Non-Traditional Students

[SwedishStallion]

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Forgive me if some of these questions have already been answered in a previous thread. I am brand new to this site and have found some great information from everyone on SDN. I have a few different circumstances, and I was wondering if anyone coould give me some soild advice on my situation.

First off, I am 32 yrs old and half way through my BS degree in Healthcare Administration. I am married with 4 children ages: 5,3,2 and 9 months old. I work full-time for a university, at 45 hours per week. I need to mention that I talk to students about HC and nursing. I am hoping that it looks good on my application. I already have the challenge working, and going to school BOTH full-time. The university where I work is where I am completing my Bachelors degree, because they are paying for it. I have completed approximatley 60 credits thus far. As of now I have an overall GPA of 3.7. Now that my Gen Eds are completed, I am working on my major. I will/should have my bachelors degree completed in 3 years time. This past year I completed 42 credits in 1 academic year. I am trying to take a heavy load and double up in class so that Ad Comm's from dental schools see that I can handle the academic load and rigors of dental school. The problem I run into, is that none of my current courses I am, or will be taking for my major are pre-dental related. I now am faced with the delimma of going to school FT and taking my pre-req's for Dental school at another university.Where I currently attend, they do not offer these classes with labs. I am thinking of going ot ASU b/c they are right down the road from me. So, again, how many courses are expected of me to take to be competitive for Dental School? Seeing as I am a non-traditional student, and have a family of 4 children plus a wife, and a FT job, plus I am already enrolled in FT school, I am curious as to what they expect of me with regards to the number of classes I am suppossed to take per semester. Additionally I have to figure out a time when i am going to get 100 hours of shadowing plus work in some volunteering in the community. I live in AZ and the 2 schools here favor student with a lot of community service on their resume. These of course are my first choices of school. Are the Ad Comms going to look at all these aspects of my life? I know every decision is crucial for acceptance, and I want to make sure that i am doing things right the 1st time around, condisering that I am 32 yrs old already. What do I do? I apologize for rambling, I just have alot on my mind, and wanted to be through so that you all have some insight into my daily/weekly life. THANKS to all!

 

[txaggie03]

This past year I completed 42 credits in 1 academic year. I am trying to take a heavy load and double up in class so that Ad Comm's from dental schools see that I can handle the academic load and rigors of dental school.

This is all well and good, but if these classes are what make up the DAT Exam, make sure you are actually learning the material.

The problem I run into, is that none of my current courses I am, or will be taking for my major are pre-dental related.

What do you think a pre-dental related class is? My guess is that you are already set up to take the classes you need.

Possibly listing the classes you have taken, and are planning on taking would be a big help.

I know every decision is crucial for acceptance, and I want to make sure that i am doing things right the 1st time around, condisering that I am 32 yrs old already. What do I do?

Seriously, you're best bet would be to start a line of communication with both your state schools. You wont be one of the 'annoying' dental school applicants if you call them to discuss weaknesses with a plan you already have in place, rather than just asking, 'what should I do?'




While I cant speak for AZ schools, the two Texas schools I spoke with seemed to want to know the following about their non-traditional students:

1. Do you know what your getting into? -(shadowing hours)
2. Can you handle the course load of dental school? -(upper lever science classes)
3. How bad to you want it? -(GPA, DAT, sacrafice, etc.)






I am 30, married, one munchkin, and will be starting dental school next month. I graduated with a 2.79 GPA in engineering, worked for 6 years as an engineer, went back to school in 2009, and completed a second degree in biology (3.95 GPA) with a overall GPA of 3.16. I did get waitlisted, but that hardly matters to me at this point.

What I am saying is that it is very possible for you to get into dental school (and your GPA doesnt suck like mine did). It sounds like you want to bad enough. You can do it.

Feel free to message me if you have specific questions you, for some reason, would rather not post.

 

[dentalWorks]

Forgive me if some of these questions have already been answered in a previous thread. I am brand new to this site and have found some great information from everyone on SDN. I have a few different circumstances, and I was wondering if anyone coould give me some soild advice on my situation.

First off, I am 32 yrs old and half way through my BS degree in Healthcare Administration. I am married with 4 children ages: 5,3,2 and 9 months old. I work full-time for a university, at 45 hours per week. I need to mention that I talk to students about HC and nursing. I am hoping that it looks good on my application. I already have the challenge working, and going to school BOTH full-time. The university where I work is where I am completing my Bachelors degree, because they are paying for it. I have completed approximatley 60 credits thus far. As of now I have an overall GPA of 3.7. Now that my Gen Eds are completed, I am working on my major. I will/should have my bachelors degree completed in 3 years time. This past year I completed 42 credits in 1 academic year. I am trying to take a heavy load and double up in class so that Ad Comm's from dental schools see that I can handle the academic load and rigors of dental school. The problem I run into, is that none of my current courses I am, or will be taking for my major are pre-dental related. I now am faced with the delimma of going to school FT and taking my pre-req's for Dental school at another university.Where I currently attend, they do not offer these classes with labs. I am thinking of going ot ASU b/c they are right down the road from me. So, again, how many courses are expected of me to take to be competitive for Dental School? Seeing as I am a non-traditional student, and have a family of 4 children plus a wife, and a FT job, plus I am already enrolled in FT school, I am curious as to what they expect of me with regards to the number of classes I am suppossed to take per semester. Additionally I have to figure out a time when i am going to get 100 hours of shadowing plus work in some volunteering in the community. I live in AZ and the 2 schools here favor student with a lot of community service on their resume. These of course are my first choices of school. Are the Ad Comms going to look at all these aspects of my life? I know every decision is crucial for acceptance, and I want to make sure that i am doing things right the 1st time around, condisering that I am 32 yrs old already. What do I do? I apologize for rambling, I just have alot on my mind, and wanted to be through so that you all have some insight into my daily/weekly life. THANKS to all!

Admissions is 90% pure numbers (GPA + DAT score). the other 10% is your non-traditionalness + shadowing + ECs + hectic life + etc.

You've already got the GPA covered, you just need to take the DAT. As far as "how many classes I need to take".... the classic pre-dental courses are the following
-general chems 1 and 2
-biology 1 and 2
-orgo 1 and 2
-physics 1 and 2
ofcourse, labs with all.

These are the classes you SHOULD take before the DAT, because thats what the DAT will test (minus physics, its not tested)

If you feel like you want to be a little more competitive AND ONLY IF YOU HAVE EXTRA TIME ON YOUR HANDS, you can do a couple of upper level bios (like Anatomy, physiology, Microbiology, biochemistry, etc ~ just 2-3 of those is enough).... However, If you keep a strong GPA (like you have been), you might be able to get away with taking minimum number of upper levels (like 1 or 2).

If your current school is lacking pre-dents, you should definitely switch to that other school.

 

[SwedishStallion]

This is all well and good, but if these classes are what make up the DAT Exam, make sure you are actually learning the material.




What do you think a pre-dental related class is? My guess is that you are already set up to take the classes you need.

Possibly listing the classes you have taken, and are planning on taking would be a big help.




Seriously, you're best bet would be to start a line of communication with both your state schools. You wont be one of the 'annoying' dental school applicants if you call them to discuss weaknesses with a plan you already have in place, rather than just asking, 'what should I do?'




While I cant speak for AZ schools, the two Texas schools I spoke with seemed to want to know the following about their non-traditional students:

1. Do you know what your getting into? -(shadowing hours)
2. Can you handle the course load of dental school? -(upper lever science classes)
3. How bad to you want it? -(GPA, DAT, sacrafice, etc.)






I am 30, married, one munchkin, and will be starting dental school next month. I graduated with a 2.79 GPA in engineering, worked for 6 years as an engineer, went back to school in 2009, and completed a second degree in biology (3.95 GPA) with a overall GPA of 3.16. I did get waitlisted, but that hardly matters to me at this point.

What I am saying is that it is very possible for you to get into dental school (and your GPA doesnt suck like mine did). It sounds like you want to bad enough. You can do it.

Feel free to message me if you have specific questions you, for some reason, would rather not post.

Thanks for all the advice. I need to take ALL of my pre-req's at ASU. I am still deciding whether to continue with my major on a FT basis AND concurrently take my Gen Ed's at the same time. I just need to make sure that I can handle the load of having a family, a FT job, FT school, plus taking additional challenging science classes while still maintaing a high GPA. It's going to be me doing school on top of FT school.
My only other option is to complete my BS and then take a yr or 2 to complete all my pre-req's all at once. Suggestions?

 

[txaggie03]

Again, this was a Texas school talking....

When I met with the head of admissions, I laid out my plan. I made it clear that should I gain admission the first cycle that I applied, that I would easily have all my pre-required classes complete but completion of the second degree would be very close (as in I thought I would run out of time to get all the necessary classes by matriculation).

I was told that upper level sciences were more important to them than the second degree.



This is the reason that I suggested opening up the dialogue between yourself and the schools you wish to attend. I would have thought the BS in Biology would have been more important, but was told otherwise. I ended up being able to have both upper level sciences they wanted and the degree, but that doesnt change the point that they did prefer one over the other.


And remember, EVERY time you speak to the school, whether it is by phone, email, in person to a receptionist, office staff, or head of admissions, you are being judged. But I am sure you already knew that.

 

[txaggie03]

Also, I would make choices about balancing work, major, home life, to focus on keeping a high GPA. Yea, your home life is going to suffer a bit, but it is only temporary. Get the acceptance, and then relax with your family.

I was lucky enough to have the most supportive wife I could ever imagine. She constantly was pushing me when I needed it and backing off when I needed that. I seriously think that I wouldnt have gotten in last cycle had it not been for her.

 

[wuzupbra]

Completely agree with txaggie. Upper classes are more important than degree (in your case) and I would contact the schools you are interested in, they will help out. Also, family support and strong wife is important.

I changed careers after getting a finance degree and working for a couple of years. I had to go back to get my pre-reqs. I took 8-9 credits of night classes a semester while working 50 hrs a week with two kids. I will not lie, it sucked and put a heavy burden on the wifey but if its what you want to do then go for it. I took some of my vacation days in order to shadow and get needed hours and I volunteered about 6 hrs a week. I did this for about 2 years in order to get things done including summer school, but start dental school next month and am 30yrs old.

I would start on the gen bio's, chems, & orgo so you can take the DAT as soon as possible, then start on the other upper sciences classes.

Good luck!

 

[SwedishStallion]

Okay, so I was looking for some feedback as to what I should do. I am attending a University that is primarily online, but I am attending one of their ground campuses. I am half way through my major, and would hate to quit attending there, but none of my pre-req's can be completed at this University. My initial plan was to finsih my 4 yr degree where I am currently attending, and take all my pre-req's at ASU. I have been told by one that I might want to get out of where I am at...(UoP) and go to a more traditional school like ASU or NAU. The issue again is that I work FT and am already a FT student, all while being a father of 4 and a husband. What I was thinking is if I did go to NAU or another school like it, I was wondering if I could just do those classes online too. I am not sure that I would have to disclose that in my application. Anybody been in my shoes before? What would you all recommend?

 

[BoxerRumble]

Just my opinion, but you shouldn't do the pre req's online (if the bigger 4 year university even offer them online, I doubt they do). You probably won't have to disclose that information BUT if you are planing on attending an accredited 4 year university such as ASU, I don't think they offer them online anyways.

As a non traditional student, I believe schools want to know if you can handle the rigorous science courses (actually they want to know this for every applicant), but especially someone's who's been out of biology for so long. For people going straight to dental school, at least it's only been 2-3 years since they took these courses and remember maybe 1 or 2 things to help them along the way.

What you want to be doing is letting them know that you can handle it, and it won't matter to them that you have a family, because you will still have a family in dental school. This means you have to prove to them you can handle a tough course load in a CLASS ROOM while having a family because dental school classes aren't taken online. (Rereading your post, you already knew this).

My question is, are you trying to obtain a BS from your current university? Which I am assuming is an online university? UoP = University of Phoenix? I would not spend time trying to finish this program as I don't think a B.S. here will help all that much. Are your general ed classes transferable to ASU where you can get your B.S. there? You should get your B.S. from ASU or a non online university.

Focus on taking 3/4 science classes a semester - finishing your pre-req's and taking some upper division science courses and then doing really well on the DATs. It seems like it is going to take a little while to get everything together. Best thing to do is contact the schools, or since you are in Arizona, maybe set up a meeting with the Dean or someone and have all your resume, transcripts, etc ready and see whatthey suggest.

And lastly, it's going to be tough, especially with 4 kids and a FT job. I don't think school's are going to look at this and say since this guy has so much going on, we only expect him to get Bs or take 2 science classes. Dental school is going to be hard with a lot of studying. School is hard enough as it is, and with everyone on top, you are going to have to sacrifice some things to get to where you want to go. I've missed Christmas dinners, trips with friends, brother's wedding ceremony (in another country), etc just to try and make it into a school.

Good luck and let us know how things are going.

 

[youknowthedrill]

You have a lot going on in your life. Its impressive that you've managed to take so many hours while also working full-time. Dental schools are looking for students who can handle a heavy course load in the sciences. I honestly don't think you can make a decision until you take at least one basic science course in person to see how time consuming it is. Will any of your credits transfer to your state school? I would sit out one semester at the current school and enroll in Chemistry and Biology at your local college. I'm skeptical about your current college and I think dental schools will be also. In my experience, science classes take much more time than other types of courses. I don't think you can make a decision until you tackle some of them yourself.
After you've take 1-2 science classes and made A's you should go talk to the dental schools in your state and make a plan about your future. Good luck!

 

[BerrF12]

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[SwedishStallion]

You have a lot going on in your life. Its impressive that you've managed to take so many hours while also working full-time. Dental schools are looking for students who can handle a heavy course load in the sciences. I honestly don't think you can make a decision until you take at least one basic science course in person to see how time consuming it is. Will any of your credits transfer to your state school? I would sit out one semester at the current school and enroll in Chemistry and Biology at your local college. I'm skeptical about your current college and I think dental schools will be also. In my experience, science classes take much more time than other types of courses. I don't think you can make a decision until you tackle some of them yourself.
After you've take 1-2 science classes and made A's you should go talk to the dental schools in your state and make a plan about your future. Good luck!

Thank you to all who have added their 2 cents and assisted me with this process. While UoP is regionally accredited, they are primarily known for being an online university. Like I said b/f, I attend their ground campus but I am not so sure that matters in the eyes of these Dental Schools. I have almost all of my Gen ed's completed. I am planning on contacting ASU and see how many credits are going to matriculate into their school and consider earning my Bachelors degree from there. In addition, I will definitely have to complete all of my upper division sciences with labs there. Since I have not taken any real challenging sciences yet, would you all recommend that I take more of an intro course b/f I complete the upper division Biology and Chemistry courses? I have completed a basic lower division Biology class where I am currently at and received an A. Thank you all for the advice.

 

[FreewheelingFrolicker]

This is all well and good, but if these classes are what make up the DAT Exam, make sure you are actually learning the material.




What do you think a pre-dental related class is? My guess is that you are already set up to take the classes you need.

Possibly listing the classes you have taken, and are planning on taking would be a big help.




Seriously, you're best bet would be to start a line of communication with both your state schools. You wont be one of the 'annoying' dental school applicants if you call them to discuss weaknesses with a plan you already have in place, rather than just asking, 'what should I do?'




While I cant speak for AZ schools, the two Texas schools I spoke with seemed to want to know the following about their non-traditional students:

1. Do you know what your getting into? -(shadowing hours)
2. Can you handle the course load of dental school? -(upper lever science classes)
3. How bad to you want it? -(GPA, DAT, sacrafice, etc.)






I am 30, married, one munchkin, and will be starting dental school next month. I graduated with a 2.79 GPA in engineering, worked for 6 years as an engineer, went back to school in 2009, and completed a second degree in biology (3.95 GPA) with a overall GPA of 3.16. I did get waitlisted, but that hardly matters to me at this point.

What I am saying is that it is very possible for you to get into dental school (and your GPA doesnt suck like mine did). It sounds like you want to bad enough. You can do it.

Feel free to message me if you have specific questions you, for some reason, would rather not post.

I screwed up my undergrad stats as well (never went to class; went to the beach down the street instead. obviously lacking in direction). I started off my GPA in the low 2.0 range, and then did mediocre with B's with sprinkles of A's here and there. I graduated with a BCP gpa of 2.9. I have a 10-month year old now and my husband has a year left of optometry school here in Chicago. After he graduates, he and I want to go to med school and dental school, respectively, at a Texas school (same one ideally) after we've established residency in Texas. During our year of establishing residency, I want to go back to school and take heavy science course loads for about a year to show my time management ability and that I can perform well if determined. Did your non-traditional route with kid in tow give you an advantage in impressing the adcoms?

I haven't found any special masters programs in Texas. I don't think one would be feasible moneywise or timewise for me anyway. I was wondering where and how exactly you fixed your GPA (rather, make your bio GPA). I'm thinking my only option is to do what I'm planning at a community college.

From what two schools in Texas did you get that answer about non-traditional students? Congratulations on Baylor--the sweetest deal in the nation for dental students (still?). I hear that Baylor only looks at exceptional students (e.g., humanitarian endeavors, research accomplishments, the works...). Is this true? What do you think were your application strengths? Finally, (no racism/discrimination intended) are you asian? I know for a fact that asians face reverse affirmative action (if that makes any sense) when it comes to med school applications. If you're more comfortable with a private correspondence, I'd be happy to oblige.

 

[danchoi03]

From what two schools in Texas did you get that answer about non-traditional students? Congratulations on Baylor--the sweetest deal in the nation for dental students (still?). I hear that Baylor only looks at exceptional students (e.g., humanitarian endeavors, research accomplishments, the works...). Is this true? What do you think were your application strengths? Finally, (no racism/discrimination intended) are you asian? I know for a fact that asians face reverse affirmative action (if that makes any sense) when it comes to med school applications. If you're more comfortable with a private correspondence, I'd be happy to oblige.

Hi Tyn001,

I think you should take advantage of Texas Fresh Start program after you establish a year in Texas. All your gpa over 10 years will be deleted. The disadvantage of doing this is that it only works for Texas dental schools. Do more searching on Texas Fresh Start and good luck.