Post Bacc and Research Questions

[Sillygirl]

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Hi! I'm another one of those students who had a lot of fun in college and are now desperately trying to make up for it. My gpa is a little bit under a 3.0 and am devoting my next 3 months to studying for the dat (hopefully will be part of that "perfect vision" club) I understand that in the next year or two...i will be dealing with the "consequences" of my partying and am completely willing to buckle down and work my behind off. I actually have three questions for you guys who i'm sure have a great deal more experience than i do

1. I'm going to apply to a special masters program in january and i dont' even know if i can get in so since i'm doing nothing i was gonna take a couple of graduate courses at a state university. I dont' want to apply for a masters program there so i'm planning on taking the extension program "open campus" program. Does anyone know how difficult it would be to get graduate courses like epidemiology? Should i even try? I worry that i won't even be accepted into the special masters since it's now getting soo competitive. Any advice or personal experiences would help greatly!

2. Secondly, I've recently been given an opportunity to take part in a research study but i'm not sure it would be looked upon well by dentistry schools. It's working with a group studying pain threshold in children. (sounds scary but i promise it doesn't hurt them!). Should i reject this and try looking for something more in the molecular field involving pcr and stuff? Anyone have any advice on how to get a research position for a graduate? 😀

3. Last but not least, did anyone take those workshops that ucla and uop and unlv have? I heard from my kaplan instructor that unlv is only $150 but i can't find the information anywhere. Uop is full as of today 🙁 but maybe next time. Do these workshops look good on an application?

Whew that was a long post but sorry i've had these questions swirling around in my mind for a while and i've been reading and reading but there's just so much good material here that i figured i'd just ask. Sorry if i asked something that's been asked before but any kind of information would be great. Thank you so much and good luck to everyone!

 

[uclawill]

Hi! I'm another one of those students who had a lot of fun in college and are now desperately trying to make up for it. My gpa is a little bit under a 3.0 and am devoting my next 3 months to studying for the dat (hopefully will be part of that "perfect vision" club) I understand that in the next year or two...i will be dealing with the "consequences" of my partying and am completely willing to buckle down and work my behind off. I actually have three questions for you guys who i'm sure have a great deal more experience than i do

1. I'm going to apply to a special masters program in january and i dont' even know if i can get in so since i'm doing nothing i was gonna take a couple of graduate courses at a state university. I dont' want to apply for a masters program there so i'm planning on taking the extension program "open campus" program. Does anyone know how difficult it would be to get graduate courses like epidemiology? Should i even try? I worry that i won't even be accepted into the special masters since it's now getting soo competitive. Any advice or personal experiences would help greatly!

2. Secondly, I've recently been given an opportunity to take part in a research study but i'm not sure it would be looked upon well by dentistry schools. It's working with a group studying pain threshold in children. (sounds scary but i promise it doesn't hurt them!). Should i reject this and try looking for something more in the molecular field involving pcr and stuff? Anyone have any advice on how to get a research position for a graduate? 😀

3. Last but not least, did anyone take those workshops that ucla and uop and unlv have? I heard from my kaplan instructor that unlv is only $150 but i can't find the information anywhere. Uop is full as of today 🙁 but maybe next time. Do these workshops look good on an application?

Whew that was a long post but sorry i've had these questions swirling around in my mind for a while and i've been reading and reading but there's just so much good material here that i figured i'd just ask. Sorry if i asked something that's been asked before but any kind of information would be great. Thank you so much and good luck to everyone!

1. if you dont get into the masters program, take undergraduate upper division BCP courses. Biochemistry or Microbiology

2. this research is VERY good, take it and put ur 100% into it and try to get a letter from a supervisor.

3. these workshops look good, but dont go crazy. I did 1 and it was pretty good, however there were alot of 1st and 2nd year undergrads.

 

[jza70]

3. Last but not least, did anyone take those workshops that ucla and uop and unlv have? I heard from my kaplan instructor that unlv is only $150 but i can't find the information anywhere. Uop is full as of today 🙁 but maybe next time. Do these workshops look good on an application?

What are these workshops you are referring to? Link?

 

[spshl k]

.

 

[marscole]

master program is about your time management. if you could manage your time well, i believe you could finish in one year, but some prof dont like you to finish in one year.

do some research that you feel comfortable and you like. if you dont like dissecting mouse, then dont follow a prof who like to be a 'mice-murderer'!! 😀

 

[Sillygirl]

Lol thanks for all the concise answers! You guys rock!

jza71-the workshop i was referring to were the ones offered at ucla, unlv and uop for pre dental students. They basically teach you how to mold teeth or something? I'm not sure but i heard it looks good on your dental app and really lets you see if you'll enjoy dentistry or not.

spshl-k - well the graduate program that i was going to try to get into was a special masters program where you spend one year basically taking classes with med school students like the one at BU or Georgetown (although i think that one is supercompetitive) applications start january! =)

And good luck to all who are applying this cycle!!

 

[jza70]

jza71-the workshop i was referring to were the ones offered at ucla, unlv and uop for pre dental students. They basically teach you how to mold teeth or something? I'm not sure but i heard it looks good on your dental app and really lets you see if you'll enjoy dentistry or not.

Sounds insteristing. Any links to these workshops or have a name that they go by?

 

[SugarNaCl]

master program is about your time management. if you could manage your time well, i believe you could finish in one year, but some prof dont like you to finish in one year.

do some research that you feel comfortable and you like. if you dont like dissecting mouse, then dont follow a prof who like to be a 'mice-murderer'!! 😀

What are you talking about?! 😱 I went to VCU for a Masters with thesis option and there was NO WAY you could finish in 1 year. I don't think anyone has ever in the history of the program I was in. If it is non-thesis, then maybe. Research is long and time consuming. You have to get enough of a story to defend and write up. This takes a LONG time. You can't finish a quality research oriented masters program in 1 yr no matter how well you manage your time.

It took me nearly 2 full years of full time study and full time research. Ended with 1st author on a pub, but I lucked out.

P.S. I'm a mice-murderer... and now a dog murderer too 🙁 but it is for the good of prostate cancer patients everywhere.

 

[Sillygirl]

Hello! Okay i found the link for the ucla workshop and i know uop is full. I haven't been able to find the link for unlv! If anyone can find it that would be great

http://www.dent.ucla.edu/continuingeducation/index.asp?id=520

I dunno about this one. It's apparently more expensive than uop and unlv and i figure i should start saving as much money as possible seeing as how i'm going to be wayyyyyy in debt =)