Taking few years off

[sl2obel2ts]

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Hello!
I just signed up. I will probably be an active member since I am really interested in dentistry. I just graduated from college with 3.55 and B.S. Bioengineering. I wanna get some advices from you guys.

Does it matter if I graduated from competitive school with that gpa or not?

I wasn't really aware of being a dentist till my senior year so I really didnt have much chance to take many bio/humanities classes, but more engineering classes. I was told to "apply when you feel you are ready" so I decided to take about 1-3 years off and build my career or something. Due to some financial situation, right now, I am working at a biotech firm. Do you think if this will help my application process?

If not, I probably want to change my job... any suggestions?

I havent done any doctor shadowing, but it seems pretty tough with my busy work schedule (M-F 8-4). I have been asking around but no luck due to time.

Also, I was told that I need psych and sculpture as prereq for dental, arg, i guess i gotta take that at community college. And Is research experience important in application process? I did 1.5 years of research at UCSF.

 

[icechewer]

I think they definitely look at the school you came from. From dental school tours, I've learned some have "feeder" undergrad schools because they know the schools produce good students. Your career in going to really set you apart from the mobs of Bio majors when you go to apply. Good choice!

 

[lollipop999]

those classes you listed are just classes that you "should" take. To my knowledge of all the schools i applied to, none of them had those as pre-reqs. Some ppl say the school you go to doesn;t matter and that the DAT's are important but i disagree. I solid GPA from a good university stands out. Now don't get me wrong, I went to a good public undergrad and did pretty well on the DAT's. So now if some IVy league kid takes the DAT and gets a 19 what does that mean?....

 

[sl2obel2ts]

thanks for input.

am i considered as non-trad applicant? well i am in college of engineering @ Cal. 🙁

 

[PorkChop2008]

sl2obel2ts,
Don't take too many years off, the sooner you apply after graduation the better. When you have a considerable amount of time off, then the schools start to question if you can handle the course load and like to see Post-Bac classes (an issue I'm dealing with now). If you're working, then you probably won't be taking any classes.

My advice, apply as soon as you can because the career you are working on now really doesn't play a role in your future if you want to become a dentist. Good luck to you.

 

[pts218]

Hello!
I just signed up. I will probably be an active member since I am really interested in dentistry. I just graduated from college with 3.55 and B.S. Bioengineering. I wanna get some advices from you guys.

Does it matter if I graduated from competitive school with that gpa or not?

I wasn't really aware of being a dentist till my senior year so I really didnt have much chance to take many bio/humanities classes, but more engineering classes. I was told to "apply when you feel you are ready" so I decided to take about 1-3 years off and build my career or something. Due to some financial situation, right now, I am working at a biotech firm. Do you think if this will help my application process?

If not, I probably want to change my job... any suggestions?

I havent done any doctor shadowing, but it seems pretty tough with my busy work schedule (M-F 8-4). I have been asking around but no luck due to time.

Also, I was told that I need psych and sculpture as prereq for dental, arg, i guess i gotta take that at community college. And Is research experience important in application process? I did 1.5 years of research at UCSF.

Graduating from a good school can give you a slight advantage but overall dental schools are still looking for qualified applicants (mainly GPA and DAT scores). That being said I think you're GPA is solid so study for the DATs and try doing equally well on those and you'll be in good shape.

For me, I just question the whole taking time off to "build my career or something" aspect. If you're still undecided about the field I can understand, don't push yourself into applying if this isn't really what you want to do as a profession. However, if dentisty is what you want as a career then you need to take some major strides in that direction and I think working in other things may not necessarily help you in that regard. I too worked in the biotech industry during undergrad and it wasn't discussed in any of my interviews at all, so don't stay at your job just because you think it'll look good.

Basically when a review panel is looking over your application they'll look at your good grades and look at DAT scores but they'll also be looking into things in your application package that show your interest/commitment to the field, your preparedness in taking a grueling course load and really quality letters of rec telling them the kind of person you are. All the shadowing, research and sculpture classes are icing on the cake that you can do to show your desire into getting in.

 

[diane07]

Don't assume anything. Go to the websites of the schools you plan to apply to and make sure you meet all their pre-requisites. The basics will be the same everywhere, but some schools have additional pre-requisites (exp - biochemistry) It's smart to do a little research so you don't end up wasting money.