<p>I have one year left to graduate with a bachelors degree in a non science degree but I have decided to pursue dental school. I have not taken many science classes. I was thinking of taking the pre-reqs at a community college after I graduate. Someone recently told me that dental schools look at that as an easy shortcut. I want to ask the dental schools but I doubt they will answer my question honestly.</p>
<p>First off…I am a dentist not in admissions. I agree with you they will likely not give you a definitive answer. I would imagine the best answer would be how competitive a candidate you would be relative to the other applicants. But is this not always the case? My guess the pre-reqs from a CC would not favorably compare to other 4 year institutions. Please beware…I recently read in the American Dental Assoc. News that the average dental school graduate is graduating with a debt burden of $221K. In the climate of more and more managed care, this debt influences the young practitioner…and generally not in a favorable manner. Good luck.</p>
I am wondering almost the same thing. A coworker asked for a recommendation for Dental school but says his undergraduate degree is from University of Phoenix. Not really sure it’s worth his time
Just like so many things in life, you will not know your admission status until you make an application to the dental school. The candidate would have a reasonable understanding of the competitiveness when they review their DAT test score as compared to their peers. There are a few for profit dental schools out there that are admitting students for a very high price. My guess these students were not able to gain acceptance to their state school.
Most Dental schools will post information on their websites as to whether or not they accept community college credits. Those that do usually have a certain amount of hours that they allow, and most prefer that your pre-req science courses are done at the university level. Some also have requirements that may be upper division so you wouldn’t be able to do those at a community college anyway. You will need to show that you can withstand the rigors of the pre-req classes since actual dental school will be even more intense. It is okay to have a bachelors degree in any major, in fact it is a plus now to have your degree in something “different” so that you stand out from all of the biology majors. The reason that many applicants are biology majors is that the degree helps them to fulfill the science pre-reqs. You also need the science classes in order to prepare for the DAT. Some people even do informal post-bacs to do the science classes after they earn their bachelors degree. This would also give you time to do the shadowing, volunteering and other activities that you will need in order to be a competitive applicant. I believe that the average applicant applies to 5 to 10 dental schools or more. Of course this will depend on your stats and DAT score as to how many you would need to apply to. The best way to start out would be to check out the FAQ’s on the schools’ websites.