Non Permanent Residents in Dental School

Thetoothhurts91 · Oct 9, 2012

I feel like this forum would be the best shot at finding someone in my situation.

Please do not judge me for what I'm about to ask.

I am neither a permanent resident nor citizen in the US. I'm what's called a "Dreamer" which basically means that I was brought here as a child. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to adjust my status so I'm illegally present. However, due to a memo Obama has granted, I was able to apply for a work permit and social security number.

A bit of background: I grew up in a certain state, which we shall call AB for about 10-11 years. I have been in the US for 20+ years but AB is what I'd like to call home. I would like to know if I have a chance at attending the U of AB Dental School. I graduated from HS with a 4.0+ gpa and my grades are "good enough" to get into dental school. My concern is that my status would prevent me from attending any[/i\ schools which is really heartbreaking to me. I do think that I will have legal status by the time I graduate from dental school because I am currently in a relationship with someone and can get married (I'm just not ready for it right now though). I've emailed several schools but I have gotten zero responses so far which I believe is because it's a complicated situation.

Is there anyone who is currently in dental school who managed to gain admission without having legal status? I know of only one case in particular but I would like to if there are more...

Dent4GA · Oct 9, 2012

First I'm not sure you meant your HS was your college or high school GPA. I'm assuming that you meant your high school GPA. You will need to take your pre-req. classes that almost all dental schools require. This means that you will need to be accepted into a university and at the end also take the DAT. I wish I could help you more, but a SSN is a very important part of being able to take the DAT. A little more info on your situation would possibly be helpful, but at the current moment I believe you are short on a few very essential steps that are required for gaining admission into a dental school. Nothing is out of reach, so if you are committed you could make it happen.

Thetoothhurts91 · Oct 9, 2012

Yes, I apologize for not clearing that up. The 4.0+ is my HS gpa and I am currently in a university taking all the pre-req classes. I'm a double major and biology is one of the two majors. My college gpa is around 3.70 and my sgpa is roughly around 3.60. I need to work on my volunteer hours and I've already shadowed one dentist but I plan on doing another one over the summer. I don't graduate until next year and I haven't taken the DAT yet mainly because I didn't imagine being able to get a social security while I was in college (thank goodness I was wrong).

I hope this helps. Trust me, I really really want to go and would do everything needed but I would like to know if I can realistically go in my current situation.

Daurang · Oct 9, 2012

Wait til the election is over, and then Obama will 'have more flexibility' to grant blanket amnesty to all illegal criminals and their kids. I'm certain you'll get into dental school just fine as part of the 'minority' status regardless of your immigration status. If you're in Mexifornia, there are many immigration right groups like RAZA or ACORN or NAACP that you can contact to help you with your cause. Are you the illegal valedictorian that spoke at the Dem convention last month?

Thetoothhurts91 · Oct 9, 2012

1. I do not want to make this a political post. I am just looking for someone who can relate to my situation. I do not want to get into a discussion of whether I am a criminal or the son/daughter of one.

2. I am not from your so-called Mexifornia. I am not a Mexican and would like to make that clear

3. I do not associate with any immigration rights group because some of their stance do not correlate with my views (I do not want to get into details of that either)

4. I am not the illegal valedictorian. I believe she was a business major.

Sorry for numbering, but I want to make it abundantly clear that I do not wish to dive into other subjects that do not pertain to dental school.

jda02624 · Oct 9, 2012

First off, I want to say regardless of your status or citizenship, you have done well for yourself and that is admirable.
Would contacting the American Student Dental Association (www.asdanet.org) help? Other than contacting individual schools, have you tried to find out more about the "one case in particular" that you know of? Have you contacted that school? Even if that is not the school you want to go to, they may be of help as there is a precedent there. I would try that.

AlbinoPolarBear · Oct 9, 2012

You should be able to apply as an out-of-state resident if your state school has any OOS seats, but then you'd be paying a considerably higher tuition.

Getting your permanent residence via marriage is probably the quickest way to solve this problem. You'd also be eligible for federal loans, which covers your tuition and living expenses for your entire length of the DMD.

If you don't have federal loans, it might be very hard to fund your DMD education, whether you get in-state tuition or not. In-state seats cost ~60k/year while out-of-state seats cost ~90k/year.

Daurang · Oct 10, 2012

AlbinoPolarBear said:
Getting your permanent residence via marriage is probably the quickest way to solve this problem. You'd also be eligible for federal loans, which covers your tuition and living expenses for your entire length of the DMD.

I know a few patients who had become naturalized in this way, by paying anywhere from $7k-$30k for 'false' marriage license. If Romney wins or Republican take over Senate, that's your only path. If Obama wins, there'll some other easy way as hispanics seek payback. California don't care about any immigration rules anyway so perhap you can move there and apply to UCSF/UCLA. Congrats on your wonderful academic success.

jpark1800 · Oct 10, 2012

guys don't give up hope..the house of reps will probably remain under Repub control and so the dems cant pass dream. also senate might be in repub control

Thetoothhurts91 · Dec 16, 2014

So I'm gonna go ahead and revive a 2 year (wow... it's been that long!) thread I made. I was kind of at a low point in my life because I really wanted to go to dental school. Fortunately, during my time out of class, I went on a once in a lifetime adventure and got to know more about myself. I applied this cycle and can officially say that I have been accepted to dental school for the class of 2019. I will work out the process of paying for it, but the hard part is over now. For any other Dreamers who will likely google this topic (sticking in phrases like: DACA dreamer PHDreamers dental school illegal immigrant), I will try to stay active but once school rolls around, I may not check here as often. To any Dreamer that's reading this, never give up on your dreams, get good grades, but most of all be an active member of the community by volunteering.

Much love,
TTH91

Non Permanent Residents in Dental School

Thetoothhurts91

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Dent4GA

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Thetoothhurts91

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Daurang

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Thetoothhurts91

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