The over 28 (years old) club. But everyone is welcome!

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LOL for all of us turning 30 (I just turned).


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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!!! :confused: :scared:
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Dude I hear you!! I am 31, have a crappy job as a research associate, don't have the perfect credit, and have a few pennies in the bank, to top it off....I am married :eek: I got accepted to USC (=Expensive)and half the costs have been covered by all the stafford, perkins and other type of governmental loans...I don' what I'm going to do. In my case, its not that I don't have the grades, DAT, I mean educational achievements, but more the financial aspect are kicking my arss. ANY Recomendations anyone?? How can I accomplish such an insourmountable debt??? :confused: :scared:
 
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 :)
 
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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 :)
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All being equal, yes, in your example Jeff is at a disadvantage due to age, BUT....

Things in the world are never equal....

Charisma, personality, appearance, salesmen ability.....all this can equate to higher financial rewards! Lets say Jeff and Jack both finished their Perio residency and now are out working. Sure Jack has more years to earn money, but what if Jeff's personality and professionalism earned him more referrals and business. Perhap in the fraction of time Jeff worked in comparison to Jack's, Jeff will make more money than Jack.

This is all speculation and examples for fun. My thing is, never let age stop what you enjoy doing! In your example, you pretty much used financial rewards as a measure for success or "being more advantageous". Not true, what if one simply enjoys dentistry and don't care about just earning $125K instead of half-a-million dollars a year?

The real question here is, "why the heck did Jeff and Jack going into Perio in the first place?" :laugh:
 
YAH-E, may i bow down for you? lol...

yes you are right.... :D :D :D

looking forward to hearing good news about you next week. i'd hate for you to lose your eyes...lol
 
Hey i'm 28, turning 29. I recently started retaking all my science requirements (they were too old and from out of the country) all over again last fall, I should be done with the core requirements (Physics I,II; Bio I,II; Chemistry I, II; Orgo I,II) by this time next year, and will be ready to apply summer 2007. I'll be 30 then...older but wiser!!
 
One thing's for sure: we old farts can form complete sentences. Everytime I read some crap like "roflmao... u r 2 cool bro! >:)" I feel like murdering someone. If some of the braniacs on this board are my competition for dental school, I'm going to have a hard time choosing between all the great schools to which I get accepted!
 
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
 
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!
 
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
Hi there old folks! :thumbup:
 
Yah-E said:
So many turning 30!! I, too, turned 30 recently! :clap:
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I just turned 30 as well. I'm so glad to see that there will be more of us who're in their late 20s and turning 30.
 
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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"...
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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.

Yes, it sucks to have competition, but it's not an age thing. If one wants to go to dental school in their 50s, then more power to them! It is individual admissions committee's decision on who they want in their incoming class, not us.

BTW, are you in dental school yet or are you also applying currently?
 
There is a person in my class (2009) who is 40 and another one who is 42. Go hasma!
 
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"...
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Grand pa? Is that you? :laugh:
 
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"...
Click to expand...

This sounds like someone who is insecure about his own ability to compete for a spot in dental school.
 
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"...
Click to expand...

interesting, at my stony brook interview last year they seem to really like second career applicants, my interviewer talked about a 4th year student that was 53!
 
since dentistry has gotten a lot of more competitive these, i think schools will be accepting less non-traditional applicants. in the past, since schools had a difficult time getting high achievers like medical schools, they relied on good non-trad students instead of taking low gpa, low dat 22 year olds. but now schools are receiving applications from high achieving graduating seniors.

i think this is definitely better for the profession as a whole. let's be like the medical schools, so we can get some more prestige in the eyes of other health professionals.

also, former dental auxiliaries being accepted into dental school doesn't help with the prestige issue. i don't see too many former nurses going to allopathic schools, but maybe osteopathic schools.

let's head down the road of our allopathic schools by taking super good students from prestigious schools.

it'll only help us out!

posted by,

a slacker who luckily got into dental school before it became too competitive
 
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!
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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?
 
Thanks RU Cool Too and others for your positive energy! Of course I wasn't asking for advice about whether I should pursue dentistry; I just enjoyed what seemed like a supportive atmosphere I saw developing here, and thought I would contribute. I disagree that non-traditional/older students represent a lower standard, however, as someone implied. I honestly admitted that my first time taking the DAT, I did poorly on the PA and math. However, I know that I will improve these scores if I retake the test. I am not the only one to have done poorly on a section or two and retaken the test. Although I don't think that everyone admits this!

As for my previous work, what I loved most about teaching overseas and counseling was empowering others, while I learned from them, too. This I will carry into dentistry as well!

As Mark Twain said ”Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

After all, what kind of health care professionals would we be if we had the "You ought to just give up!" attitude!
 
Will be 30 when I hope to be interviewed next year. Glad to see I'm not alone.
 
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?
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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.
 
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.
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40 is definetly not too old. I've interviewed with a few people so far in their late 30s. You can practice for 20+ years after you graduate, and I think those will be great years if it's something you truly enjoy. There are a few people in my pharmacy class that are actually in their 50s. 3 or 4 out of 120. Just my 2 cents.. :D
 
HuyetKiem said:
I'm 31 and a very non traditional student.
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I always wonder who the girl in the avatar is. She's cute, as far as I can tell. Famous Vietnamese singer?! :thumbup: :thumbdown:
 
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.
Click to expand...
....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....


Same w/me...I'm still working now but they will be doing layoffs next mth....maybe I'll be the lucky one. I an really struggling working F/T and school and kids.
How many classes did you take a semester?
 
blotterspotter said:
I always wonder who the girl in the avatar is. She's cute, as far as I can tell. Famous Vietnamese singer?! :thumbup: :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Hsama! Is good to know that there are other people who have done... Is just that i heard people talking bad (in others forums) about applying to dentistry school after getting a dental hygiene bachelor's...i also find the integrative physiology degree interesting but i dont know if i could get a job with that degree so i could make some $$$ while waiting to be accepted... :confused:
 
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. :thumbup:
Sorry about my grammar english is not my native language :oops:
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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.
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(sorry to post about another topic..)
Yea, she's famous, pretty and really talented. I always wondered how old she is though. she's been singing for a while now...
 
I am new to this forum, I am proud to say i am 36 and (god willing i get in the first try) i will be 40 when i enter dental school. If i knew how much i would love dentistry (currently a RDH) i would have started a long time ago. better late than never i say!!!
 
i just turned 30 in may and am planning to apply this coming june! i wish i had gotten on this path earlier, but i've enjoyed my choices up to this point, and i accept that this is how my life has naturally progressed. :) any other "older" applicants out there?
 
I'm 31, turning 32 soon. This is not my first career change. Thus far, my life has been a journey and every experience has brought me closer to who I am today and onto this path, dentistry. I am applying this cycle for the first time. Good luck to all.
 
Just turned 41, this is my first (hopefully only) year to apply. I am an environmental engineer and have been planning this career change for several years. When I first started looking into dentistry, I was surprised how encouraging people in the field were. I expected a lot of people to tell me that I was too old, too much debt, etc. But surprisingly, those sentiments only came from people outside the field, I never heard anything but cautious encouragement from other dentists. Of course, once I started shadowing, I was hooked, but if not for the thoughtful advice and encouragement from people in the field, I might not have made that first step.

I attended the 2-day simulation clinic at MWU this summer and learned that their inaugural class included a 43-year old with 6 kids. I'm sure there are many other stories like that, so we are not alone! The tough part now is concentrating on my current job when my mind is somewhere else. Good luck to you all.
 
I"m round off my mid twenties heading into my later ones.

I've noticed several people my age while completing my degree. There doesn't seem to be too huge of a difference between a 22 vs 26 y/o in setting like the class room. But I can often times blend in well. It's funny - even though my numerical age is greater than many of my co-students I feel like my biological age is less than most 22 y/o - today's kids are FAT.

I almost let age stop me from going down this route. Having done it I'm happy that I did. Completing your education while in your twenties, even after a previous career or after military service, is not too outside the norm.
 
Well Im 35 , married, worked one career my whole life but always stayed interested in dentistry. Now Im going for it.Fortunately I worked and saved enough so dental school is paid for and when I get done, hopefully have enough to buy a practice as well. It is a different way to do it but its my way.
 
I'll be 41 in a couple of weeks. I like to think I look a lot younger :D. 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!! :)
 
jojohygienist said:
I'll be 41 in a couple of weeks. I like to think I look a lot younger :D. 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!! :)
Click to expand...

I hear ya... I applied last cycle, got one interview and nothing. That said, I was completely ignorant of the competition level and the true measure of my profile. I spent the last year improving my gpa and DAT score and this time I am calling in some favors cause I will take whatever help I can get. JUST ONE IS ALL IT TAKES, dont care which school or where, my family and I will figure the logistics out once I get in. The main thing is to never give up on your dream no matter what.
 
^funny you should say that. I just received an interview invite and I can't help but to think this may be the only interview I'll receive this cycle. It's kind of scary. Ill also be quite senile when I graduate. Hopefully not suffering from Alzheimer's by then.
 
Im sure you earned that interview and there will be more to follow if you applied to similar level schools. I myself expect a few interviews this cycle and hopefully that will translate into an acceptance.
 
I'll be turning 28 in a week. Almost everyone I meet thinks i'm younger, though.
 
good luck to everyone!

i relate to multisport's comment that every experience has brought us to where we are today.

and cwoodds' comment about the difficulty of focusing on work when your mind is on applying or preparing to apply. i'm slooowly learning about the many things i need to do in the time between now and applying. and then i will have to find the time to do it all!

anyone take work down to part-time to take classes, study for DAT, etc.?
 
I'll be 29 when I graduate dental school. Does that count?

Sometimes, I feel sad I wasn't able to decide what I wanted to do right off the bat. I wasted 2 years at a great state school, then moved back home and started completely over. Someone hold me.
 
I'll be 29 in a few days! I look like I'm in the 21-23 range though :)

But hey, we don't stop playing because we're growing old, we grow old because we stop playing.
 
Just turned 29 this past Monday. :(
 
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