Do dentistry schools look down on applicants that have applied to med?

[Alp15]

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I've always been on the fence between the two. After deciding med and taking my mcat this summer, I did some dentist shadowing and changed my mind. I am certain I want to do dental. However, realistically I don't think I could take the dat and get reccs on time to apply this cycle.

My mcat score came back good and parents are really pressing me to apply to medical just incase I change my mind again (that way I don't lose a year). Truthfully I don't mind applying because yes they are right I could change my mind again with more shadowing. (I love aspects of both fields so please don't judge me for being a little indecisive!)

Basically I'm scared that applying to med this cycle will ruin my chances of getting into dental next year. My grades are good ~3.7 but I still need to take the DAT. Any advice/experience applying to dental after applying to medicine would be greatly appreciated!

 

[asne0407]

From your question you don't sound certain that dentistry is the route you want. If you are applying to med school just so you wont lose a year and that makes you happy then I would stick with that. Yes they ask you on your application if you have applied to Med school. They can look down on that depending on your answer.

 

[Mufasha]

Maybe they'll look down on it, maybe they won't. If you were 100% committed to dentistry, you probably would not want take any chances. But you're clearly not committed at this point. So if I were you, I'd apply to med school and keep that option on the table. If you do commit yourself to dentistry in the next few weeks/months, immediately pull your med school applications and focus 100% on improving your dental application.

It's okay that you're indecisive, but take the necessary steps to confidently make a decision. I also shadowed physicians and dentists and thought they were both great professions. I understand it might be a tough decision, but stop worrying about what adcoms might think and just trust your gut based on your shadowing observations. And if more shadowing is what you need, do it ASAP so you can fully focus on the correct path for you.

 

[LaughingGas]

As much as you or your parents are going to pay for your tuition, schools (med or dental) are also investing on you. So from their prospective, even with good stats, they wouldn't take someone who has the possibility of changing their minds in the mid of school year.
Would you take someone who seems indecisive about their life long career, which you would spend 4+ years in school?

 

[Baba Yaga]

If you really want to apply to dental school, why don't you get your AADSAS stuff in and study your butt off for the DAT and take it at the end of this month/beginning of Sept? Regardless of what you hear on SDN, people take the DAT at that time and get in (by Dec 1st even)...it all depends on the whole picture.

Whether you apply to med or dental, it'll probably take a month before your recs get in, and since you did well on your MCAT it seems as if you have most of your sciences down and can speed through DAT studying.

 

[Alp15]

Thank you! Really appreciate the advise!

 

[NMC2010]

If you really want to apply to dental school, why don't you get your AADSAS stuff in and study your butt off for the DAT and take it at the end of this month/beginning of Sept? Regardless of what you hear on SDN, people take the DAT at that time and get in (by Dec 1st even)...it all depends on the whole picture.

Whether you apply to med or dental, it'll probably take a month before your recs get in, and since you did well on your MCAT it seems as if you have most of your sciences down and can speed through DAT studying.

Agreed. I was the same way as you. After shadowing dentists and MD's both, I decided dentistry was definitely what I wanted to do. I was pre-med for 2 years, just switched to pre-dent this past year.

My parents wanted me to do medicine as well, but they accepted that I should do what I want to do, not what they want me to do. Do AADSAS now and get to studying. If you study hard for the rest of August and do so a bit during the school year when school is still easy the first few weeks, you've got a decent shot. The DAT is easier than the MCAT, and the only real difference is physics on the MCAT vs general math on the DAT. And the perceptual ability test of course. The reading section of the MCAT is also way more difficult.

Do yourself a favor and spend $97 on DAT Bootcamp. Get Achiever as well. If you want, you can also get Crack DAT PAT to get you started understanding PAT concepts, then use achiever and Bootcamp to refine them. Get your hands on as many practice tests as possible.

Best of luck to you!

 

[NMC2010]

I'm curious how they will know you applied to med school anyways, unless you make a point of mentioning it. They could always ask in the interview, but idk why they'd do that. And if they did it wouldn't be too hard to explain.

 

[Miss Lou]

I'm curious how they will know you applied to med school anyways, unless you make a point of mentioning it. They could always ask in the interview, but idk why they'd do that. And if they did it wouldn't be too hard to explain.

On many of the Dental school applications, they ask if you have applied to med school. I agree with what someone said earlier, it depends on how you answer the question. It may seem indecisive and they have a few students that switch or quit mid-year, so I guess they are trying to determine what you really want before using a spot or investing the time. I would apply to both but take the DAT right away. Maybe you can get your scores in this cycle. And definitely take the time to shadow some more in both professions.