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[Socram]

So I attend college from Fall '02 until Spring '07. During this time I took off the Fall '05 semester. When I started at college I was considering a career in medicine and started with my pre-med classes. From Fall '02 until Fall '04 I had pretty good grades. I did horrible Spring '05, failed several classes and then took the fall semester off. When I returned to school Spring '06 things were pretty much the same, I continued to fail several classes for the next three semesters.

I spent a lot of time re-evaluating everything, got some professional mental help and I feel that I have been able to turn things around for myself. I don't have many requirements left, so I will be returning to college for the Spring '08 semester and will be graduating with a degree in Psychology.

During this time, I've decided that I no longer want to pursue a career in medicine but rather in dentistry. I've completed all the basic pre-med/pre-dental requirements (1 year of biology, 1 year of general chemistry, 1 year of organic chemistry, 1 year of physics).

Pre-med courses:
Biology 1 (Fall '02) A
Gen Chem 1 (Fall '02) A
Biology 2 (Spring '03) AB
Gen Chem 2 (Spring '03) B
Gen Phys 1 (Summer '03) B+
Gen Phys 2 (Fall '03) A
Orgo Chem 1 (Fall '03) B
Orgo Chem 2 (Spring '04) F
Orgo Chem 2 (Spring '05) F
Orgo Chem 2 (Fall '06) F
Orgo Chem 2 (Spring '06) C

Other math/science courses: 3 Calculus classes, 1 biology (genetics), and two biochemistry classes

Currently my GPA is a 2.4

So I have a few questions:
Do I need to retake my pre-dental requirements? Do the requirements expire? I heard that you need to have taken them within 5 years of when you apply.

What should I do next? I know I need to continue with school to improve my overall GPA and science GPA. Should I take classes for a couple years at a college and do a post-bac program? Should I go back to school and do a 2nd bachelor's program? (Possibly chemistry or something else in the sciences)

Is my GPA just so low that its not practical to consider a career in dentistry?

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[vj212306]

I did have 3 F too in my transcript; however, it wasnt any science classes. I am not sure how its gonna work out for you since you failed O Chem 3 times, and have a really low GPA. I think you should do some postbac and study your brain off to ger a killer DAT, then you might have a shot. I got 3 F but recently just got accepted for my 1st time applying. However, my GPA ovreall is 3.7 and sci is 4.0. DAT was 22. SO, you can still do it, but i mean you really need to work harder if you want to get in

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Those three Fs in Orgo 2 really stick out. It may still be salvagable because it is ochem, which in my opinion isn't as crucial as gen bio or g chem, but it isn't good. You'll probably need to do post-bac or masters in addition to getting a high DAT score. Try especially hard to shatter the Orgo on the DAT. Best of luck to you.

 

[jigabodo]

1. You will need to retake your prereqs if you failed them.
2. Requirements may expire for certain schools. Off the top of my head I think LLU is the only one that has such rule.
3. You need to at least try to bring that GPA up to a 2.9/3.0 to have a legitimate shot at dental school, assuming that you do have an in state school to fall back on. Otherwise, you probably will want to bring it up to around a 3.2 or so.

 

[Socram]

I realize that I need to work harder and do well in what ever courses I take next. But I'm mainly interested in if it's a lost cause or will dental schools overlook my previous failures if I do drastically better? Also, is a post-bac the next best step? I'm completed all the prerequisites, but regardless should I go back and re-take them or would it be better to take advance science courses by completing a 2nd bachelors degree in the science field?