Applying to both dental and medical schools
Started by WithLove
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Sounds expensive
Wouldn't suggest it, terrible idea in my opinion. Pretty sure for at least one of the applications you have to indicate if you took the MCAT/DAT/other graduate school entry tests. You'd also have one hell of a time explaining to adcoms why you're applying to both medical and dental school. Make a decision and own it.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Ambivalence is not exactly what either of the professional schools are looking for.
I vaguely recall AMCAS asking if you're applying/have applied to other health professional schools. So at the very least on the medical side they'd likely know, and I don't think adcoms look favorably on applicants not appearing fully committed to the field.
Bottom line is that schools shouldn't be able to find out unless you left clues or told them about it.
But yes, the AADSAS application does ask: "Have you ever applied to dental school prior to the present application cycle?" and "Have you previously, or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than dental school?" It's completely up to you whether or not you're honest about that.
Do I recommend you apply to both medical and dental school concurrently? No. It'll cost a lot of money, time, and energy. You'll have to worry about taking both the MCAT and DAT, filling out two different applications, and making sure your PSs and LORs doesn't coincide with the other, etc. Too much effort if you asked me...
But if you're a little indecisive, I can't blame you. I get that most of us here want mainly two things: 1) pursue a career in healthcare and 2) find a career that's rewarding and will take good care of us. For me, medicine and dentistry fit the bill, but I had to pick one to make life easier. If I had all the time in the world, I wouldn't mind getting an MD after dental school...being a dentist one day and a doctor the next seems like a pretty cool thing to do.
Best of luck~
But yes, the AADSAS application does ask: "Have you ever applied to dental school prior to the present application cycle?" and "Have you previously, or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than dental school?" It's completely up to you whether or not you're honest about that.
Do I recommend you apply to both medical and dental school concurrently? No. It'll cost a lot of money, time, and energy. You'll have to worry about taking both the MCAT and DAT, filling out two different applications, and making sure your PSs and LORs doesn't coincide with the other, etc. Too much effort if you asked me...
But if you're a little indecisive, I can't blame you. I get that most of us here want mainly two things: 1) pursue a career in healthcare and 2) find a career that's rewarding and will take good care of us. For me, medicine and dentistry fit the bill, but I had to pick one to make life easier. If I had all the time in the world, I wouldn't mind getting an MD after dental school...being a dentist one day and a doctor the next seems like a pretty cool thing to do.
Best of luck~
Last edited:
DO NOT DO IT. this is what screwed me this year. I was originally premed and applied to medical school and then this past cycle applied dental and was rejected everywhere with no interviews despite my stats. I tried to get an answer and two schools told me that my premed past may have something to do with it.
The applications will ask you about this and yeah you could take a shot and lie but I wouldn't recommend it as these schools will probably find out and it will not end well.
The applications will ask you about this and yeah you could take a shot and lie but I wouldn't recommend it as these schools will probably find out and it will not end well.
While I agree with you that the OP shouldn't apply to both medical and dental schools concurrently or lie on the application, I find it hard to believe that dental schools (or vice versa) will penalize you for switching career paths. Many people on SDN have done it before and I personally know a couple of people who got accepted into dental school after failing to getting into medical school the year before. I mean, you may not look as good compared to a "true" pre-dent, but if you have the stats (plus ECs, LORs, PS, shadowing hours, and an earnest resolve/mindset about the switch) you technically shouldn't have any problems. Are you sure you're application wasn't lacking elsewhere?
Last edited:
.
Last edited:
Heard the following from a dentist I shadowed; a girl that was friends with his daughter (currently in med school @ Iowa) applied to both the medical and dental schools at Iowa simultaneously and was rejected from the dental school and accepted at the medical school. His hypothesis was that the schools talked to each other and the adcom at the dental school thought that she was a shoe in for medicine and after getting into medical school that she would not choose dentistry and thus rejected her. I'm not sure if someone took some liberties in their story down the grapevine, so take this with a grain of salt...
