Very confused...pleeeeeeese help

[FutureDoc32]

I'm seriously thinking of applying to a professional program and I'm desperately trying to decide what would be best for me. I've thought of med school, dental school and podiatry school. Each seems to have plusses and drawbacks so I'm hoping you guys can clarify for me the process of getting into dental school.

I graduated college with a 3.68 GPA, but my inorganic chem grades weren't too hot (including a "D" in an inorganic lab course). I'm 32 years old and completed college over ten years ago.

On the plus side, I have ten years experience as a research tech (with a few publications, also my manual dexterity is excellent) and am doing volunteer work in a hospital. My other college grades were very good (not including inorganic). I have several strong motivating factors.

Should I get a good DAT score, do you think my lousy inorganic grades will be overlooked, or do I actually need to think about re-taking these classes? Is my coursework too old altogether? How about my age? Can my maturity work on my side or is the fact that I'm 32 a detriment? What is the best way for me to go about getting a letter from my former pre-health advisor at school? I have some old recommendations on file that are literally more than a decade old! Should I expect that the pre-health advisor at my alma mater use more recent recommendations that I could easily get from my employer or must the recs come strictly from profs?

Thanks a million for advice. Margaret

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[gower]

Margaret, call admissions at NYU and/or Coumbia U and or SUNY-Stony Brook Dental schools. Describe your situation and ask for a COUNSELING INTERVIEW. Make sure to tell them that you are not an applicant this year.
I can guess that your undergraduate work is too old. They will probably ask you to take the science courses again, which you can do in a postbac premed program or as a non-matriculated student at some FOUR YEAR COLLEGE.
Your age is no problem. If some school makes it an issue, sue them for the cost of tuition.

I don't have phone #s for you. Look the first two up in a Manhattan directory; Stony Brook in a Suffolk County directory. I don't have email addresses either.

You might try looking them up using a search engine.

 

[gower]

Margaret:

NYU 212 998 9819

Columbia 212 305 4511

Stony Brook 631 632 8900

Ask for ADMISSIONS

 

[gower]

Another afterthought. If you are still interested in podiatry and medicine, I can give you names and phone #s at local schools in Manhattan.
If you decide to take courses, City College postbac is very good and least expensive. Don't do coursework at Lehman. At City, I can give you the name and phone# of the person to speak with first. NYU and Columbia postbac tuitions are sky high. You don't need "prestige," you need good grades.

Good hunting!

 

[FutureDoc32]

Gower,

Thanks so much for all your advice. I'm kind of dismayed that schools will probably find my coursework too old- I killed myself for some of those grades! If I must take post-bac classes I will, of course, but I don't want to delay my entry too long (I'd only be able to do it part time since I must work full time)given my age.

I will DEFINITELY call NYU, Columbia and Stony Brook and sit down with them and a list of questions. I've already sat down with them at the Podiatry school in NY and they seemed to want to nearly coerce me into the program which unnerved me a bit.

Just curious - why do you recommend not doing coursework specifically at Lehman? That's where I did my ug degree, oddly enough. I completely agree with you BTW. Looking back, and talking to friends who went to private schools, I can see that some of the science profs really didn't give a fig about the students (although some I will remember fondly for the rest of my life). Hence, I also dread using their pre-health dept for any recommendations.

Thanks again, Margaret

 

[gower]

Re: NYCPM. The applicant pool is rather low and you are mature with a great deal of
patient care experience.

Re: Lehman, a weak sister in the CUNY system. Also, its advising system has been next to non-existent for at least a decade.
The major players are City, Hunter, Brooklyn and Queens with a long tradition of sending very many to medical, dental, optometry and podiatry schools over the years. They have good to excellent advisors who attend professional meetings with other advisors throughout the country and admissions committee members; they are personally known to all NYC adcoms and to many others throughout the country. I suggested City because the advisor is good friend of mine, I know she works to help her students and City is accessible from the Manhattan and the west Bronx, at least. Broadway-7th Ave line. It is also accessible from the east Bronx, but it will entail a more circuitous route with a change of trains. Next in convenience is Hunter, on the east side of Manhattan; it also has a well-known postbac program, not just for premeds since the rquired science courses are basically the same for all the doctoral professional schools. From what I hear, you are less likely to get the TLC you will at City.
Queens and Brooklyn are to far from the Bronx.
At City, you want to speak with Ms. Lolita Wood-Hill, and only with her. Don't let them push you off to anyone else; if they do, let me know and I will get you through to her. She will be out of the country sometime in late December through at least New Years.
Lolita Wood-Hill: 212 650 7845
[email protected]
Any more questions, feel free to ask.
Part of an old Welsh verse for you:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
May the rain fall soft upon your fields.

Take heart.