Been a year after my graduation with B.S. and I still have not apply to dental school. Suggestions?

[Dream big]

Hey guys I got my bachelor in Biology in december 2014 with a minor in Chem.
I always wanted to be a dentist since i was 15 years old. I know dentistry is what i want to do for the rest of my life. Here are the problems: Since i graduated i haven't done anything academic related but just working as a valet to make some money and some dentist shadowing. I scheduled to take my DAT on July 7th 2015... but a week before i was not prepared to take it. I honestly didn't study for it. I was not motivated what so ever. So i postponed it to August 4th 2015 and i know im still not prepared for it. I need at least one more month of studying or more since Im actually taking it serious to study for DAT. So far i had 1 gap year not doing anything useful. And i know if i take my DAT in September it would be late to apply this cycle. I really don't know what i should do. It's frustrating my girlfriend is starting med school this fall in Virginia and she really wants me to get into dental school this cycle; and also most of my friends are in their first or 2nd year of med, dental and pharmacy school. Since Im late to apply this cycle what should i do? Should i still apply late if money is not a big issue for me since my dad is willing to pay for me to apply to dental schools. Or should i go for master or postbacc. I always wanted to get out of school but since i graduated omg life is so boring. Any tips what i should do with my life to get into dental school i would appreciate it. Sorry my English is not that great.
I have GPA of 3.3 not sure what my science gpa is probably around there or maybe 3.2.
I live in ohio and i also did SMDEP at Case Western Reserve. I have 100 hours of shadowing in hospital. I was a vice president of our pre-dental club. I have tone of more extra curricular activities.

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[dentjo]

You have postponed it a month and still are not prepared to take the DAT... I have a feeling you will feel the same way when September comes around. You have a good two weeks left to study for your DAT. Don't postpone it and just take it on August. In all honesty, getting on SDN 2 weeks before your DAT is a bad thing.

 

[OSUkid]

Apply next cycle. You need a good DAT score to help with 3.3 GPA. Take 1 more year, learn, mature, and hopefully you get your act together. Take some more classes, or do some academic activities(including volunteering), and or research for one year, and try to get above a 21 DAT. One more year is not going to do anything in the grand scheme of things.

 

[DATtestTho]

If youre being honest with yourself when you say you truly want to be a dentist, then you will put your everything into the DAT. You should have all the motivation in the world. The fact that you dont is alarming.

 

[ajj70]

If youre being honest with yourself when you say you truly want to be a dentist, then you will put your everything into the DAT. You should have all the motivation in the world. The fact that you dont is alarming.

I agree. There is an internal motivation that happens when you really want something.

I think the question you need to ask is WHY you want to be a dentist. Buckle down, study like crazy, take your DAT and THEN decide what to do next. Your GPA is on the low side so you will need a high DAT score. If you can't achieve that, maybe you should look into being a hygienist or something that puts you into the dental field?

 

[Blistex000]

As OSUkid said, I would say apply next cycle. There is nothing wrong with taking one, two, or three (or more for that matter) gap years before applying to dental school. Many of us definitely need that time off after all those years of schooling. But if you choose to do so, make sure you do something productive like taking extra classes if you need to raise your GPA, volunteer, work, or even go back trekking across the country. As long as it's productive, dental schools will see that. Sometimes during those years, you'll mature and realize what you really want to do in life and if it's dentistry, dental schools will love that.

In any case, I think you need to work on your motivation with studying. Since you been out of school for a year, you'll definitely have to study more aggressively that others who would be taking it during undergrad. The DAT is an expensive test and you only get three tries and then some paperwork comes in before you take another one, so don't take it lightly.

Best of luck.

 

[RuffDay]

Hey man,

I understand where you are coming from. I am surrounded by many successful friends, and my girlfriend is about to be out of professional school. I applied dental school last year before I graduated, and didn't receive an acceptance. After being waitlisted, I told myself that I will work a lot harder to receive an acceptance this year. During the summer, I retook my DAT. It was overwhelming for me because I haven't taken general chemistry and organic in like 3-4 years. I tried studying my best until Independence Day, which was the time I was suppose to take my exam. However, I postponed it 2 weeks later and studied the most I can during that 2 weeks. Having about 5 days break because family and friends were over. Overall, I ended up doing well on the exam!

You just gotta keep your head up and try not to let the little things get to you. Only work on the things that you can control. Good luck !

 

[Dream big]

Wow i really appreciate your input guys. The reason i didn't take my DAT the year i graduated there was an accident happen to me. So i was recovering from that for a month. So then i was kind of late to apply last cycle; and i was burn out from undergrad courses. Since i wasn't in school for a year and distracted maybe that's why i didn't take DAT so serious and not motivated. I guess i need a high DAT score that requires some good amount of studying. If take my exam in middle of September should i still go head and apply this cycle? My dad was saying i should apply this cycle. What's gonna hurt my chances if I do right? I guess i will become familiar with application process for next year! Is that a bad thing to reapply? Also I heard Master in Biomedical Science in Barry University is very helpful. Should i try to apply for master?

 

[Dream big]

RuffDay thank you for understanding. That's great man really happy for you. Glad it worked out for you. Best of luck to you this cycle.

 

[Blistex000]

Wow i really appreciate your input guys. The reason i didn't take my DAT the year i graduated there was an accident happen to me. So i was recovering from that for a month. So then i was kind of late to apply last cycle; and i was burn out from undergrad courses. Since i wasn't in school for a year and distracted maybe that's why i didn't take DAT so serious and not motivated. I guess i need a high DAT score that requires some good amount of studying. If take my exam in middle of September should i still go head and apply this cycle? My dad was saying i should apply this cycle. What's gonna hurt my chances if I do right? I guess i will become familiar with application process for next year! Is that a bad thing to reapply? Also I heard Master in Biomedical Science in Barry University is very helpful. Should i try to apply for master?

You can always apply now and submit your DAT later, but most schools won't take you into consideration until your application is complete. I would only do so if you know you'll ace the DAT. With that said, if you plan to take the DAT in September, I personally think that's sort of late (?) for some if not many schools in the cycle. With a GPA hovering around a 3.2-3.3, you're not necessarily close to the stats of the average enrollee. Someone with those stats are much better off applying early and broadly and of course coupled with an awesome DAT score. I'm not saying you won't get any interview or acceptances if you apply later this year, but that's how the statistics roll into play. So should you apply in September? Uhm sure, if you have money to dish out and don't mind if you might not get any interviews, but if you want to play it safe, I'd say wait till next year. In that case, you'll be early and ready for everything to come.

Good luck.

 

[momomoz]

DAT is only the beginning. To become a dentist in the U.S., you have to get through 4 years of dental school exams + NBDE exams + licensure exams. I'm not saying that passing exams is the way to learn dentistry, but that you should know there are tests harder than DAT in store for you.
That said, I can relate to you. I know how bad it is when we get lethargic. One year (yes an entire year) in my life I missed 1/3 of school and got all D's and F's. I felt I wasn't ready to study anything; even a homework assignment intimidated me. Then life got better gradually and now I'm fine. Sometimes we can't avoid feeling lousy, it's important to get over with it. I believe you can regain your motivation. People say that we test ourselves every waking hour, so DAT or not, hardcore studying never stops. Wish you the best of luck.