dental school to medical school?

[mils617]

I am currently a dental student, but am wanting to apply to medical school..does anyone know anything about this? My gpa in dental school is also not stellar and has gone down significantly from my undergrad GPA..any thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[werewethere]

Honestly, I've never really seen or heard of this. Was this your plan to begin with or are you having regrets about dentistry?

 

[mils617]

i've been having regrets about dentistry and after shadowing many physicians and learning much more about that..i think its a much better fit for me...

 

[helpfuldoc2b]

i've been having regrets about dentistry and after shadowing many physicians and learning much more about that..i think its a much better fit for me...

Curious, then why did you even apply to dental school, what dental school do you go to and whats your stats. You must be in huge debt already. I say hmmmmmmm finish out the year, and take a leave of absense and then think very long and hard before just dropping out and applying to med school. What do you dislike about dentistry, could it be the fact that its just your first year and D1 usually sucks. I wish you the best, keep us updated with your status.

 

[mils617]

i just finished my second year actually and my school is not allowing me a leave of absence..my gpa from dental school is about a 3.0. i actually enjoyed DS 1 much better than DS 2..I had doubts to begin with even when I was applying, but I went ahead and did it b/c I was already in..now I wish I had thought more about it...both of my parents are physicians as is my sister and I didn't go into medicine to begin with b/c I was tired of being compared to everyone in my family, but I've been feeling for awhile now that medicine is the profession for me

 

[sehnsucht]

you'd have to make a compelling case why you are jumping ship in the middle of dentistry to pursue something else. moreso because you didn't really like dentistry in the first place but pursued it anyway.

 

[poly800rock]

every doc i've met in the past year have said do not go into medicine, go into dentistry. and i'm beginning to see their points. you are really no way limited in dentistry, you can go as far as you want. from what i heard, the oral surgeons do rotations with regular md/do's, so don't just jump ship quite yet...

 

[sehnsucht]

every doc i've met in the past year have said do not go into medicine, go into dentistry. and i'm beginning to see their points. you are really no way limited in dentistry, you can go as far as you want. from what i heard, the oral surgeons do rotations with regular md/do's, so don't just jump ship quite yet...

i've experienced the opposite. I grew up in the medical profession and I never felt pressure to go into medicine or got discouraged away from it. My parents did ask me a lot though if medicine was REALLY what I wanted for myself.

 

[IDBasco]

I shadowed a DO that started as a dental student. I don't remember how far he went before changing his mind, but I think it was after the first year. He was able to do it, so it may be possible for you.

 

[yellowdaffodils]

I am currently a dental student, but am wanting to apply to medical school..does anyone know anything about this? My gpa in dental school is also not stellar and has gone down significantly from my undergrad GPA..any thoughts?

hi mils617! i'm going through the same thing right now. i was a dental student at UNC-CH (i was actually a dual dds/phd). though they have a wonderful program, i was extremely unhappy while in school. it took me two years to realize that i didn't enjoy dentistry. luckily, they are allowing me to finish my graduate degree program w/o the dds. however, i know that i won't be happy sitting at the lab bench - i'm a clinician at heart.

anyway, it's going to be a tough fight. i know it is hard to own up to the idea that you may have made a mistake (trust me), but if you want to change, you should go for it!

i must warn you though... the hardest part about leaving was leaving my patients. many of my patients still call me! some just want to keep in touch, but others still want my opinion on treatment. it is sweet, but it upsets me sometimes (as they were the reason i stayed as long as i did).

 

[mils617]

thank you! it's so nice to hear that I'm not the only one! When will you get done with your PhD and what are your plans after that??

 

[2BAnIDrNoMore]

Mils, if you don't like it...DON'T DO IT! I was in the same predicament but w/ optometry school. I finished 2 yrs of opt school and decided to take a leave of absence and pursue a career in medicine. I worked for a couple of optometrists (commercial and private practice) before I applied to opt school so I "thought" I'd like it. After a month on the job, I hated what I was doing b/c it was boring but I told myself it would be better when I went to opt school b/c I'D be in charge; I'd be the one helping the patients.

Anyway, I'm blabbing and this may not even be your situation but when it comes down to it...if you don't like it...GET OUT NOW! May 07 was the end of my optometric education; I stayed entirely too long bc I was scared to venture into the unknown. I thought staying in optometry school was the "safe" thing to to do b/c I knew in 2yrs I'd be an O.D. and earning a descent living. In the long run, I ended up wasting $$$, getting depressed (b/c having something consume your life that you absolutely hate was stressful in itself; despite the fact that opt is EXTREMELY boring...to me), dropping my GPA and just a lot of crap I could prevented if I would have listened to myself.

Originally, I was going to go to med school (ophthamology) until I researched the amount of years it would take; I figured optometry school would be the next best thing. I shouldn't have worried about how many years would pass; I should have gone w/ what I was interested in. Anyway, sometimes, happiness isn't logical so I finished my finals, packed my bags and got the hell out of there! I moved to a city I've never been before and started "soul searching". Apparently, I didn't know myself when I applied for optometry school so I figured a little soul searching was needed.

2 months later and after researching every career possible (sarcasm of course but pretty close to it), I decided that pursuing medicine is the only thing that's going to make me happy. So, the best of luck to you and go w/ your gut instincts; it'll save you thousands of dollars!

Wow, that was a long one...

 

[mils617]

hahah..that was a long one..I have decided to leave and I am currently applying to medical school and studying for the mcat, despite the loss of crazy amounts of money and loss in GPA as well...hopefully they'll be understanding! i was exactly like you thinking that I would fall in love with it after I got in and wanting the shorter route..no such luck!! hopefully this works out for both of us!

 

[MossPoh]

i've experienced the opposite. I grew up in the medical profession and I never felt pressure to go into medicine or got discouraged away from it. My parents did ask me a lot though if medicine was REALLY what I wanted for myself.

Same for me. My dad made damn sure it was what I wanted to do and grilled with questions. Only when it was obvious that it was not something on a whim and I had done my research did he become supportive.

OP, I suggest you sit down and think about why you REALLY want to switch. List out what you hate and love for BOTH professions. Don't just sit there and go "Well I hate _____, _______, and _______ with dentistry and LOVE _______, _______, and _______ with medicine." Look at the positives of both sides and truly diagnose what it is you are searching for. It could be that there is some speciality in dentistry that has large chunks of what you are looking for.

The comparison thing is a weak argument. There has to be something in medicine that you want to do that is not possible in dentistry. I know it is not a true way of doing it, and very very difficult to get in but there is always the omfs with MD stuff. You technically would have an MD when you are done and a damn useful skillset, but if you didn't like it perhaps you could get a residency in something else. (Disclaimer*: I don't know whether this is possible, I'm just trying to come up with ideas)

 

[Cablindian]

Hey there! Trust me, you are not alone! I am a first year dental student and I am considering switching to medicine. We are taking some joint classes with the med students, and I find the medical aspect of what we learn so much more interesting. My advice to you that I'm about to follow as well is: GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCT AND PURSUE A CAREER THAT YOU WILL ENJOY! There's no point in becoming a dentist and wind up hating it.

Good Luck and keep us posted!!