Dental school after law school

[LawyerLoser]

Sorry for the lengthy post -

I’m thinking of doing something rather drastic, and I am hoping by posting here I can either be talked down from the ledge or encouraged to make the leap with conviction (sorry for the suicide analogy intro – keep reading and you’ll see why it’s appropriate to my situation).

Here’s my current state of affairs: I graduated law school in May 2013 in the middle of my class at a T4 school. I passed the July Bar Exam, but I have been looking for employment for the past 6 months and have had very few bites and am still unemployed. I have about $120,000 student loan debt that my parents are going to help me pay down in a lump sum by mortgaging some property they own because they can get a lower interest rate than I have on my loans (I’m extremely lucky, I know) and they can deduct the mortgage interest. But after that, any future debt burden will be squarely on my shoulders.

My history: I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration (3.1 GPA), but I also have a decent science foundation. I was a Bio major to begin with, but I switched to business when I struggled a little with Chem classes because, frankly, I was too lazy as a 19/20 year old to put in the work. I don’t know what I was thinking…I kind of nonchalantly gave up on my dreams of doing something in healthcare, and once I was on the business track, law school seemed like the logical next step. Now I can’t believe I was so stupid. I did no research before going to law school, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I chose my law school because they offered me a scholarship, not realizing that going to a T4 school was dooming me to a life as a public defender/unemployable chump. Besides that, I don’t give two ****s about the law or being a lawyer. My heart is still in doing something healthcare-related. So…

How I’m thinking I can turn this around: Because I’ve completed several science classes already (made A in calculus, A in Bio I w/ lab, B+ in Chem I w/lab), I could complete the rest of the prerequisites over the next 18 months by taking a full load both semesters + summer and hopefully be accepted to dental school for Fall of 2015 (or possibly 2016). I could also do ample shadowing/volunteering during that time. I have always done really well on standardized tests, and I am confident I could rock the DAT with some concentrated studying (yeah…I know everyone says that). I also feel like I have developed the work ethic I lacked during undergrad and, more importantly, the passion I need to apply myself wholeheartedly to the rest of my science curriculum to get my overall GPA up and keep my SGPA high. There several dentists who I’ve know my whole life (parents’ friends) and have spoken to about my idea. They all seem supportive, and my dad’s friend said he would help me transition into taking over his established practice when I graduate if I want. I know these people would write me glowing recs, and I plan on applying to their alma matter (Medical College of GA - along with some other schools).

I know what a debt burden this is. And I realize it’s a huge time commitment, but I’ve seen how quickly time flies by. I know I have to consider the opportunity cost of pursuing another graduate degree, but it’s not like I’m giving up a lucrative law job to pursue this. I am unemployed with no prospects and will literally be reduced to working at the mall come 2014 unless one of my 75+ applications pans out (I’m not hopeful). So, should I do it? Should I try to become a dentist? I’ve applied to post-bac the classes at the University of Colorado, but I have to pay my tuition the first of the year in 2014, and I am pretty gun-shy after my law school screwover. Thank you in advance for your replies!

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[doc toothache]

You seem to have a history of choosing a career "nonchalantly" and your latest infatuation is following the same pattern.

 

[warshley123]

It sounds like you are giving up again. If you are passionate about dentistry then go for it. What I would do in your situation would be to research research research dentistry to see if it is a good fit, otherwise you will be repeating the same mistakes as before.

 

[wb1]

Have you find lawyer works in non-profits organizations. There are many organization that you can contribute your time. Talk about how lawyer works inspire you to pursue dentistry. This will shut down questions from the adcom. T4= Tier 4?

Dental schools want someone who succeed in other fields-not loser. They need people like you who could lobby and influence Washington D.C. regarding dentistry affairs. Think about those students that leading the ASDA with only the BS degree in biology.

Good luck!

 

[BlueDevil2012]

Hi LawyerLoser,
I know you said you have spoken with several dentists you have known your whole life, but because of your past record of jumping head first into a career without doing the proper research I strongly urge you to begin shadowing now and learning as much as you can about Dentistry so that you can get a clear picture of what your potential future would entail. Also, bc you have expressed a general interest in healthcare understand that the options are endless. I would suggest shadowing a few physicians as well just to be certain you do not want to go down the med route.

Secondly, it is very possible for you to build a strong application over the course of 18months. I graduated in May 2012 as a Political Science/Psychology Major with none of the pre-reqs and zero dental experience and with a lot of focus/patience I was able to build a pretty strong app in order to apply this cycle in June 2013 (recieved 4 interviews). I think if you are going to go down this route you should be trying to cut expenses wherever you can. Is Colorado your state school? If not I think you should consider completing your pre-reqs at your state school, preferably your cheapest option. Dental schools only care that you take the classes at a 4 year instituion and that you do well. Also show them you can handle the sciences by taking a minimum of 12hrs each semester and once you have completes the pre-reqs continue on to take a few upper div bios.

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[LawyerLoser]

Thank you all for your replies. I do appreciate the feedback! I suppose I should have picked a less self-deprecating screen name. Oh well.

I did some dental shadowing when I was early in my college career a few years ago, and I was definitely intrigued by the profession. I could see myself doing it. Then I was a law clerk throughout law school, so I have that level of experience with the field, and I can't see myself in the law long-term. I know being a law clerk isn’t the same as being a practicing attorney, but I am just not stimulated by the law the way I am by science.

I stuck out law school because I figured I could suck it up and make a decent living as a lawyer (and who really loves their job anyway, right?), but now that I’m older (almost 26) with the years stretched out before me, the time it would take to do what I really want doesn’t seem that immense. Meanwhile, a law career feels depressing and interminable.

I know I've got to be able to articulate convincingly why I am passionate about pursuing dentistry and rebut the "why not law?" questions. I’m working on it.

Thanks again for your replies.

Best,
[NotA]LawyerLoser

 

[lwen5]

I recommend you pick Physician Assistant. Salary is around $120-150k. Only requires 2 years of schooling

 

[y3nd0]

I second all the responses that call for more shadowing. How much was "some dental shadowing"? For me, shadowing was exciting for the first 10-20 hours, and then it became slightly less exciting as the hours rolled on. For me, the level of excitement and intrigue was still high enough to pursue the profession, for others, it may not be. So be sure to get more shadowing in (you'd need at least 100 hours any way if you're going to apply) and be SURE that this is something you want to do. Because, as you seem to be aware, this is a huge time and money investment.

Since you're unemployed and have connections with some dentists, do some shadowing between now and the time your classes start.