dental hygiene vs. post-bac

[coffeexnxtea]

Hi, everyone,

I want to apply to dental school but I'm also realistic and am aware that my overall undergrad GPA (2.7) isn't at all competitive. Therefore, I don't know if I should do post-bac or dental hygiene (AAS) to improve my chances of getting into dental school when I do apply. I'm leaning towards DH for these reasons:

1. I know for certain that I will have a job with a solid salary when I complete the program.

2. I'm hoping that if I perform academically well in the DH program, then it will enhance my dental school application.

BUT...

Do I STILL have to bring up my undergrad GPA by taking additional courses (or re-take some of the science courses) or complete a post-bac. program AFTER I complete the DH program?

I hesitate to pursue a post-bac because if I don't get into dental school afterwards, then I feel I may have wasted more time.

p.s. I've never taken the DAT. Please correct me if I'm wrong but even if I took the time to study for the DAT and did exceptionally well, I don't think schools would consider me either way because of such a low undergrad. GPA.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Good luck to those of you who are still nervously awaiting for admissions. Congratulations to all C/O 2014.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[HopefulDDStobe]

Hi there, I am a dental hygienist applying to dental school. I spoke to several people including a dental admission person and a dentist who is also a hygienist.

Being a DH will definitely help you in dental school, in terms of clinic. The DDS/RDH person I worked for said that she was ahead of other students in terms of dexterity and other clinic stuff. However, the first 2 years of dental school are heavy on science. This is when classes in DH might not help as much because its not natural science, and to get in, schools rely heavily on how well you did on science classes.

Its a hard decision but it depends on what it is you want to do, I did not regret doing to DH school, cuz im making pretty good money, while finishing prereqs and I wasn't patience enough to wait a couple of years to be able to work on people's mouth. lol.

My suggestion is, if you want to be a DH, go for it, but still do the postbacc afterwards because you still need to improve your science GPA, but at least you won't be broke while doing that and you'll be working in the field, which is awesome.

Hi, everyone,

I want to apply to dental school but I'm also realistic and am aware that my overall undergrad GPA (2.7) isn't at all competitive. Therefore, I don't know if I should do post-bac or dental hygiene (AAS) to improve my chances of getting into dental school when I do apply. I'm leaning towards DH for these reasons:

1. I know for certain that I will have a job with a solid salary when I complete the program.

2. I'm hoping that if I perform academically well in the DH program, then it will enhance my dental school application.

BUT...

Do I STILL have to bring up my undergrad GPA by taking additional courses (or re-take some of the science courses) or complete a post-bac. program AFTER I complete the DH program?

I hesitate to pursue a post-bac because if I don't get into dental school afterwards, then I feel I may have wasted more time.

p.s. I've never taken the DAT. Please correct me if I'm wrong but even if I took the time to study for the DAT and did exceptionally well, I don't think schools would consider me either way because of such a low undergrad. GPA.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Good luck to those of you who are still nervously awaiting for admissions. Congratulations to all C/O 2014.

 

[SoCalBlondie]

Hi, everyone,

I want to apply to dental school but I'm also realistic and am aware that my overall undergrad GPA (2.7) isn't at all competitive. Therefore, I don't know if I should do post-bac or dental hygiene (AAS) to improve my chances of getting into dental school when I do apply. I'm leaning towards DH for these reasons:

1. I know for certain that I will have a job with a solid salary when I complete the program.

2. I'm hoping that if I perform academically well in the DH program, then it will enhance my dental school application.

BUT...

Do I STILL have to bring up my undergrad GPA by taking additional courses (or re-take some of the science courses) or complete a post-bac. program AFTER I complete the DH program?

I hesitate to pursue a post-bac because if I don't get into dental school afterwards, then I feel I may have wasted more time.

p.s. I've never taken the DAT. Please correct me if I'm wrong but even if I took the time to study for the DAT and did exceptionally well, I don't think schools would consider me either way because of such a low undergrad. GPA.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Good luck to those of you who are still nervously awaiting for admissions. Congratulations to all C/O 2014.

I know many people with low GPA's and high DATs that have gotten in.
It would also be good to take more sciences classes, get A's, and show the schools that you just messed-up in the beginning. You cuold also take more GE classses to bring up your overall GPA....
If I were you I would be very active in the community and in school politics
I wouldn't give up if dentistry is really what you want to do..

 

[THINKOFMYFUTURE]

A 2.7 is too low. Even with a D.H, and a 22, most schools won't look at you with that uGPA.

I would strongly recommend things ranked in this order:

1. Post-Bac
2. Masters

If you ace your post-bac or masters program, the 2.7 might be overlooked.
Reason why PB is better is because it boosts your undergrad GPA (you no longer have a 2.7). A masters gives you a graduate GPA - if this is something like a 4.0 - it overshadows a measly undergrad GPA.

Don't let having a job if you get a DH degree sway you. Think about it. Is your primary goal getting into dental school or becoming a dental hygienist? If its the former, who cares what a hygienist makes? This is setting yourself up for failure in your primary goal - don't do that yet, and hopefully never. You should focus at your present opportunity on improving on the things dental schools want.

Experience is good, but, first things first. Boost your GPA, do extremely well on the DAT's, then look into the rest.

Good luck.

 

[Jman1984]

Short version of my story:

Applied in 2005/2006 to 8 schools with a 3.3GPA/3.3sGPA and 17AA on the DAT. Didn't even get a single interview...which was expected.

Applied to local dental hygiene program and luckily got accepted!

Graduated hygiene school in May 2008 with a 4.0 GPA.

Applied in 2009/2010 to 11 schools with a 3.56GPA/3.58sGPA and 18AA on the DAT. 8 interviews and 2 acceptances later, I'll finally be attending dental school.

In the end, I think choosing hygiene school was better for me than a masters degree, because it led to a career where you can still make money working in a field you love....just incase dental school never happens. Also the DH GPA helped boost my GPA significantly. I would encourage you to take the DAT while ochem and gchem are still fresh in your head. Teaching yourself those subjects is not an easy feat! Best of luck, and I'm sure any decision you make will be a good one.

 

[coffeexnxtea]

Thank you everyone for your advice!!!

@THINKOFMYFUTURE- what you suggested is also the route my parents would prefer for me to take but I feel so inadequate for continuing to rely on them (financially) to put me through school (in hopes that I will get into dental school). There are people I know who pursued the academic path you've mentioned and they did get into dental school eventually, but the financial burden on their family is tremendous.

@Jman1984 - thanks for the inspiration but may I ask how your DH GPA is incorporated into the uGPA?

 

[Jman1984]

Thank you everyone for your advice!!!
@Jman1984 - thanks for the inspiration but may I ask how your DH GPA is incorporated into the uGPA?

That's just how AADSAS calculated it. They ask for all undergrad transcripts and I guess since it wasn't graduate level courses they were factored into my overall undergrad GPA.

 

[Futuredds2010]

That's just how AADSAS calculated it. They ask for all undergrad transcripts and I guess since it wasn't graduate level courses they were factored into my overall undergrad GPA.

What about dental assisting? I will be graduating with a bachelors in biochemistry this June and applying to dental schools in June as well. I was wondering if I should just shadow a dentist for a year or do a dental assistant program (and maybe take a few science courses) which takes about 10 months?

The only reason why I don't want to do a dental hygiene degree is because it takes two years and if i get into dental school for 2011 I would have to drop out the dh program which I don't want to do.

 

[Jman1984]

What about dental assisting? I will be graduating with a bachelors in biochemistry this June and applying to dental schools in June as well. I was wondering if I should just shadow a dentist for a year or do a dental assistant program (and maybe take a few science courses) which takes about 10 months?

The only reason why I don't want to do a dental hygiene degree is because it takes two years and if i get into dental school for 2011 I would have to drop out the dh program which I don't want to do.

As long as it's college credit courses.

 

[Futuredds2010]

Thanks!