ANYONE applying to MEDICAL school and Dental school at the same time

MEDDICK · Sep 10, 2009

I am taking the MCAT in two days have done amazing on my practice tests but I am still keeping dental school open. Has anyone taken the DAT and MCAT and applied to both schools to keep their options open for as long as possible. I herd medical school discourage this becuase it shows weakness in your dedication to medical school but If applications are confidential then there would be no way of medical schools finding out if you have also applied to dental school. Please offer me experiences and thoughts.
First time poster, long time reader.

amakhosidlo · Sep 10, 2009

I'd assume the converse would also be try, i.e dental schools would be iput off that they're your backup plan.

Honestly though I don't see anything wrong with this. Just don't bring your other applications up with schools and you should be golden. The only aspect that might be difficult (unless you've already done this) is concurrently accumulate medical AND dental ec's, or including either type on a given application (dental clinic work on a med school app could be trouble if your answer to "Why not dentistry?" is "Well actually...")

Isoprop · Sep 10, 2009

i'd assume that UCLA dental school and UCLA med don't check if an applicant applied to both. so there's probably no way to find out unless you gave it away in your apps.

muhali3 · Sep 10, 2009

I don't get why there is a separation between dental and medical in the first place. In the end, you're still a doctor who treats patients. It's just that with dental school, you've already sort of chosen what you want to specialize in. You can even become an MD if you go into Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery.

Mattabet · Sep 10, 2009

I've not heard of anyone who did this, but I'm sure it's been done. It is kind of discouraged, but there's nothing 'wrong' with it. I think the main reason you don't see more of it is because applying to any professional school is hard to do. I decided before I applied that Medicine was a better fit than Law. By doing so, I got to bypass taking twice as many big tests (MCAT and LSAT), filling out and paying twice as many applications, etc.

Ultimately you're going to have to make a decision to do one or the other. If you make it before you apply, you'll save thousands of dollars and a lot of hassle. If you want to keep those options open, fine, but there's a cost for doing so.

Rogue Synapse · Sep 10, 2009

muhali3 said:
I don't get why there is a separation between dental and medical in the first place. In the end, you're still a doctor who treats patients. It's just that with dental school, you've already sort of chosen what you want to specialize in. You can even become an MD if you go into Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery.

This is true, but all OMS surgeons go to dental school first (regardless of whether they get dually certified as an MD), and a very small minority of dentists go into OMS - it's extremely competitive. I would caution against applying to dental school unless you have a specific interest in dentistry.

rockaction · Sep 10, 2009

DO NOT DO THIS.

A friend of mine applied to both the dental and medical school at his state university and they both out-right rejected him because he applied to both (apparently they knew...he didn't tell them). They told him they didn't want to accept anyone who was unsure of where they wanted go.

muhali3 · Sep 10, 2009

Rogue Synapse said:
This is true, but all OMS surgeons go to dental school first (regardless of whether they get dually certified as an MD), and a very small minority of dentists go into OMS - it's extremely competitive. I would caution against applying to dental school unless you have a specific interest in dentistry.

Well, my point was that whether you go to dental or medical school, you're still going to practice medicine. You'll have different letters after your name, but you'll still be a doctor. And in some cases you might have the same letters after your name if you go into OMS. I don't get why med school adcoms look down on people applying to dental school also, because dental is still one path to becoming a doctor, and the differences between dental/medical school are really minimal (at least for preclinical).

chman · Sep 10, 2009

I don't see how they would know unless you told them. My concern with this is; do you like one more than the other? What if you get into the one you don't like as much? Would you regret this? I know I would. Go with what you really want to do, otherwise you will not be happy, and your patients will most likely pick up on this.IMO.

Cro · Sep 10, 2009

If you do end up applying to both dental and medical schools, make sure you don't apply to two that are affiliated with the same school as they may cross-reference applicants even if you don't tell them.

SteinUmStein · Sep 11, 2009

I don't think there's anything morally or fundamentally wrong with this, but schools might feel differently. Plus it would be a huge hassle and an enormous amount of money and paperwork... just figure out what you want to do and do it.

armorshell · Sep 11, 2009

The AADSAS application specifically asks if you are applying or have previously applied to other professional schools. So either you admit you're applying to medical schools simultaneously (Not going to look good) or you lie on your applications (disaster if it's ever discovered).

armorshell · Sep 11, 2009

Rogue Synapse said:
This is true, but all OMS surgeons go to dental school first (regardless of whether they get dually certified as an MD), and a very small minority of dentists go into OMS - it's extremely competitive. I would caution against applying to dental school unless you have a specific interest in dentistry.

There are actually a few OMFS programs that will accept MD applicants, who then do 3 years of dental school on 4 years of residency.

tycysabg · Sep 19, 2009

I am hoping to apply to both simultaneously too, esp now i have taken both mcat and dat. I think i will tell the truth to the "Have you previously, or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than dental school?" question. However, doing so will put me under seriously disadvantage... If you know someone who applied to both and still got into both or just dental or just med, please tell. thanks!

mmmcdowe · Sep 20, 2009

tycysabg said:
I am hoping to apply to both simultaneously too, esp now i have taken both mcat and dat. I think i will tell the truth to the "Have you previously, or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than dental school?" question. However, doing so will put me under seriously disadvantage... If you know someone who applied to both and still got into both or just dental or just med, please tell. thanks!

I'm sure that someone has, but they probably won't answer because it is quite possible they fear retaliation (or they might have lied about applying to both).

schrizto · Sep 20, 2009

Wow, I didn't know adcoms finding out that you applied to both medical and dental schools would look as bad as people are saying on this thread.

rockaction · Sep 20, 2009

tycysabg said:
I am hoping to apply to both simultaneously too, esp now i have taken both mcat and dat. I think i will tell the truth to the "Have you previously, or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than dental school?" question. However, doing so will put me under seriously disadvantage... If you know someone who applied to both and still got into both or just dental or just med, please tell. thanks!

Apply to only 1. Decide which one you want to do more. If you apply to both it shows you're not committed to either, and you just want to get into whichever field accepts you. Apply to one, your scores won't expire in a year. If you don't get into it try the other next year or whatever.

Rogue Synapse · Sep 20, 2009

muhali3 said:
Well, my point was that whether you go to dental or medical school, you're still going to practice medicine. You'll have different letters after your name, but you'll still be a doctor. And in some cases you might have the same letters after your name if you go into OMS.

I would definitely not equate the two as being similar paths to medicine. They both see and treat patients, and therein ends the similarity. You could also be called a doctor and treat patients if you are a podiatrist or clinical psychologist or any number of other different fields. There is such a different scope of practice in the different health care fields that you really need to be sure you know what you're getting into.

Proving that you know what you are getting yourself into and that you are dedicated to the profession is one of the major criteria that admissions committees consider in applicants. It's the whole reason for volunteer experience, personal statements, etc. I would again caution strongly against applying shotgun-style to different professions in hopes of just becoming some type of doctor somewhere. Take an extra year and shadow or volunteer to figure out what you really want to pursue. It will make you so much happier in the long run.

swamprat · Sep 20, 2009

I remember reading on SDN in the past few months someone who applied to both and got into both and was debating whether he should go into dentistry or medicine. So it is possible to get into both... I don't remember if he/she told the different pre-professions committees that they were applying to both tho.

denner · Sep 20, 2009

armorshell said:
The AADSAS application specifically asks if you are applying or have previously applied to other professional schools. So either you admit you're applying to medical schools simultaneously (Not going to look good) or you lie on your applications (disaster if it's ever discovered).

Yep, I had to tell them that I applied to med school last cycle and explain that I changed my mind and why. That was tough to do in the few words they allow you in the little text box.

Music MD · Sep 20, 2009

Decide what you want to do with your life before you apply to a professional school. It may not be easy but its absolutely necessary, especially for a career in medicine.

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