School for Pre-Reqs

[wired202808]

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Hey Guys, does it matter what school you do your pre-reqs at? Like will reputation v. grades matter?

 

[doc3232]

Of course.

 

[wired202808]

can you elaborate more on this? im not sure what you mean.

 

[sfrice80]

I dont think as much as people think, if someone thinks cuz they went to a well respected undergrad and got a crappy gpa but its okay cuz they went to such and such school, I dont think it will help at all. A below average gpa is a below average gpa, no matter where you get it from.

 

[Vicviper]

You can argue that it's better to take pre-reqs at a university compared to a CC, but I don't think it makes a big difference at all what university you go to.Though if you went to undergrad at a school where they have a dental school, and there's a direct feeder system for the dental school, than yes, that would make a difference. But say me having gone to UC, Irvine, a much less known UC, compared to someone who's gone to UCLA or UCB, I don't think there's a difference at all.

The way they really standardize this is with the DAT, as long as your DAT isn't drastically below your GPA, you should be fine having gone to just about any school.

 

[rewJW]

Fair or not, it matters.

I went to a very small liberal arts college in NJ ... an excellent school, but just not very well known. (UMDNJ of course has heard of it - because most of the few predents each year end up going there - and my Temple interviewer knew it too, only because he grew up near it.) I was stoked to get an interview at Stony Brook only to be told by my interviewer that even more important than the interview itself was the caliber of your undergrad. I ended up getting rejected. I'm sure my interview played some sort of factor in this, but as it was one of my better interviews out of the 5 I went to (and the other 4 schools, I was accepted), I'm sure my unheard of undergrad had something to do with the decision as well. I kind of wonder why they wasted my time with the interview.

 

[armorshell]

I've never heard of this being asked before on SDN.

 

[Vicviper]

Fair or not, it matters.

I went to a very small liberal arts college in NJ ... an excellent school, but just not very well known. (UMDNJ of course has heard of it - because most of the few predents each year end up going there - and my Temple interviewer knew it too, only because he grew up near it.) I was stoked to get an interview at Stony Brook only to be told by my interviewer that even more important than the interview itself was the caliber of your undergrad. I ended up getting rejected. I'm sure my interview played some sort of factor in this, but as it was one of my better interviews out of the 5 I went to (and the other 4 schools, I was accepted), I'm sure my unheard of undergrad had something to do with the decision as well. I kind of wonder why they wasted my time with the interview.

Wow... I'm surprised they flat out said it like that to you, that makes them sound really pompous! Even more important than the interview? Sheesh.

I was originally under the impression that my much lesser known undergrad and CC's would have been an issue when I went to my interview at Columbia, but my experience there was really great, and they gave me the impression that for them, the renown of the undergrad doesn't matter very much as long as you could prove you earned the grades with the DAT.

 

[NyCzPeter]

Fair or not, it matters.

I went to a very small liberal arts college in NJ ... an excellent school, but just not very well known. (UMDNJ of course has heard of it - because most of the few predents each year end up going there - and my Temple interviewer knew it too, only because he grew up near it.) I was stoked to get an interview at Stony Brook only to be told by my interviewer that even more important than the interview itself was the caliber of your undergrad. I ended up getting rejected. I'm sure my interview played some sort of factor in this, but as it was one of my better interviews out of the 5 I went to (and the other 4 schools, I was accepted), I'm sure my unheard of undergrad had something to do with the decision as well. I kind of wonder why they wasted my time with the interview.

lol rewjw going to buff now? I guess all the shootings in NJ really got to you huh? lol

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I went to Podunk College in Buttplug, USA. Unless you follow NAIA level baseball, most people haven't heard about the school. US News & World Report ranks it highly for small 4yr liberal arts schools. Still, it is a no name school, yet our pre-med/pre-dent program has a very high acceptance rate into med schools, dental schools, pharmacy schools, pt schools, optometry schools. People would like for you to believe you must go to a large, big name school to get into d-school. The fact is you need to go to a school that fits your education style and education goals where you can excell. At smaller schools, you are going to get mroe of a one o one education and your professors are going to get to know you a whole lot better. You are not just a number. They are more likely going to go out of their way to help you achieve your goals. If you work hard, then the difference in the name will not matter.

 

[rewJW]

lol rewjw going to buff now? I guess all the shootings in NJ really got to you huh? lol

Nah man, mostly I just am so tired of people always pumping my gas for me. I want to do it myself 😛

I chose Buffalo over NJDS for quite a few reasons, if anybody is seriously interested they can PM me, but it mostly relates to personal preference.