Undergrad Courseload?

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Universitygeek

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Just curious, how many credits a semester should I take at a minimum so that dental schools don't view my gpa being the result of a light courseload especially if I'm not a science major? If I'm an accounting major doing science prerequisites on the side, what would be a good number of credits to take each semester so that dental schools don't look down on me for having a light courseload?
 
Universitygeek said:
Just curious, how many credits a semester should I take at a minimum so that dental schools don't view my gpa being the result of a light courseload especially if I'm not a science major? If I'm an accounting major doing science prerequisites on the side, what would be a good number of credits to take each semester so that dental schools don't look down on me for having a light courseload?
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I know some schools are starting to look at that but I've been taking 12-14 hours every semester minus my first with 16 and I got plenty of acceptances, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.


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I took 14-18 quarter units mostly. I would take only 3 classes if I knew the classes would be challenging (this was true for most of my BCP, because I felt it was the most important to do well in these). Its a good balance to do well and have extracurriculars.
 
I had a few semesters where I was below 12 credits. I had a few acceptances this year and a good number of interviews. I think you should concentrate on being well-rounded. And when the class is relevant (ex: Biochem, Pharm, Physio) make sure you get A+.
 
I don't think it makes too much of a difference. In my first 5 semesters of college, I didn't have a single semester below 16 credits and one of them was 18 credits. In my past two semesters, I've been only doing 13 credits, but I made sure atleast 10/13 credits were science classes to keep up the rigor.

Looking back, I wish I was a bit more balanced because some of the 17 and 18 credit semesters I had ended up making my GPA pretty average (3.5-3.6), but in the end I think as long as you show a commitment to expanding your science knowledge, taking 12 credit semesters wouldn't hurt.
 
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