Can just 1 year of focused pre-dental make me competitive?

[arkenstone]

Thanks peeps

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[sjv]

Not an issue as long as you address the "Why dentistry?" question in your PS and at your interviews.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

I want to be a competitive applicant to dental school by June 2015. I'll tell you where my resume stands today and where I hope it will be one year from now. Will you guys give me your opinion on the practicality of this and whether admission committees will respond well to an applicant showing pre-dental intent for only 1 year?

Two years ago I received a BA in Music with honors from University of Richmond. Full four year academic scholarship. GPA 3.6. Numerous music ECs. Nominated to / served university Judicial Council senior year. Study abroad. Part time job as sound tech all four years. In high school was a JROTC squadron commander.

Today I have very few science courses under my belt, despite it being my forte in high school and despite acing the few courses I took in college. I just went all in with music. So for the next year I'm changing that:

I will be studying this summer, fall, spring, then next summer. By May 2015 I hope to have finished Physics 1, Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, O Chem 1, anatomy/physiology 1, microbiology, and calculus.

By May 2015 Physics 2, O chem 2, and possibly biochem will still be in progress, completed over summer or fall 2015. DAT will be taken May 2015 to give me time to retake in August just in case.

For arguments sake lets say I average 3.8 GPA for prereq courses and 21 across the board for the DAT

And I hope to get a couple hundred volunteer clinical hours by next summer. Also possibly going into nursing homes to sing for / talk with residents. I will not need to work my way through school, so I will have time for such ECs.

So those are the bare facts. Will admissions committees be skeptical of me only focusing for 1 year prior to applying? For the discussion's sake I ask that my motivations be taken at face value. I just want to isolate the practicality of the endeavor at this point.

** BUT, I will explain the human side of the equation for the curious. (Feedback here is welcome, but I'm most interested in the practicality issue.) So, I love music but as they say the only difference between a musician and a pizza is that the latter can feed a family of four. The past two years have seen me going from job to job in the customer service / retail area, trying to find time for music projects on the side, and moving around the country for personal relationships. I'm broke, learning to dislike music, and I'm ready to go back to school and head in a more productive direction. I can ace anything I care enough to study for and I've always been 99th percentile on standardized tests. Throughout the extensive dental work done on me, I've loved my hygienist, dentist, orthodontist, and oral surgeon. I've heavily researched dental school, specialties, work opportunities, buying practices, loan repayments options, etc. Though my parents have made me support myself since leaving home, they're willing to support me partially through more school. I like that dental is healthcare but not yet as institutionalized as medicine. The potential repetitiveness of the procedures might be a turn off, but it seems there's always opportunity for continuing education. It's probably obvious to readers and I won't deny it: lifestyle is a big motivator here. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon, all my siblings have advanced degrees, etc. Maybe you get the picture. I'm probably at high risk for burnout if I dedicate to a course like this, but that's no surprise to me. I'm just wondering how competitive I can be in one year.**

SJV gives the best answers. Succinct and honest. Follow the advice and go for it.

 

[arkenstone]

Not an issue as long as you address the "Why dentistry?" question in your PS and at your interviews.

Do most interviewers respond well to a *candid* account -- of changing life circumstances, reassessing personal strengths, and choosing something only relatively recently for mixed reasons including patient care but also things like material security? I know I'd have to do a little better than that, but I'm just wondering if I would be well-advised to scrounge for some longer, more romantic narrative of the facts . . . and maybe throw in the same BS like "I've always loved going to the dentist since I was 5." That last part is true, but you know what I mean.

 

[sjv]

Do most interviewers respond well to a *candid* account -- of changing life circumstances, reassessing personal strengths, and choosing something only relatively recently for mixed reasons including patient care but also things like material security? I know I'd have to do a little better than that, but I'm just wondering if I would be well-advised to scrounge for some longer, more romantic narrative of the facts . . . and maybe throw in the same BS like "I've always loved going to the dentist since I was 5." That last part is true, but you know what I mean.

Varies by interviewer, some will be satisfied with a couple of sentences while other want a more complete answer similar to what you said above.

 

[doc toothache]

Do most interviewers respond well to a *candid* account -- of changing life circumstances, reassessing personal strengths, and choosing something only relatively recently for mixed reasons including patient care but also things like material security? I know I'd have to do a little better than that, but I'm just wondering if I would be well-advised to scrounge for some longer, more romantic narrative of the facts . . . and maybe throw in the same BS like "I've always loved going to the dentist since I was 5." That last part is true, but you know what I mean.

That would certainly make you unique among applicants.

 

[hunterx2]

DAT + GPA >>>>>> all. Just don't sound like a complete loser during your interview and you should be good.

 

[djd0516]

Do most interviewers respond well to a *candid* account -- of changing life circumstances, reassessing personal strengths, and choosing something only relatively recently for mixed reasons including patient care but also things like material security? I know I'd have to do a little better than that, but I'm just wondering if I would be well-advised to scrounge for some longer, more romantic narrative of the facts . . . and maybe throw in the same BS like "I've always loved going to the dentist since I was 5." That last part is true, but you know what I mean.

My personal opinion is to shy away from intangible, romantic things like "loving going to the dentist, always wanted to be a dentist, love helping people, blah blah blah." The point is that there usually isn't any evidence of these things and therefore they don't hold much weight to the admission committee. If you want to incorporate stuff like this into your personal statement or supplemental essays, then always back it up. For example, if you love helping people then talking about your specific volunteer work and exactly what you enjoyed. If you do very well academically (GPA and DAT), you'll be a really strong applicant. I'd also advise against making a big deal out of material security. Anyone that says the salary of dentists doesn't play at least a small part in their decision is lying, so I don't really think it's important to discuss. If you want to bring it up, I'd focus more on wanting to be able to support your family appropriately rather than wanting to have a lot of money.

I personally think that the music degree will be one of your biggest assets, especially if you play an instrument. I would certainly use this background to your advantage by incorporating music into your volunteering and personal statement (creativity required for music, manual dexterity, etc). I come from a very specific, creative career background and to my surprise it played an enormous role in my acceptances. Preparing everything in a year might be kind of tight because you'll likely have to take one or more difficult science courses in the summer (not easy). I think you will need a high GPA in your pre-reqs and a high DAT just to demonstrate that you can handle the heavy science curriculum in dental school. That being said, I disagree with @hunterx2 that GPA and DAT are way more important than everything. They are definitely important, but being unique can be just as important for some schools. Also, interviewing requires way more than just not sounding like a complete loser. A ton of people get interviews and don't get accepted. Interviewing requires strategy, practice, and the ability to verbalize your ideas effectively while nervous.