Confused, losing motivation, and burning out

[snowydays]

I'm a junior in undergrad and have been feeling incredibly confused about my career plans. I started college really wanting to do dentistry, but as time has passed, I've made some poor grades in my science classes, and I'm not really accomplishing anything towards a good pre-dental resume. I feel like everything's connected. If you don't have the grades, you won't land internships or get a TA position for a class, resulting in lack of recommendation letters, etc etc. I'm just in terrible shape for dentistry. I go to a very science-competitive school with many die-hard pre-meds, and I'm noticing myself being below average, even after working so hard. As you can probably tell, I'm burned out. It's been failure after failure and I can't see my work paying off. I thought that this winter break would be a time for me to relax and clear my mind. But I've really just been stressed and getting more confused in my thoughts. I started looking at other career options, and then felt disappointed in myself for giving up on dentistry and resorting to a back up plan. I just don't feel like myself anymore. I'm not that competitive, determined hustler I used to be because I'm not confident in my grades and resume to feel like I can do something. Time is running out and people are reminding me that I'm graduating year...but what have I even accomplished at college, supposedly the best years of my life, other than learn what failure feels like?

I'm sorry for sounding so negative, and thanks for reading this. Has anyone been in this boat before and can give some advice? Thanks in advance!

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[RS2224]

Alright, alright.. First off.. Happy New Years to you!

I think the worst thing you or anyone can do at any point of your life is be negative and choose to focus on the bad points. I know that this is easier said than done, but the first thing you should do is keep a positive mindset --what's done is done and you need to move on and figure out the next steps and an overall game plan/timeline. From what I am reading, I feel that you are not absolutely and relentlessly determined to pursue dentistry. So, I think with this new year, you should do a little bit of soul searching and decide what you really want to do. If you can, shadow a dentist (boost those dental ECs up) and see whether you really like the profession and find out whether you can do this every day. If you decide that yes you can do this every day, explore the profession a bit more -go to volunteer events, shadow other specialities, and continue to explore dentistry --it's going to pay off when you find out this is the thing you wanna do for the rest of your life AND give you tons of experience in the field for your app!

Now for the academic part, I can't really gauge your situation cause you didn't give any numbers, but ... taking extra science classes/post-bac/1 year masters are ALL great opportunities to beef up your GPAs and prove to adcoms that you can handle dental school. Now in my opinion (not suggesting any kind of actual benchmark) but, if you have a 3.4+ just KILL the DAT, take a few summer science classes, and build your extracurricular resume up to the BEST ( hundreds of hours volunteering, shadowing, research).. If you have below that, I would suggest doing exactly the same thing in terms of your extracurricular resume, but definitely looking into a post-bacc, masters..

I wish you the best! And hope this year is your best one yet.

Good luck!
RS

 

[ljcesar]

Hey its a new year! try to start on a high note! I think you should believe in yourself more, If someone else can accomplish a goal than why shouldn't you be able to if you put in effort and work. Don't know your stats but just know that most people on the boards are posting high stats but school take student from many different backgrounds with different grades. Yes many people have those 4.0 and very close to 4.0 GPAs with tons of extracurricular activities, BUT there are many students with acceptances with much lower GPAs and less activities. I applied and made it into dental school, survived dental school and graduated. Trust me when I say if I can do it I have no doubt that you can do it!

 

[Greyangel6]

Sorry you have to go through that! Like others have said, go do some soul searching. Also, maybe try looking at things in a different perspective. Personally, when it comes to things I want to do, I tell myself that I will be able to do it, it's just going to take some time. It can take me longer than everyone else, but I'm doing this for me, at my own pace. That's what helped me through college.

 

[chinchilladreamz37]

You aren't alone! Some advice a dental school admissions person gave me was, "the fastest way to get to dental school is slowly" - that means to go at your own pace..
My sophomore and junior year I wasn't doing so great and was also burning out too, spent a lot of time wondering if I made the right choice in pursing dentistry. College is a marathon, not a sprint. it was only after I failed a class and had a health concern that I finally "woke up" senior year and invested in SELF CARE - whether that means eating healthier or exercising or painting or playing soccer or whatever. It was only then that I was able to achieve better grades and I was overall a much more positive and happier - I focused more on learning material and asking questions, going to office hours, rather than obsessing over a grade. It's hard but you are more than just numbers and letters!
Graduating/being close to graduation does not mean you have to have your whole life figured out! In fact, I had a more positive outlook and feel like I have accomplished more during my gap year - away from all the competitive pre meds that tend to give the rest of us anxiety. Focus on yourself - this is YOUR journey to dentistry not theirs. Good luck and hope this helps!