Dental School applicant considering switch to Pre-Med... Need advice

[somefuturedoc]

Hi everybody, I'm looking for some advice.

I am going to be a senior in college this year and I applied to dental school earlier this summer. I think I am a strong applicant, I am a chem major, 3.9+ gpa, 2.5 years of chem research, one summer of bio research, and a lot of leadership experience in organizations on campus. I also have done extensive dental shadowing and volunteering. However, I am currently doubting my decision to pursue dentistry in favor of medicine. I was on the fence when I came into college, but chose dentistry and never looked back (until now). I've shadowed a few physicians over the last few years, and I've been talking with current med students about their experiences, so I'm not doubting myself for no reason.

I'm currently exploring my options because I don't want everything I've done to prepare for dental school to be in vain, and I realize I should've seriously considered this before spending money applying to dental schools. If I decide to withdraw my dental school applications, would shadowing/medical volunteering for a year and taking the MCAT be sufficient to become a competitive applicant? Should I look into post-bac or masters programs? Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance, any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[HKSZYU]

Most dental and medical pre-reqs are the same, so you don't need additional coursework, and your 3.9 GPA is competitive at any MD school. As such, a post-bacc/masters program doesn't seem necessary. You would need an MCAT score, which I'd suggest taking no later than March of next year so that you have you scores all ready come May when AMCAS opens (MCAT scores aren't immediate like DAT; it takes a month to be released.)

Beyond academics, what you'll need is significant and longitudinal experience in the medical field. If you haven't done any clinical volunteering yet, I'd try to jump on that as soon as possible. Also try to get more physician shadowing. 150 hours of clinical volunteering, 150 hours non-clinical volunteering, and 50 hours of physicians shadowing are generally accepted as the minimum benchmarks for an MD applicant (although more is always better, granted it's substantive). Not only will this strengthen your app, but it also gives you more data points as to whether medicine is what you want or not.

Lastly, take your time making this decision. Medical/dental school isn't going anywhere, so if you need a year to shadow more dentists and doctors, do more clinical research, or just self-reflect, take it. Both dentistry and medicine are long paths that are hard to get off once you've started, so do your due diligence beforehand.

 

[somefuturedoc]

I appreciate the comprehensive reply. The switch sounds like it would definitely be doable, I need to do some serious thinking about this. Thanks.

 

[Kirby Smart]

Ace the MCAT and volunteer and you're pretty much golden. Some clinical experience other than shadowing is probably necessary too though, which could be clinical volunteering.

 

[meepdog]

Ace the MCAT and volunteer and you're pretty much golden. Some clinical experience other than shadowing is probably necessary too though, which could be clinical volunteering.

Another viable option could be to find clinical employment and a non-clinical volunteer opportunity to cover both of these bases during the gap year. Paid clinical experiences kind of kill two birds with one stone by getting you clinical while also letting you pursue hobbies like making rent and feeding yourself.

 

[deleted547631]

Hi everybody, I'm looking for some advice.

I am going to be a senior in college this year and I applied to dental school earlier this summer. I think I am a strong applicant, I am a chem major, 3.9+ gpa, 2.5 years of chem research, one summer of bio research, and a lot of leadership experience in organizations on campus. I also have done extensive dental shadowing and volunteering. However, I am currently doubting my decision to pursue dentistry in favor of medicine. I was on the fence when I came into college, but chose dentistry and never looked back (until now). I've shadowed a few physicians over the last few years, and I've been talking with current med students about their experiences, so I'm not doubting myself for no reason.

I'm currently exploring my options because I don't want everything I've done to prepare for dental school to be in vain, and I realize I should've seriously considered this before spending money applying to dental schools. If I decide to withdraw my dental school applications, would shadowing/medical volunteering for a year and taking the MCAT be sufficient to become a competitive applicant? Should I look into post-bac or masters programs? Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Do your future self a huge favor and make the switch. I did it WHILE a dental student and have no regrets. Dentistry doesn't have a bright future due to high debt (school loans, small business loans, etc) and major saturation in desirable locales. You're better off being in a profession with higher demand, higher pay, and limitless numbers of patients that need your services. The fact that there's practically a dental office in every strip mall (typically situated next to nail salons and Little Caesars, mind you) should clue you in. Go big and swing for the fences!

 

[somefuturedoc]

Quick update: I went through with the application process because I already spent the money to apply, and didn’t want to have any regrets. I ended up being accepted to a bunch of schools which was cool, but it didn’t make the feelings drawing me to med school go away. I paid a deposit at a school because I’m still deciding what to do. I feel like med school is where I need to be but am just hesitant to give up the opportunities I have right now.

Do your future self a huge favor and make the switch. I did it WHILE a dental student and have no regrets.

What steps (besides MCAT) did you take to make your transition/application successful?

 

[DHoang3]

You can also do an MD/DDS program. I think you start medschool as a 2nd year and just do rotations. That is something you can also consider.

 

[Skeletorr]

You can also do an MD/DDS program. I think you start medschool as a 2nd year and just do rotations. That is something you can also consider.

The debt for dual degree OMS is insane. Just peruse the dental forums. Think about it, dental school + med school loans.

 

[Moko]

Quick update: I went through with the application process because I already spent the money to apply, and didn’t want to have any regrets. I ended up being accepted to a bunch of schools which was cool, but it didn’t make the feelings drawing me to med school go away. I paid a deposit at a school because I’m still deciding what to do. I feel like med school is where I need to be but am just hesitant to give up the opportunities I have right now.


What steps (besides MCAT) did you take to make your transition/application successful?

You need to figure out whether you want to be a dentist vs physician. By not adequately exploring your options now, you may be setting yourself up for unnecessary debt down the road. Good luck.

 

[HKSZYU]

Quick update: I went through with the application process because I already spent the money to apply, and didn’t want to have any regrets. I ended up being accepted to a bunch of schools which was cool, but it didn’t make the feelings drawing me to med school go away. I paid a deposit at a school because I’m still deciding what to do. I feel like med school is where I need to be but am just hesitant to give up the opportunities I have right now.


What steps (besides MCAT) did you take to make your transition/application successful?

I'd encourage you to use the next few months to get more clinical experience. This does two things: 1) It helps you "transition your application" as you said, since direct patient contact in a clinical setting is very important for a med school app. 2) Additionally, It will help you figure which of these two pathways, medicine or dentistry, makes the most sense for you. Try to get as much hands-on experience with patients as possible. Whether you do this through traditional volunteering and shadowing physicians or through something more involved like becoming a CNA, MA, or ENT, it seems like you need a bit more experience before making this choice.

I'd also try to pinpoint what exactly about dentistry is giving you reservations and why you believe medicine is a better fit. There are a lot of similarities within the two fields, but there are also key differences (i.e. level of autonomy, length of education, typical debt load, practice ownership and management.) How do you feel about those differences? Which ones excite you? Which ones don't?

In terms of the actual application process, I'd try to take your MCAT by March if possible, so that you'll know your score by April. I think knowing your MCAT score will help with the decision making process because it gives you more clarity as to if applying to med school this cycle is even possible.

Lastly, the line that stuck out to me most in your post was that you're holding on to the acceptance because you don't want to give up what you have. I get that, and I'm definitely not recommending giving up the acceptance immediately. Hold on to it until you have better clarity on what you want to do next. At the same time, make sure you're not falling prey to sunk cost fallacy in your decision making. If dentistry doesn't feel right, that's ok. There's no shame there. Don't keep going down the wrong road just because you've already invested a certain amount of time into it. If med school is "where [you[ need to be", then go there.