Applied dentistry, rejected and referred to podiatry (interview this Friday)

[aiikookie]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

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[heybrother]

A profession you know nothing about, that you have never shadowed, that you do not meet the application requirements for (no MCAT or shadowing) is still willing to accept you. If you were an outsider looking in - what would you think about that?

-They will know something is up because you meet presumably none of the application requirements and your statement will say dentistry.
-You should be honest. What possible purpose is there to lying when you will easily be found out.
-Check the schools threads - most people hear back within a week or 2
-You are early. Podiatry schools admit until a few days before school starts next year in July. They are desperate for students.

 

[Weirdy]

I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet.

This is not a good enough reason to transfer your application.

You need to thoroughly shadow before you commit.

Do not do it just for the sake of being a doctor.

You will not make it through school or the grind if your goal is to find the quickest/easiest way to be called a doctor.

 

[aiikookie]

A profession you know nothing about, that you have never shadowed, that you do not meet the application requirements for (no MCAT or shadowing) is still willing to accept you. If you were an outsider looking in - what would you think about that?

-They will know something is up because you meet presumably none of the application requirements and your statement will say dentistry.
-You should be honest. What possible purpose is there to lying when you will easily be found out.
-Check the schools threads - most people hear back within a week or 2
-You are early. Podiatry schools admit until a few days before school starts next year in July. They are desperate for students.

I know of a dental applicant who got rejected from MWZ, was referred to pharmacy and was offered and interview then an acceptance. I'm not sure what to think about this since as per your first post, why would they interview me if I have no MCAT or experience. Which makes me question whether or not they are trying to offer interviews to outsiders as backup in case no on else wants the program. If I say that I had no interest in podiatry prior to getting this interview, how would they take that? I will still try to show my interest tho.

 

[aiikookie]

This is not a good enough reason to transfer your application.

You need to thoroughly shadow before you commit.

Do not do it just for the sake of being a doctor.

You will not make it through school or the grind if your goal is to find the quickest/easiest way to be called a doctor.

I am not just doing it for the sake of being a doctor. I am still doing research and will try to reach out to some podiatrists to shadow before I think about accepting the program (that is if I was offered admission). Dental schools will still offer interviews even till March, so I will see how that plays out.

 

[podiatryresident]

I am not just doing it for the sake of being a doctor. I am still doing research and will try to reach out to some podiatrists to shadow before I think about accepting the program (that is if I was offered admission). Dental schools will still offer interviews even till March, so I will see how that plays out.

Please try to apply your dental schools at least 1-2 years, or take MCAT and apply William Carey or other DO schools. If none of them works for you, you can think about podiatry. "Think" first, then apply

 

[deleted1138023]

lol

 

[heybrother]

I know of a dental applicant who got rejected from MWZ, was referred to pharmacy and was offered and interview then an acceptance. I'm not sure what to think about this since as per your first post, why would they interview me if I have no MCAT or experience. Which makes me question whether or not they are trying to offer interviews to outsiders as backup in case no on else wants the program. If I say that I had no interest in podiatry prior to getting this interview, how would they take that? I will still try to show my interest tho.

I think you'll ultimately say something more diplomatic than this like - "I hadn't considered it, but ever since you offered me an interview I've been reading about it and really think its cool". Which is ..hogwash. You've never shadowed. You've never spoken to a podiatrist

Jokingly, the admissions office is like "horizontally integrated". If a student isn't a candidate for one of their classes - why they must be a candidate for something else. The real issue is - if you aren't up to speed on this - no one wants to be a podiatrist. Actual true applications are plummeting and the schools are -desperate to fill-. Why that's happening - you'll just have to figure out for youself but the usual answer on here is that juice isn't worth the squeeze. Others disagree.

 

[deleted1138023]

if you:

1. speak English
2. meet the minimum requirements.
3. willing to take out 50k a year in loans for tuition

welcome to podiatry. everything else is fluff. that's all that matters.

I truly don't think any schools care if you like podiatry or ever shadowed someone. but I may be wrong.

 

[aiikookie]

I think you'll ultimately say something more diplomatic than this like - "I hadn't considered it, but ever since you offered me an interview I've been reading about it and really think its cool". Which is ..hogwash. You've never shadowed. You've never spoken to a podiatrist

Jokingly, the admissions office is like "horizontally integrated". If a student isn't a candidate for one of their classes - why they must be a candidate for something else. The real issue is - if you aren't up to speed on this - no one wants to be a podiatrist. Actual true applications are plummeting and the schools are -desperate to fill-. Why that's happening - you'll just have to figure out for youself but the usual answer on here is that juice isn't worth the squeeze. Others disagree.

Why does no one want to be a podiatrist?

 

[deleted1138023]

Why does no one want to be a podiatrist?

7 years of education after undergrad to be treated like the red headed step child of medicine/surgery

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Why does no one want to be a podiatrist?

You should shadow first, then decide if this is the field for you or not. Since you wanted to be a Dentist, I do not think this is a field for you. However, if you had any interest in Podiatry, you should shadow a few DPMs and see if you can deal with feet for the rest of your life.

 

[iridocyclitiss]

I am not just doing it for the sake of being a doctor. I am still doing research and will try to reach out to some podiatrists to shadow before I think about accepting the program (that is if I was offered admission). Dental schools will still offer interviews even till March, so I will see how that plays out.

I would recommend exploring both options. Maybe reapply for dental next year too. You've got time, why not wait it out? Podiatry will always be there for you. As you explore the podiatry forums, you'll see many people on both sides of the fence (Podiatry sucks or Podiatry is great). Shadow a podiatrist and ask them what they think of the profession.

Dental School and podiatry school are both stupid expensive. Dental has a higher return on investment. I'd exhaust that option first. If you choose podiatry you need to cut costs. spending 400k on school to make 100-150k is a huge risk. Go to a school with cheap COL. There are also resident manager positions in more expensive areas that a spouse or significant other could do easy. (10hr a week job in exchange for free rent). Apply for every scholarship. Take out as little loan as possible. Spend as little as possible. Do excellent in school and land a good residency.

 

[Weirdy]

I am not just doing it for the sake of being a doctor. I am still doing research and will try to reach out to some podiatrists to shadow before I think about accepting the program (that is if I was offered admission). Dental schools will still offer interviews even till March, so I will see how that plays out.

Apologies for being harsh.

I encourage you to shadow as much as you can, both private practice/group practice and hospital employed podiatrists.
The field is wide and varies between both training and pay.

 

[air bud]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

 

[air bud]

Why does no one want to be a podiatrist?

How much time you got?

 

[aiikookie]

How much time you got?

Enough time. What do you got?

 

[call1800doctorb]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

It’s a huge commitment. 4 years of school, 3 years of residency, tons of debt. Do a lot of research and be absolutely sure that this is something you want to do.

 

[heybrother]

Why does no one want to be a podiatrist?

One of the things I always wonder about on this forum is - are we keeping it "fresh!". We answer this question a lot and it often ends up turning into a tirade. Repetitive / tiresome and sometimes so negative that I think students wonder - can it really be that bad.

There are people who do well in this profession. But let's take it back a step. You are here. You're a student. You think - all of these professional degrees are probably great. These people are doctors. How bad can it be. They will all ultimately do great and make good money. Its really easy to believe that - to think - what a bunch of whiners, until you are the person looking for a job. The squeeze is that the podiatry job market is pitful. When you look around on the internet and search for podiatry salaries what you are going to find is that podiatry incomes are routinely listed at less than $100K. That can't be right can it? It is. People often get crushed in this profession. There are no MDs taking sub-$200K jobs short of the strangest of circumstances. Dental job prospects crush podiatry essentially everywhere you practice. Search for podiatry jobs across a spectrum of sites - you'll find them, but then search for dental or family medicine and the ratio will be 10:1. Tell me if you see any medicine jobs that list a starting salary range of less than $100K ( I don't think you will, but you will for podiatry).

1. Podiatry costs too much (its increased dramatically in the last few years)
2. Its too long compared to most of what most people do.
3. Its very limited in scope for a lot of podiatrists.
4. It just has way more issues to fight about - scope, privs, surgical rights, boards - than most other physicians experience.
5. Jobs are limited. Pay is often low. Competitive pay/hospital jobs are a battle.
6. The majority of the jobs are private practice - every job is an island. Every experience different. Horror stories abound.

Its not that some people don't succeed. There are very successful people on this forum. But the vast majority of people experience financial setbacks that they wouldn't experience with any other medical profession. Most physicians are on the path to financial success the second they begin practicing - some even during residency. Very few jobs in podiatry will start you off on an immediate path to financial freedom.

You will go through 4 years of expensive school, 3 years of potentially very involved residency, and have a harder time getting a job than a nurse practitioner who can start a job in an emergency room with essentially no clinical training and dramatically less medical education than you have.

A lot of people after the fact get rose colored glasses. They ultimately get settled. They make some money. They think - this isn't a bad job. But they often forget what they went through to get it or what they'd have to give up if they lost it.

 

[AZPodFac]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

As a current podiatry faculty that reviews podiatry applicants every week, here is my advice. This is a unique opportunity to find out about a profession that you were unaware of, or wasn’t on your list, and you may find that podiatry is a more perfect fit for you. The only way to find out is to shadow a podiatrist and see what the profession is about.

To answer your questions, Yes, the interviewers will be aware that you are a transfer applicant, and you absolutely need to be honest about your journey to finding podiatry. In podiatry we don’t have a “decision day”, as our admissions is a rolling process, which means most of our student applicants will know the admissions committee decision within 1-2 weeks of their interview date. However, for transfer applicants, such as yourself, if you haven’t had any podiatry shadowing experience prior to the interview, we are asking you to shadow a podiatrist. After you have shadowed we will do a follow-up phone interview with you to discuss your interest in podiatry and if podiatry is the right fit for you, after which the admissions committee will make a decision on your application. As for the interview itself, we want to get to know you as a person, not just an application, so we will ask you questions about your volunteering experiences, leadership roles, any research you conducted as an undergraduate, and maybe your favorite science course and your least favorite science course.
Tanya Thoms, DPM
Director, Curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes
Associate Professor
Midwestern University
Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine

 

[wakaflocka88]

As a current podiatry faculty that reviews podiatry applicants every week, here is my advice. This is a unique opportunity to find out about a profession that you were unaware of, or wasn’t on your list, and you may find that podiatry is a more perfect fit for you. The only way to find out is to shadow a podiatrist and see what the profession is about.

To answer your questions, Yes, the interviewers will be aware that you are a transfer applicant, and you absolutely need to be honest about your journey to finding podiatry. In podiatry we don’t have a “decision day”, as our admissions is a rolling process, which means most of our student applicants will know the admissions committee decision within 1-2 weeks of their interview date. However, for transfer applicants, such as yourself, if you haven’t had any podiatry shadowing experience prior to the interview, we are asking you to shadow a podiatrist. After you have shadowed we will do a follow-up phone interview with you to discuss your interest in podiatry and if podiatry is the right fit for you, after which the admissions committee will make a decision on your application. As for the interview itself, we want to get to know you as a person, not just an application, so we will ask you questions about your volunteering experiences, leadership roles, any research you conducted as an undergraduate, and maybe your favorite science course and your least favorite science course.
Tanya Thoms, DPM
Director, Curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes
Associate Professor
Midwestern University
Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine

Dr. Thoms - what are your thoughts on pumping out more graduates into an already poor job market with 2 new schools added? How is this impacting your schools bottom line?

 

[de Ribas]

View attachment 362149

Gets an interview just because they consider podiatry. Even before submitting an application. Lol

 

[air bud]

You getting into Podiatry School hinges on one thing and one thing only. Do you have the necessary cash to pay the tuition or are you creditworthy and can obtain the appropriate loans. If so, welcome to insert name of desired podiatry school.

 

[Prehealth1011]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

If you were waitlisted for Dental schools then you might not be too far off. Try for Dental schools again next year. Retake the DAT if you have to

Podiatry will be there for you whenever you want it

 

[Feli]

I got this postcard from the Barry University: "WANT TO GO TO PODIATRY SCHOOL IN MIAMI? IF SO, FILL OUT AND RETURN THIS CARD."

^^Untrue story. Actually, it's a fiction novel... from House of God book by Shem (great humor read as you putz around with professional school apps and re-apps and ponder how your life as you know it is over or may just be beginning and if you should become religious or vegan or other revelations).

As others have said, shadow any profession you might seriously consider to gain perspective. It's no fun getting rejected for a path you've been eyeing for awhile, but it's not the time to make hasty decisions at huge tuition loans. That shadowing is primary way to decide on anything important.

I was 95% sure I wanted to be FP/PCP when I started college and also began my hospital orderly and NA jobs. Then, I worked in the ER and realized I was pretty good at and pretty interested in procedures like helping docs and RNs cast and start IVs and suture and intubate... and I would seek those out. I also worked 30hrs/wk, partied a good amount, and chased girls a lot through pre-med... ipso facto ho-hum gpa but good MCAT. I wouldn't have ever considered dent or any "NPC" specialty (also from House of God)... just my personal pref and my style. So, I found out about podiatry through some CRNAs at the hospital as a good lifestyle specialty... definitely not as good of income as ENT, plastic, ophthalmology... but similar procedures + free time. I dug deeper. I shadowed and liked it a lot (didn't even realize the advanced surgery or hospital potential since the DPMs in my hometown just did the bread and butter). And hey, it turns out I stayed interested, got good training, and I'm pretty good at it. That 2nd story is actually true. GL

 

[Weirdy]

Dr. Thoms - what are your thoughts on pumping out more graduates into an already poor job market with 2 new schools added? How is this impacting your schools bottom line?

Keep the thread on task please.

You are more than welcome to tag the poster in the appropriate threads to ask your question.

For now, please keep this specific thread on task.

 

[GreenGreen]

I'd try another year or two before giving up the dental dream. Like others mentioned I agree that its too long of a road with too little given back on the return for podiatry.

 

[zeepod]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

Do yourself a favor and put some effort in doing your research about what you are applying. Make sure this is the right decision for you. Podiatry and medicine are not for everyone. It is hard to tell from your post if you have other areas of interest as everything is in the health field. When you are asked why are you interested in podiatry, how will you answer? I have had students shadow me and call for information about the field. Without putting some effort into looking into the field first, I do not think you are being fair to yourself and see if this is the right fit for you. Four years of podiatric education and three years of residency training are seven years of hard work and a significant debt to invest into a career that you do not know much about.
Will be happy to talk privately if needed- let me know.

 

[Apprentice of St. Luke]

Hey everybody. So I applied to dental schools this cycle and things are not going so great (3 rejections, 2 waitlist before interview). I was rejected from MWZ and referred to applied to other health programs (podiatry, pharmacy, biomed masters..etc). I transferred my application to podiatry as I was interested in it seeing as I come from a family of diabetics with nasty feet. I did some research and feel like it would be a great career if I don't get into dental school this year. I did not take the MCAT, no podiatry experience and my PS is catered towards dentistry as my dental application was just transferred to podiatry. Funny enough, I received an interview invite this morning and my virtual interview is this Friday. I know nothing about the process nor do I know what to expect.

-Will the admissions committee know that I am a transferred applicant? I do not want to lie and say that podiatry has been my dream and whatnot.
-How do I go about the interview and do I be honest that I my application was transferred and I do not know anything about the career?
-Is there such a thing as decision day? When will I know if I got accepted or not? Am I interviewing at a late date at this point? I see people interviewing and getting accepted a week after, which makes me think that we do not have to wait for a decision day.
-What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I wonder if this has happened to someone else.

This may be a little late:

From one pre-health student to another (or not, as I am not enrolled currently), may I suggest you shadow the kind of doctor you may be interested in becoming long before you apply to professional training? Make sure you understand thoroughly the pros and cons of each profession - the work hours, the salary, private practice vs group practice vs academic settings, lifestyle, rural vs urban opportunities (obviously, all of this could change), and of course, scope of practice (I see almost fifty different scopes of practice in the U.S. - no general anesthesia here, no total amputation of the foot there, can treat lesions of the hand except those caused by trauma in the state over yonder, etc., etc.).

Both DDS/DMD and DPM are limited scope of practice professions. Even if, for example, you enjoy your general surgery or emergency medicine clerkships in podiatric medical school, you would still have to restart your professional medical training from the very beginning if you wanted to pursue either of the above (I am not on an admissions committee - of course - but as I understand it, there aren't many LCME/COCA schools which accept DPM credit in transfer, though there used to be a DPM to DO program in Florida).

The point I am trying to get at is that you have to know what it is you are getting into if you want to be a DPM (or a DDS/DMD, or for that matter, an MD/DO).