Accepted c/o 2015 Optometry Student - Changing Fields

[Veritas23]

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[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Based upon gpa alone... you probably won't get into every dental school that you applied to, like in OD.

But yes, its still hard to say without a DAT score 🙄

 

[amalgamgrillz]

I think you need to think about it carefully before you switch career paths. Talk to more ODs --I'm sure not all of them think it's a very corporate job. You can practice optometry and not be a business shark..you can do as much pro-bono work in third world countries as you want. I think you might find dentistry to be just as businessy as optometry, if not more, especially in private practice.

 

[tdkyun]

you will probably need 21+ on the DAT which is greater than 90th percentile.

 

[Veritas23]

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[sweetdaises2000]

The business aspect of private practice is what I'm attracted to (I guess I didn't make myself clear). Being owned by a Walmart or a Lenscrafters because of the consistent opening of new OD programs, pumping out more unnecessary graduates (only to find jobs in Walmart due to oversupply and loan repayment desperation), is not what I desire. Private practice will be a rarity in coming years just like mom-and-pop Pharmacies disappeared years ago. You'll never find 1-800-FILLINGS to exist like 1-800-CONTACTS does...

It's the commercialization of optometric services is what disgusts me. The profession is inherently retail because of the nature of selling glasses or contacts. The field is changing a lot in a negative direction in this way and I have talked to many successful and unsuccessful OD's, done far enough shadowing in multiple settings, and did a lot of research on what the AOA is doing to prevent or slow these issues before coming to this decision. Trust me, it was a painful and lengthy process. I spent about 9 months after I was accepted researching four about an hour or two every day, not to mention my job at the Ophthalmology practice this summer. I'd rather not pay $250,000 and lose four years of income to be an over-glorified Ophthalmic technician... It sucks but I've already withdrawn/deferred my acceptance and I am very serious about Dentistry. I need many more shadowing hours but like I said I have time.

Wow. I completely understand your hesitation about optometry, especially when one is taking out significant sums of money in loans to pursue a career. When you see the numbers, it really hits home..huh? I can't speak for the future of optometry because all I really know is what I have seen on sdn which isnt too positive 🙁. However, did you consider medical school and opthalmology, possibly?
But if you are seriously interested in dentistry, during the next two years I would try to take maybe some additional science coursework, and ace them to increase your science gpa a tad. Your upward trend is great though, and will be viewed positively by adcoms. You could also try to get involved with research at UMDNJ's dental school-would help you make some connections, and possibly get your name on a few dental publications? Shadow a variety of fields in dentistry, and specialists over the next year, to demonstrate continued interest in the field. When the time comes to choose schools to apply to, there are many stickies and threads on here about each school's preferences, etc. Also, if you have a year to spare, and would like a chance at cheaper tuition, maybe consider working in Louisiana, Texas??😉 Just a suggestion...

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

However, did you consider medical school and opthalmology, possibly?

This is one of the toughest residencies to land for med graduates.
You pretty much have to be top 5 in your med class to even think about it.

Yeah, I wouldn't go into Optometry either. Getting a 60-80k/year job after a 250k loan just doesn't make any sense.

 

[321931]

Nothing is bullet-proof. Every profession changes throughout the years. There are Wal-Mart Dentistry Businesses opening. Who knows what the future may hold. It maybe commercialized (which I think will never happen).

Just gotta bite the bullet and hope for the best. Or go to Medical School

 

[Veritas23]

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[Canard]

Hey all,

Let me explain myself before I ask for advice... hopefully it's not too much of a wall of text :-X.

I was an accepted Optometry applicant this past cycle and have recently changed my mind after speaking to many OD's and realizing that the profession as a whole is really not what it used to be in terms of private practice since it is turning into a very corporate-owned and commercial health field. This is very unappealing to me and it would not lend me the financial disposal to spend a great amount of time doing volunteer work in third-world countries, such as my VOSH trip to Guatemala I attended two years ago during college, and with that being my dream I decided that it wouldn't be worth it to pursue Optometry.

I have recently started shadowing dentists since I graduated from a small competitive liberal arts college in May and have found it to be of great interest to me. Working with my hands every day, helping patients, being eventually in private practice, and still having the ability to be a doctor who will be able to volunteer would give me a fulfilling career in my eyes. I am picking up information about the dental field more and more every day (I've been interested in "health" in general since Sophomore year of college anyway so the field is not very foreign to me overall). To help show admissions committees my interest and determination for volunteering I plan to hopefully attend a mission trip to Peru with a DDS I'm currently shadowing the next time he goes.

Realistically I am already late for this cycle having not taken the DAT or shadowing nearly enough DMD's/DDS's... I'm accepting of that and plan to hopefully get a job in the pharmaceutical field in the mean-time while I shadow more and strengthen my dental application. This would mean that I would apply next cycle to be in the incoming class of 2017.

As frustrating as it is changing all of my plans right before signing the $54,000 loan check I know I made the right choice, per my career goals. Luckily, the OAT is practically the same test as the DAT and I did very well on the OAT. I was well into the 85th percentiles in almost every section and the only section I didn't do well in (physics) is not on the DAT (hoorah!). My plan is to study for the DAT for the next month and a half and take it. Then I'll have a better idea of where I stand. Lucky for me as well is the fact that most of the pre-req courses are the same. I was a B.S. Psychology major with a Pre-Health focus so I have all of the hard science courses already under my belt.

My stats are: cGPA: 3.30, sGPA 3.08 (upward trend throughout my four years). My undergrad was very competitive (I've heard it termed "sub-Ivy") so hopefully my good DAT, like my great OAT, will bring me onto a more even playing field. I also was the captain of a division one athletic team while at school, started a pre-health club and was an officer of it, did a lot of volunteering (teaching children with special needs how to swim, my volunteer trip, etc), and did a bunch of psych research that was actually published in a reputable journal.

How do you guys think I stand in terms of applying to DMD/DDS programs in a year (I'm hoping being a resident of NJ will help me for UMDNJ in terms of cost and admissions chances especially)? If I can create an application tailored to my career goals of volunteering/etc will I have a chance at Dental School, especially if I was accepted to all of the Optometry programs I applied to? Obviously you get a better picture with a DAT score behind my name but I'm just looking for any advice/suggestions you all can lend me. I also understand this place can be a good and bad place for advice (go look at the Optometry threads, sheesh) but it's better than nothing.

Thanks in advance!

Well congratz on finding out the "calling" and it is always difficult and risky to take the path (I am in similar situation). But it still seems that your sGPA is low. Have you taken upper level science classes like physiology, pharmacology, histology? if you have not, then I think you should take during fall and winter semester to improve the GPA

 

[sweetdaises2000]

This is one of the toughest residencies to land for med graduates.
You pretty much have to be top 5 in your med class to even think about it.

Yeah, I wouldn't go into Optometry either. Getting a 60-80k/year job after a 250k loan just doesn't make any sense.

Albino, I am aware of the difficulty of landing that particular residency-I was just running it by the poster, I mean if its something he would really want, no use settling for anything else right? It's always worth it to try...maybe I'm being too idealistic. But dentistry is awesome, and he seems interested 🙂

And yes, I could not imagine servicing 200k and my income isnt even hitting 100k...just a sad position to be in..can one even pay the loan interest on that?

 

[sweetdaises2000]

I actually don't have an interest in full-blown Medicine. Ophthalmology is probably one of the hardest residencies to get into as well so unfortunately by knowing myself well enough I don't expect myself to score in the 99th percentile for board scores upon graduation of an MD or DO program.

Would courses at my state university suffice for "upping" my GPA? I probably wouldn't be able to do a "full course load" while working though so that's an issue... I've heard that re-taking courses for some schools is an absolute "don't do" for some D-schools (I'll have to look into that...). How important is school competitiveness in your application? I took Physics+Lab at my state university and it was a joke compared to my competitive liberal arts college

I'd prefer to stay in the North-East due to family and significant-other proximity, but the DDS I'm shadowing went to Baylor so who knows!

I would say that taking courses at your state university should be fine. The general consensus on here is that you stick to taking sciences at universities, and not so much at community colleges. In my opinion, being at a university, taking a few science upper levels at a time and acing them all will help tremendously. I don't think there is a need to take them at a liberal arts college, if there is a significant price difference....

 

[Veritas23]

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[sweetdaises2000]

You're definitely hearing me out on this... I appreciate that, haha. Most of my friends who are MD/DO/PhD students next year basically all dropped their jaws in awe when I said I wasn't going anymore. I just can't see myself raising a family on Ramen Noodles and not being able to fulfill my career goals after four years of doctoral training and a residency. The money in Optometry was always in Private Practice and when that is out-competed by Walmart it's a spiral to the bottom, and a race at that with how poor the quality of care places such as "America's Best" provide and the AOA not stopping the opening of new programs.

I was never "not" interested in Dentistry, I just thought I had picked the field for me. Unfortunately it took me three years of pre-health preparation and shadowing it to realize that. I actually completely fell in love with my DDS (in a non-homosexual kind of way, he's married and rides a Harley and is awesome). The Cerec crown technology he has is amazing. How cool is that thing anyway? Hands down cooler than any instrument I've seen an OD use.

Lol, yes, I feel your pain. I think its great that you really sat down and thought this through, rather than getting caught up in the acceptance. I mean money doesn't grow on trees, and after putting in that much of an investment, you need a much better return. Obviously this isnt just about money, but financial security and respectability in your work. I personally think it would be very difficult for Walmart to get into dentistry.Have you visited the dental student forum? This topic is being actively debated/discussed there as well. While there may be some "mills" like Small Smiles and Aspen, I have heard different reviews of dentists who work there depending on the location. Plus, the patient demographic that is more likely to care about the quality of your work is still visiting the private practice dentist, by and large. And yes, all the tools are what drew me in too 😀. I wish I could customize them into my favorite colors Anyways, maybe in the future...lol. But no need to fret, you have time, and you can do this. It's better to take out some time and really think through a decision that you can personally be happy with, through and through.

 

[Veritas23]

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[doc toothache]

It appears that you failed to do your homework before applying to optometry schools. Is your recent change of heart headed in the same direction? Volunteering in Peru would be about as impressive as your present stats. Why not get some serious stats under your belt and then you can come out waving your flag?

 

[bing12]

when did you take the OAT?

Also, you are not too late to apply this cycle, if you have 50 hours of shadowing ( min recommended by most schools in the northeast atleast) andcan quickly get your science teachers and other professors that wrote you a recommendation to switch it over to dentistry, also having your dentist write you a rec, while begining to study for the DAT very soon ( within the next week), and taking it in 6 weeks...mid aug ( wont be too difficult since you already have taken the OAT), then you could theoretically get your app out on time to be competitive (try before September) for this cycle. and yes..i understand that was a run on sentence.

 

[Veritas23]

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[bing12]

My main point is, if you want to wait a year until you apply, thats fine. But if you would like to get the ball rolling sooner, it is still possible to apply this cycle if you really want to. It is very possible to get 50 hours of shadowing within a month at several dental offices. You could easily ask your professors( I believe many professors would find it easy to update an existing rec they had already submitted) to "update" your recs by changing a few sentences, and you dont need a pre-health committee letter, you could do it by the individual professors ( usually 2 science proffs, one dentist, and some other rec ....i wouldn't know cause i had the committee letter). If you take the DAT in mid aug and do well enough, you would still have a shot.

 

[Veritas23]

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[bing12]

I just feel like it'd be a really rushed thing, which is absolutely the tone I got from doc toothache (whether it was condescending or not). I think I personally need to wait. I just made a huge decision and need to hammer out whether dentistry is worth spending thousands on applications for in itself. To do that I'm going to shadow and research while I work the rest of the summer out and study for the DAT/take it. I definitely agree that I could wing it and do that but that's not the type of person I want to come across as on my application. I'd rather strengthen my application than send in the weakest one I can to save a year and look like a "re-applicant" the next year. Just my thoughts, thanks for the suggestion though!

Sounds good

Are you taking extra classes this fall semester or spring semester? what will you be doing to strengthen your app?

 

[netmag]

This is one of the toughest residencies to land for med graduates.
You pretty much have to be top 5 in your med class to even think about it.

Yeah, I wouldn't go into Optometry either. Getting a 60-80k/year job after a 250k loan just doesn't make any sense.

From what I've read most Optometrists make between 90k-110k. That's for corporate work. For some people, it could be seen as nice flexibility because you have the choice to do commercial or private practice or a combination of both if you have to for a while. However, there is a danger that the profession could be overrun by commercial businsesses. For example, in Pharmacy there really isn't much of a private practice anymore at all. You're guaranteed to make between 100K-120K so it's good pay and stable in that manner but it won't rise much more than that over your career. Optometry could be heading that way. Private practice ODs supposedly have the ability to make more but it's hard to tell how much more.

To the OP, either way I'm sure Dentistry is at the top of the heap in comparison to those other professions in terms of the odds of making a high income and security of it lasting for your entire career. It seems to do an awesome job of protecting the core of the profession and maintaining its value. If you know you want to focus on private practice and like the work involved with Dentistry just as much as or more than Optometry, then it's probably a safer bet for you.

 

[Veritas23]

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[bing12]

Trying to hash that out right now and get more a definite plan. Problem is I'd like to work as well to try and narrow down the loans I'd have for Dental School if I am accepted (hopefully some type of entry-level job at a pharmaceutical company, sales even). Problem is work = less time to study = lower grades = same situation I'm in now.

This is why I'm here, trying to get advice so I can formulate a plan now as opposed to later when I might be out of luck for signing up for classes/etc.

What is your major? How many credits do you have for your sgpa? What upper level bio classes have you taken so far?

 

[Veritas23]

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[slm266]

Ha my prehealth advisor convinced me I wouldn't get into dental school so I considered optometry for a while. After shadowing 15 min I was beyond bored and never went back.

But seriously, can't someone just invent a kiosk machine that you pay to diagnose your vision and you can buy contacts directly from it like a vending machine? Good bye 90% of your patients.

OP goodluck with your new dream. Welcome to the greener grass.

 

[bing12]

I did a B.S. Psychology major, very similar to Neuroscience. I took all my Pre-Health req's (Bio I, II, Chem I, II, Orgo I, II, and Physics I, II) alongside my Psych degree since it required many "out-of-Psychology" lab science courses.

I have not taken any "upper level" biology classes other than microbiology. I guess this could be a benefit as I could take some of those that you had mentioned before at a local state university and do well in them to get my sGPA up a bit, improving my overall as well? Problem is if I were to work full time it'd be hard to take a "full course load". It would be nice to take courses without having to worry about being exhausted all the time from athletics for sure... heh.

it seems your priorities are to work, and not as much to improve your app. If you are fully dedicated, i think working part time would be a better plan. Taking Genetics, Cell biology, and Biochemistry would be classes to put under the list of classes to take in the upcoming year, in addition to padding your app with other "easier" classes to raise your gpa as well as show an upward trend (english, social sciences).

 

[Veritas23]

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[Veritas23]

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[bing12]

My worry is spending two years not getting the "pay your dues" time-period done in a field while I get ready for school if I ultimately am not accepted at all to Dental School. I would much rather become a health professional than work in any career where there is much more uncertainty of where you'll be in 5 years professionally... That's what attracted me to health-care in the first place.

Working would also help me afford these classes since I have student loans from Undergrad ($50,000) to pay. I guess if I took enough classes I could qualify as being a "student" still? Have to look into that. Thanks for the continued advice.

The opportunity cost to work and not focus as much on improving your app/ goal is significantly high. You may end up reapplying if you dont get in the first cycle you apply ( next year). Do it correctly this year, take these classes, do very well, rock the DAT.

 

[Veritas23]

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[bing12]

Check out this spread sheet that someone made( I believe it was doc toothache) regarding what classes dental schools require and recommend.

 

[promolion]

raise up ur game. optometry is a few hundreds app. Dentistry is a few thousands. big difference. doing alot of those service trips might help.

 

[Canard]

I am not your personal situations are (family, etc) and which schools you want to apply to but from your low sGPA, I believe it is beneficial to do well (>3.5) with full-time course load (>12 credits all science) than do well in 1 or 2 classes with full-time work. Adcom want to see if you can handle the course load that dental school has in first 2 years.

I know that maybe difficult but I think that is the best course of action to be competitive next cycle.

 

[sacapuntas]

Trying to hash that out right now and get more a definite plan. Problem is I'd like to work as well to try and narrow down the loans I'd have for Dental School if I am accepted (hopefully some type of entry-level job at a pharmaceutical company, sales even). Problem is work = less time to study = lower grades = same situation I'm in now.

This is why I'm here, trying to get advice so I can formulate a plan now as opposed to later when I might be out of luck for signing up for classes/etc.

Just some advice about potentially working in your year off:

Unless you have serious connections, don't expect to get a job in pharmaceutical sales...it is kind of a mecca of sorts for professional sellers.

Also, don't plan on doing anything besides work if you want to do sales and have a shot at being successful. I found it to be much more demanding of my time than school ever has been.

With a lot/most sales jobs you are looking at doing nothing but a massive amount of learning for the first one to three years, and financial success likely won't come until after the steep learning curve. If I were looking for just a 1 year employment in the off year where I could still manage taking classes I would be looking for a job in customer service at a sales firm. In a lot of professional operations (not talking call centers here) the customer service gets a fair amount of down-time during the day and almost never has to bring work home.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hey all,

Let me explain myself before I ask for advice... hopefully it's not too much of a wall of text :-X.

I was an accepted Optometry applicant this past cycle and have recently changed my mind after speaking to many OD's and realizing that the profession as a whole is really not what it used to be in terms of private practice since it is turning into a very corporate-owned and commercial health field. This is very unappealing to me and it would not lend me the financial disposal to spend a great amount of time doing volunteer work in third-world countries, such as my VOSH trip to Guatemala I attended two years ago during college, and with that being my dream I decided that it wouldn't be worth it to pursue Optometry.

I have recently started shadowing dentists since I graduated from a small competitive liberal arts college in May and have found it to be of great interest to me. Working with my hands every day, helping patients, being eventually in private practice, and still having the ability to be a doctor who will be able to volunteer would give me a fulfilling career in my eyes. I am picking up information about the dental field more and more every day (I've been interested in "health" in general since Sophomore year of college anyway so the field is not very foreign to me overall). To help show admissions committees my interest and determination for volunteering I plan to hopefully attend a mission trip to Peru with a DDS I'm currently shadowing the next time he goes.

Realistically I am already late for this cycle having not taken the DAT or shadowing nearly enough DMD's/DDS's... I'm accepting of that and plan to hopefully get a job in the pharmaceutical field in the mean-time while I shadow more and strengthen my dental application. This would mean that I would apply next cycle to be in the incoming class of 2017.

As frustrating as it is changing all of my plans right before signing the $54,000 loan check I know I made the right choice, per my career goals. Luckily, the OAT is practically the same test as the DAT and I did very well on the OAT. I was well into the 85th percentiles in almost every section and the only section I didn't do well in (physics) is not on the DAT (hoorah!). My plan is to study for the DAT for the next month and a half and take it. Then I'll have a better idea of where I stand. Lucky for me as well is the fact that most of the pre-req courses are the same. I was a B.S. Psychology major with a Pre-Health focus so I have all of the hard science courses already under my belt.

My stats are: cGPA: 3.30, sGPA 3.08 (upward trend throughout my four years). My undergrad was very competitive (I've heard it termed "sub-Ivy") so hopefully my good DAT, like my great OAT, will bring me onto a more even playing field. I also was the captain of a division one athletic team while at school, started a pre-health club and was an officer of it, did a lot of volunteering (teaching children with special needs how to swim, my volunteer trip, etc), and did a bunch of psych research that was actually published in a reputable journal.

How do you guys think I stand in terms of applying to DMD/DDS programs in a year (I'm hoping being a resident of NJ will help me for UMDNJ in terms of cost and admissions chances especially)? If I can create an application tailored to my career goals of volunteering/etc will I have a chance at Dental School, especially if I was accepted to all of the Optometry programs I applied to? Obviously you get a better picture with a DAT score behind my name but I'm just looking for any advice/suggestions you all can lend me. I also understand this place can be a good and bad place for advice (go look at the Optometry threads, sheesh) but it's better than nothing.

Thanks in advance!

IMO, you will have a hard time landing dental interviews with that 3.0 sGPA

 

[longhornpride]

there are plenty aspects in your favor and a few things that aren't going to look good.

Pros
1. Your extra-curriculars look great.
2. Schools like upward trends.
3. You're unique in that you were D-I athlete.

Cons
1. Your gpa isn't doing you any favors regardless of your "sub-ivy" school... whatever that means. Just being honest.
2. Not sure how schools will view you rejecting an acceptance. From what I see, you don't want to do it mainly because you realized optometry isn't as financially lucrative as it used to be. You're going to have to come up with a better reason than, "oh... I won't be able to visit Peru as much as an optometrist".

I would do a post-bac and do really well. Take the DAT and do well. That in itself should land you a few interviews. Good Luck.

 

[Veritas23]

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[justwant]

i love these ppl who think that dentistry is easy success and is gonna be some easy job where they will make loads of money..who says dentistry wont be heading in the state of affairs that pharm and law is in (a sucky state of affairs)?

 

[Veritas23]

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[DrDSA]

The biggest hurdle at this point will be convincing admissions committees you really know what the dental field is about and that you're certain you want to make the commitment to the profession. Shadowing someone since May definitely won't cut it. And applying this year would be jumping the gun. But don't be discouraged. I'd recommend spending at least the next year getting as much exposure to the field as you possibly can (research, community clinics, international trips, etc). During that time, think long and hard about why you want to be a dentist, since the reasons you gave aren't really dental-specific.

Your GPA is within the realms of what dental schools would consider, so it's going to be absolutely critical that you put the rest of your application together really well. LORs, personal statement, resume are all going to need to be cohesive and tell a story of how you suddenly transitioned. Remember, it's great that you decided to make the transition, but rushing it will only result in having to apply more than once.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hey all,

Let me explain myself before I ask for advice... hopefully it's not too much of a wall of text :-X.

I was an accepted Optometry applicant this past cycle and have recently changed my mind after speaking to many OD's and realizing that the profession as a whole is really not what it used to be in terms of private practice since it is turning into a very corporate-owned and commercial health field. This is very unappealing to me and it would not lend me the financial disposal to spend a great amount of time doing volunteer work in third-world countries, such as my VOSH trip to Guatemala I attended two years ago during college, and with that being my dream I decided that it wouldn't be worth it to pursue Optometry.

I have recently started shadowing dentists since I graduated from a small competitive liberal arts college in May and have found it to be of great interest to me. Working with my hands every day, helping patients, being eventually in private practice, and still having the ability to be a doctor who will be able to volunteer would give me a fulfilling career in my eyes. I am picking up information about the dental field more and more every day (I've been interested in "health" in general since Sophomore year of college anyway so the field is not very foreign to me overall). To help show admissions committees my interest and determination for volunteering I plan to hopefully attend a mission trip to Peru with a DDS I'm currently shadowing the next time he goes.

Realistically I am already late for this cycle having not taken the DAT or shadowing nearly enough DMD's/DDS's... I'm accepting of that and plan to hopefully get a job in the pharmaceutical field in the mean-time while I shadow more and strengthen my dental application. This would mean that I would apply next cycle to be in the incoming class of 2017.

As frustrating as it is changing all of my plans right before signing the $54,000 loan check I know I made the right choice, per my career goals. Luckily, the OAT is practically the same test as the DAT and I did very well on the OAT. I was well into the 85th percentiles in almost every section and the only section I didn't do well in (physics) is not on the DAT (hoorah!). My plan is to study for the DAT for the next month and a half and take it. Then I'll have a better idea of where I stand. Lucky for me as well is the fact that most of the pre-req courses are the same. I was a B.S. Psychology major with a Pre-Health focus so I have all of the hard science courses already under my belt.

My stats are: cGPA: 3.30, sGPA 3.08 (upward trend throughout my four years). My undergrad was very competitive (I've heard it termed "sub-Ivy") so hopefully my good DAT, like my great OAT, will bring me onto a more even playing field. I also was the captain of a division one athletic team while at school, started a pre-health club and was an officer of it, did a lot of volunteering (teaching children with special needs how to swim, my volunteer trip, etc), and did a bunch of psych research that was actually published in a reputable journal.

How do you guys think I stand in terms of applying to DMD/DDS programs in a year (I'm hoping being a resident of NJ will help me for UMDNJ in terms of cost and admissions chances especially)? If I can create an application tailored to my career goals of volunteering/etc will I have a chance at Dental School, especially if I was accepted to all of the Optometry programs I applied to? Obviously you get a better picture with a DAT score behind my name but I'm just looking for any advice/suggestions you all can lend me. I also understand this place can be a good and bad place for advice (go look at the Optometry threads, sheesh) but it's better than nothing.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DrDSA]

One more thought after reading these forums more. You need to take a big step back and consider doing a post-bac or masters degree before applying. Someone with a 4.0 and perfect scores might be able to make a sudden jump (within one year) but even then it would be VERY difficult. Adcoms are smart and can see when a person hasn't really thought about their professional decisions. In fact, one thing we were always curious about when reviewing applications were those people who were hard-core premed and then transitioned to pre-dent at the end of their college career. Again, it's OK for that to happen, but the reasoning needs to be sound. Spend a couple years doing something productive (masters, paid research, etc, not pharm sales) and shape yourself into a good applicant. You will get in if you spend the time and try hard enough, Applying now will result in applying multiple times, which can be overwhelming and really expensive.

I actually don't have an interest in full-blown Medicine. Ophthalmology is probably one of the hardest residencies to get into as well so unfortunately by knowing myself well enough I don't expect myself to score in the 99th percentile for board scores upon graduation of an MD or DO program.

Would courses at my state university suffice for "upping" my GPA? I probably wouldn't be able to do a "full course load" while working though so that's an issue... I've heard that re-taking courses for some schools is an absolute "don't do" for some D-schools (I'll have to look into that...). How important is school competitiveness in your application? I took Physics+Lab at my state university and it was a joke compared to my competitive liberal arts college

I'd prefer to stay in the North-East due to family and significant-other proximity, but the DDS I'm shadowing went to Baylor so who knows!

 

[justwant]

You clearly know nothing about dentistry. The exact same thing that happened in pharm is happening in dentistry. Ppl are saying there is a shortage of dentists when there is nothing but oversaturation. This shortage which is a lie is being used to open a lot of dental schools. Because of these tons of new dental schools , dentistry is heading in the exact same situation as pharm: too many dentists.

 

[sacapuntas]

You clearly know nothing about dentistry. The exact same thing that happened in pharm is happening in dentistry. Ppl are saying there is a shortage of dentists when there is nothing but oversaturation. This shortage which is a lie is being used to open a lot of dental schools. Because of these tons of new dental schools , dentistry is heading in the exact same situation as pharm: too many dentists.

Haha, an expert is in the house!

Everybody, stop trying to become dentists, because you will suffer the fate of the pharmacist and have to work for the 'man' and that man will be called K-Mart!

 

[sweetdaises2000]

You clearly know nothing about dentistry. The exact same thing that happened in pharm is happening in dentistry. Ppl are saying there is a shortage of dentists when there is nothing but oversaturation. This shortage which is a lie is being used to open a lot of dental schools. Because of these tons of new dental schools , dentistry is heading in the exact same situation as pharm: too many dentists.

Wow, such negativity! So, if not dentistry, what do you suggest the OP pursue? Are you pre-dental yourself? Dentistry may have added 3 schools within the past 10 years. Pharmacy~30 or so...one cannot compare. I also hear there are about 10 more osteopathic medical schools opening up..I don't think there is any aspect of health care that is not taking advantage of students in the academic/financial sense. I still think dentistry is on the stronger side of things however...

 

[Veritas23]

.

 

[justwant]

An expert, currently Pre-Health, indeed... justwant's response to "How Hard is Dental School Really...?":

"it is a joke..cram night before every test and get an easy A..boards are joke too. cram night before and u are into any ortho/oms residency

'nuff said"

i was obviously being sarcastic when i made this comment..and why are you stalking and going through people's previous posts..shouldn't you be studying for the DAT or doing something productive if you are in the situation you are in lol

 

[slm266]

I'm afraid that by the time you get your GPA up, take the DAT, have enough shadowing hours, apply a cycle (or 2) and complete 4 yrs of dental school.....

dentistry will be in the same shape as the other fields you mentioned.

All the reasons you mentioned about choosing dentistry over optometry....those are actually problems that dentistry is also facing (except the whole optometry being boring).

 

[justwant]

Haha, an expert is in the house!

Everybody, stop trying to become dentists, because you will suffer the fate of the pharmacist and have to work for the 'man' and that man will be called K-Mart!

Looks like you are OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY my friend:

look at this thread on sdn about all the problems i have talked about: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=836591

and by the way the ppl in that thread are actual dental students not immature predents like you

 

[THRILLOFDAFILL]

you may not know this, but there are people in the United States that do not have the luxury to visit an OD, so maybe instead of helping third world countries (very noble in my opinion) you can help people in this country if thats really what you are trying to do.