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LOL for all of us turning 30 (I just turned).
DMD-2-B said:Hey fellow pre-dents! I'm 26 and am strongly considering a career change from engineering to pediatrics dentistry.
BUT there is this one issue that keeps prodding around in my head. Maybe you guys can help???
So in college there was always mommy and daddy to pay for things (well for me anyway). And in college I had no dependants, it was just little ol' me.
But NOW... mommy and daddy are out of the picture, and while I currently have no kids or husband, I know I one day will. And there are so many expenses - rent, food, car, clothes, etc that are now my reponsibility.
I have noone to fall back on anymore, and I'm barely getting by as is having a job. How will I get by when I no longer have an income, AND am paying collosal amounts towards my dental education?
$ in = 0
$ out = 100k?
It doesnt add up!!!!!!!!!!!
For example - I need a new car big time, but don'y know how I'll afford payments while in school, so I keep putting it off.
With all these expense, how on earth do you guys afford life while in dental school??????
PLEASE HELP!!!
fightingspirit said:i turned 28 two weeks ago and so i'll be 32 when i graduate (given that i get accepted this year). frankly speaking, i dont see any advantage in being older. i think the reason why we'd like to think of age as an advantage is because we are unfortunatly "non-traditional" students....(by the way, i hate that term...i'd rather be called older student...nontrad makes me feel like an outsider...i.e "out of the tradition"). we are trying to make ourselves feel better. the younger ones will have more years to practice, which means that they will make more money on average. as far as maturity, well i dont think that it's a significant factor in the equation. let me give you an example:
jack is 21....just got into d school and is interested in pursuing perio after grad
jack is a player and likes to get drunk and likes to fart in public and laugh out loud. but jack is also the type of person who beleives that crunch time is crunch time.
jeff is 30 ....just got into d school and is interested in pursuing perio after grad
jeff is emotionally calm and serious. he enjoys reading books about philosophy and politics. he likes to get tipsy but not drunk. he never farts in public and is very discrete. he too beleives that crunch time is crunch time.
jack graduates at the age of 25 with a 95 on part 1 and gets into perio program x
jeff graduates at the age of 34 with a 95 on part 1 and gets into the same program as jack.
so in the end, what is the difference between jack and jeff? jack will make more money than jeff, regardless of maturity level. jack got into the same program as jeff, regardless of maturity level.
the take home message is: in professions like dentistry and medicine, the younger you get in, the better. the older, the worse! period. older students can howver look at the bright side: THEY GOT IN!!!! i;e: you could be 40 years old rotting in a biology lab with immigrants who work from 8 to 8 or you could be a respectable dentist....what would you chose?...lol
to the younger folk: good for you that you figured out what you want to do and got it
johanna said:Hi Guys! Congratls to the nice thread
Im a 24 yr old mom and have some international credits to transfer to an american university....since I have to get an undergraduate to apply to the state dentistry school I was thinking to study dental hygiene or integrative physiology.What you guys think about it? .Hope to get some suggestions ,thanks in advanced
Yah-E said:So many turning 30!! I, too, turned 30 recently!
Fightingspirit: lets not discourage others bro! If one is willing to go back to school and become a dentist, even for just one month, encourage them to do so. In the medicine forums, you'll see plenty of 2nd career people going back in their 40s. If a "40" y.o. applicant take up a seat, then that simply means a admissions couselor viewed him/her better than a younger applicant who the admissions did not offer an acceptance to.fightingspirit said:hsama,
i dont mean to be rude or anything, but with all due respect and modesty, you are pushing it a little. if you graduate at the age of 44, how many years are you gonna work? 15?......come on, stick to whatever career you 've adopted and please dont take up a seat from someone who's much younger. if you were in your early 30s i could understand. but you just turned 40....you're pushin it!!!!
when i interviewed at Stony, my interviewer said they'd never take a 40 year old. the conversation came up cus they had an applicant like that and he said "they're pushin it a bit"...
Grand pa? Is that you?fightingspirit said:hsama,
i dont mean to be rude or anything, but with all due respect and modesty, you are pushing it a little. if you graduate at the age of 44, how many years are you gonna work? 15?......come on, stick to whatever career you 've adopted and please dont take up a seat from someone who's much younger. if you were in your early 30s i could understand. but you just turned 40....you're pushin it!!!!
when i interviewed at Stony, my interviewer said they'd never take a 40 year old. the conversation came up cus they had an applicant like that and he said "they're pushin it a bit"...
fightingspirit said:hsama,
i dont mean to be rude or anything, but with all due respect and modesty, you are pushing it a little. if you graduate at the age of 44, how many years are you gonna work? 15?......come on, stick to whatever career you 've adopted and please dont take up a seat from someone who's much younger. if you were in your early 30s i could understand. but you just turned 40....you're pushin it!!!!
when i interviewed at Stony, my interviewer said they'd never take a 40 year old. the conversation came up cus they had an applicant like that and he said "they're pushin it a bit"...
fightingspirit said:when i interviewed at Stony, my interviewer said they'd never take a 40 year old. the conversation came up cus they had an applicant like that and he said "they're pushin it a bit"...
my compliments too u!hsama said:Hi, all. Good thread. I just turned 40. I was a career counselor for 8 years and before that taught English in Japan for 4 1/2 years. My bachelor of science was in psychology back in 1989 with a GPA around 3.33 back then. I have raised my son as a single mom. He is now 20 years old and in college himself.
I have done career exploration research and assessments on myself using the tools of my trade, and reconfirmed that dentistry was an excellent match for me. Went back to school in August of 2004 to take the science prerequisites and have applied to Iowa for fall of 2006. Still waiting to hear. Will let you all know as soon as I find out.
I am one of the older ones on this thread I see, but I'm not discouraged. I'm excited that I'm finally pursuing this path! I have had all A's since my return to school (one A-), but of course that doesn't erase the B's and C from science classes I took 20 some years ago as a very young, single mom. The advantage I have now compared to my youth is the luxury of time now that my son is grown up. Time and discipline. However, in my case, the disadvantage I think it that it does take me longer to "get" things to my satisfaction, and I didn't retain enough of what I learned to score as well on the DAT as I would have liked.
Really did poorly on PA and QR but my interviewer said that Iowa does not emphasize those scores as they do not reflect success in dental school or the dental profession. Their concerns are biology and o-chem primarily, I was told. Although perceptual ability is extremely important, they do not consider the test to be true reflection of one's actual ability in this respect. In my case, I enjoy PA and QR questions. I simply am slow at them, so I did not complete these portions in time. I had 21 in biology, and 19 in organic chem, with 19 TS. Not stellar scores by any means, but competitive, I think, for being an Iowa resident. Especially if they give greater weight to my current academic performance than that of 20+ years ago.
Regardless, I have no intention of giving up. If I am not accepted this year, I will review for for the DAT much more this time, and take the Kaplan course this summer to improve my scores, as well as continue to take classes and prove my academic ability. I've waited this long. If I am accepted--wonderful! If not...one more year is a drop in the bucket! I didn't work this hard and come this far to give up now!
One thing we "old timers" have is stick-to-it-iveness!
Go Geezers!
sumozmom said:my compliments too u!
what do u do in the mean time ...r u working ? how did ur work and get good grade this time around?
hsama said:Thank you, Sumozmom. I did work full time and go to school half time for a semester after I was given my layoff notice. I am not working now! I had a government-contracted job and our agency experienced a significant downsizing due to a shift of funding on the federal level away from state allocations providing employment services for dislocated workers. Just as I had counseled my clients through job loss, I chose to make this an opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do anyway! What I mean by this is, sometimes we settle into a job because it is comfortable, even if we are not challenged any more. For this reason we cannot bring ourselves to leave this job to pursue the career we really want. Sometimes it is a downsizing or layoff that "grants" us this opportunity to start over. Of course some choose to see a downsizing as the end of road (we all know these types of people). There is a common aspect in all of my previous (and future) work that I love, as I mentioned in my previous post. I know that I had a positive influence on the lives of others and I felt good about it. Yet there is this very analytical, scientific side of me that wanted more.
But to answer your question Sumozmom! After that six months of school and work, my job ended and I was free to dedicate myself to school full time! Free in the sense of time--not financially free! We all know that education and living is EXPENSIVE! But the way that I view it: most of us go into debt for our house and/or car and don't bat an eye. I decided that my education was worth going into debt for. My mortgage is modest; I have never lived extravagantly. But I am affording myself the luxury of this education. Yes, I have spent my savings. Yes, I am taking out some sizeable loans. Some people can work full time and go to school full time. But not me and not the students I have counseled; at least not for very long. Something takes its toll. Either the work or the school; one is likely to suffer, if both are full time. So I made the choice to devote myself to school.
HuyetKiem said:I'm 31 and a very non traditional student.
....I did work full time and go to school half time for a semester after I was given my layoff notice. I am not working now! I had a government-contracted job and our agency experienced a significant downsizing due to a shift of funding on the federal level away from state allocations providing employment services for dislocated workers....hsama said:Thank you, Sumozmom. I did work full time and go to school half time for a semester after I was given my layoff notice. I am not working now! I had a government-contracted job and our agency experienced a significant downsizing due to a shift of funding on the federal level away from state allocations providing employment services for dislocated workers. Just as I had counseled my clients through job loss, I chose to make this an opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do anyway! What I mean by this is, sometimes we settle into a job because it is comfortable, even if we are not challenged any more. For this reason we cannot bring ourselves to leave this job to pursue the career we really want. Sometimes it is a downsizing or layoff that "grants" us this opportunity to start over. Of course some choose to see a downsizing as the end of road (we all know these types of people). There is a common aspect in all of my previous (and future) work that I love, as I mentioned in my previous post. I know that I had a positive influence on the lives of others and I felt good about it. Yet there is this very analytical, scientific side of me that wanted more.
But to answer your question Sumozmom! After that six months of school and work, my job ended and I was free to dedicate myself to school full time! Free in the sense of time--not financially free! We all know that education and living is EXPENSIVE! But the way that I view it: most of us go into debt for our house and/or car and don't bat an eye. I decided that my education was worth going into debt for. My mortgage is modest; I have never lived extravagantly. But I am affording myself the luxury of this education. Yes, I have spent my savings. Yes, I am taking out some sizeable loans. Some people can work full time and go to school full time. But not me and not the students I have counseled; at least not for very long. Something takes its toll. Either the work or the school; one is likely to suffer, if both are full time. So I made the choice to devote myself to school.
blotterspotter said:I always wonder who the girl in the avatar is. She's cute, as far as I can tell. Famous Vietnamese singer?!
hsama said:Hi, Johanna. From what I understand, any undergraduate bachelor degree is acceptable as long as you have taken the classes required by your prospective dental schools. I have heard of both bachelors and associates in dental hygiene. You would want to pursue the bachelor program rather than the associate-level program.
hsama said:Hi, all. Good thread. I just turned 40. I was a career counselor for 8 years and before that taught English in Japan for 4 1/2 years. My bachelor of science was in psychology back in 1989 with a GPA around 3.33 back then. I have raised my son as a single mom. He is now 20 years old and in college himself.
I have done career exploration research and assessments on myself using the tools of my trade, and reconfirmed that dentistry was an excellent match for me. Went back to school in August of 2004 to take the science prerequisites and have applied to Iowa for fall of 2006. Still waiting to hear. Will let you all know as soon as I find out.
I am one of the older ones on this thread I see, but I'm not discouraged. I'm excited that I'm finally pursuing this path! I have had all A's since my return to school (one A-), but of course that doesn't erase the B's and C from science classes I took 20 some years ago as a very young, single mom. The advantage I have now compared to my youth is the luxury of time now that my son is grown up. Time and discipline. However, in my case, the disadvantage I think it that it does take me longer to "get" things to my satisfaction, and I didn't retain enough of what I learned to score as well on the DAT as I would have liked.
Really did poorly on PA and QR but my interviewer said that Iowa does not emphasize those scores as they do not reflect success in dental school or the dental profession. Their concerns are biology and o-chem primarily, I was told. Although perceptual ability is extremely important, they do not consider the test to be true reflection of one's actual ability in this respect. In my case, I enjoy PA and QR questions. I simply am slow at them, so I did not complete these portions in time. I had 21 in biology, and 19 in organic chem, with 19 TS. Not stellar scores by any means, but competitive, I think, for being an Iowa resident. Especially if they give greater weight to my current academic performance than that of 20+ years ago.
Regardless, I have no intention of giving up. If I am not accepted this year, I will review for for the DAT much more this time, and take the Kaplan course this summer to improve my scores, as well as continue to take classes and prove my academic ability. I've waited this long. If I am accepted--wonderful! If not...one more year is a drop in the bucket! I didn't work this hard and come this far to give up now!
One thing we "old timers" have is stick-to-it-iveness!
Hsama, I think that your teaching experience is a plus in your profile,since there is going to be a shortage on dentistry teaching faculty they will weight this in your aplication,since thay will need to recruit students with teaching experience.I admire that you are not giving up ..you know why? because you are a 100% sure that dentistry is for you and that is what make an applicant succesfull and besides you have show a big improvement in your grades.I dont think you should worry about the loan since ones you start practicing is going to pay off.I wish my son was in college (he is only two) i will love have a lot more free time....just keep going i bet you are going to get a better DAT score next time.
Sorry about my grammar english is not my native language
cheer_up said:Yep, she's quite a famous Vietnamese singer. Her name is Luu Bich. A lot of Vietnamese guys find her hot . She's quite good looking.
I'll be 41 in a couple of weeks. I like to think I look a lot younger . I have been a dental hygienist for 5 years. I applied dental school in 2009 received 0 interviews and a bunch of rejection letters. I just need 1 interview, please GOD just 1!!