Am I too young?

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

Hi,

I have seen the average age of accepted applicants, and it seems to be quite high!

I'm only 20, and I plan to apply this upcoming cycle. Is it possible that I will have a drecreaed chance of gaining acceptance due to my age?

thanks

Don't worry about it. I'm only 20 and I got into three schools. I was still 19 at my first interview. One of the schools did ask me if I thought my age would be a disadvantage which kind of offended me since I've done the same amount of work. I don't understand how the average age is 26. o.0" As long as you're mature and make it clear to them that you're going to take it seriously, it shouldn't be a problem.

The smartest student in my DS class was 19 when we started.
He did just fine. In fact he is now on the faculty one on of the better dental schools in the country.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=649117

Not young at all. In fact, my interviewers all said I was very mature for my age, which is a plus. Like you, I applied when I was 20 (end of junior year of college) and I'll be going to dental school as a 21 year old, turning 22.

No

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

I'll be 21 in dental school also.

Being 20 now and 21 when entering dental school is perfectly normal.

That's about the normal age for people who complete their bachelors in 4 years right out of high school. But from what I've noticed, when dental schools give statistics for the average entering age they usually give the mean; not the median. So I would assume if they put the average age at 26, the distribution of ages would be negatively skewed so the majority would be in their early 20's (22,23,24 etc. etc.)

Originally Posted by valkairon

I don't understand how the average age is 26.

Well there are many, many people who finish their degrees in 5 and 6 years. People go part time to school, some work full time, study abroad, do internships, some have to apply 2+ times to dschool, etc. All of which would throw the curve.

Originally Posted by valkairon

Don't worry about it. I'm only 20 and I got into three schools. I was still 19 at my first interview. One of the schools did ask me if I thought my age would be a disadvantage which kind of offended me since I've done the same amount of work. I don't understand how the average age is 26. o.0" As long as you're mature and make it clear to them that you're going to take it seriously, it shouldn't be a problem.

ironic post is ironic

Originally Posted by UCLAzy

ironic post is ironic

Talk about mature.

Age is only one factor of maturity. I think you will do fine.

We have 1 student in my class that started at 18.

It was a very strong point for his acceptance. He went into the interview with confidence and stood out. You can still have a strong application if you are young, just make sure you show lots of confidence, let them know that this is something you really really want!