Go for it…but do check which medical and dental schools are happy to accept Community College courses as well. Some are more amenable to this than others.
I would suggest strongly that, if you pursue medical school, you also apply to some schools of osteopathic medicine.
And re: NYU…it’s a very expensive to live in NYC, and while there is no tuition for their highly competitive medical school…the tuition cost for dental school at NYU isn’t exactly a bargain. And the cost of housing in NYC isn’t exactly a bargain either. And there is no difference in cost if you are a resident of NY. NYU is a private university.
I don’t think you are processing the inputs and insight from experienced posters. Unfortunately, there is no “most likely” dental school acceptance for anyone, and the odds are much wores for someone with your non-traditional background.
Looking at schools in the Carribean might be a path forward, but as others have noted, it is MUCH harder to get the required residencies if you go to school there.
We’d all love it if you reported back afterward letting us know how it turned out for you and what, if anything, you did to assist your application (volunteering, shadowing, etc). Make sure you take a pic of any acceptance letter so you can show proof.
Keeping track of outcomes is how I learn what to tell future med school wannabes at the school where I work.
What about the required math classes? Do you already have those? And double-check how much math is required at various med/dental schools. I think some (many) of them will want through calculus.
And not all med schools (or presumably dental schools) will be okay with community college bio courses – or if they are, they want you to take more advanced courses at a 4-year college as well.
Does SNHU offer in-person courses for the pre-reqs that you still need to take? If so, I would try to take them there.
@BenKlesc did you read through the required courses in the link I provided? Will you have all of these completed in-person over the next couple semesters? For example, I don’t believe you mentioned inorganic chemistry… and there are others such as the requirement to take biochem and microbiology at a 4 year college or university. Read that page very carefully.
Unfortunately, unless you already have a degree from a 4 year brick & mortar undergrad school, more community college classes aren’t going to make you a more attractive candidate for professional schools. Rightly or wrongly, community colleges have a reputation for having easy academics and giving out tons of A grades. You need to prove to admission committee members that you’re ready for the very, very difficult material that is contained in med or dental school classes.
You need to take some in-person upper level science classes at 4 year college. If for no other reason than you must submit 3 letters of evaluation written by professors who have taught you in a class as part of you med or dental school application. Two must be from professors who have taught you in a BCPM class.
Med and dental schools are very leery of online degrees because so many online schools are shams or operate on a degree-for-cash basis. SNHU may be reputable, but adcomms aren’t experts on the nuances of online schools ad will likely discount an online degree UNLESS you have a very good reason for attending an online school. For example, if you were on active military duty overseas.
Interesting. I did not know that! At my D’s college she has to take both chem and inorganic chem, but that is due to her major. I wasn’t aware the terms could be somewhat interchangeable. Thanks for noticing and asking for clarification @thumper. I learned something new.
No. it doesn’t. Even people who have PhDs in biology or biochemistry get no credit for any grad level coursework they took while pursuing their advanced degrees. All med and dental school coursework must be taken and passed in a specific program to count toward fulfilling graduation requirements.
Dental schools won’t even accept transfer credit from other dental schools.
General chemistry is an introduction to the concepts used in all of inorganic and analytic chemistry. But general chemistry doesn’t cover the basic concepts of organic chemistry and biochemistry. it’s almost like there are 2 very different separate fields of chemistry.
So you’re saying… I can’t just take a few classes at say UMASS Lowell (4 year), collect the credits and transfer them. I’d have to get another bachelors degree? Well I guess I should call the dental schools I’m interested in.
Good for you, but you still need to check with the admission office to see if they mean gen chem or they mean an advanced class in inorganic chemistry.
Another thing I could do. Drop out of SNHU right now, transfer my credits to UMASS Lowell, and finish my final year at a 4 year college so my degree won’t say online.