....When people ask you, "Is pre-dental even hard?"

[smallmediumbig]

I get a lot of "You want to be a hygenist?" or "So that's a 2-yr program right?"
I try to not let it bother me and correct as politely as I can. If another students want to be snippy then I just explain I take the same courses they do and, in Texas, it's the same application . Anyone who wants to take it a step farther and get petty is usually already on my "politely ignore" list and you should put people there too.

omg SAME! People ask me what I'm in school for and I'll say I'm a biology major hoping to get into dental school, and they'll reply with, "Oh, so you want to be a dental assistant?" BISH IS THAT WHAT I SAID??!!!! Most people (men) assume I'm going for dental hygiene.

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[Soleus715]

In my first day of bio 1, the professor pulled up school statistics showing how over 90% of the bio majors had declared pre-med as a specialization.
He went on to show that not even 5% of them make it to a professional school, let alone med school. He did this just to let students know that they should be serious about their future and consider wisely.

It's wrong to generalize about pre-meds or anyone for that matter because many of those "pre-meds" had set goals that were either unrealistic or they weren't really set on it.

Personally, I've had acquaintances that talked big but ended up working as pharm techs or switching into a different degrees like community health/psych/etc.
I'm not saying any of these jobs are bad or to be looked down upon. We need them. Just like we need janitors and garbage disposal workers and so on. But what I am saying is that people don't always stick to their original plans.

Generalizations aside though, there are just bad people in the world that aren't worth listening to. That includes both physicians and dentists.

 

[JLT223]

Okay, I'm not sure if there are just more douchebags where I am, but do any of you ever get condescending questions about pre-dentistry and the DAT, especially from pre-med students? And how do you deal with it? My DAT is in a few days and I've been studying really hard for it. However, it's really annoying when I get questions about what the difference between the DAT and MCAT is, and then I hear, "So like...is it hard?" just because it's shorter than the MCAT, has less material, has a PAT section (which I personally don't think is a cake walk at all, but it sounds "easy" to the regular person), is less of a "crowded" field I guess than pre-med. Like I've gotten several questions asking if it's hard. It just pisses me off when people undermine the hard work and stress we pre-dental students have to go through- it's the same as any pre-med student. And of course, when people don't recognize dentistry as a medical field, or make annoying stereotypes, the list goes on. Obviously anything you do will come with things people can pick on, but can someone reply with a good way they either ignore or address this stuff?

Rule #1: don't care what other people think (to an extent). You'll be much better off.

 

[FrenchyM.D/D.O]

I would say with the exception of the DAT, getting into dental school (DS) is actually harder than getting into medical school (MS).

For one, there are far fewer DS than there are MS. Now granted, there aren't as many people applying to DS than MS, but with that, there are fewer in state DS where the applicant gets an advantage. This leads to a much less generous waitlist for DS as well. I'm routinely surprised by the people who get nothing from DS schools on this site, would could have gotten into their state MD school.

Also, there are osteopathic schools which have grade replacement, (although they are making it harder to do every year) and to my knowledge, DS does not.

Also, many people use DS as a fallback to MS, and Admissions are aware of this and can spot this activity and shut people out.

While both tests are difficult, There is no comparison for the DAT to the MCAT. I say this with sincerity, and with respect to both professions: comparing the MCAT to the DAT is the equivalent of comparing running around a track 2 miles vs sprinting a 5K marathon the whole way like your life depends on it. The MCAT is the hardest non professional exam one can take. The MCAT is on a different planet compared to any other test out there. The DAT is difficult, but it is the equivalent of 2 really hard college finals stapled together. The MCAT is a test on everything you have ever encountered in your life. Reading comprehension is crazy key to do well.

I took a diagnostic on both and scored a 486 (15%) on the MCAT and a 17 on the DAT, and this was without studying, Though the DAT was much more organic Chem heavy, which is my strength.

If I had to do it all over again (I was a late bloomer, low 3.0s in my science classes freshmen-Jr year of college, 3.9 my senior year) I would tell myself to major in a science subject, do well (3.5+), get a job at a dentist office, and go to dental school. The lifestyle is much better for a dentist (with the exception of dermatology) and dentists seem to be much happier overall. It's also only 4 years.

I could not agree more with everything you just said. I feel the exact same way.

 

[schmoob]

I would say with the exception of the DAT, getting into dental school (DS) is actually harder than getting into medical school (MS).

For one, there are far fewer DS than there are MS. Now granted, there aren't as many people applying to DS than MS, but with that, there are fewer in state DS where the applicant gets an advantage. This leads to a much less generous waitlist for DS as well. I'm routinely surprised by the people who get nothing from DS schools on this site, would could have gotten into their state MD school.

Also, there are osteopathic schools which have grade replacement, (although they are making it harder to do every year) and to my knowledge, DS does not.

Also, many people use DS as a fallback to MS, and Admissions are aware of this and can spot this activity and shut people out.

While both tests are difficult, There is no comparison for the DAT to the MCAT. I say this with sincerity, and with respect to both professions: comparing the MCAT to the DAT is the equivalent of comparing running around a track 2 miles vs sprinting a 5K marathon the whole way like your life depends on it. The MCAT is the hardest non professional exam one can take. The MCAT is on a different planet compared to any other test out there. The DAT is difficult, but it is the equivalent of 2 really hard college finals stapled together. The MCAT is a test on everything you have ever encountered in your life. Reading comprehension is crazy key to do well.

I took a diagnostic on both and scored a 486 (15%) on the MCAT and a 17 on the DAT, and this was without studying, Though the DAT was much more organic Chem heavy, which is my strength.

If I had to do it all over again (I was a late bloomer, low 3.0s in my science classes freshmen-Jr year of college, 3.9 my senior year) I would tell myself to major in a science subject, do well (3.5+), get a job at a dentist office, and go to dental school. The lifestyle is much better for a dentist (with the exception of dermatology) and dentists seem to be much happier overall. It's also only 4 years.

I absolutely agree with you.
One thing though, 5K is about 3.1 miles; not THAT much more than 2 miles

 

[personalstatementsbyeric]

Dental school is harder to get into then Med School - that is just a fact. With DO, Caribbean, and lower tier Med Schools out there, there is no doubt. That said, the MCAT is harder than the DAT, that is also just a fact.

With both professions having thousands apply for a hundred seats or so, both are a feat to get into.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I absolutely agree with you.
One thing though, 5K is about 3.1 miles; not THAT much more than 2 miles

I'll change it to 50k then