your opinion..

[yams]

Hi,

I will be entering my 3rd year of college and I didn't decide to do dentistry until this summer. Because of this, I am a year behind, which will cause me to graduate in 5 years. Do you think it would be better to try to cram my classes and finish in 4 years and 1 quarter OR 5 years exactly? How much do you think dental schools look at how many credits you take each quarter and if you graduate in 5 years vs. 4 years. Also, lets say I would end with a 3.5 GPA in 5 years. Thanks to anyone that can answer my questions!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[UBTom]

Some more info might help...

How many credits do you need for your bachelors?

How many credits have you completed so far?

Are you willing to go to summer school?

These items might help you decide whether or not you can do it in 4 years..

 

[yams]

I've finished 100 credits in my first 2 years of college. I need 180 total to graduate, but I can't finish my pre-req. dental classes (i.e. ochem, bio and physics) and get a major in that time. What do you think about if I took ochem, bio and physics this year...applied to dental school next summer and continued taking classes next summer and next year. Would it matter if I didn't finish in exactly four yearsor do you think most schools would want you to finish your major before you get in?

Thanks!

 

[UBTom]

If you don't mind summer school, it's definitely a good option.

And here's another option you might consider:

Finish your bachelor's degree in whatever major you are pursuing in four years, but don't bother with the pre-dental requirement courses during that time. After you graduate with your Bachelors, get into a post-bacculaureate program to do the pre-dental requirements.

The world's your oyster!

 

[kin-tan-ti]

Is it THAT important to finish in 4 years?!?!

What if it takes you five (while working full time), will no dental schools look at you?

 

[yams]

Well, I was just wondering if it is better to apply to dental school after 3 years and never finish my major requirements OR apply to dental school after 4 years of undergrad with being able to finish my major after 5 years.

 

[gryffindor]

A bachelor's degree is a technicality. As far as I knew, you could begin dental school without having one, as long as you had the pre-reqs for dental school done. There may be some that require it, but there are many schools that will still accept qualified students who won't have a degree when they start (as in they only went to college for 3 years instead of 4 and didn't actually graduate with a bachelor's). I'd finish the pre-reqs and go ahead and apply if you are confident in your stats.
Good luck!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by kin-tan-ti
Is it THAT important to finish in 4 years?!?!

What if it takes you five (while working full time), will no dental schools look at you?

Time it takes is not an issue at all. In fact, as griffin mentioned, the degree isn't an issue at many schools, although having it will make you slightly more competitive (since the majority of candidates hold a degree).

 

[yams]

Ok, which do you think would be better...taking 13 higher level science credits or 10 higher level science classes and an easier 5 credit class? Also, do you think it is better to take mostly high level science classes and get lower grades (avg 3.2 or 3.3) or add a bunch of easy non science classes to keep your G.P.A. higher?

Thanks to everyone that has replied!

 

[crimson]

GPA is always more important strategically, no matter what the arguments about learning more, challenging yourself etc. Also note that a GPA has greater currency than difficulty of classes attempted.