Dental vs. Opt.

[RUNNEROD]

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Is dental school really harder to get into than optometry?

 

[IndianaOD]

No, there are a lot more dental schools.

I looked up IU dental and optometry. Average GPAs are identical and these are both respected schools.

 

[pienfoo]

in my opinion, yes, it does seem like dental schools are harder to get into. but lets be realistic, dentists make more money. but then it's alot more disgusting too 😀

 

[IndianaOD]

in my opinion, yes, it does seem like dental schools are harder to get into. but lets be realistic, dentists make more money. but then it's alot more disgusting too 😀

What do you base this opinion on? Are you comparing a specific pair of schools in your area or a position in any school overall. If you go to specific school websites and compare the average GPAs they are basically identical.

For example, if you wanted an M.D. it would be very hard to get into Harvard, but if you went to a school further down the list or one in the caribbean its not that hard at all. An undergrad classmate of mine had a 2.8 GPA and got her MD, she's doing great now.

 

[BodybldgDoc]

dentistry is definetly harder to get into than optometry. The gpa requirements for most dental schools is getting to be close to what is required for a premed student to get into med school and of course caribbean schools excluded. 3.5gpa on average and above seems to be the trend in recent years of what is required and even then in a lot of cases recently people with a better gpa than 3.5 and above average dat scores dont get in to dent schools due to the inflated competition and limited seats. there is no such thing as a safety school as far as getting into dent school is concerned, but being a minority always helps at some schools.

 

[IndianaOD]

dentistry is definetly harder to get into than optometry. The gpa requirements for most dental schools is getting to be close to what is required for a premed student to get into med school and of course caribbean schools excluded. 3.5gpa on average and above seems to be the trend in recent years of what is required and even then in a lot of cases recently people with a better gpa than 3.5 and above average dat scores dont get in to dent schools due to the inflated competition and limited seats. there is no such thing as a safety school as far as getting into dent school is concerned, but being a minority always helps at some schools.

Better do more research because I think you are incorrect. I located 3 schools of each type in the surrounding states. Here are the average GPAs of the most recent classes accepted pulled directly from the websites.



IU Optometry:
Academic Statistics: The cumulative undergraduate mean* GPA is 3.49/4.00 and the median* GPA is 3.52/4.00.


Berkeley Optometry Last 3 years average GPA:
Average
2006 - 3.45
2005 - 3.54
2004 - 3.50

Michigan College of Optometry
2006 - Mean 3.56

IU Dental:
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (4.00 SCALE) Overall G. P. A. 3.52 Science G. P. A. 3.47

The University of Michigan
School of Dentistry
Dental Class of 2009 - Class average Overall GPA 3.46

University of Kentucky Dentistry
The college profile reveals a 3.52 cumulative grade point average (3.37 sciences GPA)

 

[BodybldgDoc]

If you want to get into top dental schools, you most certainly need more than just a 3.5gpa. Look at Harvard Dental or University of Colorado or even Columbia. Also there might be more Dental Schools but there are also far more applicants in the Dental field which creates a fierce competition among applicants.
The available # of seats to applicant ratio is far worse than it seems to be for the optometry field. Out of around 9000 applicants that apply every year to the 56 dental schools only about 1/3 of that 9000 are able to get in to those 56 schools. So while you are comparing gpa averages between schools, you might want to take these things into consideration.

 

[IndianaOD]

I understand where you are coming from but it doesn't matter that some schools are harder to get into like harvard. 99% of patients could care less where you got your degree from. All I was pointing out is that for a given GPA and background it is basically the same difficulty to get accepted. If you have a 3.5 and try hard enough you will be able to get into dental or optometry school.

 

[BodybldgDoc]

If you have a 3.5 and try hard enough you will be able to get into dental or optometry school.

agreed.

 

[IndianaOD]

agreed.

Or med school if that's your thing 🙂