Dat/mcat

sorry, no substitute for the mcat. the dat and the mcat are quite different as well. there is no true math or spatial reasoning sections for the mcat, and the science sections are passage based (instead of free standing questions)

 

if your stats arent good enough to get you into dental school there is no chance of you getting into med school. it is about 10 times more comepetiive to get in.

 

Haha thanks for the support Dr. WallStreet. LOL. Hehe, but true, I've heard similar words before

So, regarding the DATS/MCATs... does anyone have any sites with practice questions for both of them???????????

 

Obviously not a true statement. It may generally apply, however. The same could also be said for med applicants -- those who don't get into med. school would not have a very good chance of getting into dental school (at least not on the first application cycle).

Of course, any debate on this subject is near pointless, since adcoms of both professions seek some similar traits in their respective applicants, coupled with some traits unique and necessary to each respective profession.

From the standpoint of pure numbers, however, there were 32,250 applicants attempting to fill the 15,100 available seats in medical schools last year. If all applicants applied to every school, then the acceptance rate would be 46% (in this hypothetical situation).

Last year, there were 12,100 applicants attempting to fill the 4,240 available seats in dental schools. Once again, if all applicants applied to every school, then the acceptance rate would be 35%.

Still, this hypothetical situation proves little in the real world. Quality of applicants must be taken into consideration, and I won't disagree that med. school applicants tend to have a higher GPA than most dental applicants.

That's fine with me. After all, nobody says you'll match with the competitive specialites, which means I'll probably have more free time than you, make as much if not more $$ than you, and won't have to pull a q4, q3, or q of any sort. Good luck with med school!

I nearly forgot, I've taken the MCAT, and it was more difficult than the DAT.

 

Thanks for the numbers Gavin, I didn't think it was 10x harder to get into med school than dental school and obviously it isn't. So the ratios of applicants to spots available are 2:1 for med school and 3:1 for dental school.

When I was in college (~1998), our pre-health department circulated fliers that had the ratios reversed - 3:1 for med school, 2:1 for dental school. So the numbers have switched...

Hmmmm, I wonder why the apps to dentistry are up? Oh wait, Gavin already told us - no q's of any kind!

EcoRI, I think you'd have to take the MCAT. Dental schools don't care about MCAT scores, so med schools won't care about DAT scores? Why would you need perceptual ability if you are going to be an MD? Maybe you should take the MCAT, so you could use med school as a back up if you don't get into dental school.

 

You know whats funny? A lot of doctors now recommend going into dentistry instead of medicine as they are unhappy with medicine now. One ortho surgeon told me that his income has dropped 5-10% every year he has been in practice!

 

EcorI,

Don't let anyone discourage you. I applied to Dental School in 96 and am applying to med school now. Don't let tunnel vision detour you.

 

Very true. Think of it this way: a select few medical specialties have enjoyed higher incomes and better hours as of late. Eyes, rads, and skin would probably top this list, although there are others. Even those have had some loss of income, although not as great as other specialties.

Now, with those specialties in mind, comes dentistry, which is a medical specialty in its own right. The difference is that you don't have to deal with HMOs, PPOs, or other providers if you don't choose to. Over 90% of dentistry is still fee-based. That typically means that if I charge $600 for a procedure, then I get payed $600. None of this crap with providers knocking the fee down to $200. In conjunction with this, comes the American Dental Association, of which roughly 84% of dentists are members. Compare this with the American Medical Association, which has less than 30% of physicians as members, and you can see that dentistry is much more organized as a whole. It helps to have the majority of dentists as members of the legislative body, because it truly allows the ADA to carry some weight, rather than being a figure-head group such as the AMA.

While medical specialties have seen a decrease in income, dentistry has seen a constant increase. Four years ago, the average take-home income for a general dentist was $159,000. The income for specialists at that time was $241,000. These numbers have continued to rise and represent a 7% and 9% increase over the numbers in the same catergory 5 years ago.

Although official numbers have not been released, current estimates show that the income for a general dentist in 2001 was $166,000. The average general dentist in 2001 worked 29.8 hours a week.

These are just a few reasons why an increasing number of applicants are choosing dentistry, and why many MDs are recommending it to those they know. Of course, there are many careers in medicine that are just as viable, and to each his own.

 

You cannot simply look at the percentage of applicants that got in to see which is more competitive. You have to look at the stats of the people getting in. I'm not saying it is, but med school could be 10 times more competitive, even though a larger percentage get in. It would just mean that, in general, more highly qualified people apply to med school.

 

A very good point.

 

I took the DAT last year, got good scores, but since then I've decided to go premed instead. Dentistry is very practical and it makes sense if you want a fairly nice lifestyle and income to match. But I quickly realized after shadowing dentists and dental specialists that dentistry simply wasn't interesting enough to keep me passionate about it. Medicine, however, has a much more diverse range of opportunities that I'm really excited about. Simply put, I'm following my passion and I'm sure everything else will fall into place as long as I'm doing something I enjoy. August MCAT (and eventually med school), here I come.

 

Just to add fuel to the fire, it is much more difficult to be accepted into Veterinary School than either medical schol or dental school. (The principal reason being that there is so few spots.) The average GPA of those entering Vet schools in Texas exceed those entering medical school over the last several years.

In the ned it does not matter which is more competitive. We each need to pursue the field which we are passionate about. That passion is what will get us through medical school, osteopathic school, dental school, or vet school.

 

Not that it changes anything but, according to the 2003-2004 MSAR there were 17,456 applicants to US medical schools out of a pool of 34,859 total for the 2001 entering class. This actually represents a 50% acceptance rate. However, if you can believe it, only 16,365 accepted applicants actually matriculated. So, 1,091 people who were accepted to med schools chose not to attend; at least that year. I don't know if this 1,091 includes those who took deferments or if they actually said "no thanks" to the school(s) that accepted them.

 

That should read 17,456 accepted applicants

 

let's not make this thread something other than what it really is originally, like we do all the time on many other threads...
it's about how competetive dental school compares to med school, not quality of life, nor debate/defending the side that you are in... i think most people know what they want and what they are after... no need to defend or persuade others...

dude, you have to try Post's Cocoa Pebbles cereal!! I bought it and it absolutely rocks! Who invented cereal anyway? Such a genius thing!!!!