When should I apply for dental school?

[Mary1984]

Hello,
I have MS degree in electrical engineering and I started taking the prerequisite courses. I have some questions and appreciate it if you can help me regarding those questions.
1. If I take 3-4 courses each semester starting now ( Spring 2014) , which year can I apply for dental school?
2. When is the best time for me to take DAT?

Thanks,

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Glimmer1991]

"When to apply" is a bit more tricky for nontraditional applicants. The usual applicant applies between their junior and senior years of undergrad. At that point, they should have most (if not all) of their prerequisites done, and any required courses that remain are taken during the final year of college. Applicants typically get accepted about halfway through senior year (December), and have one semester left. Dental school begins that August.

So, the typical applicant applies when they have one year left of undergrad. Like I said, though, they usually have a large amount of their pre-reqs done by that point. More than that, I'd venture to say that people have completed a few "extra" classes at that point--suggested bios such as histology and whatnot. Since you're going back to school to complete the prereqs, you can theoretically apply when you have one year of pre-reqs remaining. However, if you have a LOT of pre-reqs saved up for that final year, some schools might want to wait for your academic update in December to see how you have fared in your science courses--so some of your interviews might be post-December. I just wanted to give you a heads up... and of course, this is all speculation. You might not run into this problem at all if you've managed to get quite a few science classes under your belt and are very successful!

My suggestion would be to take the DAT the summer after you finish orgo. That seems to work out well for many people.

 

[afro5692]

My suggestion would be to take the DAT the summer after you finish orgo. That seems to work out well for many people.

Orgo 1 or Orgo 2?

 

[Glimmer1991]

Orgo 1 or Orgo 2?

Orgo 2, if at all possible. It's doable if you only take the first and then use Chad/Destroyer to teach yourself the second half, but definitely easier if you've had both!