pre-dental candidate needs advice

[bigjan]

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Hi there,

I just discovered this forum and thought I might pick some of your brains!

Here is my story, ill try to sum it up in as few words as possible.

I just graduated from a very respectable private university in the Boston area with a 3.1 GPA, I majored in political science. In high school I had a strong research background and knew I wanted to do medicine. My first 3 semesters at school I was pre-med and took: 2 sems of Calc, 2 sems of gen chem, and 1 sem of Bio. I didn't do well, averaging a C across all these. I dropped the idea of becoming a doctor and moved on (I never took orgo, phys, or half of bio). Did well in poli sci and raised my gpa to a 3.1. After I graduated I realized that poli sci wasn't going to be my career and that I wanted to try again for med. I got a position doing research for a respectable institution and decided that dental was the way to go (I work with a bunch of dentists). Now I'm still doing research and I don't know how to proceed. I am 23. Should I go for a post-bacc program? Or a masters? I never finished my requirements so I just don't know where to go from here. I want to become a dentist!

Any advice?

 

[shulk]

Do you know what your science GPA is? If you have gotten mostly Cs in your science classes, it will probably be quite bad and in need of repair. You can retake your science courses and aim for an A this time in a post-bacc, if you are still in Boston there are several in the area to choose from. It will probably be a few years until you are ready to apply.

 

[sjv]

I would do a post-bac (informal or formal) to retake/fulfill the required pre-reqs and prepare you for the DAT.

 

[BlueDevil2012]

Hey, I graduated in 2012 and majored in Political Science and Psychology. I hadn't taken any of the pre-reqs so I started an informal post bacc at my state school 2 weeks after graduation. I took everything from June 2012 to July 2013 and applied this cycle after taking my DAT.

I would suggest enrolling at any 4-year university (preferably your cheapest option) as a 2nd degree seeking student and complete the rest of your pre-reqs. If you sgpa isn't at or above a 3.0 by then consider either retaking the classes you made C's in or taking more upper division classes. Depending on how quickly you want to do this you could potentially start in the spring or summer of 2014, take the DAT the spring or summer of 2015 and apply during that cycle. Aim for A's to show a strong upward trend.That will help when adcoms are considering your gpa. Good luck!