Advice for High School student considering Dental Direct/ Assurance Colleges

[Dentistryonmymind]

I am currently a junior in High School and becoming a dentist has been a life long dream for me .

I am active in school student activities, community activities,and expect to captain two varsity sports . i am currently a 3.9 Cum and have scored 1450 on my SAT'S. I take a blend of Advanced Placement and regular classes. I believe my public high school has an above average reputation among Universities in that in a graduating of class of +/- 200 ; it regularly sends 3-5 kids to Ivy League schools as well as other highly competitive colleges. Based on my current GPA and SAT scores, I expect that I am probable below the average for people that I will be competing against for dental school admissions.

I am looking for advice on the best way to gain entry into Dental school. I am considering applying to an undergraduate college program that has Direct Entry or Assurance to Dental school.

Some questions or advice would be appreciated on the following:

• Based on my current credentials , what is your opinion of my chances of gaining acceptance to one of these "Direct Entry " programs . Am I crazy to even consider?
• Do you think the "Direct/ Entry " program is the best option for me to gain entry into Dental school?
• From my research , there are +/- 20 undergraduate program with " Direct Entry/ Assurance. "If you have had experience in the application process, Are there certain programs that are easier to gain acceptance than others?

• I have take the SAT's one time and scored 1450. Unfortunately My English Score is significantly higher than my Math score. I am considering taking it again. I am looking for e any advice on what you would think would be the minimum math score schools would be looking for on the math section.
• I s there any other advice that might be helpful in putting myself in a better position to gain acceptance to one of these programs.

I thank you in advance for anyone who is kind enough to share their thoughts or advice. I can not pay you anything. What I can say is that I can share my experience with others, if I find I am in a position to further pursue my dream.

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[jbarnett2020]

Hey Dentistryonmymind,

You totally aren't crazy. I go to UOP Dental School in San Francisco. It is a 3-year accelerated program that has combined undergrad/DDS programs: 2:3, 3:3, and 4:3 where the first number corresponds to the amount of years in undergrad and the second number corresponds to the 3 year DDS program. If you get into either one of the programs, when you are applying to the dental school you are automatically guaranteed and interview if you meet the GPA and DAT requirements (which are fairly doable to meet). To give you a frame of reference, in my class of 144, ~45 students went to the UOP undergrad. Five of them were a part of the 2:3 program and are all currently 19 years old. I am not sure what other programs have something like that, but that sounds right up your alley.

PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Dentistryonmymind]

Hey Dentistryonmymind,

You totally aren't crazy. I go to UOP Dental School in San Francisco. It is a 3-year accelerated program that has combined undergrad/DDS programs: 2:3, 3:3, and 4:3 where the first number corresponds to the amount of years in undergrad and the second number corresponds to the 3 year DDS program. If you get into either one of the programs, when you are applying to the dental school you are automatically guaranteed and interview if you meet the GPA and DAT requirements (which are fairly doable to meet). To give you a frame of reference, in my class of 144, ~45 students went to the UOP undergrad. Five of them were a part of the 2:3 program and are all currently 19 years old. I am not sure what other programs have something like that, but that sounds right up your alley.

PM me if you have any questions.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I did not know University of Pacific had such a program. My family vacationed in San Francisco a few years ago and we loved it.I could not imagine trying to do it in less than 7 years in that I want to enjoy the whole college experience. I went onto the website and it looks like a really cool school and environment. You must love it. The only part I was unsure of is whether you are automatically admitted into the dental school after 4 years of undergrad school , or do you still have to take the DAT's and apply ?

Thanks

 

[predent2151]

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I did not know University of Pacific had such a program. My family vacationed in San Francisco a few years ago and we loved it.I could not imagine trying to do it in less than 7 years in that I want to enjoy the whole college experience. I went onto the website and it looks like a really cool school and environment. You must love it. The only part I was unsure of is whether you are automatically admitted into the dental school after 4 years of undergrad school , or do you still have to take the DAT's and apply ?

Thanks

You have to meet certain GPA, DAT, requirements and you automatically get an interview. Most schools have a post-interview acceptance rate of ~30%.

 

[sgv]

Hey Dentistryonmymind,

You totally aren't crazy. I go to UOP Dental School in San Francisco. It is a 3-year accelerated program that has combined undergrad/DDS programs: 2:3, 3:3, and 4:3 where the first number corresponds to the amount of years in undergrad and the second number corresponds to the 3 year DDS program. If you get into either one of the programs, when you are applying to the dental school you are automatically guaranteed and interview if you meet the GPA and DAT requirements (which are fairly doable to meet). To give you a frame of reference, in my class of 144, ~45 students went to the UOP undergrad. Five of them were a part of the 2:3 program and are all currently 19 years old. I am not sure what other programs have something like that, but that sounds right up your alley.

PM me if you have any questions.

This might sound like a cool idea to a high schooler who has no concept of what 6.5% interest on >$100,000/year x 3 years means but no one is going to be happy about paying back a half million dollar loan creeping up to a million at the end of repayment. No one really want to go to UoP or any private school. They END up at a private school either because they don't have a state school or didn't get into a state school. The 2+3 or 3+3 are probably the only ones that might be worth looking into.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

No one really want to go to UoP or any private school. They END up at a private school either because they don't have a state school or didn't get into a state school.

Don't a lot of people end up turning down state school acceptances to go to private schools because of the perceived prestige or increased specialization opportunities?

 

[WolfsBane]

Don't a lot of people end up turning down state school acceptances to go to private schools because of the perceived prestige or increased specialization opportunities?

They do and imo its a big mistake. In the field of dentistry prestige means nothing to most people with the general exception of the actual dentist. I agree that specializing is generally higher coming out of an Ivy league school, but imo its not worth the extra 100+ thousand dollars that an Ivy costs. Work really hard and you can do it anywhere.

 

[~FlossBoss~]

You are in a great position! I wish I knew I wanted to be a dentist at your age. I would definitely apply to several early acceptance/assurance programs. If you can get in you can save a lot of money and the stress of AADSAS, etc. At my school many of us did either a 3+4 or a 4+4 early assurance program and we all speak highly of it. I did the 4+4 (applied sophmore year of college) and it definitely helped me enjoy my last two years of undergrad.

P.s. - When doing your research make sure you find out which programs include binding or non-binding contracts. You might have to apply to other dental schools in the future because of life and don't want to get stuck!

 

[Medin2017]

They do and imo its a big mistake. In the field of dentistry prestige means nothing to most people with the general exception of the actual dentist. I agree that specializing is generally higher coming out of an Ivy league school, but imo its not worth the extra 100+ thousand dollars that an Ivy costs. Work really hard and you can do it anywhere.

nah sorry to say but some people don't have any academic abilities at all. There are people that are not as smart as others or never find the way to study properly. I know people who put in major work just to get c's/b's. If you think they can outwork someone who's naturally more capable and just as hard working, idk what to say.