Applying Dental and DO... horrible idea?

Started by HudsonMud
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HudsonMud

Full Member
10+ Year Member
So, I want some honest feedback. I'm considering applying to both dental school and DO school in June, hoping to get into either. While I'm certain dentistry is for me, I'm concerned that with my stats, I won't get in. Given the way AACOMAS calculates GPAs, my GPA is far stronger for DO and I think I've got a better shot there. I have letters of recommendation for both, ECs that relate to both, and I've shadowed DOs, MDs, and dentists. I know there is a section on the AADSAS application that asks if you've taken any other admissions tests or applied to any other professional schools... how would this look if I applied to both?

At this point, I'm 25 and I want to get a career off the ground. I've done the prereq work, done well, and want to start moving into the next phase of my life, whether its dentistry or medicine. I can't bare the thought of applying to dental schools, not getting in, and having to wait another year and go through the process again.

PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR HONEST FEEDBACK! Has anyone else done this? How'd it work out for you?

Thanks.
 
It seems like you need to do some soul searching. I'd decide on one career and stick to it. What makes you tick? Why do you want to be a DO, or why not? Why do you want to be a DDS/DMD, or why not? I wouldn't recommend applying to both.

That said, there are some unique options out there. For example, Nova Southeastern has the DO/DMD degree so you can practice medicine and dentistry. I don't know anything about it, other than that it exists, though.
 
hmmmmm, you may have to tread with caution. on the aadsas application, it specifically asks if you have applied/ will be applying to other health profession schools.

however, i highly doubt that they have a way of knowing if you applied to DO school. I'd imagine that they'd be going by an honor system.

but, it is the rest of your life we're talking about here. you may need to do some more soul searching, but i can see where you're coming from. worst case scenario, if it doesn't work out for dental school this year, you would have to wait another year to apply to dental school again or change to DO school.

for the sake of saving a wasted year or maybe even 2 years, i'd say apply to both. i'm sure the counter argument would be that in the grand scheme of things, a year or 2 isn't much ......but, to me it doesn't seem very prudent to waste a year or 2 if worst comes to worst.

i'd say apply to both and keep your fingers crossed.

edit: first off, what are your stats for dental and med school? (i'm assuming that you took the DAT and the MCAT)

secondly, will you have time to retake the DAT and/or the MCAT before June, if your scores aren't as high as you had hoped?
 
NDPitch said:
It seems like you need to do some soul searching. I'd decide on one career and stick to it. What makes you tick? Why do you want to be a DO, or why not? Why do you want to be a DDS/DMD, or why not? I wouldn't recommend applying to both.

That said, there are some unique options out there. For example, Nova Southeastern has the DO/DMD degree so you can practice medicine and dentistry. I don't know anything about it, other than that it exists, though.
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best advice is to finalize ur decision whether u want to do DDS/DMD, DO, or both(NSU) through shadowing/internships.
not sure what else to say...
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll definitely look into the Nova program. Honestly, what makes me "tick" is talking to people, working with my hands, and solving problems. Dentistry is absolutely a profession I could see myself in, but I'm concerned my stats just aren't good enough. I am not willing to move away for an SMP, and no schools around me offer any 1-year masters programs in the hard sciences.

For reference, my oGPA is 3.14, my sGPA is 3.26, and my BCP GPA is 3.66. My DAT is 20AA, and I have not yet taken the MCAT. The reason I am now considering DO school is because given the AACOMAS calculations (different class designations, allows retakes, see my previous thread for my GPA "blemishes"), my GPAs are much more competitive (oGPA 3.26, sGPA 3.46, BCP GPA 3.66)

Honestly, I think I would be happy in both professions, and I am anxious to start on either. I feel like I've been going at this post-bacc pre-req thing for so long (3.70 GPA in all my pre-reqs + upper levels) and want so badly to move onto the next step, whether its dentistry or medicine.
 
HudsonMud said:
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll definitely look into the Nova program. Honestly, what makes me "tick" is talking to people, working with my hands, and solving problems. Dentistry is absolutely a profession I could see myself in, but I'm concerned my stats just aren't good enough. I am not willing to move away for an SMP, and no schools around me offer any 1-year masters programs in the hard sciences.

For reference, my oGPA is 3.14, my sGPA is 3.26, and my BCP GPA is 3.66. My DAT is 20AA, and I have not yet taken the MCAT. The reason I am now considering DO school is because given the AACOMAS calculations (different class designations, allows retakes, see my previous thread for my GPA "blemishes"), my GPAs are much more competitive (oGPA 3.26, sGPA 3.46, BCP GPA 3.66)

Honestly, I think I would be happy in both professions, and I am anxious to start on either. I feel like I've been going at this post-bacc pre-req thing for so long (3.70 GPA in all my pre-reqs + upper levels) and want so badly to move onto the next step, whether its dentistry or medicine.
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Your BCP is competitive(and the most important gpa), and your DAT is good. I would suggest only applying dental, if ADCOMS see you applied to D.O also, they will assume dental is a 2nd choice, and may reject you for that reason alone. ADCOMS dont want to accept anyone that is iffy about going to dental school. If you don't hear back from any dental schools by nov, then you might still have time to apply to D.O.
 
HudsonMud said:
For reference, my oGPA is 3.14, my sGPA is 3.26, and my BCP GPA is 3.66. My DAT is 20AA, and I have not yet taken the MCAT. The reason I am now considering DO school is because given the AACOMAS calculations (different class designations, allows retakes, see my previous thread for my GPA "blemishes"), my GPAs are much more competitive (oGPA 3.26, sGPA 3.46, BCP GPA 3.66)
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To be honest, i think you have a decent shot at getting into a DDS program somewhere. You will just need to apply very broadly... like 20+ schools.

Further, if you apply to both, it's not the end of the world. I have known people that applied to both Pharmacy and Dental programs and still got into dental school. However, if you think about it from the point of an adcom (on both sides)... why would they give you an interview, when you are not sure what you want to do, when plenty of other applicants have already shown dedication to a particular field.

Lastly, there are many schools that have both DO and DMD programs, so i am not sure how they would feel about you applying to both. Not familiar with DO programs, but a few that come to mind are: Midwestern-IL, Midwestern-AZ, AT Still-MO, AT Still-AZ, Western, Nova, UNE, LECOM-Fl, etc.
 
Sooner or later you must decide. I think you can make your effort a lot more efficient if you decide before you apply to both. Also, you may face some unwanted opposition if a program finds out you've applied to both programs. I think it's worth investigating which route you want to take and just go for it.

While your overall GPA is lower; your BCP and DAT should allow you some DS interviews. Just apply to a good amount of schools that are within your reach and apply early. I imagine for DO you would have a great chance assuming you can get a MCAT greater than 28.
 
HudsonMud said:
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll definitely look into the Nova program. Honestly, what makes me "tick" is talking to people, working with my hands, and solving problems. Dentistry is absolutely a profession I could see myself in, but I'm concerned my stats just aren't good enough. I am not willing to move away for an SMP, and no schools around me offer any 1-year masters programs in the hard sciences.

For reference, my oGPA is 3.14, my sGPA is 3.26, and my BCP GPA is 3.66. My DAT is 20AA, and I have not yet taken the MCAT. The reason I am now considering DO school is because given the AACOMAS calculations (different class designations, allows retakes, see my previous thread for my GPA "blemishes"), my GPAs are much more competitive (oGPA 3.26, sGPA 3.46, BCP GPA 3.66)

Honestly, I think I would be happy in both professions, and I am anxious to start on either. I feel like I've been going at this post-bacc pre-req thing for so long (3.70 GPA in all my pre-reqs + upper levels) and want so badly to move onto the next step, whether its dentistry or medicine.
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As Doc Toothache mentioned, I don't think you are serious about both... which is not good. First of all, this is a lifetime commitment and not something you want to just choose randomly to "move onto the next step." Choose wisely. While both have doctorates and are in the health field, a medical doctor and a dentist are two very and vastly different careers. Not to mention, as someone already mentioned, if you apply to two programs the school will wonder if you're actually serious about the field. As for reporting it on the AADSAS, it might be an honor system (not sure about this one... don't know if I would lie though), but if a certain school has both DO and DMD program, they would probably know.

I don't think this is a field you want to touch if you are not 100% dedicated. Not wanting to move to do a Master's program? Let's say you apply and get some interviews, they ask why you didn't do a Master's because of your low GPA, what will you say? I wanted to stay at home? I don't mean to be the devil's advocate, but I think you need some serious self-time to ponder your choices. What I honestly think? You don't really like either. You don't dislike them, but they're both in the health profession, stable, and well paying jobs. I think if you go into either field just for money, you'll have a miserable time going through school, and out of school working as well.

Additionally, I don't know the exact grades for DO schools but I'd imagine it isn't exactly easy either. It is if not just as competitive if not more than DS. I don't think your .1 or so difference is going to be a game changer, especially if it means jeopardizing your whole career. One last comment too. Unless you are a very good lier, ADCOMs aren't dumb. They see thousands of applicants per year, and interview just as many. They'll know if you're lying and not passionate. That doesn't sit well.

Good luck deciding, and let us know what you end up doing. Best of luck.
 
Thank you to all the above posters, I appreciate your candor. I do not want to be seen by adcoms as indifferent, unmotivated, or indecisive, and I think applying to both programs may come off that way. I've been moving toward applying to dental school for two years, and this is where I see myself succeeding and being happy.

Thank you all again for giving me your straight opinions, without sugar coating. I'll be rolling the dice on D school come June, and hope a school will be willing to do the same on me.
 
Logistically, studying and (more importantly) doing well on the MCAT is not an easy feat. I would argue that getting into DO schools is more competitive than getting into dental schools. Apply wisely to dental schools and you should be fine. I've seen quite a few people get in with lower stats than you in the ongoing cycle (2012-2013). Good luck!
 
Insincerity about either route will undoubtedly make you miserable at some point. You should figure out which path is for you first, before you tread forth, as others have mentioned. If you do end up at dental school, you will be thinking about how great it would be to be a physician when things get tough, and vice versa. Attitude can make or break your experiences.
 
For what it's worth, I know someone who applied to both MD and DDS programs the same year. I'm not sure if he had it stated on his application or not, but once the interviewer (a crotchety old man) found out the interview was over. Obviously he did not get in. I have no idea if this type of response is the norm but it's the only evidence I've come across for your situation. I'd agree with the above posters that you need to do some soul searching and apply to one or the other. Also, without an MCAT score nobody can accurately tell you your chances at DO school.
 
Personally, I think it's okay if you apply to both, and it's good you are thinking of the consequences of applying to both. One thing you might want to consider is what if you get into both programs?

P.S. If it's any consolation, your stats are much better than mine and I've gotten into a couple of dental schools. If you do decide to ONLY apply to dental, you can say that you had tried out the different fields (as can be shown by your shadowing DO's/MD's) but then you can say you fully realized dentistry was for you. In my opinion, ADCOM's really like to know that you're committed to dentistry, so that would be their biggest concern if they knew you were applying to different programs--just because what if you don't like dentistry then drop out, and then they have an empty spot that they can't fill.

Best of luck though; luckily you have a couple of months to think through this!
 
KittySquared said:
Attitude can make or break your experiences.
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I couldn't agree more, thanks for your reply. Whichever path I choose, I will embrace it whole heartedly.

Member902507 said:
P.S. If it's any consolation, your stats are much better than mine and I've gotten into a couple of dental schools.

Best of luck though; luckily you have a couple of months to think through this!
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Congrats on your acceptances! I think the reality of the upcoming cycles, after several years of it being a dream, is what prompted this uncertainty I've been feeling over the past few days.
 
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