What do YOU think?

[PredentMelissa]

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Hi everybody! This is my first time to post on the boards, but I've been browsing them for a few months and absolutely love them! I think y'all give some great advice and since that's exactly what I need...well... here's my situation:

I'm a Sophomore by hours but this is my first year outta High School. I came into college w/about 30 hours completed.
Well, I have decided to apply for dental schools this year and enter in 2004. I've been doing my homework on all the reqs and working my butt off. Recently, i had my mandatory interview with my undergrad's pre-med advisory committee and they feel very strongly that I am too young to be doing this. There was nothing else that they seemed to have a problem with except for a number.

I'm not exactly sure what to think. I mean, I know that I am ready for this step, and I haven't really ever been "on schedule" for my age group...but do they have a valid hesitation? Please let me know what y'all think about all this! Thanks in advance.

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

Your pre-dental committee?s hesitation may or may not be valid, but unfortunately they do reflect the attitude of almost all admissions committees. Not that you haven?t completed the prereqs or are able to handle dental school, but it is hard to make the case that you are more competitive than another applicant with 4 years undergraduate and a B.S.

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

Well you can enter Dental school without graduating, but you also need a number of elective hours beside the pre reqs to be able to do so. If you take the dat and score high then I say go for it.

 

[Brand]

Just so I understand better, you won't have your BS when you enter school in 2004? That is completely acceptable, but it is much more difficult to gain admittance to a dental school that is at a different institution than your undergrad. For example, if you attend UBuffalo and want to get into dental school after your junior year, go for it! But if you attend Gonzaga and want to go to UNC, save your money and wait another year.
Also, how did you get your 30 credits? Was it from AP credits, or did you take some courses at your local community college? In either case dental schools don't accept AP credits and community college courses are not accepted at some schools. When it comes down to it the choice is yours. My opinion: quit studying so much! College life is a blast! Most people wouldn't mind staying in college life for six years and you want out after two. Give it some time and live life. You are only 19 once.

 

[yosemitesam]

Although I completely understand how eager you are to get into dental school, I think you may need to listen to your advisors on this one. It is pretty rare that schools will grant admission to an applicant without a degree - and even then they want to see how you've done in several classes of upper division science.
The application process is expensive - the initial application service fee, secondary app fees, plane tickets to interviews, hotel rooms. You probably don't want to spend that kind of money (unless it's daddy's money 😀 ) until you have a better shot at getting an acceptance.

 

[troache]

Girl, i am 19 years old and i will be starting my junior year this september. It is not wise to just want to jump into dental school. Nothing in life is going to come fast or easy. It takes time, practice, and dedication. I dont think its because of your age, I think they are trying to tell you that you need a bachelors degree first. You need that background knowledge, you may think you got it all downpacked, but this is the real world, if you do get into a Dental School, which chances are u won't, you will feel out of place, INFERIOR, and you won't be able to understand what the professor is talking about in class. I am not trying to put you down in any way. I was just like you, intelligent, and eager. But reality is u cant rush something like this. Take your time. I know that life is short, but do it right. Do yourself a favor. spare the embarrasment. Those recruiters are going to be laughing at u on the inside. They'll be saying "Is this girl serious or what". TAKE YOUR TIME. You will be happy you did.

 

[Joshua Tree]

Dental School will make you miss undergrad, that is the honest truth. The responsiblity that you will take on by going to dental school makes you grow up so fast that you will soon miss the days of 15 hrs/week of class instead of twice that much in dental school.

Take your time, undergrad only comes along once!🙂

 

[gryffindor]

So you want to enter dental school after 2 years of undergrad? True, you don't need a bachelor's degree to start dental school, but I don't think 2 years of college will make you look very competitive, even if you had a 4.0. If you feel so strongly about it and money is no problem, go ahead and give it a shot. But you'll probably be more competitive if you apply for fall 2005. Every year there are a few students who get in after three years of undergrad, but usually they are either stellar students in every aspect or they are part of a joint agreement between a dental school (4 years) and a particular undergrad (3 years). I was part of one these agreements.

I started dental school with three years of undergrad (at age 20). There are a small number of us here in dental school like me. Like you, I could've pushed hard and started after two, but in retrospect, that third year of college did make a difference. I was able to do some serious research and get published and take a few courses in stuff I kinda liked since I didn't have to worry anymore about cramming in pre-requisites. It was also important socially because I strengthened my friendships (people I still keep in touch with) and also had some horrific roommate experiences where I learned that even so-called friends can turn on you. Socially, I had a blast that year and academically, it was my best ever. I'm glad I did because the last three years of dental school have been very hellish (although I'm still having a good time and doing well enough). However, after three years of college I was ready to get out, as I felt I had really exhausted everything I could do at my small undergrad and fourth year would be a real bore and waste of time for me.

Starting dental school at 20 was a little rough also. Handling the workload wasn't the problem - I had a great GPA since all I ever did was study because I was too tired to go out and make friends. I also didn't bother going out with the class much because I was a few months shy of 21 and didn't want to deal with the hassle. It took me the entire first semester to adjust and a good part of second semester to find a group of friends that I clicked with.

You might feel out of place now at undergrad because you have, as you put it, "never really been on schedule for my age group." Maybe you can rush through undergrad and not feel the need to make friends with your peers at your college or have school spirit in general. The fact that you are mature and know exactly what you want to do while you sit in class with a bunch of people that have no focus or direction at all can be really irritating, I understand. But what I am trying to say is you don't want to feel too out of place in dental school. It is very important to have a good social support group in dental school because the dental school course load will be awful. You need to have peers to complain and socialize and study with to get through it. My closest friends are students who did either 3 or 4 years of undergrad, mostly. I don't relate too well to those who took time off to work/pursue other careers and those people can't understand either why I am so ahead of myself (even if it is only by one year.)

Realize this: Once you get here, you won't be ahead of schedule anymore because everyone is in the same situation as you - you guys are all struggling together to earn that DDS. It's not like college where those who are struggling in organic chem drop out of the pre-dent/pre-med track and major in psychology instead. Now, anyone who is struggling is going to fight to stay afloat because there is only one major in dental school - the DDS major. These are probably things that your committee is worried about for you.

I would advise you to stay at least one more year in college to be a more competitive applicant unless undergrad is so unbearable for you that you would rather get out ASAP. It is not unheard of starting dental school with two years of undergrad - UOP has a formal program with 2 yrs undergrad combined with their 3 yr dental school. Just that is is very, very rare.

 

[Bcat]

I think you should do whatever you feel is best for you. The advisors at your school are just advisors. You know yourself better. I interviewed with another student in your situation. She knew that she wanted to be a dentist and isn't wasting any time. There are many people each year that get accepted without a degree. ADEA has a book with all the specific numbers concerning schools that accept students without degrees etc. It can't hurt to try if you have the GPA and DAT to back it. Anyway, Good Luck!!

 

[PashaJ]

Because I've never been in your situation my input may not be as valuable as others, especically griffin04, but I kinda think you should apply anyway. It's your life and you know your situation better than anyone here though they are right about feeling awkward in school.
You're only investing $1000 (or less) and you satisfying your own inquiry. From what I read it seems like most people don't think you'll get in, but if you do great! If not, you'll apply the following year. I don't think the schools will hold it against you, you knew what you wanted. It shows determination and maturity.
Good Luck.