Prospective Pre-Dental Student seeking Advice

[Chrisnone13]

Hello to all. I am a senior in high school, and I'm absolutely positive
that dentistry is my career of choice. I am having thoughts of attending
a community college because I feel the professors will provide more
one-on-one help and be accessible more than professors at a larger institution. It is also more affordable to attend community college because those first two years would be of no charge. I have checked to make sure all the credits transfer to the university I plan on attending afterwards. Does anybody see any disadvantages of attending this community college to take my classes like physics, biology, organic chemistry and my general
education classes? Are there any advantages? I really would be
disappointed if attending community college was a factor in not being
accepted to dental school.

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[Chrisnone13]

?

 

[diane07]

If you plan on transferring from a community college to a university . . . why don't you take your gen eds at the cc but take the sciences at the university. That way you save money but don't have to worry about science pre-requisites not being accepted because they're from a cc.

 

[Larzmess8]

my advice would be to talk to an admissions person at a couple of dental schools espeically ones you think you may want to apply to eventally and ask them what they think. I am currently taking some extra science classes before i apply in june and my undergrad advisor said that i should take them at a 4 year college rather than a C.C.

 

[jigabodo]

CC classes are generally looked down by dental schools, so I would also suggest taking the prereqs at the 4 year university as well.

From what I know, certain schools (UB, UofL) will calculate a score based on your total package, such as GPA, DAT, interview score etc. I was told by the adcoms that the universities that you came from will also have an impact on the score.

 

[BuckeyMcGee]

As a second year dental student I will tell you that grades period matter more as opposed to where you earned it at. I did some CC coursework in high school and earned college credit. It never was brought up at any of my interviews during my admissions cycle. I'd recommend the CC b/c it will save you a ton of money, ease your transition from high school to college (basically sort of a 13th grade), and be a lot less stressful. I know a lot of other dental students who took most or all pre-reqs at a CC. Many schools don't care but some do. Find out which ones do and then make your decision.

 

[rose786]

If you're absolutely sure about dentistry, I would look into those joint BS/DDS programs. I think they're called 3 + 4 programs. It would make your life a lot easier, and if money is a problem you can always take out loans.

 

[Chrisnone13]

i really appreciate the advising. I can say that I can't take out loans UNTIL i enter dental school.

 

[lollipop999]

i really appreciate the advising. I can say that I can't take out loans UNTIL i enter dental school.

Dont go to CC, do whatever you can to go to a 4 year univ, just go to your state school or something.

 

[Lurchdubious]

If you plan on transferring from a community college to a university . . . why don't you take your gen eds at the cc but take the sciences at the university. That way you save money but don't have to worry about science pre-requisites not being accepted because they're from a cc.

i think this is great advice.