Seeking Advice for Non Traditional Dental School Applicants with Engineering Background

[his989]

Hello All,

I've read some good threads about non-traditional dental school applicants, and I thought this would be a great place to seek advice from others. Here's a little bit about myself:

• 27-year-old Asian male.
• Graduated in 2014 with BS in Civil Engineering (3.2 overall / 3.5 major, 122 credits) at top 10 US state school
• Pre-requisites: None, but English (which I'm sure I can get credits with my thesis) and chemistry lab I took 7 years ago.
• Four (4) years of working experience in Construction field. I'm currently working as a construction project manager with the Government
• Shadowing is in progress (20 hours so far).
• My wife is an alumnus to one of the top 20 dental schools
• Trying to apply for 2019-2020 cycle.

Here are some of the more specific questions:
1. Below is my current target plan for 2019-2020 cycle. Is this a realistic plan to follow? What are my chances?

• Summer 2018 - General Chem 1, 2 with lab
• Fall 2018 - Orgo 1 on weekends, Bio 1 on weekdays
• Spring 2019 - Orgo 2 on weekends, Bio 2 on weekdays, and start working on applications
• Summer 2019 - Study DAT from May-August, polish Dental School application, and apply by early/ mid-August
• Target GPA for science classes: 4.0
• Target DAT Score - 23+
• Fall 2019 - Biochemistry, and Psychology/Sociology if I have additional time...

2. Which one would you recommend between the two: Online Organic Chemistry at local 4-year university or on-site organic chemistry at a local comm. college with a lab?

Due to my day job and family obligations, I cannot find any classes that fit my schedule except the ones offered at my community college or online classes. For Organic Chemistry, there is an online class for at a local 4-year university, but many on the thread say it's not recommended.

3. Can I get a recommendation letter from my co-worker along with other recommendation letters from my science professors (probably from a community college)? What is the best strategy about recommendation letters for non-traditional students like me?

Thanks all for taking time to read my post. Any kind of your advice/comments/recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

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[digzthis]

I'm guessing you already toook physics? Being non-traditional and juggling all that you must will allow you to get away with taking classes at a cc more so than a traditional applicant if it really even matters. You can get recommendations from cc professors no problem and since you will most likely form more personal relationships with them due to smaller class size they should be great letters..I was pretty much in your position, took all my pre-reqs at cc, all my letters came from cc, 6 interviews, went to 4, and accepted to two schools with large scholarship at one, good luck!

 

[his989]

I'm guessing you already toook physics? Being non-traditional and juggling all that you must will allow you to get away with taking classes at a cc more so than a traditional applicant if it really even matters. You can get recommendations from cc professors no problem and since you will most likely form more personal relationships with them due to smaller class size they should be great letters..I was pretty much in your position, took all my pre-reqs at cc, all my letters came from cc, 6 interviews, went to 4, and accepted to two schools with large scholarship at one, good luck!

Incredible. Thanks for your input!