Your Pre Dental Road up to Date?

[dentalgeorge]

I'm assuming we are all on different stages of our pre dental career or are already finished/ in dental school. I'd just like to see more information on the different tracks you guys took to getting there, so please, if you wish, put down your schedule for the 3-4 years you have been in pre dental or where ever you have been up to date (if you're sophmore or junior) and put any comments or regards to things (schedule wise or classes you wish you didn't take together etc..) that you'd of done differently or any other advice you have. I think it would help people like me plan accordingly on where we'd like to go cause I know several people like my friends and I who are slightly confused on when we should plan to take certain requirements (DECS) and science pre req classes (as well as if we should take tough classes in the summer or other requirements then).

Thanks.

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[vlct0ria]

I'm bored so I'm going to do this...I'm a bio major, and I'm just going to list the classes relevant to most dental schools' prereqs and recommended courses...

Freshman year- Bio 1 & 2 + labs, Gen Chem 1 & 2 + labs, Calc II (got AP cred for Calc I), English
Sophomore year- Organic 1 & 2 and lab, Gen Psych, Genetics, Cell/Molecular Bio, Ecology (just for fun)
Junior year- Physics II + lab (got AP credit for Physics I), Physiology, Plant Bio (random requirement for bio majors)
Senior year- planning on Biochem, Microbio, Evolution

Each year includes fall, spring, and summer semesters...I had summer classes every year except for this one. I wish I would have waited and taken Physics II my senior year and instead taken some more upper level bios and gotten biochem out of the way since those are helpful for the DAT while physics is useless. Also think it would have been smarter to take an anatomy class before the DAT...I mean a lot of it is learned in the general bio classes, but I feel like an actual anatomy class would have helped me retain the info better.

 

[preOMFS]

I would have partied a little less (a little) and study a lot more. Also, I should have gone to class more freshmen/soph more year, but I thought I was the bomb and I payed the price. Otherwise, I would have done things exactly the same way.

I'm glad that I took two years off to be able to work in the profession. Now I know for sure that dentistry is for me and I have also gained a bit of dental knowledge.

I'm also glad that I got married before dental school. I know that my wife loves me for who I am because she did so even when I was an under-accomplished undergrad. This way she will go through the growing pains with me and appreciate where we end up in the end. Plus I don't have to play the dating game in dental school. Lets face it, dating sucks.

 

[Kneecoal]

i've wanted to be a dentist for a long time, so naturally i was pre-dental going into college. i found my newfound freedom a little too much fun, didn't study much, and had more of a social life than an academic life for the first two years of college. orgo broke me down, i said i'd drop predental and become a bio teacher. i didn't decide on a major until the beginning of junior year, and then things sortof fell into place. i was studying harder, my gpa went up, and i regained confidence in myself. now hopefully i'll get in this year!

 

[lazybummy]

Hi! So are u starting college this Fall? Good luck!! Well i'll be a senior this Fall so I'll post my course load for the past 3 years..

Year 1: Gen Chem, Lab, Writing the Essay, Convers of the West, World Culture, Social Psych, Calc 3, Chinese (Both semester I maxed out 18 credits) - I took 1 science course to start off.. I personally took gen chem twice.. once as AP in high school.. and once as an honors course in high school... so gen chem felt very chill by the time i came to college.. also loaded myself with all the graduation requirements (language, writing, reading courses) I didn't know I was going down the prehealth field.. so i rather get all my requirements done.. worry about my major etc later.

**Summer: I worked 2 jobs (both in optometry offices.. i had once thought about going into optometry school), did some SAT tutoring, volunteered in the pediatric unit in hospital

Year 2: Orgo, Lab, Physics, Lab, Developmental Psych, Stats, Cognition, Chinese (Both semester 19 credits) It sucked.. I slept average 4 hrs a night.. i had 19 exams per semester including midterms and finals).. I burned out.. but also i was a hardcore premed by this stage... I hate physics with a passion but i have to take it eventually.. and can't afford to take summer courses.. had to man it up .

**Summer: 2 psych research and a job in IT department in school

Year 3: Bio, lab, Gothic Lit, Linear Algebra, Chinese, Abnormal Psych, Addiction, Issues of Brit, Guitar (14 then 18 credits) I went studying abroad in the Fall.. best decision ever. Classes 2 days a week.. traveled a lot.. volunteered.. saw a lot of places. Came back.. took 18 credits but really laidback classes.. Decided to pursue dentistry second semester.. after signing up for Mcat and what not.. sat thru the stupid PR Mcat course 3 days a week.. it sucked up half my semester before i realized.. medicine wasn't for me.. Right after school ended.. i jumped right back in to study for DAT.. 3 weeks later i took it !!

** Summer: Continue shadowing + interning in oral surgery

Didn't talk too much about EC during the school year.. but u get the gist.. I tortured myself over and over again.. no summer classes.. just worked and worked my ass off. Last 3 years was pretty kick ass.. But i survived.. Going into my 4th year...

4th year: I'll be done this Fall.. finishing a semester early!! Biochem, psych lab, Chinese, Neuroscience (16 credits)

Hope this helps!!!

 

[xlonghornsx]

Freshman - Wish I took college a little more seriously during this semester -- Gen Bio 1&2, Gen Chem 1, Physics 1&2, Psychology

Sophomore - Gen Chem 2, Org Chem 1, Biostats, Evolution, Sociology

Junior - Microbiology, Toxicology, Forensic Science (for the heck of it), Animal Physiology, Org Chem 2, took a Kaplan prep course for the DAT

Senior - Started a Master's program that included several healthcare business courses (Accounting, Finance, Mgmt, etc), Anatomy, Biochemistry, took the DAT, shadowed a dentist, Medical Terminology (random elective)

Also, lots of extracurricular activities/community service is a MUST over these 4 years.

 

[dentalgeorge]

Yeah I'm a freshmen and thanks for the replies so far, I get the gist of the order some of you went for now..

 

[JamesOSU]

K I'm kinda bored so here goes

Freshman Year
Entered in honors engineering at Ohio State. After 2 quarters decided I didn't like it. Finished it out for the year, but started taking chemistry/biology series.

Sophomore Year
Switched to Business major for one quarter. Took economics, but loved microbiology. Switched to microbiology in winter quarter. Took intro microbiology courses, immunology, and started thinking about dental school.

Junior Year
Studied abroad and took Food Microbiology and loved it. Got a 4.0 after conversion from the Australian grade point scale (woo!), that helped the GPA a lot! Finished with Genetics, undergraduate research, and biochemistry.

Started working with Kaplan for the SAT/ACT. Used my teacher access to study online DAT materials, took DAT in June between Junior/Senior (20AA/19TS/24PAT) and applied to dental schools with 3.59gpa.

Senior Year
Very little interest from schools, offered one interview from Case Western early in the cycle. My cocky ass ignored it, assuming more to come from 'better' schools . I was an idiot. No interviews came. I called Case and asked for an interview 5 months after they offered, and I lucked out that someone had just canceled for the next week. Interviewed at Case in Februrary.

Meanwhile, worked towards completing my degree, took Anatomy and higher level bio classes. Started teaching the DAT for Kaplan (taught 3 courses).

Placed on the waitlist for Case Western, decided to retake DAT and reapply.

Applied for jobs. Offered job out of school at $19/hour, not too shabby! Retook DAT in early June (22AA/21TS/23PAT) and applied with a 3.55gpa

One year out
Graduated, started my job. Had already submitted app June 10th before job started, and sent Case a nice letter detailing my increased volunteering, new DAT scores, and interest in their dental program.

3 weeks later I was offered a spot off the waitlist at Case Western.

Declined offered spot at Case Western

The next cycle officially started, and in early September:
Received interview invites from Ohio State, Case Western, IU, Iowa. First interview at Ohio State in October, accepted Dec 1st. Canceled all remaining interviews.

Start class Sept 21st at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry

phew!

 

[tmac001]

Hey James

With a 3.59 GPA and your first DAT score, no other schools invited you to interviews? omg that is so scary. do you mind giving a breakdown of ur score?

 

[JamesOSU]

Hey James

With a 3.59 GPA and your first DAT score, no other schools invited you to interviews? omg that is so scary. do you mind giving a breakdown of ur score?

My first DAT was:

Bio:18
Chem:19
Ochem:20
PAT:24
Read:20 or 21
QR:21

Breakdown for my second one can be seen in my predents profile