Anyone apply both to medical and dental schools?

[chimpu]

hello ppl!
did anyone of you apply both to medical and dental schools? how do you go about asking the pre-med committee for letters to both schools? and do places with both a dental and a medical school care that u applied to both? (or more directly -- do the schools know u are applying to both? eg USCF, Harvard))
thanks. and pls don't add any sermon about why I shouldn't be applying to both schools.

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[Bevo]

Well I'll tell you what I know. Besides you having to take a different test, the DAT. it might be hard to apply to both concurrently since the process for applying to both are somewhat different.
The DAT is taken at different times of the year than the MCAT and the process of applying to Dental schools happens differently. I had a friend who took the DAT in August? I think and was accepted like a month or two ago. The process doesn't feel to be nearly as long as the one for medical schools.

Additionally, if you plan on applying this year to both, you would have to apply to the 2003 class in medical schools and the 2004 for dental schools since they already sent out their acceptances for 2003, I believe.

Of course I might be wrong, so it would be better who knows more than me explain it better. Ive looked at dental schools as a possibility, but haven't taken it very seriously at this point.

 

[chimpu]

thanx for the reply. yeah i will be applying for the next year and plan on taking my MCAT's in August and then DAT's in October. I am a non-traditional applicant so I wanna maximize my chances of attending a school next year.

 

[none]

Do you want to be a dentist? I'm not so sure it's best for either profession if you're wavering between the two. You are considering osteopathic schools, right?

 

[vixen]

hey I know you didn't want to hear a sermon, but why don't you choose what you really want to do and apply to that program. I'm applying to dental schools for 2003 and I hate the fact that SOME people go into it because they didn't get into med schools...that gives us people who really did want to become dentists a bad rap. I'm sure if you go in both you'd go to MD schools, right? Why not apply to MD and DO...dentistry, although somewhat related, is still an entirely different field...

have you had any clinical exposure in a dental setting? is it something you'd be happy with?

Just to answer your questions, the DAT can be taken any weekday of the year. It's on a computer and your score pops up soon as you're done...it has bio, gen chem, organic, reading, and math sections as well as a perceptual exam. We apply through a service called AADSAS (a central processing unit), after the schools get your AADSAS app, some will send you secondaries. You also must interview, etc. The earliest acceptances starts on Dec. 1st, and goes until the class starts...right now people are still hearing back and some are still interviewing...

 

[chimpu]

relax y'all. it seems no one is even reading my post before going on the soapbox!! (I never asked when to take the DAT!!) <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
look, I have spent a whole winter break shadowing a dentist. I loved his lifestyle and consider him a model professional. I also worked with a doctor in a comminity health care setting and although has a hard lifestyle, he is really making a difference. And yes I have asked myself the question and blah blah I want to be in the medical field and all that. I have done my homework on both the professions and know what exams to take and how to apply etc... and I think I can be happy doing both. I am an older applicant with a strong liberal arts background and feel equally qualified for both the schools --so how the hell do I give 'pure' pre-dental's bad rep as Simseema believes? I think it is your insecurity not mine. I only desire to learn a body of knowledge and use it as an artist and as a professional in bring about change -- whether that means being a family physician or a dentist.
All I want is some honest answers to whether others have taken this path and what their experiences were...thanx.

 

[PMPMD]

I would think the letters of recommendation would be the same, since the basic skills and qualities they're assessing would be the same. I serioulsy doubt that you're the first person to ever apply to both types of programs, so ask your health professions advisor about how to reconcile the 2 application processes.

I've been accepted to medical school for next fall, but I have absolutely no idea what medical specialty I want to go into. Considering the huge difference between what the different MD graduates end up doing (e.g. psych vs. surgery), I can't really see why people are getting p*ssed at you for applying to both MD and DDS programs. For most people, researching the professions and shadowing people in both is enough to help them make their decision. You've done all that and still can't decide. Deciding between health professions can be a tough decision. An anesthesiologist that I shadowed last summer went to dental school first, then changed his mind and went to medical school. It happens. I say apply to both, see where you get in, and then decide. If you've got the time to fill out all those apps, more power to you.

 

[Ben01]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by chimpu:
•relax y'all. it seems no one is even reading my post before going on the soapbox!! (I never asked when to take the DAT!!) <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
look, I have spent a whole winter break shadowing a dentist. I loved his lifestyle and consider him a model professional. I also worked with a doctor in a comminity health care setting and although has a hard lifestyle, he is really making a difference. And yes I have asked myself the question and blah blah I want to be in the medical field and all that. I have done my homework on both the professions and know what exams to take and how to apply etc... and I think I can be happy doing both. I am an older applicant with a strong liberal arts background and feel equally qualified for both the schools --so how the hell do I give 'pure' pre-dental's bad rep as Simseema believes? I think it is your insecurity not mine. I only desire to learn a body of knowledge and use it as an artist and as a professional in bring about change -- whether that means being a family physician or a dentist.
All I want is some honest answers to whether others have taken this path and what their experiences were...thanx.•••••while it certainly seems that you're sincere in your motives I have to say that the other posters have brought up some good points. The reason it upsets some people that you are considering applying to both is that it implies a certain lack of interest/dedication to a particular feild. A career in medicine/dentistry requires you to be fully committed. Applying to both schools does not convey that sense of committment. If the schools know about your applications to both med and dental schools I think they will view you as indecisive/immature and looking only to put a "Dr." in front of your name. This isn't what I think about your motives--I'm just saying what schools might think. You said that you just desire to learn a body of knowledge and use it to bring about change. A noble pursuit, no doubt, but there are many, many jobs/educations that can help you do this not just med/dentistry. In addition, even if we just narrowed it down to only med/dentistry these two jobs are quite different and achieve your goal (bringing about positive change) in dramatically different ways. Maybe you should really think about which job suits you BEST - not just suits you in general.

 

[Diogenes]

If you apply to both, you'll look like you're not confident about your ability to get into med school and like dental school is just a back-up, and you'll get shot down by both groups. Just pick one and go for it.

 

[vixen]

ditto Ben01. Didn't mean to come down on you chimpu.

 

[Jamier2]

Great Pumpkin, who's in residency now, applied and was accepted to both in the same year.

 

[racergirl]

Just my two cents, but I think it's OK to be genuinely interested in both dentistry and medicine, as it sounds like the OP really is!

I got hit by a car once when I was training on my bike (NOT wearing a helmet--color me a *******) Anyhoo, I got hit by a car and my FACE went through the car's windshield! At the hospital I was lucky--a plastic surgeon was on call that day, and HE put the 64 stitches in my face.

64 stitches take a while, so I got to talking to the guy--turns out he started out as a dentist, and after a few years started specializing in reconstructive dentistry. After a while he got so into the reconstuctive thing he went to medical school and became a plastic surgeon so he could work on the whole face--now he can do teeth, facial bones, soft tissue injury, anything!

Super cool in my opinion, and boy did he do a great job on my face--basically no scars! But anyway, in this guy's words, "the mouth is a fascinating and complex world of medicine"

So OP, if your interested in both, apply to both.

 

[UCLA2000]

By applying to both programs at once you're taking a big risk. Dental schools may think that you're applying to their programs as a back up, and med programs may think that you're only after putting the title Dr. in front of your name.

Applying to both programs makes it seem as though you don't really know or care what career you have. ADCOMs may wonder if you've really thought about either profession, or if your parents are forcing you to be a doctor or a dentist.

In my honest opinion it makes you look immature. I'm 90% sure that schools with dual programs will be aware of your dual application.

 

[johnM]

While I don't know anyone who has applied to both dental/medical schools, I do have a friend who is appplying to grad/medical schools (separately, not MD/PhD). I think that your central question is whether the schools realize what you are doing. Frankly, I think not. I highly doubt that adcoms take the time to check this, and in my friend's case, this has not been a problem at all. In fact, one graduate program just paid for her flight/hotel to come to the east coast for an interview, and she also interviewed at med schools during her trip. They never knew, although I personally think that this is somewhat dishonest.

Obviously the fact that you are applying to both programs would turn adcoms away from you, as I believe they should. However, I think that it is pretty unlikely that the programs will find out about your dual applications.

 

[vixen]

I'm pretty sure the dental school app asks if you've A)ever applied to any professional school before and B)If you're currently applying to any other professional schools...

 

[chimpu]

bump...