*~Non-Traditional Student Success Stories Cycle 2011

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I'm a post-bacc student now and got my undergraduate degree in Business. It would definitely boost my confidence if I heard some of my fellow non-trads succeeding this cycle! It is a little scary looking on predents and seeing so many molecular biology/crazy science majors getting accepted.

If I do a decent amount of shadowing, kill my post-bacc and rock the DAT, I'm looking pretty good....right???:scared:

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-Music Major
-7 years out of school running a music business
-Have family of 5
-3 acceptances so far

Granted I was pre-dental in college so it was a transition back for me rather than in a totally new direction.
 
Hopefully I will have a success story for you soon! I am a graduate of business school myself and applied to dental school a couple months ago. Good luck to you.. I'd be interested in hearing some non-traditional successes also! :)
 
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Anthropology Major undergrad ('06)
-Professional Chicago Blues Guitarist ('06 - '08)
-Tufts Post Bacc./Harvard Ext. School ('08 - '10)
-UNC School of Dentistry Class of 2015

From my experience I fully believe it is possible to become a health professional irregardless of your background/walk of life.

Cliche aside, hard work will pay off - the pay offs are not always immediate, but if you remain determined and have true motivation then you will succeed.

Best to all!
 
I am 38 years old, It took me 6 years to obtain my B.S in biology (I graduate in the spring), and I received 3 Dec. 1 acceptances!:D The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. I'm living proof it can be done!
 
McGill University (2009) - Mechanical Engineering
Harvard Extension Post Bac (2009 to 2010) - Just orgos and bio and anat/physio
5 acceptances

You've got it pretty much down. Kill postbac and DAT. But above all, legitimately know why you are switching. ADcoms will be most interested in that.
 
English is not my native language.
38 years old and married
Film major with sum ma cum laude back in 2005
waiter >> manager >> supervisor >> owned the night club for 5 years
Completed pre requisite courses as post bac for two years with 4.0 S GPA
2 acceptances
 
I am a 27 year old post-bac student. I graduated with a BS in computer egnineering in 2007. I started taking science courses Spring '09 and applied this cycle. I was lucky enough to have 2 interveiws. Since, I have received 1 rejection and 1 wait listed, so I am really hoping he wait list things pulls through. Good luck to all!!!
 
Graduated in 2004 with computer science degree (overall GPA 3.0, science 3.15)

Worked as a software engineer from 2005 till 2009, did informal post-bacc from 2007 till now.

54 credits of post-bacc on a perfect 4.0 run, brought my overall to 3.3, science to 3.6, and bcp to 3.88

Applied early June to 18 schools, 1 rejection, 8 interviews (went to only 5), 3 acceptance, 1 waitlist, and 1 nothing so far (THANKS A LOT MICHIGAN!!)

P.S, I am willing to share my personal statement (I don't think its great, but it isn't bad either) with any non-traditional out there.... PM me and I'll try to find it
 
I'll be happy to join in. I could just leave you numbers and basic information, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Enjoy.

I graduated in '06 from a public university with a degree in biology with a gpa between 3.0 and 2.5. I was almost kicked out after my first semester due to low grades (parties were everywhere, and I gladly took advantage!). At the end of my junior year, my cheerleading coach asked me to volunteer at the local pediatric dentist office for 'Give Kids a Smile' day. I did and I was instantly hooked. From that point on, I decided to get serious, so I quit cheering and I quit participating in the beer ponging every other nite, for my senior year and focused on school. My senior year I pulled a 3.4 and I still managed to graduate in four years even after re-taking 6 or so classes. The year after graduation, I worked in pharma and decided to apply only to NYU, and got rejected. My grades still stunk, and my dat was barely average.

I knew then that if I was ever going to have a chance at dental school, I needed to go back and do a masters, post-bac or something, but do well in it. After a year of working and pondering my future, I went back to my alma mater, and enrolled in the Masters in Cell Bio program. In just my two years there, I added much to my resume and made a name for myself: 3.7 gpa, 2nd author publication, anatomy lab TA, winning an award for my research, presenting my research at several meetings included an invitation out in Denver, and volunteered through MOM dental clinics. After two years there, I decided to transfer to a non-thesis program at another school so I could work full-time in pharma, instead of accruing more debt (my PI did not believe in giving money to grad students) and pulling all-nighters in a research lab. In between my time of transferring, I was fortunate to be accepted into an intensive 9-week summer program at UNC that is sponsored by the medical and dental schools. I finished strong in the program, and made a name for myself, while meeting some incredible people. In addition, I took the dat again this summer and earned a 20 AA, bringing it up from an 18 AA.

The last few years has not been a ride without bumps. My gf of 3 years, a few months before I applied to dental school, broke up with me because "applying to dental school is nonsense, you're wasting our time, you're not going to get in." Well I got into my number one choice. :smuggrin:

It truly has been a long road, but I'm glad I didn't give up (or give in). I'm a man a Faith, and it would be wrong of me to say I did it all by myself. Also, I had incredible support from my family, especially my mom, who is my biggest fan. If you truly believe dentistry is your calling, then you'll put in the work and the time. Surround yourself with family and positive people, because it's easy to lose hope and give up if you don't have the emotional support. A good idea is to possibly volunteer at a homeless shelter or a hospital, as it will help reinforce how blessed you are. Hopefully it won't be a long a road for you as it was I, but it sure was worth it. Boy what a ride. :laugh: Best wishes.
 
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Congratulations to all of you on your acceptances so far :)

As someone who is about to begin the post-bac process, your stories are very inspiring!
 
I'm a post-bacc student now and got my undergraduate degree in Business. It would definitely boost my confidence if I heard some of my fellow non-trads succeeding this cycle! It is a little scary looking on predents and seeing so many molecular biology/crazy science majors getting accepted.

If I do a decent amount of shadowing, kill my post-bacc and rock the DAT, I'm looking pretty good....right???:scared:

My undergraduate degree is in Business as well. Let me tell you, the first time I applied I was rejected by all 13 schools I applied too. The next time I applied I was rejected by another 5 until I received an interview invitation. Now, I have an acceptance to my dream school with a few more interviews lined up.

Do well on the post-bacc and DAT. ALSO, do extracurricular that stand-out from other people. There are a lot of schools that like the community service (Premise being you do well in DAT and post-bacc).

Work hard and pray and it can happen!

Good luck!
 
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Whew, where to begin..... Here's a slightly abridged version.
Grew up wanting to be a doctor.
Graduated high school with what was a 3.8 GPA before my junior year, but my parents divorced and then i thought the best way to show my displeasure was to suck at school so i managed to sleep my way to graduate with a 3.2.
Applied to UGA but didn't get in due to not turning things in on time (and my lousy senior grades probably). Slacked around and attended a local university as a bio major for the first semester then a computer science major (because in the year 2000 CS was the new exciting wave of the future) afterwards.
GPA was 2.0 after two semesters and realized i was going nowhere pretty quickly.
Decided to enlist in the US Air Force for 6 ridiculously long years that seemed not so ridiculously long on paper. Signed up as a computer-communication systems operator (computers = still the future), which is just a long way of saying i worked with computers.
During my time in the AF i decided that this was not the life for me. The AF was fine for the most part, but the career and the people of rank that i had to deal with towards the end of my enlistment really turned me off. So i made the decision to REALLY change things and be a doctor. i was 26 when i got out of the AF and as i spoke with more doctors and dentists, the dentists were the only ones happy or at least relatively happy.
So the decision was made after a year of taking science courses that i'd go for dentistry. Of course other reasons influenced my desire for dentistry, but i'm not here to make you cry from the lifetime movie version of events.
Since then i've managed to raise my 2.0 GPA up to what's now hovering around 3.3 (stupid F in music owned me up for life!!) with a science GPA around 3.4. Took the DAT in the summer and got a 22 AA, 24 PAT which probably helped my odds a bit. Going to graduate with a biochemistry degree in the spring.
Got accepted 12/03 to Loma Linda University SD(my first choice).
In some ways i suppose i haven't learned my lessons about turning stuff in on time because i got rejected from Medical College of Georgia for not turning transcripts and letters in before their Oct 15 deadline (that's what they get for not using AADSAS), but it's been really fulfilling for me to come back from how far i'd fallen.
Now i know why people say, "If i can do it, so can you." So seriously, if i can do it, i think anyone can.
 
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33 yrs old married 3 children. Transferred from community college (was in construction as general laborer) to a state university 3 yrs ago graduate this weekend with B.S in Microbiology. Accepted yesterday to UDM.


Stats

GPA overall = 3.0
GPA sci = 3.24

DAT

18/18/26
 
30 years old, married, 3 kids
-B.S. Construction Project Management
-Worked for 3 years after doing estimating, purchasing, contracts, etc... while I figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up.
- I knew I wanted to be in health care and be able to run my own business, just took a while to narrow things down.
-Had very few science classes so returned to school and beat the crap out of them all.
-4 acceptances this cycle

***As a side note, we are almost not considered "non-traditional" anymore because of the high number of older applicants coming back to school.
 
Wow, this is a really cool thread. I never realized how many non-trads are out there. While it would be nice to go directly from undergrad to dental school, I think we have learned a helluva lot outside of undergrad and our motivation to succeed is pretty strong!

As for me:
- Wanted to be a physician since high school (yes, I know... let's not start a war here)
- Was accepted to a med school in 2007, decided not to attend when my repressed conversations with MD's telling me to stay away from medicine resurfaced in my mind (I still don't know why I went through with the entire med school process if I didn't really want to go to med school).
- My backup plan to med school was grad school for a PhD in biochemistry and during this same time I realized I HATED doing bench work in the lab I was working in
- My lab terminated my position due to lack of funding, putting me on the unemployment line
- Took the first job offered to me which was customer service at a large company. It was supposed to be 3 months long, and I'm still here to this day (by the time I quit it will have been 2 years).
- Hated and continue to hate my job every day, this motivated me to figure out within 3 months "what should I do with my life NOW?"
- Decided on dentistry, shadowed and loved it, studied for the DAT during my evenings at home and during my lunch breaks at work, aced it with 23 AA 21 TS 19 PAT
- Applied 11 schools, offered 10 interviews, went on 8 interviews, 6 accepts and 2 waitlists.
- Used my manager as a LOR for my application, which I think helped my app, but also probably made me lose out on a promotion since she knew I was going to leave my company.
- Now married and will be 25 when starting dental school
 
talk about motivation... this thread is filled w/ it. It will surely help all the non-trads who are on the fence.

Good idea
 
I was a piano performance major, but changed to a BA Music degree halfway through my junior year to compensate for time conflicts between my piano classes and dental prereqs. Accepted to USC baby!
 
I'm 30 years old (well next week I will be). I'm married with one kid and one on the way. Civil engineering major, graduated in 2007. Worked as an engineer for 2.5 years. Went back to do dental pre-reqs and worked part time. Now I'm a stay at home dad.

Interviewed at 8 schools.
7 acceptances so far.
 
-B.S. in Biology, 2006
-worked in a dental lab for ~8 years and as a RDA for 3 years... continued this bc ultimately I wanted to be a Dentist, but needed to bring up my GPA.
-post-bacc, 2008... was accepted into an M.S. program after 1 year
-M.S. in Molecular & Cell Biology, 2010

I had been applying since I graduated with my bachelors in 2006... continued my job in the dental profession, became a certified dental assistant, retook my DATs, started a post-bacc, accepted into M.S. program... finished that in 1 year with a 3.8

Interviewed at 3 dental schools & Accepted to all 3 dental schools on December 1st!

You guys have all heard this, but I am living proof that this is true: Hard work, dedication, constant focus, and perseverance eventually pay off. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish what you want... if you're willing to make the sacrifices necessary, you can accomplish ANYTHING - just NEVER GIVE UP.

"Quitters never win & winners never quit" ... cheesy indeed, but true :D
 
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28 years old, graduated from college in 2005
Spent some time working on wall street (Investment Banking)
Post-bacc for science pre-reqs at Columbia 2008-2010

GPAs are mediocre-- s: 3.08 (w/o +/- 2.86) , o:2.99 (just to give hope to the >3.0'ers!)
DAT: 19/21/19
2 interviews, 1 acceptance :biglove:

Good luck all non-trads! :luck:
 
28 years old, graduated from college in 2005
Spent some time working on wall street (Investment Banking)
Post-bacc for science pre-reqs at Columbia 2008-2010

GPAs are mediocre-- s: 3.08 (w/o +/- 2.86) , o:2.99 (just to give hope to the >3.0'ers!)
DAT: 19/21/19
2 interviews, 1 acceptance :biglove:

Good luck all non-trads! :luck:

i always thought ibanking was crazy lucrative even though you have 80hr work weeks
 
i always thought ibanking was crazy lucrative even though you have 80hr work weeks

It is lucrative, but I physically couldn't work the hours-- I was getting sick all the time on 5-6 hours of sleep a night. It also sounds far more glamorous than it actually is.
 
27 yrs old

Graduated with an associates degree in dental hygiene 2005

Worked as hygienist till Jan of 2009

Jan 2009 - present gaining a Bach in general studies

4 Offers!
 
Those of you who did post-bac work, did you do formal programs?
 
It is lucrative, but I physically couldn't work the hours-- I was getting sick all the time on 5-6 hours of sleep a night. It also sounds far more glamorous than it actually is.


haha definetly, i love how they portray ibaking and hedge fund managers and rich and power while sometimes true, they're working their butts off and they dont show u the many many of them that ended up in financial ruin.
 
Awesome thread. I hope to be able to share my story two years from now
 
Graduated with a BFA in printmaking in 2007. Decided to switch to dentistry with no science or math background (last time I took a science or math class at that point was junior year of high school - and it was the "dummy" science/math classes)

I knew I wanted to pursue dentistry because I loved the work as a profession, but honestly had no idea if i could do the whole science and math thing. Now I believe that with enough motivation, anyone can do it!

Two acceptances so far, one waitlist. I think I'm going to Tufts next year! :love::love:
 
28 years old, graduated from college in 2005
Spent some time working on wall street (Investment Banking)
Post-bacc for science pre-reqs at Columbia 2008-2010

GPAs are mediocre-- s: 3.08 (w/o +/- 2.86) , o:2.99 (just to give hope to the >3.0'ers!)
DAT: 19/21/19
2 interviews, 1 acceptance :biglove:

Good luck all non-trads! :luck:

Did you interview at Louisville on Oct 22nd? There was a guy who interviewed with me almost exact situation as you (he didnt tell his GPA/DAT but his history was right on with you)
 
Did you interview at Louisville on Oct 22nd? There was a guy who interviewed with me almost exact situation as you (he didnt tell his GPA/DAT but his history was right on with you)

hehe that's funny! Nope, I didn't interview in Lousiville plus I'm a gal :laugh:
 
-27 years old
-Graduated with BS in Aviation maintenance management in 2007
-Worked for the airlines as an airplane mechanic for 1 year
-Worked as a pilot for a regional carrier for 1 year then got furloughed

Once I got furloughed I realized that there is no hope in the aviation industry right now, and that I wanted to fly as a hobby not as a profession. Dentistry has always been in the back of my mind, so I went back to school to see if I could handle the science pre-reqs. I did well, so ended up applying this cycle. 7 interviews 1 acceptance & 1 waitlist so far.

Creighton c/o 2015!!!
 
Thank you guys for sharing all your incredible stories. I'm also a non traditional student who hopes to have my own success story one day.
 
Graduated in 2002 with computer science degree (UGPA 4.0 - CS :smuggrin:, science~3.4-3.5, Grad GPA 3.5)

Worked as a software engineer ever since, did informal post-bacc took pre reqs + additional bio classes dont recall the # of credits.


Applied 10 days after opening (early) June about 19 schools, couple rejections, couple didnt want to even talk to me or update me(some schools wont even pick up), couple acceptances. (in the ends that's all it matters)

I didnt want to be in the same job when i am 40 years old(I am currently 30 years old- :( ). Very boring, tried thinking about MBA but went over to the other side of the cubicle where business people are, which is also sadly very boring. Now in about 5 months, I AM NEVER EVER EVER GOING BACK.
 
got the acceptance the day before my 30th Bday

2003 B.A. in Biology, pre-med/pre-dent but got sidetracked in college while leading outdoor adventures. Swore I'd never be stuck working in a boring office and went off to be a guide, which then led me into teaching. I taught five years, loved it, but all the while knew it was not a career path for me. Started revisiting dentistry, shadowed and started assisting and realized I was completely wrong and dentistry was a great fit for my skills/interests.

I took a gamble by leaving teaching to take classes and prepare for the DAT. Had many doubters along the way - but found some great mentors to help me through. It took two years to get everything lined up - but so worth the effort.
 
Just finished my first semester of dental school. I'm 36, married with 3 children. Graduated with a BA in Spanish. Worked as an optometric assistant, then financial services, then as an audiology tech. Spent a lot of volunteer time on dental service projects in Mexico and finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. I love my life. Dental school is amazing and much better than a 12 hour a day job. Keep at it, it's worth it.
 
Married w/ 2 kids
GPA - 3.4 overall, 2.97 sci, 20 DAT 22 PAT
volunteered a LOT
2nd time applying

Last year - applied to 16 schools, 1 interview, waitlisted
This year - applied to 8 schools, 4 interviews, 1 acceptance and 1 waitlist!

you only need one!
 
McGill University (2009) - Mechanical Engineering
Harvard Extension Post Bac (2009 to 2010) - Just orgos and bio and anat/physio
5 acceptances

You've got it pretty much down. Kill postbac and DAT. But above all, legitimately know why you are switching. ADcoms will be most interested in that.

I'm basically doing the same thing. Graduated '10, decided what I wanted to do, and now I'm doing my post-bacc at Penn State finishing '12. Just studying, shadowing, and volunteering. Hope my plan works!
 
High school dropout, worked odd jobs including driving trucks through tri-state area, went back to school at age 25 and recieved B.S. in biology and will be attending Detroit Mercy at the age of 30. Reach for the sky and anything is possible.
 
Hi guys! Guess I'll throw my story in there too! I'm 28 years old, married with one child. I graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, because I was going to be an "actress!" <---Idealism at it's finest, folks. 2 weeks after getting my degree, I landed a temp job as a receptionist at a dental office. They decided to keep me around, and I worked as a receptionist/insurance clerk for 3 years. I was then offered a job as an assistant, which I gladly took, and this is where I really fell in love with the field. I decided to go back to school, and it was the most terrifying decision I have ever made. "Actresses", at least me, anyway, tend to shy away from Physics and OChem. I had *zero* science and math background and wasn't sure if I could do it or not. Turns out, I could! GPA: 3.8 SGPA: 3.91 and I received acceptance to my first and only choice of school last Thursday!! :soexcited:
 
31 years old

Started as a musical theater major (I hear you Dentalgrrrl!), then got a bachelors in Fashion Business, '02.

Got introduced to field in a round-about way, discovered I loved dentistry, went for it despite being told in my younger years that science wasn't my strong suit (very minimal science background).

Started my pre-dent journey in August 2008, taking a 70% pay cut, working 30-50 hours a week at jobs that could fit with day classes (NO night classes from 4-year universities here and I didn't want to chance CC). And my parents thought I had LOST my MIND.

March 2010 DAT AA 21/PAT 22/TS 22
Should matriculate with GPA >3.7

December 1 Accepted to 3 Schools (all I have interviewed for so far)
Future interviews at 2 schools.

Tell everyone you know about your goal. Let the people who nay say spur you on to prove yourself right. Make daily choices on your path so when the end results come out, you don't have to question if you should have tried harder. No regrets. It's your goal, rock it out, make it happen.
 
31 years old

Started as a musical theater major (I hear you Dentalgrrrl!), then got a bachelors in Fashion Business, '02.

Got introduced to field in a round-about way, discovered I loved dentistry, went for it despite being told in my younger years that science wasn't my strong suit (very minimal science background).

Started my pre-dent journey in August 2008, taking a 70% pay cut, working 30-50 hours a week at jobs that could fit with day classes (NO night classes from 4-year universities here and I didn't want to chance CC). And my parents thought I had LOST my MIND.

March 2010 DAT AA 21/PAT 22/TS 22
Should matriculate with GPA >3.7

December 1 Accepted to 3 Schools (all I have interviewed for so far)
Future interviews at 2 schools.

Tell everyone you know about your goal. Let the people who nay say spur you on to prove yourself right. Make daily choices on your path so when the end results come out, you don't have to question if you should have tried harder. No regrets. It's your goal, rock it out, make it happen.

Awesome story bud! Keep it up and good luck with ds. May I ask, where were you accepted? And what school is your #1?
 
Graduated undergrad BS in Biology in 2005.
Graduated dental hygiene school with BS in DH in 2007.
Worked as an RDH since 2007.
Interviewed at 5 schools (pre-Dec).
1 acceptance, 1 waitlisted.

It can be done!!! Best of luck! :luck:
 
I was going to give up already but your inspiring stories made me realize that i am not a quitter at all, I will never be a quitter. i will share my story in 2 years.
 
Graduated undergrad BS in Biology in 2005.
Graduated dental hygiene school with BS in DH in 2007.
Worked as an RDH since 2007.
Interviewed at 5 schools (pre-Dec).
1 acceptance, 1 waitlisted.

It can be done!!! Best of luck! :luck:


freefallin, if you don't mind did u take pre-req again or after dental hygine u didnt have to do them again??
 
freefallin, if you don't mind did u take pre-req again or after dental hygine u didnt have to do them again??

I only retook GChem II and Orgo I & II again to do better, as I had C- in them.
 
got the acceptance the day before my 30th Bday

2003 B.A. in Biology, pre-med/pre-dent but got sidetracked in college while leading outdoor adventures. Swore I'd never be stuck working in a boring office and went off to be a guide, which then led me into teaching. I taught five years, loved it, but all the while knew it was not a career path for me. Started revisiting dentistry, shadowed and started assisting and realized I was completely wrong and dentistry was a great fit for my skills/interests.

I took a gamble by leaving teaching to take classes and prepare for the DAT. Had many doubters along the way - but found some great mentors to help me through. It took two years to get everything lined up - but so worth the effort.

I realize you may not see this, since your last post was in 2010, but I just wanted to say Congrats. I am 28, married with a 3 year old, and currently a math/science middle school teacher. Just like you, I always had Dentistry in back of my mind. Actually have a quite a good background in the medical/dental field in general, but I was wait-listed back in 2003 (ultimately not accepted) and have felt defeated since...the fear of failing again has stopped me up to this point. Now, I am preparing to apply (contacted all of my past professors and am in the process of getting all of my transcripts, preparing to take DAT in mid August) but my question to you is...do you think I should wait to apply next year considering my DAT score in August "may" not be competitive enough and considering the application won't be complete until then anyway? Would it be too late? Thank you for your post. It was very inspiring and motivating!
 
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