Chances of Ortho?

[BeggarsCantBeChoosers]

Hello, I'm a current D3. I started out dental school thinking I was just gonna be a General Dentist right out of school. But with the covid situation, I feel like I won't be ready to practice and will have to do a year GPR. And to be honest, I'm starting to think general dentistry is not for me . So instead of doing GPR, I've been thinking of just go ahead and specialize. I shadowed an orthodontist before dental school and I enjoyed it. So ortho has been on my mind for awhile. Fortunately, I did keep my grades up in the case I would decide to specialize (Rank in Top 5 out of 140). Unfortunately, I don't really have any extracurricular activities in dental school except for 1 club that I'm not really active in. I have a lot of volunteering, leadership, and research in undergrad (2 publications), but pretty much nothing in dental school. So my question is Should I apply to ortho and do I have a chance?

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[deleted1082923]

Hello, I'm a current D3. I started out dental school thinking I was just gonna be a General Dentist right out of school. But with the covid situation, I feel like I won't be ready to practice and will have to do a year GPR. And to be honest, I'm starting to think general dentistry is not for me . So instead of doing GPR, I've been thinking of just go ahead and specialize. I shadowed an orthodontist before dental school and I enjoyed it. So ortho has been on my mind for awhile. Fortunately, I did keep my grades up in the case I would decide to specialize (Rank in Top 5 out of 140). Unfortunately, I don't really have any extracurricular activities in dental school except for 1 club that I'm not really active in. I have a lot of volunteering, leadership, and research in undergrad (2 publications), but pretty much nothing in dental school. So my question is Should I apply to ortho and do I have a chance?

I'm an OMFS resident, but from what I remember about people applying to Ortho when I was in school, rank is pretty important (not so much the case for the other specialties anymore). You have that down. Just get involved in some ortho research asap, see if you can get an abstract published, but even if you just have the research experience to list, that will help. After that, just get good letters from ortho faculty, and I'd say you have a very strong chance of getting in. Best of luck.

 

[Steins;Gate]

Your rank is great! I applied with a lower rank and matched this cycle. Research is an asset (it's good you have some in undergrad). Do well on the GRE and you'll be on your way. PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[PerioDont]

I agree with the other posters. you definitely still have a chance - start working on getting some ortho research and rec letters going.

 

[Traag]

You would most likely get a lot of interviews with your rank alone even if you had no research. Regardless, 2 publications is way more than the vast majority of people have and it doesn't really matter if you did it during dental school or undergrad. It also doesn't need to be ortho related. Try to demonstrate some random long-term extracurriculars in dental school to flesh out your app and don't worry about it too much.

As an aside, honestly, you have know you're a good applicant already... Asking things like "Do I have a chance?" when you're top 5 in your class is just perpetuating the anxiety disorder that seems to affect every SDN applicant.

 

[wu_53196]

does it matter if your research is ortho related? I did a summer of research between my D1 and D2 year but it was about candidiasis not ortho related.

 

[blablabla1]

does it matter if your research is ortho related? I did a summer of research between my D1 and D2 year but it was about candidiasis not ortho related.

Not necessarily a huge deal. You will get interviews based mostly off of your stats (get a good GRE score to match your class rank or they’ll think you didn’t take the GRE seriously) .

If they ask during the interview about your research, tell them you wanted to dip your foot in the water with research so that you’d be better prepared to take on your own project in residency.

Anything you perceive as a weakness, try to spin it into a positive or an instance of self reflection where you want to get better. Being genuine + doing that is how you have a successful interview

 

[wu_53196]

Not necessarily a huge deal. You will get interviews based mostly off of your stats (get a good GRE score to match your class rank or they’ll think you didn’t take the GRE seriously) .

If they ask during the interview about your research, tell them you wanted to dip your foot in the water with research so that you’d be better prepared to take on your own project in residency.

Anything you perceive as a weakness, try to spin it into a positive or an instance of self reflection where you want to get better. Being genuine + doing that is how you have a successful interview

thank you! so helpful! what would you consider a good GRE score?

 

[blablabla1]

thank you! so helpful! what would you consider a good GRE score?

I personally aimed for Atleast 90 percentile in all sections. Thankfully only had to take it once to achieve that. I would say anything above 75 percentile is good though