what requirements do I need?

[maverick88]

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I have decided to go to community college and then transfer to a 4 year univeristy before applying to dental school instead of trying to go to cc and applying to dental school taking the chance of most likely not making it. Perfect outcome would be to go transfer to USC OR UCLA and then apply to their dental schools, my question is how would I go about doing this would I go to cc and earn the credits that are needed to be admitted to the universities stated above? and if so should I take any of the Pre-requisites at the cc or wait until I get to the universities?

 

[tinman831]

I have decided to go to community college and then transfer to a 4 year univeristy before applying to dental school instead of trying to go to cc and applying to dental school taking the chance of most likely not making it. Perfect outcome would be to go transfer to USC OR UCLA and then apply to their dental schools, my question is how would I go about doing this would I go to cc and earn the credits that are needed to be admitted to the universities stated above? and if so should I take any of the Pre-requisites at the cc or wait until I get to the universities?

The prerequisites for admission to dental school are usually the classes students take during the first two years of undergraduate school. Since most dental schools have an unofficial policy of not accepting community college credits, you would have to take everything other than prereq courses which will cause you to be behind once you transfer to a university (since in order to take upper level courses, you need to have taken the prerequisite courses).

 

[maverick88]

The prerequisites for admission to dental school are usually the classes students take during the first two years of undergraduate school. Since most dental schools have an unofficial policy of not accepting community college credits, you would have to take everything other than prereq courses which will cause you to be behind once you transfer to a university (since in order to take upper level courses, you need to have taken the prerequisite courses).

really? so then what would people suggest me doing? should I just take the core requirements to get admitted into a 4 year univeristy and then take all the Pre-requisites courses. I understand I will be behind but I guess thats what I have to do 🙂

 

[aggie-master]

I would just take the prereqs at a CC because you need to get those out of the way to help you prepare for the DAT. If you make As in your prereqs and a 22 on the DAT, I seriously doubt that you'll have trouble getting in somewhere. You can always take higher level science courses at a university.

 

[ltd3972]

You might consider contacting an admissions counselor or health professions advisor at the university you plan on transferring to. They will be able to give you a clear picture of what you need to do.

 

[maverick88]

I would just take the prereqs at a CC because you need to get those out of the way to help you prepare for the DAT. If you make As in your prereqs and a 22 on the DAT, I seriously doubt that you'll have trouble getting in somewhere. You can always take higher level science courses at a university.

If I do this and get those grades, what would be the point of going to university would I not be able to apply directly to the dental school?

 

[aggie-master]

If I do this and get those grades, what would be the point of going to university would I not be able to apply directly to the dental school?

Most dental schools require you to have at least 90 hours with no more than 60 of them being from a CC, but from what I can tell, they prefer for you to have a degree.

You will not be able to go straight from a CC to dental school. You will need to transfer and do well at a university too.

 

[WVUdental]

Most dental schools require you to have at least 90 hours with no more than 60 of them being from a CC, but from what I can tell, they prefer for you to have a degree.

You will not be able to go straight from a CC to dental school. You will need to transfer and do well at a university too.

terrible advice, please ignore everything this poster writes.

 

[aggie-master]

terrible advice, please ignore everything this poster writes.

I looked up the facts from a few of the schools that I applied to:
UTHSC-SA - Admission requires a minimum of 90 semester hours of credit from a regionally accredited college. The following courses, completed with a minimum grade of C must be included:

UTHSC - Houston - Admission to The University of Texas-Houston Dental Branch requires a minimum of 90 semester hours from an accredited college (It is recommended that at least 30 semester hours be accomplished at a four-year college or university.).

Baylor - Baylor College of Dentistry - Texas A&M Health Science Center requires a minimum of sixty semester hours, however, most students complete a degree before coming to the college. As of the 2008 entering class, the minimum number of college hours required to apply will increase to ninety semester hours.

 

[AUG2UAG]

my advice would be to go after any major that will land you a solid gpa-- worry about the diploma and gpa first before thinking about pre-req's and dat, unless you are a bio/chem major

once you have the diploma with good gpa, do the pre-req's wherever you feel most comfortable

 

[maverick88]

Most dental schools require you to have at least 90 hours with no more than 60 of them being from a CC, but from what I can tell, they prefer for you to have a degree.

You will not be able to go straight from a CC to dental school. You will need to transfer and do well at a university too.

yes i agree most dentals schools do prefer you to have ba degrees including the ones that i would like to go to (USC OR UCLA) but what I do not really get is what I have to take to get accepted. I know I am jumping ahead of myself but I don't want to make any mistakes that will effect me in the future. To my understanding all the required prerequisites for dental schools are all science classes other then some history and english courses which are disregarded if you get a bachelors degree. So finally.. would a good plan be to go to CC take all the core requirements to be able to transfer to USC then once there take the required prerequisites to apply to dental school?

Thank you everyone for all you help and advice 🙂

 

[reapply2007]

University of Illinois at Chicago AND Indiana requirements cut and pasted from websites.


Required Courses
All science courses must include labs.

Chemistry
14 semester hours (21 quarter hours), with at least 4 semester hours in Organic Chemistry (6 quarter hours)
(ORDINARILY I'VE SEEN THE REQUIREMENT TO TAKE A FULL YEAR OF
ORGANIC)
Biological Science
6 semester hours (9 quarter hours)
Physics
6 semester hours (9 quarter hours)
English
6 semester hours (9 quarter hours)
Elective Courses
58 semester hours (87 quarter hours)
Highest consideration will be given to applicants who take at least three of the following upper level science courses or their equivalents and show evidence of high academic performance under heavy course loads.
Human Anatomy Human Physiology Histology Microbiology Biochemistry
Cell Biology

INDIANA

ALL PREREQUISITES MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE JUNE 30, 2007
There are no substitutes for these prerequisites; they can not be waived.

A minimum of eight (8) semester hours or twelve (12) quarter hours of each of the following:
Biology or Zoology (lecture and lab)
Inorganic Chemistry (lecture and lab)
General Physics (lecture and lab)
A minimum of four (4) semester hours or six (6) quarter hours of each of the following:
Organic Chemistry (lecture and lab)
Human (or Mammalian or Comparative) Anatomy (lecture and lab)

A minimum of three (3) semester hours or four and one-half (4.5) quarter hours of each of the following: Biochemistry Lecture Human (or Mammalian or Cell) Physiology Lecture

A minimum of two (2) semester hours or three (3) quarter hours of each of the following:
Introductory Psychology, English Composition
A minimum of ninety (90) semester hours. At least thirty (30) semester hours must be completed at a four-year college. Applicants are encouraged to complete upper-level science courses at 4-year institutions (i.e. colleges or universities that grant bachelors degrees).

 

[maverick88]

one quick question I have been reading some posts on the best time to take the DAT and everyonr is saying the best time is in the summer from your sophmore to junior year. If the test is focused on the pre reqs wouldn't it be better to hold off from taking any of the prereqs until i transfer to a 4 year university so that it all can be fresh in my head?

 

[SuperC]

I did the CC transfer to UF. While I was at the CC I took some pre reqs... Chem 1 and 2, calc 1, stats, and Bio 1. At uf I completed my last 60 or so hours at UF.

You will take plenty of upper level science classes at a university.
-C

 

[maverick88]

thanks everyone 🙂

 

[LNinlove]

I got my associates of science at a CC and transfered to a 4 year last year. At the CC I took Bio I and II, math up to calc I, 6 hours English comp. and all the other core classes.

Once I transfered to the 4 year I noticed that for some upper division bio courses one has to have taken gen chem I and II or better. This kinda hurt me because I hadn't taken any chem yet. I did take gen chem I at the 4 year and chem II at the CC this summer (only because it worked better with my schedule than at the 4 year). I will be taking ochem I this fall and II in the spring...both at the 4 year. As far as ochem goes...my 4 year wont transfer ochem from a CC. I am assuming that it is upper division at all 4 years, and it is a lower division at a CC, obviously.

Getting a bachelors is not required at all dental schools. I am actually planning on finishing my senior year of undergrad in my freshman year at dental school. Assuming I get accepted. 😕 I did ask the dean's assistant about this issue and she said that they don't look at applicants without a degree any differently than applicants with one. This is good news for me since I am married and work full time which makes school difficult to work around.

Regardless, whatever you do...do your best and you will be fine. For us CC students it looks like the DAT is the great equalizer...so kill that and we can begin to prove "them" wrong!

 

[maverick88]

Although it is not required to major in chem or bio would you finish school faster if you did? I mean if you major in something like history you still have to take all the pre-reqs and some upper level science classes for better chances, seems like it would take longer.

 

[LNinlove]

Although it is not required to major in chem or bio would you finish school faster if you did? I mean if you major in something like history you still have to take all the pre-reqs and some upper level science classes for better chances, seems like it would take longer.

I would say it might take longer...I'm majoring in BIO so I don't know what the school will accept as electives. I would check with your advisor and/or predental advisor before doing anything if there is a question.

But yes, because I am a BIO major I can take chem, ochem and physics for credit towards my degree. However, as I mentioned above I am going to apply w/o a degree.

From what I gather, most dental schools don't have a "preference" as far as which discipline a degree is in. In my opinion a 4.0 in chem or bio is harder to achieve than a 4.0 sociology. I am sure the adcoms know this and have it in the back of their mind...

Just my thoughts...take it or leave it.

 

[maverick88]

thanks everyone yea I figured it would take longer