Electrical EngineeringDental School
Unverified. Submitted, nothing checked.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Community College
- Major
- Electrical Engineering
- GPA band
- 3.8-4.0
- Graduated
- 2017
- Location
- Seattle, United States
- First-generation student
- Financial need
Limited exposure to the destination field at the start.
The sequence9 steps
- Coursework9 mo
Added the biology sequence alongside the EE core
State University
Added the biology sequence alongside the EE core. This took 9 months and was slower than expected.
- Networking6 mo
Shadowed a general dentist
Shadowed a general dentist. This took 6 months and was slower than expected.
Obstacle
No existing contacts in the field, and cold outreach mostly went unanswered.
How it was resolved
Stopped sending generic messages and wrote to a much smaller, more specific list.
- Coursework10 mo
Prerequisite sequence: organic chemistry and biochemistry
State University
Prerequisite sequence: organic chemistry and biochemistry. This took 10 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Exam6 mo
First DAT attempt
First DAT attempt. This took 6 months and was slower than expected.
- Application9 mo
First application cycle
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Setback4 moPivotal
Rejected without interviews; reassessed for three months
Rejected without interviews; reassessed for three months. This took 4 months and was harder than expected.
Obstacle
The plan stalled here, and it was not obvious it would recover.
How it was resolved
Asked the people who rejected me what the specific disqualifier was, then fixed exactly that instead of everything at once.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Coursework9 mo
Post-baccalaureate coursework to repair the science GPA
State University
- Exam2 mo
Second DAT attempt
Second DAT attempt. This took 2 months and was slower than expected.
- Application1 yrPivotal
Second application cycle
Second application cycle. This took 12 months and was harder than expected.
Obstacle
Applied broadly without understanding what the reviewers actually screened on.
How it was resolved
Narrowed the list and applied early in the cycle rather than late.
Outcome
Accepted to dental school (DDS)
Reflection
Would repeat
- Starting the outreach earlier than felt comfortable.
Would skip
- The first application cycle, which I entered underprepared.
Biggest obstacle
Underestimating how long the prerequisite work would take alongside everything else.
What was luck
- One person answered a cold email who did not have to.
Estimated cost: Roughly $28,000 across the whole transition.