Chances? How to deal with doubters?

[snipza]

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Hello SDNers. Well, I am here to see if someone has a similar story to mine. Long story short, I am graduating this December with a degree in Business (Info. Tech.). I currently have a 2.9 GPA (my first year of college was a complete failure - literally, I had a 1.4 GPA). Anywho, it looks like I am on track to get a 4.0 this quarter and that should bump my GPA at or around 3.2 GPA. Essentially, my average GPAs were 1.4 at my first school. 2.99 at my CC. And now, I have an average GPA of 3.5 at my current university with two quarter (3 anticipated) on the Dean's list.

I plan to apply for CSU San Marcos' Pre-Health Post-Bacc for 2015. I have not taken any college level science courses at all (aside from Earth Science, which I absolutely demolished, like it matters), so I can't accurately estimate how I will perform, although I am confident in my study habits the past couple years. I do, though, have every intention of putting 110% of my being into it.

So, at a ~3.2 GPA + whatever additional points I can add to that from the post-bacc (if I get in), what are my chances? I'd say, I can bring my cGPA up to around a ~3.5 and science GPA of at least ~3.2. I am already working on shadowing dentists starting with my parent's doctor.

One more thing:

I have some doubters. Mainly from family members who are unsure about whether I am making the right decision. Obviously, the decision is mine as is the financial,emotional, and physical burden. But how do you deal with these people? Sometimes it really gets me down and makes me rethink the risks or a decision like this. My girlfriend of 5 years is also slightly doubting me. It's almost to the point where I can't/don't like to mention it to her because her reaction will probably be unpleasant. I don't think she realizes how she can benefit from my success on this path, too. Especially since her previous employer, a dentist office, wanted her to become a dentist so that they can sell her their practice! Ugh. Sorry for the long post. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[wjc]

It sounds like you are pretty dedicated. Hold onto that and excel in your post bac. Get 20s+ on your DATs. Make sure you are shadowing, doing lots of volunteer work. Sometimes with the doubters you just have to focus on your goals and tune them out. Live for the future. See how much they doubt you when you get that acceptance. Good luck.

Edit: as an additional thought, the good grades, the volunteer work, and additional post bac program will make for a nice resume whether you get into D school immediately or not, so you can always talk that end up to silence the critics.

 

[HookahLungs]

Get in, once you're in laugh in their face and flick them off, then do the traditional 'suck it' gesture from D generation X.

You can get in, don't let these dinguses stand in your way.

 

[Blake1e]

Depends on who the doubters are. If from a successful person, Id reflect over the validity of what they say. No one knows your situation better than you, so youll have to decide whether the doubter raises a good point or not and then go from there. However, if your doubter is your run-of-the-mill hater, or ankle-biter, who doesnt live a life you admire then just nod and say OK to whatever they say all the while mentally reducing their words to blah blah blah.

 

[snipza]

Thanks for the replies! Everyone who has questioned my decision has been people who are close to me. Maybe they just don't want to see me fail? I don't know. I'm getting my bachelors degree and the people around me seem to think that getting a 4 year degree is all there is.

Unfortunately, like all of the pre-dents here, I want more than that. I have an IT internship and I see the people who have been working at my organization for years; they're tired, constantly grumpy, and look like they'd rather be somewhere else. Computers were my hobby and I guess it should have stayed that way, but I can at least have a chance at a decent paying job, even at part-time hours, during my post-bacc (if I get in). Hopefully my lady graduates with her degree by the time I finish my post-bacc so she can help me out if I get into D-school. Or, maybe she'll be going with me.

Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[jmcunnin]

I'm 28 and just started prereqs. I already have bachelor and master degrees in business so people always wonder why I want to go back to school. Sometimes I feel the way you do, like everyone doubts me...that's my motivation though. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something...dream big, work hard, and the success will follow. Good luck to you!

 

[DentalFox]

You should be fine

 

[Julian Delphiki]

It will be hard, but you can do it. In high school, I had taken 3 years of biology, 2 years of chemistry, 1 year of physics, and 3 years of biotech. Transitioning to college level science courses was fairly easily and the classes were much easier due to my past experience. That being said, I have completed all of my general education classes. My easiest science class must have been at least five times harder than the hardest non-science class I took. Be ready put in some serious effort into those tougher classes like organic chemistry and anatomy.

 

[snipza]

I know it'll be difficult. But I am also prepared to put in the work. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[doc toothache]

Let's see:
1. you have not shadowed
2. you have not mentioned a single reason you wish to pursue dentistry other than the "ulterior motive" your girlfriend's dentist expressed, and that you are not too keen on being "surrounded" by "tired" and "grumpy" IT geeks
3. you have not taken any hard science courses
4. with no metrics, you actually expect someone to be able to "chance" you

 

[snipza]

Let's see:
1. you have not shadowed
2. you have not mentioned a single reason you wish to pursue dentistry other than the "ulterior motive" your girlfriend's dentist expressed, and that you are not too keen on being "surrounded" by "tired" and "grumpy" IT geeks
3. you have not taken any hard science courses
4. with no metrics, you actually expect someone to be able to "chance" you

I was looking more for feedback, opinions, and similar stories to mine. Thank you for your reply though, reminded me of those Hotels.com commercials. 😉

Don't really care for the boss' practice. I just stated that because she knows the lifestyle they live and the good that they do.

My reasons are aligned with everyone else's reasons - the primary reason I don't mention them. But, since you seem interested, I want this because I crave a fulfilling career that allows me to positively affect the health of diverse groups of people, I want to provide a comfortable lifestyle for my family, and I want to have the opportunity to join and grow a business that provides both a service that improves the lives of its patrons and long-term financial stability.

 

[2THDDS]

I was looking more for feedback, opinions, and similar stories to mine. Thank you for your reply though, reminded me of those Hotels.com commercials. 😉

Don't really care for the boss' practice. I just stated that because she knows the lifestyle they live and the good that they do.

My reasons are aligned with everyone else's reasons - the primary reason I don't mention them. But, since you seem interested, I want this because I crave a fulfilling career that allows me to positively affect the health of diverse groups of people, I want to provide a comfortable lifestyle for my family, and I want to have the opportunity to join and grow a business that provides both a service that improves the lives of its patrons and long-term financial stability.

you've got valid reason to show interest. Noone joins the D-school bandwagon just because they feel they were born to help people.
It's a combination of multiple reasons like financial stability, positive aspect of helping other people, autonomy of being your own boss, lifestyle vs MD, etc, etc.

If you have the drive to do it, why don't you do a careful self-assessment of where you stand and if you can really do this for 4 years. During these 4 years, there will be no income which sucks for anyone!

 

[Julian Delphiki]

Have you considered trade school? Electrical, HVAC, or plumbing work? I don't know if you recently needed to have work done on your fridge, but those guys charge a ton. And it's not like you would have to be infield all the time. Work hard enough initially then open up your own business. Hire other tradesmen to work for you and bam, 6 figure salary if you execute it right.

 

[hugomaaf]

U might think #doc toothache was giving u a hard time but honestly that's some really good reasons that u should consider before even consider dentistry.

For example, without shadowing a dentist, u have no idea what kind of difficulties they dealt with (patients no show, neck and back pain etc). U don't have enough first hand knowledge about this field to make a logical decision.

Second, without taking hard science (did I mention hard?) classes and DAT, we (SDNers) and u both have no idea can u handle the heavy workload in dental school or not.

Third, if u spend some time to read some of the threads here about the cost of attending dental school, u would know unless u go to military route or fight for a scholarship, u will need to spend 250k( state school, unless u go to TX dental school with TX residency)-450k + (private school) for dental school tuition. This mean u will prepare to pay that amount with interest for the 12-15 years after u graduate, the good lifestyle and stability won't come after u pay off the X00k + interests.

I would suggest u go work in a dental office (shadow, volunteer, work) for a few months, get at least a few hard pre-req done, think about the tuition $ sign and then come ask people to chance u.

 

[DentalDoge]

@hugomaaf is right. The doc has merit to what he is saying.

While it's true that you shouldnt listen to doubters, the doc has experience to back him up.

Your motivation is good. But without taking any hard sciences (general sciences barely scratches the surface) we, as well as dental schools, cannot know how well you can do in dental school. When it comes down to it, your GPA doesnt really matter if it doesnt have any hard sciences in them.

The reason the schools are so interested in how well you can handle hard science loads is because for the first 2 years, most schools run you through an extremely science heavy curriculum. At that point it doesnt really matter if you could run a business if you cant pass the courses.

Another huge aspect you are missing is shadowing. You dont really know if you like the field without ever spending time in the office. Luckily, thats easily fixable. After spending several hours in the office you can already tell why health profession programs value shadowing.

Hell, you might even find the field boring. In which case, you would be glad you found out now rather than 2 years and ~$200k later.

 

[snipza]

Thank you all for the responses! I acknowledged the doctor qualification straight away. As much I appreciated his input, it really was just a synopsis of my original post - which doesn't help much. Regardless, he makes a valid point in saying that there isn't much to go on to provide an accurate estimate on my chances. 👍

I feel that I may have given off the vibe that I have made this decision in haste or that I have not taken a look at all the moving parts involved in a decision like this. So, here's a little background:

I first seriously thought about attending a professional health-related school in junior college. I was a semester from finishing my A.S. in Business and I was ready to transfer to my local state university. It was in the back of my mind, but I was serious enough about it that I was debating whether to stay and switch majors. Thankfully I didn't because here, in California, junior colleges rescind any priority registration you have after you reach 100 units. I would have been getting last pick halfway through my prereqs and those science courses are typically maxed out by the 2nd day of registration.

I moved on, knowing full well that I will have to make this decision again, and also knowing that just getting my bachelor's in anything is still a step forward. I didn't make this decision in the past 6 months or even the past year. As a child I asked myself if I could do it because, unlike many children, I LOVED going to the dentist. It's been in the back of my mind for a very long time. Only difference now is that I have a chance at really doing it. I've also taken into account the cost of d-school as well as the opportunity costs associated with NOT getting into full time work straight away. It's worth it to be able gain skills that will increase my ability to help people while still providing a comfortable life for my clan.

I have spoken with one dentist and a few dental students. So, yes, I do not have any in office experience but I have personal accounts of what dental school is like and the career experience of one dentist. Like I said I am working on shadowing to confirm my decision. I will have some shadowing hours done by the end of this year - that's my goal at the moment. If I love what I see and it checks off the list of reasons I posted above, I will be applying to the post-bacc soon after.

Also, I have decided against taking any of the prereq courses because the post-bacc I am applying to is geared towards career changers. They like to see non-science degree applicants with at most 1 or 2 of the prereqs taken. I have already taken the Statistics course, so that already knocks one class off of their curriculum. Additionally, this program holds their courses in the late afternoon and evening hours which is perfect for me because I will be working part-time during the program. Unfortunately, other post-bacc programs like to see some courses already taken, which would decrease my chances of getting into this one. It's a risk applying to only one post-bacc, but I am a solid writer and know how to get my point across on paper. I'm hoping my personal statement, reasons for pursuing a medical field, and shadowing hours, along with my upward academics trend and ending GPA, will push me through to an acceptance. If not, it's okay, I am patient and can fall back on my degree until I make it.

I hope that sheds a little more light on my situation. Thanks again guys and gals!