Preparation to get into dental school?

[tbcthk]

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Hi everyone,

I am gonna be a freshman in Georgia Tech this fall with major biomed eng. I am from hong kong so I am international.

1. I heard that being in eng. is hard to get a high GPA so it affects your acceptance chance. Is that true? Do adcoms do look at the fact that you are in a more rigorous major?

2. If I really do want to be a dentist (which I recently considering), should I change my major so I can get a high GPA? (as you all know, Georgia Tech eng.'s programs are pretty competetive)

3. I have finished AP Physics B, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science A (scores 4 and 5). I therefore have covered some courses in college. Should I skip them or retake them?

4. do I have to do really well to get into dental school since I am international?

Thank you so much for y'all advise. Greatly appearciate.

 

[dexadental]

Yes, engineering is a lot harder than other majors, I'd switch to something else unless you really are good at it, or like it a lot and it keeps your interest. Adcoms will take into account your major, but that really only holds true if you make the initial cut in the GPA/DAT to get your application viewed. I don't think you need to retake those AP courses, I took a few AP courses and it was never a problem. Not sure if you need to do better than the average citizen because you're international, however I'd believe so because state schools will probably give priority to American citizens. Private schools are usually different in that matter...your best bet would be to contact the schools. If I could make the decisions, it would be whoever is better qualified, but unfortunately I don't think that is the case.

 

[v&andy_yankee]

1. I heard that being in eng. is hard to get a high GPA so it affects your acceptance chance. Is that true? Do adcoms do look at the fact that you are in a more rigorous major?

Yes and yes. Being an engineer major will mean that the courses are more rigorous, and (at least in my undergrad) the average GPA is lower. But, the adcoms do know this and will take that into account (ie, that a 3.3 as a BME probably correlates to a 3.6 in some other major). My GPA was lower than the mean GPA for the dental schools I applied to, but I still got interviews to all the schools. Also, some schools even commented on my BME degree, Columbia made a point to say that their curriculum is "very biomedical oriented."

2. If I really do want to be a dentist (which I recently considering), should I change my major so I can get a high GPA? (as you all know, Georgia Tech eng.'s programs are pretty competetive)

If it's something you only recently considered, don't do it. Unless if you know, without a single drop of doubt that you want to be a dentist, don't switch out of BME just to boost up your GPA. Why? 1. You can always switch from a BME major to another major (even well into sophomore year), but it's almost impossible to switch from another major back into BME (because the scheduling is so packed for BME, you will most likely have to take extra semesters to make up for lost time). And most importantly 2. in case if you do decide that dentistry isn't your future, you will most definitely have a bright future and a good job after you graduate. It's no secret that althought engineering is hard and requires a lot of brains...well, all that hard work does pay off as soon as you graduate. You may have to study more and party less in undergrad, but you won't be one of the unemployed during the graduation ceremony. All of my engineering friends who graduated immediately found jobs, and they usually have multiple offers (all high-paying as well). My non-engineering friends? Although some of them are doing well, a lot of them aren't as lucky--even 1 year post graduation a few of them are STILL looking for a job, and even the ones who have jobs, the jobs don't pay well (and, in many cases, the jobs really don't even require a college education! Do you really want to spend $$ only to end up in a job that you could've gotten with a high school degree?)

3. I have finished AP Physics B, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science A (scores 4 and 5). I therefore have covered some courses in college. Should I skip them or retake them?

Check with your school first--some schools only allow you to "skip" those classes in order to take higher level courses (therefore, without truly giving you credit for those classes) while other schools will give you actual credit hours for the AP credits. I think most dental schools require that you have actual credits for those classes.

 

[tbcthk]

Yes and yes. Being an engineer major will mean that the courses are more rigorous, and (at least in my undergrad) the average GPA is lower. But, the adcoms do know this and will take that into account (ie, that a 3.3 as a BME probably correlates to a 3.6 in some other major). My GPA was lower than the mean GPA for the dental schools I applied to, but I still got interviews to all the schools. Also, some schools even commented on my BME degree, Columbia made a point to say that their curriculum is "very biomedical oriented."



If it's something you only recently considered, don't do it. Unless if you know, without a single drop of doubt that you want to be a dentist, don't switch out of BME just to boost up your GPA. Why? 1. You can always switch from a BME major to another major (even well into sophomore year), but it's almost impossible to switch from another major back into BME (because the scheduling is so packed for BME, you will most likely have to take extra semesters to make up for lost time). And most importantly 2. in case if you do decide that dentistry isn't your future, you will most definitely have a bright future and a good job after you graduate. It's no secret that althought engineering is hard and requires a lot of brains...well, all that hard work does pay off as soon as you graduate. You may have to study more and party less in undergrad, but you won't be one of the unemployed during the graduation ceremony. All of my engineering friends who graduated immediately found jobs, and they usually have multiple offers (all high-paying as well). My non-engineering friends? Although some of them are doing well, a lot of them aren't as lucky--even 1 year post graduation a few of them are STILL looking for a job, and even the ones who have jobs, the jobs don't pay well (and, in many cases, the jobs really don't even require a college education! Do you really want to spend $$ only to end up in a job that you could've gotten with a high school degree?)


Check with your school first--some schools only allow you to "skip" those classes in order to take higher level courses (therefore, without truly giving you credit for those classes) while other schools will give you actual credit hours for the AP credits. I think most dental schools require that you have actual credits for those classes.

I am afraid that if I change my major it would suck if I don't get into dental school. That's basically all I am worrying about.

 

[dexadental]

If you want to go to dental school, you probably will go given you want it enough. Then again, you are a freshman and your views will change on a lot of things after a year or two. I wouldn't be worried about getting into dental school if you have passed all those AP classes and have made it into the engineering program at Georgia Tech...you're obviously smart. If you're well rounded and have a decent interest, you'll make it.

 

[tbcthk]

If you want to go to dental school, you probably will go given you want it enough. Then again, you are a freshman and your views will change on a lot of things after a year or two. I wouldn't be worried about getting into dental school if you have passed all those AP classes and have made it into the engineering program at Georgia Tech...you're obviously smart. If you're well rounded and have a decent interest, you'll make it.

Alrite, I guess I will stick with biomed. eng. now and see how it goes.

Thank you!