,

I've been following this site and your postings for the past year or so, and I finally got around to joining SDN. I am a non-traditional student, who has gotten the itch to finally pursue my dream of becoming a dentist.

A little background...I have an undergraduate degree in business management, and in about two months I'll have my MBA. I currently work for a large corporation in a great job, but I've always wanted to do dentistry. I wanted to do it since I was a young'n, but when I got to college, I made one C in a course and (stupidly) thought that was the end of my chances. I have since realized (mostly from reading your posts) that a single C is not the end of the world for dental school admissions.

So it's time for me to finally re-start this dream that I thought was lost. I'll be quitting my job around May and starting my post-baccalaureate classes (to take my pre-dental pre-reqs) starting this summer. It's a big risk to walk a way from a good job, but at this point in my life, I think it's worth it. This is not a decision I made over night. I have been thinking about it for over a year, weighing all the pros and cons.

My GPA from undergrad was a 3.5. Science GPA was a 3.0, but that was only from four classes (I was also still developing my study habits at that time). I've projected that if I do well enough in my post-baccalaureate, I could increase my sGPA to a 3.5 by the time I'm done (overall GPA would increase to about a 3.6). I plan to study hard for the DAT as well.

At any rate, just thought I'd introduce myself to the SDN pre-dent community that I've been following for so long, and hopefully continue to keep you updated on my progress over the years.

BTW, if any of you have situations that are similar to mine, please feel free to PM me, as I think we can help each other out during this challenging phase...

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[N1264d]

Similar situation here but not with the education background. I am about halfway into a retirement with a pension but have changed my mind. I think you are doing the right thing. It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your decisions. In my situation I only have one bio class that was about 10 yrs. ago. I didn't do so well. Recently I started studying for the DAT. I haven't taken most of the classes but using the materials suggested on this forum I have been able to get a lot of the concepts. I am hoping to take the DAT by the end of summer. I don't plan on applying until the summer of next year to give me time to finish the pre-reqs although I would rather apply this year. I think this year would be pushing it a bit too much. We will see. Good luck to you, hang in there and it sounds like some of the schools really value your life experience so use it to your advantage. What schools are you looking at?

 

[sketo43]

Hey,
I used to be an investment analyst doing technical analysis (no MBA) and I will be starting dental school in the fall. I wish you all the best on your career change. It's not an easy path, but I can tell that you are determined and I know you will make it.

During my postbac, sometimes the material didn't seem to make sense and I thought I was going to fail a test. I was stressed that I had thrown my previous career away, spent all my savings on my postbac, wouldn't get into dental school, and would have nothing. I used this fear to motivate me to study harder than I did in undergrad. If you really want it, you will make it happen.

Good luck!

 

[Timmi]

I am in the same situation as you are. I too work in a large corp, in an unrelated field. I too have felt the pull for me to go into this direction for quite some time and have finally made up my mind to do it. I am currently working full time or more, and taking 2 science courses with labs. Trust me, there are days where I wonder what in the world I am doing, but keep my head down and drive through it.

Where are you doing your postbac? My GPA was such that I dont think I need to do that, although I am completely lost on some of my BIO and CHM topics, the last classes I had were 7 years ago. I plan on studying hard for the DAT and hoping for the best, will be applying for the 2011 cycle.

Good luck!

 

[futuredent79]

I'm a full-time engineer (>40hrs) with two young kids and taking two classes (BIO and CHM) this quater. I thought about giving up but I always remind myself where do I want to be in the next 10 or 20 years.

Looking back 7 years, I never had straight A's in my transcript during BS and MS but I'm getting them now since I know what I will be doing for the rest of my life. You can do it if I can do it.

 

[NonTradHopeful]

Thanks to everyone for the awesome words of encouragement and for sharing your stories. It certainly makes me feel at ease to hear your success stories, and I wish you all the best of luck as well. Below are some responses to your questions...

Similar situation here but not with the education background. I am about halfway into a retirement with a pension but have changed my mind. I think you are doing the right thing. It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your decisions. In my situation I only have one bio class that was about 10 yrs. ago. I didn't do so well. Recently I started studying for the DAT. I haven't taken most of the classes but using the materials suggested on this forum I have been able to get a lot of the concepts. I am hoping to take the DAT by the end of summer. I don't plan on applying until the summer of next year to give me time to finish the pre-reqs although I would rather apply this year. I think this year would be pushing it a bit too much. We will see. Good luck to you, hang in there and it sounds like some of the schools really value your life experience so use it to your advantage. What schools are you looking at?

I'm looking at any school that'll take me, but would prefer to go to my state school. That might be tough to get into, but it would be nice to go there since the tuition is much lower than the private schools. As for waiting a year, I think you're making the right decision. It's better to take it slow and do well on DAT/pre-reqs than to go fast and end up with lower scores/grades. Good luck and keep at it!

Hey,
I used to be an investment analyst doing technical analysis (no MBA) and I will be starting dental school in the fall. I wish you all the best on your career change. It's not an easy path, but I can tell that you are determined and I know you will make it.

During my postbac, sometimes the material didn't seem to make sense and I thought I was going to fail a test. I was stressed that I had thrown my previous career away, spent all my savings on my postbac, wouldn't get into dental school, and would have nothing. I used this fear to motivate me to study harder than I did in undergrad. If you really want it, you will make it happen.

Good luck!

Thanks for the well-wishes, and same to you as well! I'm actually trying to get a head start on the material and reading some self-teaching guides on chemistry, biology, and physics before I take the actual courses. Hopefully this way I won't be thrown as many curve balls once I take the actual courses.

I am in the same situation as you are. I too work in a large corp, in an unrelated field. I too have felt the pull for me to go into this direction for quite some time and have finally made up my mind to do it. I am currently working full time or more, and taking 2 science courses with labs. Trust me, there are days where I wonder what in the world I am doing, but keep my head down and drive through it.

Where are you doing your postbac? My GPA was such that I dont think I need to do that, although I am completely lost on some of my BIO and CHM topics, the last classes I had were 7 years ago. I plan on studying hard for the DAT and hoping for the best, will be applying for the 2011 cycle.

Good luck!

I'm doing my postbac at University. It is closest and cheapest (actually the cheapest would have been a community college, but I don't want any cc coursework to make me ineligible for some schools that are strict about that kind of thing). Good luck on your DAT!

I'm a full-time engineer (>40hrs) with two young kids and taking two classes (BIO and CHM) this quater. I thought about giving up but I always remind myself where do I want to be in the next 10 or 20 years.

Looking back 7 years, I never had straight A's in my transcript during BS and MS but I'm getting them now since I know what I will be doing for the rest of my life. You can do it if I can do it.

Keep it up! Do it for yourself and for your kids. I don't have any children (not even married yet), but I have motivation to continue to do it. The fact that I'm quitting my job and walking away from a good career serves as my motivation. If I give up on this goal, then I've walked away for nothing...so thinking about that helps me continue to work hard and plan accordingly.

Thanks for the responses guys...keep them coming!

 

[NonTradHopeful]

Oh and another question. Do you think that having an MBA would be viewed as an advantage over other applicants? I know they look for different experiences, but I was wondering how an MBA would help during the admissions process?

 

[dentalWorks]

Ahhh I still remember being a beginner non-traditional student back in winter 2006. I remember it alll, I started taking courses in Spring 2007, and been at it ever since.

When I first started, I took only gen chem 1 along with its lab (5 credits total), and mid way through the semester, it finally hit me: "OMG I HAVE SOOOOOO MANY MORE COURSES TO TAKE" lol. I stayed strong, I stayed focused, and most importantly, I kept my final goal in mind the WHOLE way through.

Back then when I first started, due to my initial poor performance in my undergrad years, My overall gpa was 3.0 and my science was maybe 3.1-ish

Today, after 54 credits of post-bacc on a straight 4.0 run, my pre-dental journey is almost over, I wil be applying for the first time this coming June and I am hoping for the best. Due to my strong post-bacc performance, my overall gpa went up to a 3.3 (yeh its still not impressive) but my science gpa is 3.6-ish. My DAT is AA21 / TS22 / PAT20 so I am hoping adcoms will look at me as a serious and strong applicant

The one thing Im gonna advice you is to always treat the DAT with great respect. Start preparing for some of its part early on. For example, the reading comp section, you can start practicing on it from now, same with math. If you start early (as early as now) you will MASTER these 2 topics when you take it (I am assuming 2 years from now). I wish someone woulda told me about this 3 years ago, I woulda scored soo much higher on the DAT if I woulda rocked my reading and math sections (reading = 19 || math = 18). Let me tell you something, that math section should not be taken lighly, I had a freaking minors in mathematics back in my initial undergrads, I have a very strong math background, but the math in the DAT is so "high school simple" that it actually throws you off your game lol. Its weird to explain. 40 "written" problems in 45 minutes, basically you have 1 minute to read / underestand / and write equations and slove EACH problem in order to score high. Start practicing as early as you can.

Another suggestion I will give you is, when you take your courses, since your a bit older, always make the time to make it to your professors office hours, they will like talking to you since ur older and more mature students tend to draw the professor's attention well..... Stop by and just chat with them about ANYTHING, even if you don't have a specific question about the class, just go talk to them, let them know you. that way at the end of the semester, when you ask them for a letter of recommendation, they will be able to provide you a good one since they kinda got to know you a little bit. I did this with alot of my professors and actually became friends with some of them lol

Finally, this non-traditional journey is going to have a million hardships, but believe me, its going to be one of the greatest journeys you'll ever take. Enjoy every moment of it, I did.

Good luck to ya

 

[spud daddy]

Wow that was a great post dentalworks!

 

[Sisero68]

DentalWorks -
I agree with spud daddy, great post

for the other non-traditional students out there:

I am a non-trad that received my B.S. in 2005, and after working in my previous carrier for 4 years I decided to follow a carrier that I had passion for. Knowing now what I enjoy and dislike in work and life I kept seeing myself come back to dentistry. And after I shadowed my first dentist I was hooked. And started preparing for the transition back to becoming a full time student with no previous prerequisites.

Currently I am attending a state university taking Calc, Bio I w/ lab, Bio II w/ lab and coming upon my first 2 test this semester. I will be taking 2 prerequisite over the summer, and continue with a full course load of prerequisites in the fall 2010 and spring 2011 to allow me to take the DAT and apply in July 2011. I have just under 40hrs of shadowing so far that I received prior to starting school and am looking forward to shadowing the other specialties this semester and then concentrate on the two I find the most interesting after that.

And on another area of concern I had was my sub par undergrad gpa which is under a 3.0, while I could concentrate on this I have decided to do my best in my current academics and hope the time between my previous B.S. and the possibility I can show a great upward trend can prove my ability and dedication to the adcoms. While still being aware I may have to apply and attend a pre-dental post bacc program.

While I dont have to much experience to lend at this point I more then willing to try to answer any questions you may have, or if you need greenwave/alans notes I can send them to you if you pm me your email address.

Good luck

 

[Palmetto914]

I love hearing from non-traditional students!

Like another post, I got my BS Mech Eng. in 2005. I worked for 6 years for a very large corporation, traveling all over the world (I even learned a second language for them!) The more I learned about the company, the worse it became. I made the decision to go to dental school, sitting in my apartment in Austria in 2007. I moved back to the US with the same company, and began taking pre-req's while working 40+ hrs a week (driving 100 miles one-way, too!!!)

After 2 years of suck!, I managed to gain acceptance to Michigan. At the beginning of this year, I quit a very good job with a very healthy paycheck, and now I'm squeezing in my last 22 credits before starting this July. I'm engaged with one kid, and a crazy boston terrier.

Great advice earlier about getting to know your professors. That will come in handy when tracking down some good LOR's.

Being a non-trad, you have an advantage: You're NOT TRADITIONAL! Granted, that tends to mean you'll have a bigger hill to climb in terms of the pre-req courses and the DAT, but really, the maturity and life experience alone puts you at a great advantage.

It can most definitely be done, people! Trust it. Want it. Don't look back.

 

[NonTradHopeful]

These are all wonderful stories, and great advice as well.

Another question for those of you who decided to go back to school after a career. Did you get a lot of flack from friends/family who thought it was a bad idea to leave a secure job?

A good deal of my friends think I'm insane for walking away from my job in order to go to school for 6+ years (pre-reqs + dental school).

I'm not listening to them, as I know this is what I want, but I was still curious if you guys got a lot of negative feedback from people about your plans to leave your jobs/careers.

 

[dentalWorks]

These are all wonderful stories, and great advice as well.

Another question for those of you who decided to go back to school after a career. Did you get a lot of flack from friends/family who thought it was a bad idea to leave a secure job?

A good deal of my friends think I'm insane for walking away from my job in order to go to school for 6+ years (pre-reqs + dental school).

I'm not listening to them, as I know this is what I want, but I was still curious if you guys got a lot of negative feedback from people about your plans to leave your jobs/careers.

Of course non of my friends and family approved (except my dentist sister; she was all for it), they all thought I was insane, and u know what, I WAS INSANE LOL. I was 25 years old making a lil over 80k a year and only working 40 hrs per week, I left that lifestyle to pursue one of the hardest schools in the world. Trust me, if ur family/friends were encouraging u to quit ur carrier, then theyr not ur true friends.

As I said before, enjoy this journey, its going to teach u things about ur self u never though u had.

 

[subdoc]

I'm doing my postbac at GSU. It is closest and cheapest (actually the cheapest would have been a community college, but I don't want any cc coursework to make me ineligible for some schools that are strict about that kind of thing

Only a few D Schools don't accept CC courses. If they don't, I say screw 'em. I am VERY happy with my decision to take classes at a local CC. It saves me time and money as I am able to take classes while working full-time.

Best of luck on your quest. I am a non-traditional applicant as well. You will find there are more of us than you may think.

Your story will make you unique, but you will still need a good DAT/GPA. Knock 'em dead!

 

[NonTradHopeful]

Of course non of my friends and family approved (except my dentist sister; she was all for it), they all thought I was insane, and u know what, I WAS INSANE LOL. I was 25 years old making a lil over 80k a year and only working 40 hrs per week, I left that lifestyle to pursue one of the hardest schools in the world. Trust me, if ur family/friends were encouraging u to quit ur carrier, then theyr not ur true friends.

As I said before, enjoy this journey, its going to teach u things about ur self u never though u had.

Good call...my family actually approves and is very supportive. My friends, however, are a different story. But I'm not listening to them. I know I want this, and I'll continue to work toward it.

Only a few D Schools don't accept CC courses. If they don't, I say screw 'em. I am VERY happy with my decision to take classes at a local CC. It saves me time and money as I am able to take classes while working full-time.

Best of luck on your quest. I am a non-traditional applicant as well. You will find there are more of us than you may think.

Your story will make you unique, but you will still need a good DAT/GPA. Knock 'em dead!

Thanks subdoc, I'm hoping that my non-traditional route to dentistry will give me an advantage during interviews (and in my personal statement) during the application process. As for CC cources, I just want to make myself eligible for any and all schools. Doesn't hurt to be extra cautious.

 

[scottyhoop]

I agree with not taking CC courses...I was a HS band director and decided I wanted to be a dentist. I met with the dean of admissions at my state school and literally the first words of advice for me "Don't take any pre-reqs at community college." While it may not put you out of the running, i wanted to make the best chance I could make for myself since I was quitting a job and entering a very uncertain future. Like some of the above posters I have a family, but luckily everyone has been behind me all the way. One worry I had was if I would be behind all of my classmates with science degrees. I'm a little over half way thru my first year of dental school and not having a science degree hasn't been an issue at all. I think it's cool that there are lots of us non-trads out there. Get good grades and rock your DAT and you will have no problems. Best wishes!!

Scotty

 

[Stoshdawg]

Good to see so many other non traditional applicants! I too decided to start the 6 year journey this coming Fall. Like the rest of you, it sounds like I have 2 years of prerequisites and then 4 years of Dental School after that. Plus, I'm almost 6 months pregnant now... so I will have a little one to watch after while taking classes

I'm starting with a 3.54 undergrad GPA and a 4.0 science GPA (thank you intro to Biology and Geography... lol). I'm really hoping to Ace those prerequisites... it sounds like everyone does a lot better when they go back to school. I hope to be the same!

I graduated in 2005 and have worked as a Graphic Designer for the last 5 years. So, to say my friends and family are a little surprised by this sudden change in career is an understatement! My husband is behind me all the way though and that's all that matters! He's just finishing Medical School and is starting his Anesthesia Residency in July. It's my turn now to fill out those FAFSAs!

Good luck to everyone climbing the Non-Traditional hill!

 

[head2heel]

I graduated in 2005 and have worked as a Graphic Designer for the last 5 years. So, to say my friends and family are a little surprised by this sudden change in career is an understatement!

Stoshdawg, saw your post and just wanted to say that I used to be in Graphic Design too. It was fun, but not something I wanted to do forever. I was looking for something more hands-on and less "computer-on." I was able to complete all my prereqs in one year, summer to summer, and can't wait to start d-school in the fall. Good luck on your journey!

 

[NonTradHopeful]

Good to see so many other non traditional applicants! I too decided to start the 6 year journey this coming Fall. Like the rest of you, it sounds like I have 2 years of prerequisites and then 4 years of Dental School after that. Plus, I'm almost 6 months pregnant now... so I will have a little one to watch after while taking classes

I'm starting with a 3.54 undergrad GPA and a 4.0 science GPA (thank you intro to Biology and Geography... lol). I'm really hoping to Ace those prerequisites... it sounds like everyone does a lot better when they go back to school. I hope to be the same!

I graduated in 2005 and have worked as a Graphic Designer for the last 5 years. So, to say my friends and family are a little surprised by this sudden change in career is an understatement! My husband is behind me all the way though and that's all that matters! He's just finishing Medical School and is starting his Anesthesia Residency in July. It's my turn now to fill out those FAFSAs!

Good luck to everyone climbing the Non-Traditional hill!

Good luck to you as well! I completely agree that it's probably easier for you to make A's in your pre-reqs after going back...non-traditionals seem to be much more focused (b/c they've already sacrificed so much...i.e. leaving a job, etc.).

I agree with not taking CC courses...I was a HS band director and decided I wanted to be a dentist. I met with the dean of admissions at my state school and literally the first words of advice for me "Don't take any pre-reqs at community college." While it may not put you out of the running, i wanted to make the best chance I could make for myself since I was quitting a job and entering a very uncertain future. Like some of the above posters I have a family, but luckily everyone has been behind me all the way. One worry I had was if I would be behind all of my classmates with science degrees. I'm a little over half way thru my first year of dental school and not having a science degree hasn't been an issue at all. I think it's cool that there are lots of us non-trads out there. Get good grades and rock your DAT and you will have no problems. Best wishes!!

Scotty

Thanks for the advice Scotty. Do you think you could elaborate a little more about how you weren't at a disadvantage to other science majors when you started dental school? This is a worry that I have. I feel that since my background will JUST be the minimum prereqs, that I'd be left in the dust by the other science major dental students. How have you been able to keep up with them?

 

[Stoshdawg]

Stoshdawg, saw your post and just wanted to say that I used to be in Graphic Design too. It was fun, but not something I wanted to do forever. I was looking for something more hands-on and less "computer-on." I was able to complete all my prereqs in one year, summer to summer, and can't wait to start d-school in the fall. Good luck on your journey!

Great to hear someone else with a similar background has been successful! My motivations are similar... I enjoy Graphic Design but I would also like to practice something more hands on and feel as though I've helped people at the end of the day. So looking forward to the new challenge.

Thanks for sharing!