Taking time off to establish state residency

[argentrans37]

Okay, I am a pre-health (have been leaning pre-dental for quite some time) student and have been considering this lately. The plan is to get my bachelor's, get a "real" job for a year or two or three, and then apply to Dental School(s) in that state. Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana are states that would be at the top of the list because of their low in-state tuition and southern-style living.

Does anyone have any experience in taking some time off to establish residency? Any pros/cons besides the obvious (pro: potentially cheaper schooling, a "real world" experience before DS, cons: more time until DDS completion, no guarantee of admittance at in-state school)?

And if I go through with this plan, what do I need to keep in mind? Should I complete all my DS pre-reqs before graduation? Save some upper-level sciences and complete them within a year of applying to DS? Am I a less competitive applicant following a few years off of schooling?

Thanks everyone.

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[Kahr]

Okay, I am a pre-health (have been leaning pre-dental for quite some time) student and have been considering this lately. The plan is to get my bachelor's, get a "real" job for a year or two or three, and then apply to Dental School(s) in that state. Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana are states that would be at the top of the list because of their low in-state tuition and southern-style living.
One thing to keep in mind, even if you do this, there's a chance you simply won't gain acceptance to a school in the state you decide to live in.

Does anyone have any experience in taking some time off to establish residency? Any pros/cons besides the obvious (pro: potentially cheaper schooling, a "real world" experience before DS, cons: more time until DDS completion, no guarantee of admittance at in-state school)?
Yes. You basically listed all the obvious, not sure what there is to add. You'll have a better financial base going into school than if you went directly, a car (assuming you don't have one now), and possibly a place to live if you somehow move near the dental school you get accepted into. Good texmex in Texas and good cajun food and mardi gras in Louisiana?

And if I go through with this plan, what do I need to keep in mind? Should I complete all my DS pre-reqs before graduation? Save some upper-level sciences and complete them within a year of applying to DS? Am I a less competitive applicant following a few years off of schooling?
See the first comment.

I think you should finish all your classes where you're at, best tuition, you already know the campus/faculty, and that's one less transcript to deal with later. Plus you'll be able to focus on your academics, rather than like you're planning, working a bunch while taking classes. If you're a less competitive applicant for doing some stuff after school, but before dental school, then so am I, and so are all the rest of the non-trads, so no, I don't think so.

Thanks everyone.

Best of luck with your plans.

 

[321931]

A) There is no guarantee you will be accepted into your state school.

B) People that take time off of college, tend to never return. I don't know the statistics or why that is, but it's a saying I hear often. When I look at my friends who took time to work/spend time off, they are nowhere near the academic motivation to apply or look into grad school. They are comfortable where they are at now and don't really care anymore. Although in general, I believe a lil time off is good for maturation etc. Who knows where you'll end up.

 

[LaFleur]

B) People that take time off of college, tend to never return. I don't know the statistics or why that is, but it's a saying I hear often. When I look at my friends who took time to work/spend time off, they are nowhere near the academic motivation to apply or look into grad school. They are comfortable where they are at now and don't really care anymore. Although in general, I believe a lil time off is good for maturation etc. Who knows where you'll end up.

This is a saying that I have heard from my parents, but I honestly don't think it's generalizable at all. It's just as likely that when you take time off, you'll realize how much you don't like the job(s) that you're doing (whether it be research or a corporate job etc) and have new motivation to go to medical/dental/graduate school. At least that's how it turned out for several people I know who took time off and are now applying for or in at their respective schools. So it can really turn out either way.

I think that if OP is going into dentistry for the right reasons--that it's a career s/he will really love etc. versus for the money and all that superficial jazz--OP will find her/himself going back to it even after working in the real world for a year or two. There are plenty of people who go back to medical/dental/graduate school after having had jobs; I don't think it's that big of a deal if someone does decide to work for a couple of years and then go back to school. If you have the drive, you'll do it. If you don't, then maybe going to medical/dental/graduate school wasn't for you in the first place.



OP, I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't do what you stated you were planning to do in this thread, I just don't think that this is necessarily a valid reason not to do it. I'm sure it's something we've all heard, but I honestly think it's an old wive's tale.

OP, I think that you need to weigh your options pretty well. There is no guarantee that you would get into the state school of the state you're applying to. How much is that risk worth to you? Are you willing to spend a couple of years working at a job you probably won't like as much as being a dentist for an increased chance to get into the state school? What would you do if you didn't get in after establishing residency? Would you think it was a waste of time to work for a year or so establishing the residency if it turns out they didn't accept you anyway? Could you live with that?

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, I'm just asking you some of the hard questions that you need to answer for yourself before you make this decision.

 

[LaFleur]

And if I go through with this plan, what do I need to keep in mind? Should I complete all my DS pre-reqs before graduation? Save some upper-level sciences and complete them within a year of applying to DS? Am I a less competitive applicant following a few years off of schooling?

If you go through with this plan, I think you should complete all your prereqs before graduation. Make sure you don't forget your sciences so you can take your DAT when you need to (depending on how much time you take off). It could be better if you don't take too much time off, so that it's all still fresh in your head before you start studying for the DAT. I don't think you'll be a less competitive applicant if you take time off; however, I do think you need to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

Here are two scenarios that I can see of this plan working:

1) You take one year off to work, so you'd take your DAT sometime senior year most likely (or the summer before senior year but I forget how much time you have before your DAT scores expire, or the summer after senior year but then you're making your application late which is unwise).

2) You take two years off to work, finish up all your prereqs at your college, and then get a job that's not too stressful so you can take the first year to prepare for the DAT and the second year for your application cycle.

I think if you take more than 2 years off, you're putting yourself in a situation where you're at a disadvantage because you'll most likely forget too much of the science stuff before your DAT.

Again, the decision is up to you, and I think that you need to consider a lot of different factors heavily before you finally decide what you're going to do. It seems like a big gamble to me. I don't know.

 

[poki]

I think establishing Texas residency would be a great plan because they strongly strongly prefer instate residents and there are 3 schools u can apply to... The tuition is also ridiculously cheap for Texas residents, as a Cali resident attending our state school I am pretty jealous

 

[John Durian]

I took a year off before applying, but always knew I was going to end up in d-school. I also know of a few friends who did the same.

I think the cons would be: 1. not knowing anyone there (no family/friends in place), 2. finding a job in that state (it's kind of hard unless you have a very desirable degree in this economy), and 3. lost income (you lose all those 1-3 years of income as a dentist).

Because of reason 3, you may just end up breaking even rather than saving money...

 

[Maygyver]

I'm taking a year off too. It's nice. My brother took a year off too before he did his masters. I think it's definitely manageable if you are a well-driven individual and keep dentistry as your goal.

The Texas deal sounds good, but also keep in mind that those 2-3 years that you are delaying dental school are going to be 2-3 years less that you are working and making money as a dentist. If you want to be a dentist, I wouldn't delay dental school just to gain residence someone. As people have mentioned, just because you are a resident doesn't mean you will get accepted to those schools.

Good luck.

 

[LaFleur]

I'm taking a year off too.

Wait...are you going to postpone your acceptances for a year? Or are you reapplying next year? Or are you in your gap year right now? I know I'm being nosy, but I'm just curious!

 

[Maygyver]

Wait...are you going to postpone your acceptances for a year? Or are you reapplying next year? Or are you in your gap year right now? I know I'm being nosy, but I'm just curious!

No problems. I'm in my gap year now. I applied the summer after graduation. It was nice to not deal with interviews while taking classes which allowed me some more time to explore the cities.

 

[LaFleur]

No problems. I'm in my gap year now. I applied the summer after graduation. It was nice to not deal with interviews while taking classes which allowed me some more time to explore the cities.

Ah, makes sense. Btw, congrats on your acceptances, pretty in pink!

I definitely think that taking a year or two off to work or volunteer or travel or take classes (depending on what you need to do) can be worth it. And in the end, I don't think it matters much whether you've taken that time off or not, you end up in approximately the same place anyway. And if you really want to, you can postpone retirement to make up for the lost income.

 

[argentrans37]

I took a year off before applying, but always knew I was going to end up in d-school. I also know of a few friends who did the same.

I think the cons would be: 1. not knowing anyone there (no family/friends in place), 2. finding a job in that state (it's kind of hard unless you have a very desirable degree in this economy), and 3. lost income (you lose all those 1-3 years of income as a dentist).

Because of reason 3, you may just end up breaking even rather than saving money...

First of all, thank you to everyone who replied. They were some very helpful and insightful quotes.

As far as those of you who made the point about "people who 'take time off' never end up going back," I tend to agree with LaFleur in that if it is something that is truly best for me, and that I want to do for the right reasons, I will force myself to go back. If I end up in a non-dentistry career that I love, I will (hopefully) have no regrets about giving up on my dream.

To the poster who I quoted, the bachelor's degree I am working towards has 100% job placement at my school. Obviously job placement statistics can be misleading, and rarely tell the whole story, but it seems fairly likely that if I am successful academically in my current program I will be able to find a job in a given state (maybe not any state, but Texas, I would sure hope so).

And as far as the lost income, I realize that, financially speaking it would probably be best to begin dental school as a 22-year-old, perhaps on a armed forces scholarship. But there is a great deal of risk in that, also. If I were to graduate from dental school and not enjoy the work, that would be a rough situation. And even if I am guaranteed a job making $100,000+ starting (which is far from guaranteed) after dental school, and will be able to comfortably pay my student loans, the 1/4 million dollars of debt will still weigh on me. I would be a heck of a lot more comfortable making $60,000 with little/no debt than $100,000-$200,000 with 1/4 or 1/2 million dollars of debt.

If I were to graduate from college (with a bachelor's) and immediately start working, would it be possible to return to school to complete some pre-reqs without quitting the job? As in, are there night/weekend/online classes in Organic Chem, Anatomy, Physics, etc? Obviously this is an incredibly general question, and varies largely on a case-by-case basis, but does anyone know about the possibility of taking pre-reqs while working a "career job"? Or is it more likely/more common to quit the "career job" and work as a waiter or cashier so that your hours can be scheduled around school? Again, I know this issue isn't black and white. Still, any anecdotal advise would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Kahr]

First of all, thank you to everyone who replied. They were some very helpful and insightful quotes.

As far as those of you who made the point about "people who 'take time off' never end up going back," I tend to agree with LaFleur in that if it is something that is truly best for me, and that I want to do for the right reasons, I will force myself to go back. If I end up in a non-dentistry career that I love, I will (hopefully) have no regrets about giving up on my dream.

To the poster who I quoted, the bachelor's degree I am working towards has 100% job placement at my school. Obviously job placement statistics can be misleading, and rarely tell the whole story, but it seems fairly likely that if I am successful academically in my current program I will be able to find a job in a given state (maybe not any state, but Texas, I would sure hope so).

And as far as the lost income, I realize that, financially speaking it would probably be best to begin dental school as a 22-year-old, perhaps on a armed forces scholarship. But there is a great deal of risk in that, also. If I were to graduate from dental school and not enjoy the work, that would be a rough situation. And even if I am guaranteed a job making $100,000+ starting (which is far from guaranteed) after dental school, and will be able to comfortably pay my student loans, the 1/4 million dollars of debt will still weigh on me. I would be a heck of a lot more comfortable making $60,000 with little/no debt than $100,000-$200,000 with 1/4 or 1/2 million dollars of debt.

If I were to graduate from college (with a bachelor's) and immediately start working, would it be possible to return to school to complete some pre-reqs without quitting the job? As in, are there night/weekend/online classes in Organic Chem, Anatomy, Physics, etc? Obviously this is an incredibly general question, and varies largely on a case-by-case basis, but does anyone know about the possibility of taking pre-reqs while working a "career job"? Or is it more likely/more common to quit the "career job" and work as a waiter or cashier so that your hours can be scheduled around school? Again, I know this issue isn't black and white. Still, any anecdotal advise would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

You will not be able to do online for any, as dental schools require labs. Weekend and night classes do exist (my gen bio courses were from 7-10pm). This will certainly be a test of your endurance and stress management though, I can attest to that. I personally wouldn't take more than 2 hard pre-req sciences while working full time, unless you know you won't have to study hard for those A's (not to mention I doubt you'd be able to fit 3+ in with a full time work schedule)

I was fortunate when I was doing this myself as my job is on 12 hour shifts, alternating 3 and 4 days a week, but still, 2-3 classes was tough, especially with shooting for the top.

 

[John Durian]

I would be a heck of a lot more comfortable making $60,000 with little/no debt than $100,000-$200,000 with 1/4 or 1/2 million dollars of debt.

If I were to graduate from college (with a bachelor's) and immediately start working, would it be possible to return to school to complete some pre-reqs without quitting the job? As in, are there night/weekend/online classes in Organic Chem, Anatomy, Physics, etc?

I agree with what you're saying bro, but you're going to owe that money regardless of whether you start now or 3 years later. Well, unless you decide to not do dental at all. Another thing to worry about is increasing numbers (GPA/DAT-wise) and the fact that they increase tuition every year.

As to the second question... I don't think it's wise but it is doable. I didn't do this, but I'm working a full-time job (8a-4p) and so I can imagine driving straight from work to an ochem (or some other 'hardcore' science) class from 5p-10p. But you'll literally be working or going to school from 8a-10p which is just crazy but feasible if you're super determined. Never heard of weekend courses for those sciences and online is generally not accepted.