newbie looking for info.

[nomorelaw]

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Hi all. Here is my situation. After practicing law for several years, I have decided to follow my true dream and apply to dental school. I only have one science class (an astronomy class) and I will begin to take my prereqs at my local state college this spring. I have been out of college for almost 10 years. UGPA is 3.33. Do adcoms look down upon career changers? Do you think my JD will help my application? Also, I am not enrolling in an official post-bac program because I will continue to work full-time. I will shadow a dentist 1 day per week starting in Jan. Any recommendations on classes that would help? Thanks!

 

[Bickle]

take the prereqs listed on aadsas, if you havent already. classes that'll help....hhmmmm...ANATOMY!!!!!

 

[Jone]

yes they view experienced candidates favorably UNLESS you are so old that it's impractical to begin dental school (e.g. 50 years old).

your GPA is fine, do well on the DAT's, and try to get close to 4.0 on your pre-reqs. if possible take microbio, anatomy, physio, and biochem, otherwise you will be lost during your first two year of dental school.

Hi all. Here is my situation. After practicing law for several years, I have decided to follow my true dream and apply to dental school. I only have one science class (an astronomy class) and I will begin to take my prereqs at my local state college this spring. I have been out of college for almost 10 years. UGPA is 3.33. Do adcoms look down upon career changers? Do you think my JD will help my application? Also, I am not enrolling in an official post-bac program because I will continue to work full-time. I will shadow a dentist 1 day per week starting in Jan. Any recommendations on classes that would help? Thanks!

 

[nomorelaw]

Do I need to get all A's in the prereqs? As for shadowing, is one day per week enough and for how long should I shadow? Thanks!

 

[DMD_hopeful]

Do I need to get all A's in the prereqs? As for shadowing, is one day per week enough and for how long should I shadow? Thanks!

You want and try to get A's or B's in the pre-reqs, the higher the better! These classes are particularly important and are even the basis of their own GPA on your application called the BCP, which consists of Bio, Chem, Orgo and Physics. As for how long you should shadow... The adcoms just want to see that you have taken an interest in dentistry and have some experience. That said, they do ask you to put down the amount of hours for each of your 'dental experiences', so they may be looking for some type of substantial time that you spent in a dental setting. To my knowledge there is no set number of hours needed. Just think about how many hours your one-day per week shadowing will give you by the time you fill out the application.

Hope this helps.

Also, just as a point of reference I have about 500+ hours of 'dental experience'. I don't know if that's a lot or a little but I haven't heard anything bad about it mentioned during my interviews.

 

[wimmcs]

Do I need to get all A's in the prereqs? As for shadowing, is one day per week enough and for how long should I shadow? Thanks!

nomorelaw - this is a second career for me as well. I'm in my early 30s and have 3 children. It's definitely doable if this is what you want to do. I was in the business/corporate america world for over 7 years, and then I decided to switch. Try to do well in the pre-reqs. Like you I didn't have one single pre-req when I started and I tried everything possible to get straight As. So far I've taken 4 semesters in biology including physiology, 2 semesters in general chemistry, 2 semesters in organic chemistry, 2 semesters in physics and I've only gotten one B, the rest A's. Don't get me wrong, I do find the time to spend with my family and have a balance in my life, but I also manage my time well. Since I'm done with all my pre-reqs, I'm currently taking biochem, microbio and cell bio. Next semester I plan on taking histology, anatomy and genetics. I feel like I will be well prepared for the challange of d-school. Also, ultimately it's a matter of how much you want it. Good luck and let me know if you have and ?s.