Should I give up on Dental School?

[Advice02]

I need your honest opinion as to whether I should keep pursuing Dentistry or look for other career options. Below are my stats and strategy for getting into Dental School for Fall 2016. However, I'm worried if taking so much time to repair my GPA, the risk of rejection, and accumulation of such a massive amount of debt worth it? I've been looking at other health-care career options that only requires a masters and pays very well. I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry, but I'm passionate about helping others whether that be through research, primary care, or education and I would get the same satisfaction in any of these fields. However. I'm interested in Dentistry the most because it will allow me to utilize my my strengths the most. I just don't want any regrets in life, but finishing Dental School at the age of 32 with 500K+ debt worries me.

DAT Scores: PAT: 22, QR: 23, RC: 17, BIO: 18, GC: 20, OC: 20

Graduated Spring 2012 - B.S Chemistry GPA: 2.8 (2.4 if I factor in repeated courses)
- After graduation, I worked for 2 years at a non-profit helping disadvantaged children.

Spring 2014
- Enrolled in Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Ab. Psych - Anticipated Term GPA: 3.7
(Overall GPA: 3.0, 2.5 if I factor in repeated courses)
- Still working 20 hours at non-profit

Game Plan:
Fall 2014 - Begin Special Masters Program
Summer 2015 - Apply to Dental School
Fall 2015 - Glide year: volunteer, work, travel, maybe get married.
Fall 2016 - Start Dental School
Spring 2020 - Finish Dental School

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[Glimmer1991]

As a note, you DO have to factor in repeated classes. Your GPA, for dental school purposes, will always include them.

 

[Datooth]

With a 2.4 in a completed degree, I don't you can't really repair your GPA to get it above cut offs. Your DAT scores (while not bad) are not even close to compensating for such an enormous downfall. While its still theoretically possible to gain entry, the odds are stacked heavily against you. If I were you, I wouldn't go down this path.

 

[kingenamel]

I need your honest opinion as to whether I should keep pursuing Dentistry or look for other career options. Below are my stats and strategy for getting into Dental School for Fall 2016. However, I'm worried if taking so much time to repair my GPA, the risk of rejection, and accumulation of such a massive amount of debt worth it? I've been looking at other health-care career options that only requires a masters and pays very well. I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry, but I'm passionate about helping others whether that be through research, primary care, or education and I would get the same satisfaction in any of these fields. However. I'm interested in Dentistry the most because it will allow me to utilize my my strengths the most. I just don't want any regrets in life, but finishing Dental School at the age of 32 with 500K+ debt worries me.

DAT Scores: PAT: 22, QR: 23, RC: 17, BIO: 18, GC: 20, OC: 20

Graduated Spring 2012 - B.S Chemistry GPA: 2.8 (2.4 if I factor in repeated courses)
- After graduation, I worked for 2 years at a non-profit helping disadvantaged children.

Spring 2014
- Enrolled in Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Ab. Psych - Anticipated Term GPA: 3.7
(Overall GPA: 3.0, 2.5 if I factor in repeated courses)
- Still working 20 hours at non-profit

Game Plan:
Fall 2014 - Begin Special Masters Program
Summer 2015 - Apply to Dental School
Fall 2015 - Glide year: volunteer, work, travel, maybe get married.
Fall 2016 - Start Dental School
Spring 2020 - Finish Dental School

This might end up hurting you in the long run.

 

[Slumber]

I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry,

GPA repair from 2.4 is not impossible but it will be a long and expensive journey. If you're not particularly interested in dentistry, I would suggest you to pursue a career in a different field.

 

[ILLchief]

you will absolutely have to get a 4.0 in your SMP to have any shot. if this is something you really want to do, you need to realize how much time/money/effort it will take to dig yourself out of this hole. you might be better off looking to get a Masters in Chem to find a lab career. heck even Masters in Chem Ed for teaching.

sorry, but if you do decide to pursue dentistry i wish you the best of luck!

 

[y3nd0]

A 2.5 is a huge detriment to your application. If you want to fix it, it will take many years of extra education that can jack up the bills. If you don't find a huge particular interest in dentistry, the investment isn't worth it. Find a different career. Education or research seem like the way to go.

 

[Blake1e]

The way I see it the only way you'll get accepted is if you retake DAT and score 22+AA w/ no section below 20, and have a min GPA of 3.7 in your masters. You'll also need to apply to 15 or more carefully selected schools. But honestly I'm not entirely sure if a good masters GPA will compensate in any meaningful way for all the red flags your undergrad GPA is putting up.

You can try calling or visiting D schools to ask them about this but good luck getting a useful answer from them (they try too hard not to hurt people's feelings so it's a challenge to get a straightforward honest answer when it comes to matters such as this). Get the Adea dental school guide book, read this forum, and use whatever else you can to figure out for yourself if your situation is salvageable.

 

[Screwtape]

You should check out podiatry (serious).

 

[LFA20]

DO

 

[physicalfitness]

I clicked on this thread with the intention of posting something like 'don't give up, work hard and apply'
I want to tell you to go for it. but after seeing how competitive this thing is...

you mentioned you are thinking of gettin married. i think all of us on here who are starting in august are actually not smart. i mean yea, our numbers were up there. but really, the smart ones are the people out there who just marry a dentist

 

[#kalel]

I wouldn't if I was in your shoes. Too little return (and possibly no return) for far too much effort.

 

[sacapuntas]

The road to DO school will likely be easier and cheaper in your particular case, due to grade replacement. Since you don't seem too set on dentistry, think about it.

 

[doc toothache]

I need your honest opinion as to whether I should keep pursuing Dentistry or look for other career options. Below are my stats and strategy for getting into Dental School for Fall 2016. However, I'm worried if taking so much time to repair my GPA, the risk of rejection, and accumulation of such a massive amount of debt worth it? I've been looking at other health-care career options that only requires a masters and pays very well. I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry, but I'm passionate about helping others whether that be through research, primary care, or education and I would get the same satisfaction in any of these fields. However. I'm interested in Dentistry the most because it will allow me to utilize my my strengths the most. I just don't want any regrets in life, but finishing Dental School at the age of 32 with 500K+ debt worries me.

You answered your own question.

 

[LaughingGas]

Same as others. DO or podiatry. Started lower than your BCP, the difference is, I was set on dentistry. DO might be a faster route.

 

[cratezhayao]

you might be better off looking to get a Masters in Chem to find a lab career.

 

[TXKnight]

The road to DO school will likely be easier and cheaper in your particular case, due to grade replacement. Since you don't seem too set on dentistry, think about it.

Don't know about podiatry, but DO will likely not be as easy as it sounds. Need to shadow doctors and volunteer. This year was particularly evident that competition is fierce, and although grade replacement is great, DO schools are not the cheapest and the road to become a Decent income earning physician is very long....however, I'm not familiar with how Long it takes to start making Money as a dentist. Good luck.

 

[manifesto]

i would suggest finding a dental school outside of USA or Canada. Its significantly cheaper, and many will automatically accept you if you are willing to pay 100%. Make sure your state accepts intl degrees though.

 

[Ferneezy]

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm

genetic counselor, PA, PT, nuclear med tech, and podiatry as mentioned above jump out at me for you. relatively lower barriers to entry and provide a decent median wage.

in this forum, dental hygienist is an obvious solution, but you did say you aren't necessarily passionate about dentistry. that's too bad.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm

genetic counselor, PA, PT, nuclear med tech, and podiatry as mentioned above jump out at me for you. relatively lower barriers to entry and provide a decent median wage.

in this forum, dental hygienist is an obvious solution, but you did say you aren't necessarily passionate about dentistry. that's too bad.

PA schools are not easy to get into. GPA is around 3.6. Just sayin'

 

[tbond5]

Podiatry is like a 3.0 isn't it?

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Don't go to DO school as a backup or because you think it will be a shorter path. Medical training is too long and difficult to go through unless you really, really want to be a physician.

 

[remowilson]

The road to DO school will likely be easier and cheaper in your particular case, due to grade replacement. Since you don't seem too set on dentistry, think about it.

what makes DO easier? it requires MCAT and getting competitive as years go by. After 4 years of school, you have to
compete to get in residency with all MD students. Passing 3 board exams and minimum 3 years of residency.

it is NOT easy!

 

[ktran17]

what makes DO easier? it requires MCAT and getting competitive as years go by. After 4 years of school, you have to
compete to get in residency with all MD students. Passing 3 board exams and minimum 3 years of residency.

it is NOT easy!

I think you should learn to read better. DO is easier or more forgiving for the OP's situation since they do total grade replacement. This allows the OP to expedite the amount of additional education he needs to be competitive.

dental schools do not take grade replacements, thus it will take a lot more units to increase the op's gpa.

 

[Datooth]

what makes DO easier? it requires MCAT and getting competitive as years go by. After 4 years of school, you have to
compete to get in residency with all MD students. Passing 3 board exams and minimum 3 years of residency.

it is NOT easy!

It might not be 'easy' but it certainly is 'easier' than getting into dental school. The MCAT / GPA required to enter a DO program is quite clearly lower than DAT / GPA (MCAT ~27 =/= DAT 20) required to gain DS admission.

 

[sacapuntas]

what makes DO easier? it requires MCAT and getting competitive as years go by. After 4 years of school, you have to
compete to get in residency with all MD students. Passing 3 board exams and minimum 3 years of residency.

it is NOT easy!

Yup, what @ktran17 said. Grade forgiveness will help the OP immensely due to his low GPA. We are talking about gaining admissions here, not the school itself.

 

[Onyxxx7]

If you don't really care about what you do than I would say do something else. But if really want to do dentistry or DO, it is possible. I had an overall GPA lower than yours (less than 2.4) in UG BS in economics, worked for 8 years in finance, quit and took all my science prereqs (post bacc. GPA 4.0+), 22 DAT and got one acceptance this year and am waitlisted at 2 schools. So its really up to you if you really want it.

 

[ICUrunning]

If you don't really care about what you do than I would say do something else. But if really want to do dentistry or DO, it is possible. I had an overall GPA lower than yours (less than 2.4) in UG BS in economics, worked for 8 years in finance, quit and took all my science prereqs (post bacc. GPA 4.0+), 22 DAT and got one acceptance this year and am waitlisted at 2 schools. So its really up to you if you really want it.

Damn son. THIS is a comeback story y'all.

 

[Onyxxx7]

Damn son. THIS is a comeback story y'all.

One advantage I had was that I hadn't taken most of my prereqs yet (1 year of bio freshmen year and 1 semester of physics, both which I bombed in UG), so my sGPA was barely affected when I redid all the classes. I did the prereqs in one year, took the DAT, and applied. I also took a full load with upper level sciences during my lag year, so that helped.

Also, I am not URM.

 

[mferguson1993]

Someone please help me... I'm a chemical engineering major, just decided that chemical engineering jobs are not for me but I'm sticking with this major due to scholarships from the department. My GPA is not great at all, 3.14 overall with BCP lower than that. Anyways, I did well in all my classes this semester except physics, which I made a D+ in . Obviously I will be retaking it, but if I felt pretty bad about my chances before, that's nothing to how I feel now. Not sure where to go from here. I have a year in school left before I apply, so I have some opportunity to bring my GPA up, but not much. Should I consider a Master's program? If I did go that route, it would probably be in chemical engineering, so would that even make a difference if I did well, being that it's in an unrelated field and I wouldn't take any biology courses in the program?

 

[ketosisevangelist]

Loma Linda University is where you must apply.

Best Luck

 

[Advice02]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for not responding to any posts previously as I was studying for final exams. After finishing this semester, I have decided to pursue a different career path (message me if you are interested). Thank you everyone for all your input and advice.

The reasons I'm not pursuing Dentistry anymore:
1. It will take 2 more years of undergraduate course work with a 4.0 to bring my GPA above cutoffs (3.0) since Dental Schools don't do grade replacement.
2. I will be approximately 400K+ in debt when I finish Dental School
3. I'll be 32-33 by the time I finish DS. I want to have a family and be financially stable before then.
4. My goal in life is to help people, but I can accomplish this by other means.

With all this said, I feel free! Free of my pride that told me I have to be a dentist or doctor to be happy in life. To everyone pursuing professional schools, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Jokrino]

You can do it if you want. Check out this link and read what I've posted. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-6-20-13.1014395/

 

[free99]

@Jokrino Where'd you end up this year?

 

[lavender515]

If you don't really care about what you do than I would say do something else. But if really want to do dentistry or DO, it is possible. I had an overall GPA lower than yours (less than 2.4) in UG BS in economics, worked for 8 years in finance, quit and took all my science prereqs (post bacc. GPA 4.0+), 22 DAT and got one acceptance this year and am waitlisted at 2 schools. So its really up to you if you really want it.

Hi,

I currently have a 2.05 cGPA and determine to get into dental school but read a couple of responses that it will take me at least 100 credit to raise my GPA to a 2.5 that's if i got all A's. What did you do to get back on track? I was told that I need to go back to school for at least 2 years and take 4 classes or more and to get B's, preferably all A's to boost my GPA. But I know there is a min cutoff on GPA when dental schools look at your application. I also, don't have the funds to take classes as of right now and most of the scholarships require a 2.5 and above GPA. Any feed back would help thanks.

 

[Onyxxx7]

How many

Hi,

I currently have a 2.05 cGPA and determine to get into dental school but read a couple of responses that it will take me at least 100 credit to raise my GPA to a 2.5 that's if i got all A's. What did you do to get back on track? I was told that I need to go back to school for at least 2 years and take 4 classes or more and to get B's, preferably all A's to boost my GPA. But I know there is a min cutoff on GPA when dental schools look at your application. I also, don't have the funds to take classes as of right now and most of the scholarships require a 2.5 and above GPA. Any feed back would help thanks.

How many credits have you taken so far in your UG? Did you graduate? It will be tough. I only got 3 interviews and ultimately 1 acceptance and I started with a slightly higher GPA than you (2.23). Plus I worked prior to my postbacc so whatever savings I had went towards school. Anything is possible, maybe straight As (at least a 2 year trend), 21+ DAT, and a lot of shadowing would make it higher. Schools do look to see if your cumulative is above a 3.0. I know schools that rejected me right away because my overall was a 2.92 (sub 3.0). I'm not sure what you can do about the money situation other than take out loans.

 

[LLD24]

I need your honest opinion as to whether I should keep pursuing Dentistry or look for other career options. Below are my stats and strategy for getting into Dental School for Fall 2016. However, I'm worried if taking so much time to repair my GPA, the risk of rejection, and accumulation of such a massive amount of debt worth it? I've been looking at other health-care career options that only requires a masters and pays very well. I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry, but I'm passionate about helping others whether that be through research, primary care, or education and I would get the same satisfaction in any of these fields. However. I'm interested in Dentistry the most because it will allow me to utilize my my strengths the most. I just don't want any regrets in life, but finishing Dental School at the age of 32 with 500K+ debt worries me.

DAT Scores: PAT: 22, QR: 23, RC: 17, BIO: 18, GC: 20, OC: 20

Graduated Spring 2012 - B.S Chemistry GPA: 2.8 (2.4 if I factor in repeated courses)
- After graduation, I worked for 2 years at a non-profit helping disadvantaged children.

Spring 2014
- Enrolled in Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Ab. Psych - Anticipated Term GPA: 3.7
(Overall GPA: 3.0, 2.5 if I factor in repeated courses)
- Still working 20 hours at non-profit

Game Plan:
Fall 2014 - Begin Special Masters Program
Summer 2015 - Apply to Dental School
Fall 2015 - Glide year: volunteer, work, travel, maybe get married.
Fall 2016 - Start Dental School
Spring 2020 - Finish Dental School

honestly, i'm in the exact same boat as you. I just got so many rejects, including masters, and it really hurts. i was hoping to take a masters and add it into my GPA then reapply to dentistry but i can't even get into those programs. I'm considering another career. i just have a personal battle with my dad about giving up on dentistry. at this point i just feel as though i have exhausted all my options.

I need your honest opinion as to whether I should keep pursuing Dentistry or look for other career options. Below are my stats and strategy for getting into Dental School for Fall 2016. However, I'm worried if taking so much time to repair my GPA, the risk of rejection, and accumulation of such a massive amount of debt worth it? I've been looking at other health-care career options that only requires a masters and pays very well. I am not necessarily passionate about dentistry, but I'm passionate about helping others whether that be through research, primary care, or education and I would get the same satisfaction in any of these fields. However. I'm interested in Dentistry the most because it will allow me to utilize my my strengths the most. I just don't want any regrets in life, but finishing Dental School at the age of 32 with 500K+ debt worries me.

DAT Scores: PAT: 22, QR: 23, RC: 17, BIO: 18, GC: 20, OC: 20

Graduated Spring 2012 - B.S Chemistry GPA: 2.8 (2.4 if I factor in repeated courses)
- After graduation, I worked for 2 years at a non-profit helping disadvantaged children.

Spring 2014
- Enrolled in Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Ab. Psych - Anticipated Term GPA: 3.7
(Overall GPA: 3.0, 2.5 if I factor in repeated courses)
- Still working 20 hours at non-profit

Game Plan:
Fall 2014 - Begin Special Masters Program
Summer 2015 - Apply to Dental School
Fall 2015 - Glide year: volunteer, work, travel, maybe get married.
Fall 2016 - Start Dental School
Spring 2020 - Finish Dental School

honestly, i'm in the exact same boat as you. I just got so many rejects, including masters, and it really hurts. i was hoping to take a masters and add it into my GPA then reapply to dentistry but i can't even get into those programs. I'm considering another career. i just have a personal battle with my dad about giving up on dentistry. at this point i just feel as though i have exhausted all my options.
thanks for sharing your story, glad to hear I'm not alone. I'd love to know what you did instead of dentistry in the end?

 

[pdental972]

what exactly is the difference btw special masters program vs 1 yr or 2 yr masters program?

 

[insaiyanpredent]

If you don't really care about what you do than I would say do something else. But if really want to do dentistry or DO, it is possible. I had an overall GPA lower than yours (less than 2.4) in UG BS in economics, worked for 8 years in finance, quit and took all my science prereqs (post bacc. GPA 4.0+), 22 DAT and got one acceptance this year and am waitlisted at 2 schools. So its really up to you if you really want it.

My optometrist has a quite similar situation except he had a better undergrad gpa

 

[Faefly]

I saw this post is old, someone brought it up recently, Op probably won't see this.

But I really hate when people ask strangers to decide their destiny for them.

Really? Are we even relevant. It's all about you and only you! Why do you even ask us if something possible or not!

Most of the things are possible if you put your heart into it, worked hard, and dire circumstances did not work against you!

If you want to become a dentist, work hard, and you'll be a dentist.
If you want to be a dancer, hell, go to the gym, lose weight, get some instructor to teach you dancing, and next thing you know, you might be the next sensual YouTuber dancer out there.

Moral of the story. We don't know what you should do!

We just have opinions and most of the times they are crappy ones.

So, I know Op, won't read this, but anyone in a similar situation can read this.