Advice Needed

[mhassan67]

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Hey guys so here is my situation..any advice is greatly appreciated

I graduated in 2012 with my bachelors in biology. I have a 3.5 gpa and 3.4 science gpa. My plan after graduation was dental school, but I hadn't really looked into the admissions requirements. Luckily, I had all my pre reqs completed. I took the DAT twice, because my first score was pretty low. First scores were AA: 17 and PA: 18. Second scores were AA: 18 and PA: 20. I didn't think my scores were good enough... so I took a break from thinking about school. Meanwhile I traveled, did some volunteer work, and got a job as a pharmacy technician in a retail location and later at a hospital. For a while I considered pharmacy as a career, but am having second thoughts. I love medicine and pharmacy is very interesting, but the job seems pretty boring and stressful. Now application season is coming up and I have no idea what to do. Ideally i want to go to dental school, but I can only retake the DAT once more. Should I try? Rr should I just apply to pharm school? Im pretty sure my chances of getting into pharm school are pretty good, seeing as I have years of experience being a tech. But I don't know if I would be happy doing it. Any advice? Thanks

 

[mhassan67]

Let me add: I have some hours shadowing a few dentists. But another problem I had was getting an lor from my profs. I went to a big university and the class sizes were pretty big. I had no idea how important it would be to build a relationship with my professors. So when I asked them after graduation, they all turned me down because they didn't really know me.

 

[ICUrunning]

Let me add: I have some hours shadowing a few dentists. But another problem I had was getting an lor from my profs. I went to a big university and the class sizes were pretty big. I had no idea how important it would be to build a relationship with my professors. So when I asked them after graduation, they all turned me down because they didn't really know me.

What makes you want to be a dentist? Would you be happy being one?

 

[mhassan67]

Ive always wanted to be a dentist since I've been a kid. My cousin is a dentist, and I see how much he enjoys his job. Ive shadowed a few dentist and am very interested in the profession. Im really good with people, so I would love the one-on-one patient care. The lifestyle is also very appealing. Its just something Ive always wanted.

 

[Chga]

I would use your cousin's connections and try to do some research at a dental school for the LoR(it will also help you get into that dental school, if you do a good job). Some schools require letters from only undergraduate professors, you cant apply to those schools. Get two professors LoR, retake the DAT and youll be set. However this task would be nearly impossible for this coming cycle. I would set your self up for next cycle May 1st 2016, this will give you plenty of time to study for DAT and really beef up that application with great LoRs and research. You could also set up a meeting with the professors who turned you down for LoR and offer to work in their lab and get a LoR/research experience that way.

Even if you could get your application in by August, it would be kind of borderline late and a waste of money.

 

[mhassan67]

gotcha. thanks for the advice