Bad Student Tries to Become A Dentist

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Slueman33

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So forgetting all stats and numbers, what are the true chances a bad student could actually change them selves enough to become “good enough for dental school.”

Let’s say this student was confident in his learning capabilities, insecure about his self discipline abilities, and has a C average to show for everything.

Does it end there? The C average? If a student has been motivated in the past, but 3 years later still has a C average, should he accept it? Does the student listen to his surroundings that advise against continuing?Or does he listen to the emotional and arguably unreliable heart which says continue trying at all costs?

I just feel like even though I am getting better everyday, I will never be good enough as my siblings or other pre med kids who have been perfect little students since kindergarten.

Sorry for the sob story but I don’t know where else I could ask


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Based on your previous thread in this forum, I would get off SDN and focus on getting nothing but As in your remaining classes, so you can raise your GPA. If you're blaming your grades on a lack of self discipline, then you need to get your act together and stop using that as an excuse.

I would also seriously make a decision on if you want to pursue dentistry, pharmacy, or something else. I know family pressure is real but YOU will be the one working in that profession for the rest of your career, so if you're going to be miserable, why waste all that time and money on something you don't want to do?

I know this was harsh but undergrad is nothing compared to dental school, or any professional school- it is hard. It's a lot of material, it takes a lot of time, and you have to be passionate in order to push through it. Good luck to you.
 
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So forgetting all stats and numbers, what are the true chances a bad student could actually change them selves enough to become “good enough for dental school.”

Let’s say this student was confident in his learning capabilities, insecure about his self discipline abilities, and has a C average to show for everything.

Does it end there? The C average? If a student has been motivated in the past, but 3 years later still has a C average, should he accept it? Does the student listen to his surroundings that advise against continuing?Or does he listen to the emotional and arguably unreliable heart which says continue trying at all costs?

I just feel like even though I am getting better everyday, I will never be good enough as my siblings or other pre med kids who have been perfect little students since kindergarten.

Sorry for the sob story but I don’t know where else I could ask


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Here are just my two cents, don't take them as words of gospel since I'm not even in dental school yet but I do have a lot of colleagues that are pre-dent and also pre-pharm. If you're worried about getting in, I mean it's always possible to a degree. Only C average first year and gradually moved up is totally fine; but if you have a C average every year it will be hard to convince the admission people that you can handle the dental school curriculum. Unless I had a very valid explanation for a 2.00 gpa and have other evidence to prove the admission people I can handle the curriculum (DAT, Post-bac, Masters), I wouldn't even apply knowing that I'll probably not be able to handle dental school. Heck, even with my current stats I'm worried how well I will do at dental school, and I'm preparing for the nightmare scenario if I don't get accepted this coming cycle.

More importantly is that you seem to be unsure on deciding whether to continue dentistry or pharmacy (or any other profession it seems). I'll tell you right away, many of my pre-health colleagues have faced rejected for their respective professions. One of my friends applied 3 times and just got into a medical school. What we all have in common despite our different career paths is that we are dead-set in doing everything that is possible to achieve our goal. One friend took out 100,000 loan to do a masters, another had to move across the country to get more research experience, you must have the motivation to do whatever it takes.

Look deep inside yourself ask whether you're willing to do anything to get into dental school. I'm pretty confident that you can achieve above an 2.00 GPA, but the real question is whether you're passionate enough for dentistry; what if you start shadowing dentists and find out you don't like it just like you did with pharmacy?
 
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As someone earlier said, get off SDN and focus on what you need to do to get there.

I avoided SDN for years because reading other people finding success just made me feel bad about myself. Hell, even when I did visit SDN to read about low GPA applicants getting in and what they did to find success, I still started breaking out into sweats.

Like I mentioned in your previous thread, if you really need it, you'll get there.

I needed it and completed a post bacc, SMP, improved DAT, worked as a DA for years in 2 private practices, improved my volunteer work, etc, etc.

Was it long? Yes

Was it hard? Yes

But looking back on it now, it actually flew by and I have multiple acceptances under my belt.

Just lower your head, weather the storm, and get where you need to be.
 
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One friend took out 100,000 loan to do a masters
Whatever you end up doing, do not do this.
Doing anything to get into a career, and not even considering the implications of ruining yourself financially in the future is not a smart move and not something you should do based on emotions and it being your "dream job". None of us even know if we will like being a dentist, is $600k at 8% interest compounded daily worth the risk of being trapped in a career for 25 years on a government loan repayment plan? Not for me, but it depends on how you look at it

Put your head down and charge on with whatever you decide to do. You can still make yourself a competitive applicant for dental school if you decide to. It will take a lot of time and a lot of work but it is possible, just be very conscious of how much you're spending to get there
 
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As soon as I read @Iroh post about getting off SDN, I took his advice. I was asking too much if it’s right for me, when I know the answer all along. You know when something is your calling when everyone tells you otherwise, and you feel it in your heart to pursue it anyways. Yes dental school is insanely hard to get into (more than DO I have been realizing) and is just as expensive as most DO schools. But for me, the idea of actually being a dentist for my career is what gets me moving. It isn’t the money or the respect, but it is the aspect of what I would be providing to other human beings.


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I agree getting into dental school is pretty hard,but I think you should give your best and hope for the best.But I you really want to be a dentist you could even stay positive at all times then you will surely achieve what you want.
 
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