Electrical EngineeringDental School
Institution-verified. An institution or employer email domain was confirmed for a step claimed in this pathway.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Large State School
- Major
- Electrical Engineering
- GPA band
- 3.0-3.4
- Graduated
- 2016
- Location
- Atlanta, United States
- First-generation student
The sequence9 steps
- Coursework10 moPivotal
Added the biology sequence alongside the EE core
State University
Added the biology sequence alongside the EE core. This took 10 months and was slower than expected.
Obstacle
Took too heavy a load and the grades showed it.
How it was resolved
Retook the course that mattered most rather than trying to offset it elsewhere.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Networking5 mo
Shadowed a general dentist
Shadowed a general dentist. This took 5 months and was harder 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.
- Coursework8 moPivotal
Prerequisite sequence: organic chemistry and biochemistry
State University
Prerequisite sequence: organic chemistry and biochemistry. This took 8 months and was slower than expected.
Obstacle
Took too heavy a load and the grades showed it.
How it was resolved
Retook the course that mattered most rather than trying to offset it elsewhere.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Exam6 mo
First DAT attempt
- Application10 mo
First application cycle
First application cycle. This took 10 months and was harder than expected.
- Setback6 moPivotal
Rejected without interviews; reassessed for three months
Rejected without interviews; reassessed for three months. This took 6 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.
- Coursework10 mo
Post-baccalaureate coursework to repair the science GPA
State University
Post-baccalaureate coursework to repair the science GPA. This took 10 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Exam7 mo
Second DAT attempt
Second DAT attempt. This took 7 months and was slower than expected.
- Application9 mo
Second application cycle
Second application cycle. This took 9 months and was slower 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.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
Evidence for this step
Outcome
Accepted to dental school (DMD)
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.