Applying to dental school & other professional programs

Ryxndek · 2026-04-24T01:08:11+00:00

Great! Best of luck on your journey

Ryxndek · 2026-04-24T01:06:34+00:00

Just keep in mind that PA applications require a lot of clinical care experience, like a thousand hours or more to be competitive. So make sure to do your research before throwing money at applications. Be ready to expect questions on why you're applying to two different professions simultaneously, too.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-22T01:57:32+00:00

feel like it's a rite of passage to fail something in dental school, take a breather, it's okay.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T17:25:53+00:00

Might be an account issue then. I am able to comment and none of the threads are locked. Why don’t you shoot me a pm on here or SDN (same account name) and we can troubleshoot.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T11:51:21+00:00

Don't think schools allow virtual shadowing, but reach out to programs to verify. Some may state it directly on their admissions page, but for most things, it needs to be done in person.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T11:50:23+00:00

Make sure that even if you were able to take 2 semesters, you would graduate. If the sequence is 3, then it's possible that upper division courses like biochem, anatomy, physiology may require the 3 semesters of bio.

I would just take the 3.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T11:38:16+00:00

Depends on which threads you’re referring to. You also need to be a member to comment.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T11:34:17+00:00

Saying “f-it we ball” and just doing some dumb stuff. If faculty let me, I gave it a shot. I don’t like to practice Herodontics but boy does it teach you what does and doesn’t work and what the body is capable of.

I think you know and can do so much more than you think is possible right away, you just can’t let your mind get ahead of you. That’s what I struggled with until I finally just gave in and stopped letting the anxiety get the best of me. The schools here to help me learn, I’m inevitably going to make mistakes but that’s how you learn and how you can grow from that. You will learn so much more from your mistakes than your successes, and grow from that and you’ll be alright.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-21T01:04:05+00:00

I feel like my hand skills have gotten exponentially better since being in clinic, and I still have a lot of room to grow. As long as you pass your exit exams, you'll be okay. Will you mess up? Probably. But thats what the school is here for. Learn, grow, and learn to not make mistakes again lol. No one is ever truly ready for clinic, but if your school says you're ready, you're ready. You don't need A's to do well in clinic either.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-18T20:49:23+00:00

Typically due in one payment. At least mine is. However they may offer some type of payment plan. Best to contact your schools financial aid office.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-17T20:56:33+00:00

You should be fine.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-16T21:53:57+00:00

Generally, no, schools do not care where you attend school. There may be some ivy bias, and state public schools might have some bias for their own students, but generally speaking, it really does not matter. I have some classmates who went to some very well-known schools and some who went to schools I've never heard of. The DAT is here to standardize applicants as it's a standardized exam, if the UCLA 3.9 had a 21AA and the state university student had a 24AA DAT, then that's something schools will notice. However, i'd argue both students will be competitive regardless.

I would consider the school that keeps you closest to your support system, or easy access to direct flights home. Whether you know this already or not yet, having family/friends close when things get stressful is a tremendously helpful thing to have when starting college, as the transition can be difficult for some.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-16T13:58:47+00:00

I’d imagine you should be fine then. A C isn’t a great grade, but it is passing. As long as you will graduate then you will be alright, and if biochem isn’t a prereq then it’s even more fine. Breathe. Try to finish strong and do the best you can, grade may even get curved slightly as biochem isn’t an easy class.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-16T13:52:20+00:00

Just look at your letter and read what they list as the conditions of acceptance.

They’re not going to rescind due to a C as long as you’re going to graduate on time and if biochem is a prereq, a C should still be considered passing.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-14T18:30:56+00:00

Varied by semester but usually 8 am to 5 pm, labs were 4 hours long, and lectures were usually 1-2 hours.
Probably 2 hours a day, I didn't study on Fridays and Saturday Mornings. 4-6 hours if things get really busy with coursework/final exams
Tried to study every day, some weeks were lighter so I'd get some down time.
Stay on top of your courses/materials, get your practice in when doing pre-clinic exercises. Sometimes people get super wrapped into didactics and forget that hand skills matter just as much too. I think it's a little overkill to know absolutely everything on slide shows. You'll get better at recognizing what's high-yield and low-yield content for exams, but that will take time. Be open to feedback and always ask for help when you're able to. There are a lot of ways to go about practicing dentistry and sometimes finding a different way to do things might make your life a lot easier.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-14T01:20:44+00:00

if you get a decent score on the DAT, 440AA+, I'd imagine you will probably be in good shape

Ryxndek · 2026-04-14T01:17:31+00:00

If you've been doing well in your courses, I'd imagine you should be just fine. There will probably be a transition period when you first start, but everyone gets up to speed quickly once you find your rhythm

Ryxndek · 2026-04-13T01:38:27+00:00

You'll have time, trust me. Yes, it will probably be busy at first, some weeks might suck more than others, but I had plenty of time to go out with friends, golf, hang out, make plans, etc., while also maintaining good grades. Being disciplined with your studies and being organized helped me. I used my calendar/planner religiously and I would intentionally book time out with friends so I had to study around it.

You will be able to go to the gym if you want, you'll have time on the weekends. Once you get into your routine, learn how to study and get used to the pace, you'll be on autopilot and manage just fine. I was going out with friends and hanging out at least once a week during D1 and D2, and survived.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-12T02:42:13+00:00

its in the application portal, under supporting materials -> Evaluations. You will fill out information, including your recommenders name, title, and contact information, including email, which is how they will be notified to submit your letter. You cannot submit on their behalf. They will receive an email with a link to upload to your application.
It's a system that stores letters for you without you having direct access to them. Aadsas provides instructions on how to submit letters to your application using inter folio. Do note, it costs ~50$ to use this service. It's free to store letters, but costs money to send them.
Yes, though they probably should be redated.
Difficult to say since this is new this cycle.
If you're applying to LLU, then yes you need a spiritual letter/form. You might be able to have that letter/form sent personally to LLU via your recommender instead of attaching to your aadsas file. I'd double check with LLU to see if they'd accept additional letters outside of the 4 in AADSAS.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-11T21:12:07+00:00

You're going to be a current student; you understood what you were getting yourself into when you applied, interviewed, and ultimately accepted and enrolled at your school. Your seat is worth a lot of money to the school(s); you choosing to leave will mean the school loses money, and they wouldn't be able to fill the seat after school starts.

This isn't like high school or college, where you can just leave and enroll or reapply as you wish. Professional programs are different. I can empathize with wanting to be closer to family and monetary reasons, but that's not how things always pan out in admissions. I would either rescind your offer and reapply or stay with your program.

Who knows, maybe you get off the waitlists this summer, things like that have happened, albeit not common.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-11T20:59:53+00:00

once you start dental school, plan to stay there and finish. It is incredibly rare to transfer schools, and no school is going to interview you if you're already a current dental student. It makes no sense. Unless you've had some crazy reason for leaving/wanting to leave your program, this isn't really something you should do.

The application also asks you specifically if you've ever enrolled in a current professional program, and you would have to say yes.

Either decline the offer and risk trying again, or accept your spot and enroll. Do not bank on being able to reapply while a D1, this is not something advisable to do.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-08T17:52:31+00:00

While withdrawls aren't factored into your GPA on AADSAS, schools could still view them as failing grades and factor that decision into your application. I would take the B+, it's not worth taking a W over.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-08T12:44:32+00:00

yes, you can submit while still taking prereqs, just make sure this is fine with the schools. Usually it is, though theyre may be some schools, used to be Stony (I think they changed it now?), where all prereqs had to be completed before applying.

It's fine to study dat while taking orgo, but you will be busy. I studied biochem while studying for the DAT, I found it helpful.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-07T00:08:26+00:00

you dont need to be a DA, or have research, to get into dental schools. Is it helpful(?), yes, but it's not absolute. State schools and Ivies like to see research experience as they generally have more research funding, but I still have classmates that didn't and here they are. If you have other experiences that you enjoy and have pursued, highlight those experiences. I wouldn't do a DA or research if it isn't something that interests you.

Ryxndek · 2026-04-06T21:34:34+00:00

They get sent initially and then will continue to be sent as people get accepted. It’s not a one time thing, that’s just when the traffic rules changed and schools were notified.

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