Would dental schools look down on this?

[jassi.astros]

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[jassi.astros]

What's the rush? Worst case scenario is its too much for you to handle and your GPA suffers. Graduate in 3.5 years and take the vacation for the 6-9 months before dental school. You won't get another long break like this ever again until the day you retire

 

[Jaa_]

Thank you so much for your reply! The main reason I want to graduate in 3 years is so I can have that extra year to get a job and save up for dental school as much as I can, although if it seems to be too much at the time I may end up having to take that extra semester!

You will just be taking out loans throughout dental school anyway. As stated above you will not significantly offset the cost of school by working and will make up the difference relatively quickly in the long run. Why don't you just pick up a part time job to save up a little and enjoy your time in college? Dental school is not something you want to rush through college to get to (it sucks).

 

[socat_predent]

I graduated from undergrad in 3 years because of AP credits (~40 units) and taking around 16-18 units each quarter (I only did 8 units of classes through CC over one summer, otherwise I was free every summer). I took all of my major pre-req classes through my home university, but as long as it is at a university and not a CC I'm sure you'll be fine. If you really need to take one at CC due to class size restrictions, it might be alright under calling it a COVID issue (that's how I took anatomy online after graduation). By graduating early I thought I might have missed out on college experiences, but then COVID happened, so I was actually glad to leave and not have to deal with a zoom education and being stuck in my dorm lol. I got my current research job sorted out right after graduation/submitting my DS app and I've enjoyed working and saving money before starting school.

However, if you have to take 20+ units every quarter to graduate soon or you think your gpa is gonna tank, then imo its not worth it since you need the time to have dental shadowing hours, community service volunteer hours, and a few extracurriculars for your application.

 

[rishi3]

Get a job as a dental lab tech and within a year you should be close to 25 an hour. Year after that, maybe 35 and then 50. Do a full load around 14 units and work like 20 hours a week. Still a couple grand a month to start and I think you'll like it much better