Recommended course load?

[Neil45]

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Do dental schools care how many courses you take per semester? In my first semester of university, I took 4 courses( 3 science courses and 1 "easy" elective). So, that is 14 credits. Does that seem too less to the dental schools? Should I take five courses for the spring semester( 17 credits)? Thanks for any help.

 

[1992Corolla]

I would say 16 credits and above, three of the classes in each semester being science classes. That should be enough.

 

[Suicide_Stat]

While it makes you look better to take bigger course loads, you have to remember that its grades that matter. I rather take 12 credits and get all A's than take 18 credits and get a mixture of A's and B's. A's open doors, its just a fact. I mean my recommendation is just take what you can handle. Me personally I like taking 12 because like a said it allows me to perfect a little bit better. When I first started undergrad I took two 18 credit semesters in a row, and let me tell it was hard(i also worked 25hrs a week). I did alright but I'm a lot better with 12 or 14. My tutor god bless him took 12 his whole undergrad career and only got 1 B the rest were all A's. I don't know what he scored for his DAT but it only took UD Mercy dental school 3 days for them to tell him that he was accepted. Bare in mind he went to UD mercy undergrad like me. Mercy is a tough school. Classes like Organic Chemistry, Genetics, Cell Molec are extremely difficult here. Sorry for the big reply but I just wanted you to know that 12 credits is plenty assuming you get decent grades. Anybody saying that you need more or else you won't get accepted is a falsification. Don't listen to them its all tricknology. A tricknologist will use mind games to convince you that you need to do something else so you might make a mistake and ruin you GPA, DAT, acceptance, life ect. Remember there are only so many seats, and this is competition. Knowledge is GOD, you know what they say "work like a slave eat like a king."😎


"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."

 

[dds_sdc]

While it makes you look better to take bigger course loads, you have to remember that its grades that matter. I rather take 12 credits and get all A's than take 18 credits and get a mixture of A's and B's. A's open doors, its just a fact. I mean my recommendation is just take what you can handle. Me personally I like taking 12 because like a said it allows me to perfect a little bit better. When I first started undergrad I took two 18 credit semesters in a row, and let me tell it was hard(i also worked 25hrs a week). I did alright but I'm a lot better with 12 or 14. My tutor god bless him took 12 his whole undergrad career and only got 1 B the rest were all A's. I don't know what he scored for his DAT but it only took UD Mercy dental school 3 days for them to tell him that he was accepted. Bare in mind he went to UD mercy undergrad like me. Mercy is a tough school. Classes like Organic Chemistry, Genetics, Cell Molec are extremely difficult here. Sorry for the big reply but I just wanted you to know that 12 credits is plenty assuming you get decent grades. Anybody saying that you need more or else you won't get accepted is a falsification. Don't listen to them its all tricknology. A tricknologist will use mind games to convince you that you need to do something else so you might make a mistake and ruin you GPA, DAT, acceptance, life ect. Remember there are only so many seats, and this is competition.

if you take 12 credits every semester you'll never graduate in 4 years, unless you take summer/winter courses.

of course with 12 credits, you're going to end up with a higher gpa vs. someone who took 16-18 credits and got all B's.

but say...

someone who took 16-18 credits and WERE STILL able to get A's and maybe one B.

they're 3.8 gpa would look a lot nicer than a 4.0 gpa from a person who took 12 credits every semester

and this is straight from the adcom at UMDJ during their lecture on application process, "what i am looking for is a student who can handle the heavy course load in dental school. I "recommend" at least 16 credits for me to be able to judge if you can handle dental school work or not...etc."

but what do i know..i could very well be the "tricknologist" you described. lol

 

[Mila]

I would say 16 credits and above, three of the classes in each semester being science classes. That should be enough.

You definitely do not have to take 3 science classes per semester (well unless you're a science major of course). But if you’re not a science major, schools do like to see you take more than one science class at once – at least for a year.

 

[DDSY]

Lol, stop it with this tricknology stuff. . There are tons of people here who are, by nature, very helpful.

While it makes you look better to take bigger course loads, you have to remember that its grades that matter. I rather take 12 credits and get all A's than take 18 credits and get a mixture of A's and B's. A's open doors, its just a fact. I mean my recommendation is just take what you can handle. Me personally I like taking 12 because like a said it allows me to perfect a little bit better. When I first started undergrad I took two 18 credit semesters in a row, and let me tell it was hard(i also worked 25hrs a week). I did alright but I'm a lot better with 12 or 14. My tutor god bless him took 12 his whole undergrad career and only got 1 B the rest were all A's. I don't know what he scored for his DAT but it only took UD Mercy dental school 3 days for them to tell him that he was accepted. Bare in mind he went to UD mercy undergrad like me. Mercy is a tough school. Classes like Organic Chemistry, Genetics, Cell Molec are extremely difficult here. Sorry for the big reply but I just wanted you to know that 12 credits is plenty assuming you get decent grades. Anybody saying that you need more or else you won't get accepted is a falsification. Don't listen to them its all tricknology. A tricknologist will use mind games to convince you that you need to do something else so you might make a mistake and ruin you GPA, DAT, acceptance, life ect. Remember there are only so many seats, and this is competition. Knowledge is GOD, you know what they say "work like a slave eat like a king."😎


"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."

 

[Neil45]

Thanks for your opinions everyone. I think I am going to tough it out and try to take 17 credits this spring(5 courses- 3 sciences and 2 two "easy" electives). I would like to challenge myself. It probably would look alot better if I take a heavier courseload like dds_sdc said. After all, I do want to prove that I can handle the rigours of the dental curriculum. How do dental schools feel about summer courses? I am thinking of taking English in the Summer since it is not my best subject.

 

[dds_sdc]

Thanks for your opinions everyone. I think I am going to tough it out and try to take 17 credits this spring(5 courses- 3 sciences and 2 two "easy" electives). I would like to challenge myself. It probably would look alot better if I take a heavier courseload like dds_sdc said. After all, I do want to prove that I can handle the rigours of the dental curriculum. How do dental schools feel about summer courses? I am thinking of taking English in the Summer since it is not my best subject.

i took 18 credits last semester, all sciences classes. and i did better than i expected.

if i can do it, ANYONE can. lol

good luck with that!

 

[Suicide_Stat]

if you take 12 credits every semester you'll never graduate in 4 years, unless you take summer/winter courses.

of course with 12 credits, you're going to end up with a higher gpa vs. someone who took 16-18 credits and got all B's.

but say...

someone who took 16-18 credits and WERE STILL able to get A's and maybe one B.

they're 3.8 gpa would look a lot nicer than a 4.0 gpa from a person who took 12 credits every semester

and this is straight from the adcom at UMDJ during their lecture on application process, "what i am looking for is a student who can handle the heavy course load in dental school. I "recommend" at least 16 credits for me to be able to judge if you can handle dental school work or not...etc."

but what do i know..i could very well be the "tricknologist" you described. lol

Valid point, and I'm sorry about not being more clear. I was assuming people were going year round as it was. I couldn't agree more on the 3.8/18crd vs. the 4.0/12crd thing. But I just want people to know that they shouldn't stress things like course load if they are doing very well in school.

 

[Suicide_Stat]

Lol, stop it with this tricknology stuff. . There are tons of people here who are, by nature, very helpful.

I only bring it up because it exists. Have you ever I had anyone tell you(or sway) something about anything and you went on what they said, but later found out that there information was false, or a complete lie because they weren't taking you seriously. I'm just saying your mind and your heart are your most important things and don't let anybody tarnish it for there benefit or ignorance. You hava a lot of posts on this site so you probably know what I'm talking about. I hope I don't sound crazy its just that I take my education and the knowledge I recieve seriously. I hope this clarifies my position.

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."

 

[DAT_MAN]

I have asked quite a few doctors how many credit hours they recommend taking each semester, and they all said take as many as you can without your grades suffering. My vet took 11 credit hrs every semester and was accepted into UF vet school. My dentist took 12 every semester and was accepted into UF dental school. My doc also took 12 every semester. They all basically said undergrad is a way to prepare you for professional school, so if you can show them you can grasp the concepts in undergrad, then they know you are ready for professional school. Besides what school doesn't want to brag about their students' average GPA's? It makes them look good.

 

[Blitzdt]

I took mostly 13-15 credit hrs/per semester. It turned out pretty well for me.