Best schools to apply to for non-traditional?

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GreenMichigander

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I am applying this June and at the time of applying, I will have been out of school for 4 years. I have taken masters-level courses and have been a dental assistant for 4 years. I just recently started the masters program (Fall 2017) so I did have a 3 year gap of just working. I also teach at a dental assisting school and volunteer. So, I have two questions:

1. What are the best schools to apply to with this situation?
2. Working for a general dentist for 4 years, am I still supposed to shadow? I have assisted all realms of dentistry - pedo, surgical, perio, endo, hygiene... but do they still expect to see that I have shadowed specialized doctors?

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"Shadowing ranks among the top of misunderstood topics for DS admission. Shadowing is designed to acquaint the prospective dental student with the daily life of a dentist. It is about observing the atmosphere in a dental office, the interaction between staff, practitioner and patient and, more importantly,about the procedures performed in a dental office."
 
Wow this is almost exactly my same story so I can try to answer!

I graduated with my BS in biology in 2014. Stats were 3.5 overall GPA, 3.3 science GPA. Immediately went on a dental mission trip and then started working at an orthodontists office for about 1 year. Moved to a different state and worked as a general dental assistant for about 2 years. Took the DAT and got a 22. Began a masters program in Microbiology and Immunology in Fall of 2017. First semester got a 3.93 and am currently in second semester.

I applied in Summer of 2017 to 13 schools and got 7 interviews, went to 5, and got accepted to 4 schools.

The shadowing goes under the “experience” on the application so your extensive work experience will apply there. Actually I’m sure they look at actual work experience more highly because you have hands on work and have been in a mouth before versus standing in a corner watching.

Feel free to PM me if you want!
 
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I'm non-traditional and got accepted to MWU-IL. You should apply to my school. It's super expensive but they accept a ton of people! If you get an interview invite you have a really high chance of being offered an acceptance.
 
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I'm non-traditional and got accepted to MWU-IL. You should apply to my school. It's super expensive but they accept a ton of people! If you get an interview invite you have a really high chance of being offered an acceptance.

Thank you for sharing your experience!
 
1. Apply to your in-state school. With few exceptions, your state school is almost always going to be your best option. The education you'll receive there will be more or less the same as any OOS or a private school, but you'll graduate with half the debt. Exceptions to this rule would be:
A) your stats aren't competitive for your state school;
B) money is not a factor because someone else is paying, in which case you can apply wherever your stats are competitive;
C) you're dead-set on matching a competitive specialty, in which case going to a private school like Penn, Harvard, or Columbia may improve your chances (although this is debated.)

2. You're fine in the shadowing realm.
 
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