When is it time to concede?

[jdelrio22]

You have probably seen many threads about giving up or being done but here is my story which might be a bit different from others.

It took 6 years to figure out a major to graduate with - ended up with Psychology - was going to apply to grad. school when after spending a lot of time reflecting I realized dentistry was where I wanted to actually be. Graduated with a 3.0

So I returned to school to take a lot of biology, physics, calculus, and O. Chem. Got a D in gen. bio I, D in gen chem. 1 (tried repeating it and dropped it before I got a D again), F gen chem 2 - repeated to a B, Applied calc (had an A and failed the final knocking me to a C), Physics B, Physics 2 - maybe a C, O. chem 1 - dropped once, finished O.chem I this semester and i'll be lucky if I get a D. O.chem lab -D or C (don't know how I did that but I did)

The point being that after taking all these courses my science gpa I am certain will not go past 2.7 if I were to somehow get a 4.0 for the summer, fall, and spring of next year. At this point I have maxed out what I had available for financial aid so I technically have no more money available as a loan to continue schooling. I simply took too long and repeated the courses too many times.

I am thinking about going to a tech school for MRI technology (very much not going to happen without financial aid) -

Is it time to concede given the poor performance? If I were asked in an interview why I did so poorly, I really have no good excuse. Yes I worked part-time, but who doesn't have a rent payment or car payment?

I don't know who would accept me for grad school, checked out the microbio programs and they all require biochemistry which makes sense.

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[Wicked Sin]

Go to a community college and start working from the ground up. If being a dentist is what you want to be then go for it. But I am sure there are other things in life that you'll find yourself wanting to do. Do not limit yourself to one path.

 

[GoBlue24]

Yeah, I don't know what to say for your position. Personally, given your financial circumstances, I don't think you should pursue dentistry. The reason I say this is not because your GPA won't be higher than a 2.7 even with a 4.0 for another year (which is also not a good thing). It's because, from what I've heard from you, if you're getting C's, D's, and dropped classes from school and have absolutely no valid excuse whatsoever such as an unfortunate life-altering event or a full-time job because of your financial position or something, it tells me #1) You're not motivated to go to dental school, #2) if you got in somehow, you would struggle enormously to keep up with the coursework which is undeniably much much more #3) You either lack maturity or are seriously doing something wrong with your studying techniques and habits, #4) You go to a reputable ultra-competitive school that has super hard exams and strict curves (FML). If you had a passion for dentistry and being a dentist is what you wanted, you would have done everything possible in order to fulfill that passion, given your limited finances, and I don't see that based on your stats and your reasoning. Again, this is strictly based on what you've said. Maybe you've done a TON of extracurricular activities or maybe you haven't, etc. I obviously do not know anything more about you.

Given your financial circumstances and your extra years in college (which is already two more years of your money/life that won't come back), the wisest choice is to move on and try to establish yourself in another career that might be a little easier to follow. Maybe later on in life, you can pursue dentistry. That is, unless you change your study habits or do something drastically different RIGHT NOW. It's easier said than done. If you do, then go to a community college, like wicked sin said, and start from the ground up.

 

[GoBlue24]

BTW, I just saw your interests in your profile. Dota, WoW, warhammer? This is just a hunch but if the reason you're getting bad grades is because you're caught up playing computer games (or possibly even addicted to them), you seriously have to stop! I've experienced it and it's affected my grades. My friend got addicted and his gpa got totally ruined because of wow and he had no chance of getting into med school.

Think about it this way, if you do become a dentist... you can play and buy as many video games as you want. Wait until then.

 

[dentite1127]

You should get a full-time job and start paying off some debt. Try something you've had some interest in and see if it develops. Give yourself sometime to get your act together and re-evaluate if dental school is really what you want to do. I don't know how old you are, but I'm just now starting dental school after getting a degree and working in an entirely different career for 5 years. You have time, you don't have to keep forcing this path. Give yourself some time to experience other possibilities and re-evaluate if you are then ready to do some serious work on your GPA, because that is what it will take to get in, and you'll need that discipline to make it through d-school.

 

[TheToothsayer]

I hate these topics because it sounds so bad. However, you're right. It's time to look for different opportunities. Your first degree showed some trouble. You should be wary before choosing saturated degrees such as psychology. You need a game plan. You didn't have that. You haven't mentioned a single reason why you want to pursue dentistry. That leads me to believe you're just in it for the money. You won't succeed if this is the reason and you haven't. Then you did poorly in your science courses. You are not able to preform in dental school at this time.

That being said. All is not doom and gloom. I would follow advise posted here and pursue something else. Maybe you can come back and try again after you have paid back your current loans. Dentistry is expensive. Your financial situation will ruin you. Your 200k debt from dental school(assuming by a small margin you get in) + all your undergrad loan + loan from more classes will leave you drowning in debt indefinitely. You won't be able to open a practice(600k avg purchase) and you will likely work as an associate for sometime. I'm worried that this might not be enough for you to pay back your loans. Car payments, mortgage, even getting by will be difficult.

There is no shame in pursuing something else. You did your best. You retook and retried after completing a bachelors.

 

[Cello]

I'm a very optimistic person, but blind optimism can lead to failure, and a miserable existence.

Given your financial circumstances, you really ought to pursue something else, if only temporarily. You may not have a good excuse for why you did so poorly, but hopefully you have a good explanation for yourself. Why did you do so poorly? Be honest with yourself.

If you can get your debt burden off of your back by working full-time, as Dentite said above, then you will have plenty of time to grow, experience real life (outside of the academic world), and decide what it is that truly interests you. If it's still dentistry by the time you've gotten a handle on your debt situation, then you should probably have rekindled the fire you'll need to burn through the coursework to enter dental school. Trust me, three or four years working a straight full-time job teaches you a lot about life, and about yourself.

If it takes you an extra five years to get where you're going, who cares? The journey is every bit as important as the destination, and we're not all 4.0 students with a 23 on the DAT. Good luck!