Non-trad help

[laura55555]

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Hello all, I'm new to this site, but I am really in trouble. I've talked to my advisor and no exaggeration; he tells me "you need a 3.75 to even stand a chance into dental school." After my 1st semester back to school, I asked my advisor whether I should retake Bio 1 since I got a C+ before continuing onward to higher level courses. He said "that's a tough choice, you have to decide," which I don't find to be useful advice/guidance. So I asked him how it'll reflect with dental schools, and he said "he wasn't sure."

Background: I have a BA in English Lit, gpa 3.45, but my science gpa is horrible. This is my 2nd year of pre-reqs and it's not going well. I find myself more discouraged, working 2 jobs to make ends meet, and with ever-increasing anxiety. Grades so far:

Intro Bio 1 C+
Intro Bio 2 C-
Intro Chem 1 B
Intro Chem 2 B-
Orgo 1 C
Orgo 2 C+

This fall semester:
- Retaking Orgo 1 currently, so far I have an A.
- Taking Microbiology, just failed the 2nd exam so I have no chance of getting higher than a C- in the class, because there's only 3 exams, no finals. I talked to the professor and he told me to withdraw (because it's too late to pass/fail grade change) and retake micro later.

Basically, I don't know what to do. I really struggle with studying. Reading a novel and writing a 20+page paper? No problem. Reading a bio book? Seemingly impossible. Basically, what are my chances of getting into dental school with these grades on my record? I don't care how much work I have to put in to raise my grades, I just don't know how it'll look to school seeing a few classes repeated/bad grades initially.

When I seek advice from my advisor, it doesn't seem useful in terms of helping me now/in the future. I've tried the tutoring department at my school and the tutors either give you old exams to memorize without any teaching (and more often than not, the professors change exams so I don't even bother memorizing/wasting time), or when they try to teach you, the material ends up more confusing because the tutoring program isn't monitored by professors.

Also, with my work schedule, I haven't been able to attend office hours of professors either. What can I do to raise my gpa other than retaking seemingly every class? Do I throw in the towel of my dream? I was in law school and realized it wasn't for me. I ended up working at a dentist office because a friend got me a job when I left law school, and that's where I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I cannot give this dream up, but I don't think I have a chance. Please help? Study advice? School advice? Thank you.

 

[SEAirLand]

First off, I feel for you.. You are definitely taking the hard route to your dream. Working two jobs and shifting from English to science.. Tough tasking.

So you're probably going to have people say throw in the towel or be negative. At first, I thought that. But the more I read about your desire to become a dentist, the more I thought otherwise.

If this is your dream, and only you can answer this, then why quit? If you have to retake classes, then do so, just make damn sure you don't get less than an A in them.

Your strategy will be to retake, pass with A's, and when the time comes, make sure your personal statement reflects your challenges and desire.

As for studying.. That is the only problem I think you truly have. You will need to figure out a solution to this asap. Having issues with the classes you have taken because of not being able to read the material, well, it only gets worse... When you get to d-school, the first 2 years are didactic. Its heavy on science and a lot of reading, studying.. More than you could imagine.

Evaluate what you are doing, readdress the classes you didn't do so hot in, and if this is your dream, study the material.

 

[LaughingGas]

Studying for science courses are never easy. I remember when I started my postbac. It felt like learning a new language. Over the time, a lot of exposure and hard work will overcome this challenge. Basically my study habits changed from studying hard, to study efficiently. I started from taking one class, then three, then 4,5 and now I can handle 6 courses with a part time job. It takes time for someone to find a good studying style for each person.
Drop the micro, take W and take the class again. For the study habits, no one really can tell you because its more of a "trial and error". For some, using note cards is efficient. Personally I make a summary of notes, for 1 or 2 days before each test and a night before I just read it as a novel and just get the ideas.
If you still don't have clue, just go with the hard way: read, take notes, read again.
Also you might want to transfer to a school is easier to get good GPA.
Take one step at a time: take one class, get an A, then add two courses, then three or four, keep getting As. Get your science GPA above 3.0 with an upper trend. Get a good DAT score. Apply early, while apply to masters(1year) while you wait for results. If you don't get in, apply next cycle with grad school GPA.
Good luck.

 

[koalamowgli]

Hello all, I'm new to this site, but I am really in trouble. I've talked to my advisor and no exaggeration; he tells me "you need a 3.75 to even stand a chance into dental school." After my 1st semester back to school, I asked my advisor whether I should retake Bio 1 since I got a C+ before continuing onward to higher level courses. He said "that's a tough choice, you have to decide," which I don't find to be useful advice/guidance. So I asked him how it'll reflect with dental schools, and he said "he wasn't sure."

Background: I have a BA in English Lit, gpa 3.45, but my science gpa is horrible. This is my 2nd year of pre-reqs and it's not going well. I find myself more discouraged, working 2 jobs to make ends meet, and with ever-increasing anxiety. Grades so far:

Intro Bio 1 C+
Intro Bio 2 C-
Intro Chem 1 B
Intro Chem 2 B-
Orgo 1 C
Orgo 2 C+

This fall semester:
- Retaking Orgo 1 currently, so far I have an A.
- Taking Microbiology, just failed the 2nd exam so I have no chance of getting higher than a C- in the class, because there's only 3 exams, no finals. I talked to the professor and he told me to withdraw (because it's too late to pass/fail grade change) and retake micro later.

Basically, I don't know what to do. I really struggle with studying. Reading a novel and writing a 20+page paper? No problem. Reading a bio book? Seemingly impossible. Basically, what are my chances of getting into dental school with these grades on my record? I don't care how much work I have to put in to raise my grades, I just don't know how it'll look to school seeing a few classes repeated/bad grades initially.

When I seek advice from my advisor, it doesn't seem useful in terms of helping me now/in the future. I've tried the tutoring department at my school and the tutors either give you old exams to memorize without any teaching (and more often than not, the professors change exams so I don't even bother memorizing/wasting time), or when they try to teach you, the material ends up more confusing because the tutoring program isn't monitored by professors.

Also, with my work schedule, I haven't been able to attend office hours of professors either. What can I do to raise my gpa other than retaking seemingly every class? Do I throw in the towel of my dream? I was in law school and realized it wasn't for me. I ended up working at a dentist office because a friend got me a job when I left law school, and that's where I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I cannot give this dream up, but I don't think I have a chance. Please help? Study advice? School advice? Thank you.

Hi!
First of all, I am also a nontrad.. so I was in the same boat as you are now.

Apart from all other advices.. I was wondering if there is ANY way that you could do away with jobs and purely concentrate on your studies alone? Hence, study full time? I know making ends meet is important.. but if you truly care about your future as a dentist, first and foremost you have to get better grades.. not only for it to look good to adcoms.. but more so so that you can have a good grasp of basic sciences. This will help you for your DAT (which can really help you offset a lower GPA) and also for the didactic coursework during your first two years of dental school.

You know, I'm currently attending a state school, and the tuition for postbaccs for a full courseload (up to 19 credits) is only 3500 a semester. I'm taking out loans right now of about 12K a year for this postbacc. I truly think that its worth it. Studying full time will allow you to have the time and energy to really concentrate in the transition to science courses.

Not sure about your situation, but it would be great if you could find a way to study full time for the next two years. Find a good 4 year state university that is affordable. Stay with family to save money on rent. And just keep your head down and get the grades you need and the DAT score that will get u into a dental school. as a nontrad.. you have to put all in. 150%.

And yes.. its okay if you didnt do so good so far... most schools look for an upward trend with 3 to 4 science courses per semester. Hence.. if you drop everything, and concentrate 100% on your coursework and for the next two years keep a sGPA of 3.7, (which i think you are well capable of) they won't mind your past low grades. they will look at the most recent two years of upward trend and will know that you are a good candidate. Ace the DAT. and you're in.

but as i said. if you are really serious about this. find a way to concentrate on the studying only. I know its easy for me to say who does not know what your circumstances are like. But ideally... I would drop all the jobs, and go back to full time student status. As I said, there are cheaper ways. As long as its an accredited 4 year institution.. it doesnt matter whether it's a state school or not... if you are low on cash, go for the local state school. stay with family. take out a small amount of loan to just cover your tuition.. and rock it.

That's what I did when I decided to switch. Dropped everything and just went back to school full time.
I haven't been accepted to any schools yet, but I do have 7 interviews so far.. all pre-dec. I hope I will get into a school in dec.. then I can give you more advice. but so far so good.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[scrambledgreggs]

I don't know what your exact situation is, but you might want to look into a 1-2 year master's program designed to help non-competitive students get into health profession schools. But it sounds like you really need to get your science game on and re-evaluate your workflow. If you can't read through an intro level biology textbook, I really don't think you are going to enjoy dental school.

That's what I plan on doing after I graduate this year before applying to dental school.