Non-Triditional Student - Advice?

[bforbread]

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Background:

• Graduated in 2014 with B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Information Systems and Marketing
• Worked full time in digital media advertising for 2 years
• Began pre-dental journey in a community college (quarter system) in June of 2017
• Courses I’ve taken:
  • Summer 2017: Intro Biol, Chem I
  • Fall 2017: Biol I, Chem II, Phys I
• Future coursework schedule / timeline
  • 2018
    • Winter: Biol II, Chem III, Phys II
    • Spring: Biol III, O. Chem I, Phys III
    • Summer: O. Chem II & O. Chem III
    • Fall: take a quarter off to prepare for DAT / take DAT
  • 2019
    • Planning to transfer to a 4 year university to minimize community college credits due to limits from certain schools
    • Schedule hasn’t been finalized but I plan to finish all upper level courses, which include:
      • Microbiology, BioChem (2 quarters), Anatomy, cell biology…etc.
    • Apply to dental schools in June
    • Post applications: Interview / work at dental office either as assistant or front desk

Questions:

• Any feedback/advice on the planned timeline?
• Are online classes usually not recommended? I still need to take one Math and one English class and would love to be able to complete these online to save time.
• I’ve taken 3 non-prerequisite classes (nutrition, business law, international business) from community college before. Will those count towards the community college credit limits?
• How important is it to take the upper level science class? Could I take them AFTER applying? I'm asking because those will most likely lower my GPA.

Thanks for your time in advance!

 

[BMEndo]

I also graduated in 2014 with a degree in business administration and got in this cycle. My biggest recommendation for you is to look at the schools that you would be interested in attending and go to their website or contact them to find out what there policy is on community college courses. Each school is going to be different. I'd also suggest taking a look at the prerequisite courses required for each of those schools you are interested in and making sure that the courses you are taking match with their prereqs. Most of the schools that I've seen don't require a Chem III, Phys III, or OChem III. They did require labs. The only upper level course I took was biochemistry and only because it was required by many of the schools I applied to.

 

[bforbread]

I also graduated in 2014 with a degree in business administration and got in this cycle. My biggest recommendation for you is to look at the schools that you would be interested in attending and go to their website or contact them to find out what there policy is on community college courses. Each school is going to be different. I'd also suggest taking a look at the prerequisite courses required for each of those schools you are interested in and making sure that the courses you are taking match with their prereqs. Most of the schools that I've seen don't require a Chem III, Phys III, or OChem III. They did require labs. The only upper level course I took was biochemistry and only because it was required by many of the schools I applied to.

Appreciate your feedback and congrats on getting in this cycle! Do you mind sharing if you got a second undergrad degree or simply take all the prerequisites without a degree? I'm debating whether it's worth getting a science related degree as a backup, in case I don't get into dental schools (but this also means more time/money spent).

In terms of the third level for chem, phys and ochem, I think they're required because my community college and the 4 year university I plan to transfer to are both in quarter system (3 quarters = 2 semesters). Apologies - should have made it clearer! This is actually my first time posting in this forum...not sure if i'll be able to edit my post to emphasize that 🙁

Thank you again!

 

[BMEndo]

Thanks and gotcha, no worries, I'm just not familiar with the quarter system. I personally didn't see any value for myself in getting a second degree. I went the cheapest route and just took the prereqs Bio 1&2 Chem 1&2 Phys 1&2 OChem 1&2 and BioChem plus labs for all but biochem. Just getting into dental can be as expensive as another semester of school. And dental school itself is astronomically high. One year of dental school tuition cost more than my entire undergrad tuition.

You have a shot as much as anyone else getting into dental school. I finished my degree in econ and ops management just under a 3.4. Never would have dreamed of taking bio or any other sciences prerequisites in undergrad. But I got some perspective while working, achieved straight A's in my prereqs, did well on the DAT, and had no issues getting in.

 

[fourxxxx]

I also graduated with business administration in 2015. I'm in my second quarter of a post-bacc program. I will be applying in 2019 too. I plan to take all the pre-requisite courses plus bio chemistry too as @bforbread mentioned the reason for that. I am also planning to take anatomy and physiology just because I have couple friends are currently in the dental programs and they suggest it's better to take it before you get into dental school it helps a lot.


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[Dentgal777]

Hi @bforbread! Fellow non-trad here, graduated with a Political Science degree back in 2014, and got into my top choice. If you haven't already, I suggest you purchase the ADEA Guidebook, it will tell you everything you need to know in terms of requirements and the limits on class units from a community college.

A couple thoughts on your timeline:
-Unless you feel really strong in oChem, I'm not too sure taking oChem II and III during a summer session is a good idea, especially since the summer quarter system is really fast (I come from a quarter system too). You may be risking a lower GPA for that quarter.
-Idk if @Blackca3 is just a straight G but I know that upper divs like Physio, Anatomy, Microbio, and Genetics were really helpful in preparation for taking the DAT (as well as helpful in d school). I'm not sure if you will be properly prepared for the vast Bio section on the DAT. Having said that, there are amazing resources out there for bio that would help fill in those holes.
-Would you consider starting at a 4 year in Fall 2018 and taking ochem III along with those upper divs and then take the DAT? It would just be a switch in the schedule, it won't necessarily put you behind. If you do it this way, I don't think you'll need an entire quarter to study for the DAT. Ppl who usually take 3 months to study are those that need a refresher on the sciences. After you have a solid science background, you may need only 2 months. The first half of DAT prep is usually leaning and the second half is usually testing.
-You can take online classes, but they are not recommended for pre-reqs. Math and English are pre-reqs at some schools, the ADEA guidebook will be able to let you know.
-The online non-prereqs you took at a CC will NOT count towards the CC pre-req limit.
-In your situation, it is very important to take the upper div sciences classes, especially since you took a majority of the pre-reqs at a CC. Admissions will want to see how you do in those upper divs at a 4 year.
-With the new portal up, Admissions can pick and choose which apps they want to review, apps is waves no longer exist. So you will want to have your app completed and strong as much as possible by the time you apply.

Good luck on your dental journey!

 

[bforbread]

Hi @bforbread! Fellow non-trad here, graduated with a Political Science degree back in 2014, and got into my top choice. If you haven't already, I suggest you purchase the ADEA Guidebook, it will tell you everything you need to know in terms of requirements and the limits on class units from a community college.

A couple thoughts on your timeline:
-Unless you feel really strong in oChem, I'm not too sure taking oChem II and III during a summer session is a good idea, especially since the summer quarter system is really fast (I come from a quarter system too). You may be risking a lower GPA for that quarter.
-Idk if @Blackca3 is just a straight G but I know that upper divs like Physio, Anatomy, Microbio, and Genetics were really helpful in preparation for taking the DAT (as well as helpful in d school). I'm not sure if you will be properly prepared for the vast Bio section on the DAT. Having said that, there are amazing resources out there for bio that would help fill in those holes.
-Would you consider starting at a 4 year in Fall 2018 and taking ochem III along with those upper divs and then take the DAT? It would just be a switch in the schedule, it won't necessarily put you behind. If you do it this way, I don't think you'll need an entire quarter to study for the DAT. Ppl who usually take 3 months to study are those that need a refresher on the sciences. After you have a solid science background, you may need only 2 months. The first half of DAT prep is usually leaning and the second half is usually testing.
-You can take online classes, but they are not recommended for pre-reqs. Math and English are pre-reqs at some schools, the ADEA guidebook will be able to let you know.
-The online non-prereqs you took at a CC will NOT count towards the CC pre-req limit.
-In your situation, it is very important to take the upper div sciences classes, especially since you took a majority of the pre-reqs at a CC. Admissions will want to see how you do in those upper divs at a 4 year.
-With the new portal up, Admissions can pick and choose which apps they want to review, apps is waves no longer exist. So you will want to have your app completed and strong as much as possible by the time you apply.

Good luck on your dental journey!

thank you so much for your reply @DentGal27. Can't believe I JUST saw your message. I actually logged back into my account wanting to ask about the importance of taking upper level science courses as I was debating between whether I should take Anatomy and Physiology before applications or after. But you've answered my question here!
- pros of taking it after: save money, higher chance of maintaining a high GPA
- Pros of taking it before: show admission I can deal with upper divs at 4 years, as you mentioned

After reading your reply, I think i'll go ahead and complete Microbiology, Biochem and A&P at a 4 year before applications. Thanks again and hope all is well!