Non-Trad with (Mostly) Completed Pre-Reqs

[EasyWithIt]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi Everybody,

First off I'd like to say I appreciate what you all do here at SDN. This has become one of my go-to sites for learning more about the health professions and the admissions process. This is my first post, but I've been lurking the threads for a few months now, and couldn't find anything that really satisfied the issues that have been on my mind.

Let's begin with some background:

Graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology (Pre-Med focus) in 2009
sGPA: 3.8
cGPA: 3.8

Courses Completed (Semesters, Notes): General Chemistry (2), Physics (2), Biology (2), Orgo Chem (1, no lab), Anatomy (1), Physiology (1), English (1), Public Speaking (1), General Psychology (1), Calculus (2, DE via high school), English (2, DE via high school, not accepted at my college), Statistics (1, via AP Testing).

No Biochemistry, Microbiology, or Genetics courses. "W" in Orgo Chem II & Lab(which was designed for Orgo I and II).

And the story...

I decided to join the military in the summer following my sophomore year of college. It wasn't a new idea (I had considering applying for the service academies as a high school student), but it gained a lot of traction after two years of busting my butt in school. At the time, I told myself that several more years of school, in the form of a doctorate, was not what I wanted. I was just finishing Organic I when I finalized the decision, which is why I withdrew from Orgo II and the lab that covered both courses. If you were to look at my transcript, you would also observe the telltale signs of someone "mailing it in" for their last two years at college (fortunately my GPA didn't suffer too much from this since I started my first two years with a 4.0).

I have spent about four years in the Armed Forces since graduating college. During this time, I've learned a great deal about life and all the clichéd things people say when they are considering a career change. I feel compelled to return to the career track that I once abandoned, with a suitcase of interesting new skills and experiences that, admittedly, have absolutely nothing to do with practicing dentistry.

Here's what I (think I) know:

1. I need to wrap up my pre-reqs (i.e. Orgo Chem II, both Orgo labs, Biochem, and possibly Microbiology).

2. I need to take the DAT, and ideally average about a 20 across the board.

3. I need to shadow dental practices and do some volunteer work.

Here are my questions:

1. Attacking the pre-reqs - Would you strongly recommend knocking them all out in one semester to demonstrate that I'm still capable of handling a full workload? Would CC courses be ill-advised? I understand that a few schools don't accept CC courses outright, but I hadn't planned on applying to any of those programs.

2. Postbaccalaureate Programs and SMPs - Given my time "out of the saddle", should I consider doing either track once I am no longer active duty? My preference is to avoid these programs, if practical (for financial reasons).

3. Is there a higher expectation for Non-Trads on the DAT to demonstrate their retention of the sciences (e.g. Will I be expected to exceed the average matriculation score of approximately 20)?

4. Am I missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? What can you think of that I am overlooking on my path to Dentistry? What details could act as stumbling blocks along the way?

TL;DR - Non-Trad student with most of my pre-reqs done several years ago; what would be the most cost/time effective route into dental school?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story, and many more thanks to those of you with constructive advice for me.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hi Everybody,

First off I'd like to say I appreciate what you all do here at SDN. This has become one of my go-to sites for learning more about the health professions and the admissions process. This is my first post, but I've been lurking the threads for a few months now, and couldn't find anything that really satisfied the issues that have been on my mind.

Let's begin with some background:

Graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology (Pre-Med focus) in 2009
sGPA: 3.8
cGPA: 3.8

Courses Completed (Semesters, Notes): General Chemistry (2), Physics (2), Biology (2), Orgo Chem (1, no lab), Anatomy (1), Physiology (1), English (1), Public Speaking (1), General Psychology (1), Calculus (2, DE via high school), English (2, DE via high school, not accepted at my college), Statistics (1, via AP Testing).

No Biochemistry, Microbiology, or Genetics courses. "W" in Orgo Chem II & Lab(which was designed for Orgo I and II).

And the story...

I decided to join the military in the summer following my sophomore year of college. It wasn't a new idea (I had considering applying for the service academies as a high school student), but it gained a lot of traction after two years of busting my butt in school. At the time, I told myself that several more years of school, in the form of a doctorate, was not what I wanted. I was just finishing Organic I when I finalized the decision, which is why I withdrew from Orgo II and the lab that covered both courses. If you were to look at my transcript, you would also observe the telltale signs of someone "mailing it in" for their last two years at college (fortunately my GPA didn't suffer too much from this since I started my first two years with a 4.0).

I have spent about four years in the Armed Forces since graduating college. During this time, I've learned a great deal about life and all the clichéd things people say when they are considering a career change. I feel compelled to return to the career track that I once abandoned, with a suitcase of interesting new skills and experiences that, admittedly, have absolutely nothing to do with practicing dentistry.

Here's what I (think I) know:

1. I need to wrap up my pre-reqs (i.e. Orgo Chem II, both Orgo labs, Biochem, and possibly Microbiology).

2. I need to take the DAT, and ideally average about a 20 across the board.

3. I need to shadow dental practices and do some volunteer work.

Here are my questions:

1. Attacking the pre-reqs - Would you strongly recommend knocking them all out in one semester to demonstrate that I'm still capable of handling a full workload? Would CC courses be ill-advised? I understand that a few schools don't accept CC courses outright, but I hadn't planned on applying to any of those programs.

2. Postbaccalaureate Programs and SMPs - Given my time "out of the saddle", should I consider doing either track once I am no longer active duty? My preference is to avoid these programs, if practical (for financial reasons).

3. Is there a higher expectation for Non-Trads on the DAT to demonstrate their retention of the sciences (e.g. Will I be expected to exceed the average matriculation score of approximately 20)?

4. Am I missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? What can you think of that I am overlooking on my path to Dentistry? What details could act as stumbling blocks along the way?

TL;DR - Non-Trad student with most of my pre-reqs done several years ago; what would be the most cost/time effective route into dental school?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story, and many more thanks to those of you with constructive advice for me.

answers to the four questions from above:

1) thats your call to make. You already have a good GPA, I don't think CC vs actual university is going to matter that much. Take as many classes as you can possibly handle WHILE maintaining 3.5+. There is no sense in taking a huge course load and ending up with a bad GPA.

2) no...no....NO! Those programs are designed for people who (most likely) have a damaged undergrad record and they need to show admission committee they can still "handle it". You don't have this problem, so no need for SMP or any "special" pre-med/pre-dent program. All you need is good-ole fashion post-bacc (informal)

3) None that I know of. They will expect you to be a better at interviewing....but... there is no significant data to validate this claim.

4) Volunteering and/or shadowing is a good idea. As non-trad, you need to show proof what made you decide to pursue this career (shadowing answers this). Volunteering (in anything really ~ doesn't have to be dentistry related) shows you care about your community

There is one thing ur forgetting, you need letters of recommendation... as silly as it sounds, schools will NOT even review ur file unless you have everything turned in (this includes DAT scores, GPA verified, and required Letters of recommendations)

Each school has its own "set" of required letters of recommendations. Most will be okay with 2 sciences, 1 non science, and 1 dentist, but some schools have weird requirements (like 3 sciences only..... or 1 biology + 1 chemistry + 1 dentist) again.... do ur homework to know exactly what you need

 

[tommyinVA]

Here are my questions:[/B]

1. Attacking the pre-reqs - Would you strongly recommend knocking them all out in one semester to demonstrate that I'm still capable of handling a full workload? Would CC courses be ill-advised? I understand that a few schools don't accept CC courses outright, but I hadn't planned on applying to any of those programs.

2. Postbaccalaureate Programs and SMPs - Given my time "out of the saddle", should I consider doing either track once I am no longer active duty? My preference is to avoid these programs, if practical (for financial reasons).

3. Is there a higher expectation for Non-Trads on the DAT to demonstrate their retention of the sciences (e.g. Will I be expected to exceed the average matriculation score of approximately 20)?

4. Am I missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? What can you think of that I am overlooking on my path to Dentistry? What details could act as stumbling blocks along the way?

TL;DR - Non-Trad student with most of my pre-reqs done several years ago; what would be the most cost/time effective route into dental school?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story, and many more thanks to those of you with constructive advice for me.

Your undergrad GPA of 3.8 is strong. Having said that, I'm of the opinion that if you're going to commit to the goal of matriculating DS, then go all out and blast the competition in every way you can.

So if I was in your situation, I would take a full courseload (17+ hours) at a 4-year university and get a 4.0 (which shouldn't be too difficult if you graduated with a 3.8).

Don't just settle for 20's...aim for 25. That way you should easily score 21+ on everything.

I agree about the post-bac programs: they're a load of BS.

As far as your question re: non-trads, this is what I've seen. As an older candidate, ADCOM's expect to see something "different" from all the traditional applicants. By different, I mean a cut above. You have a military career to bank on and I think that works highly in your favor. It represents commitment and discipline and holding yourself to a higher standard. So show it. You should have those ADCOM's look at your file and have at least 3 things stand out, be it blow-out DAT scores or a transcript that an illiterate monkey could read (all A's), or stellar LoR's or significant rewards/achievements/community service.

A note about your pre-req's...there are a few schools out there that don't honor science-specific pre-req's if they're more than 5 years old (I think). But they're really a few, just make sure you don't waste your money by applying to them. Also, I don't know if you'll be able to complete all your pre-req's in one semester (orgo2 and biochem). But that will depend on your school. Also, instead of the post-bac program, I think you should remain in school full-time while you're in your cycle- just continue to take upper-level courses. ADCOM's like to see applicants remain in school and continue to push.

In all, I think you've got a lot riding in your favor. Push for one strong year of studying and prepping for the DAT, score high and I think you should be golden.

 

[JAWSSS]

Make sure to look at some of the school's English requirements. For some schools, one class will not cut it. Other schools will tell you that "if you have completed an undergraduate degree, the English requirement is waived"

I was caught up in these requirements last year, so be watchful.

 

[EasyWithIt]

Thanks for the advice everybody.

dentalWorks - I'm relieved to hear about the post-bacs. You bring up an excellent point in the LORs. Since I've been out of school so long, I'll have to generate LORs from my professors while I wrap up pre-reqs. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that while I put together a list of target schools.

tommyinVA - So what you're saying is I just need to be the best in all categories? 😉 Joking aside, what I took from this was that I shouldn't leave anything to chance. A solid year of tearing up college courses and rock star DAT prep, along with the other things discussed in this thread, should yield a compelling application. I can get behind a message like that. Also, thank you for bringing up pre-req shelf life. I hadn't taken that into consideration, but I'll be sure to do my homework on that while I'm putting together a list of schools.

JAWSSS - You read my mind. I wasn't sure if this would be an issue, so I'll definitely check with prospective schools to make sure that it's not an issue. I've also considered doing another semester of English in conjunction with the other courses I'll have to take, just to tie up that loose end. Or I could try and dig up my English credits from the DE course I took back in high school. Whatever the case may be, thanks for bringing this up.