Do i stand a chance without the experience

[LGamble]

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Sorry if this has been answered a million times, but i'm new to the dental forums and i honestly dont know anyone who is pre-dental.
I am wanting to apply to dental school this year, but i have zero dental experience. I have a crap undergrad GPA -- 3.2 (dude.. berkeley is hard). But i have a decent masters GPA -- 3.7. I haven't taken the DAT, but i think i'll do pretty good since i got a 33 on the MCAT. I have tons of clinical experience (non-dental) as well as experience as a research fellow at the NIH (again... non-dental). Should I wait a year to work in a dental office or should i just go for it now?

 

[Regmata]

You likely are too late to apply this year...apply in may for the next cycle and in the mean time, shadow a few dentists and take the DAT...you should be fine

 

[SuperDuper]

I think it definitely helps to have some experience in dentistry (but it doesn't have to be a lot). Many students have something like 30-60 dental shadowing/interview hours, and that seems to be enough for most schools.

Since it sounds like you changed your career track to dentistry from medicine, you will be asked why you made such choice. At that time, you should have a solid answer for dental schools and having some dental experience makes it much easier to justify the career change. 😀😉🙂

Sorry if this has been answered a million times, but i'm new to the dental forums and i honestly dont know anyone who is pre-dental.
I am wanting to apply to dental school this year, but i have zero dental experience. I have a crap undergrad GPA -- 3.2 (dude.. berkeley is hard). But i have a decent masters GPA -- 3.7. I haven't taken the DAT, but i think i'll do pretty good since i got a 33 on the MCAT. I have tons of clinical experience (non-dental) as well as experience as a research fellow at the NIH (again... non-dental). Should I wait a year to work in a dental office or should i just go for it now?

 

[LGamble]

right.. thats what i meant. applying in May. The problem is that i'm stuck in a contract at the NIH and in the event that i cant transfer to craniofacial research (unlikely) i'm not sure that i can get any dental experience outside of a weekend gig. Plus, the only experience I will get will be after I apply in May. I guess i could allude to my future intentions in my app, but it seems pretty weak.

 

[Shunwei]

right.. thats what i meant. applying in May. The problem is that i'm stuck in a contract at the NIH and in the event that i cant transfer to craniofacial research (unlikely) i'm not sure that i can get any dental experience outside of a weekend gig. Plus, the only experience I will get will be after I apply in May. I guess i could allude to my future intentions in my app, but it seems pretty weak.

It is most definitely possible to get some experience during the weekend away from a regular job if you are determined enough. I have a full-time research job, but yet I was able to find a family friend who worked on Saturday to let me observe four hours a week for four months. If you really want it, you've got to do everything you can do for it.

 

[HeatingHomer]

Since it sounds like you changed your career track to dentistry from medicine, you will be asked why you made such choice. At that time, you should have a solid answer for dental schools and having some dental experience makes it much easier to justify the career change. 😀😉🙂

every interview i went on asked about my shadowing experience and that was always part of the answer.

 

[jdoc04]

I think with a good DAT you'll have a good chance for some offers next cycle IF you shadow a dentist or two. You don't have to commit a ton of time, just one day a week will be suffice. Leaving you plenty of time to stay with the NIH fellowship.

By the way are you doing a fellowship at the NIH or is this a program through Berkley? Just curious b/c I was thinking of applying for one in Maryland if I was not accepted this year. Thank the lord I don't have to worry with that.

Good Luck with your pursuit in the dental profession.!!

 

[dontwakeme]

A 3.2 at Berkeley is certainly nothing to scoff at. Neither is a 33 MCAT. You will get in somewhere for sure!

If he lives in DC, he's most likely doing something in Bethesda, so probably not affiliated with Berkeley. SIP, perhaps?

 

[tinman831]

It's hard to honestly justify your desire to pursue dentistry without some sort of exposure to the field.

 

[fireblast713]

Have you applied to Medical? If so you might be given a hard time as to "why dental," The fact that you took the MCAT might lead them to believe med was your first choice.

 

[bisconito]

I think that you should do something in dental office to make sure that it fits well for you. Dentists are peculiar people, and the personality traits are just as self-selective as the application process. I know quite a few people who wanted to become dentists... until they shadowed 😉.

 

[IdiotsAnnoyMe]

It's an automatic rejection at some schools if you don't have dental experience. I also wouldn't mention being premed, the MCAT, or prior intentions of going to medical school. It's only an uphill battle for you if you did.

 

[LGamble]

For those who asked, yes, i'm doing the IRTA program at the NIH. I took all your advice and found an oral surgeon doing pain experiments who said I could shadow him here once a week. Do I have to mention the fact that I took the MCAT when I apply?

For anyone interested, there is a dental / craniofacial research institute here that takes recent college graduates for 1-2 year research fellowships. Just google "IRTA NIH"

 

[fightingspirit]

Sorry if this has been answered a million times, but i'm new to the dental forums and i honestly dont know anyone who is pre-dental.
I am wanting to apply to dental school this year, but i have zero dental experience. I have a crap undergrad GPA -- 3.2 (dude.. berkeley is hard). But i have a decent masters GPA -- 3.7. I haven't taken the DAT, but i think i'll do pretty good since i got a 33 on the MCAT. I have tons of clinical experience (non-dental) as well as experience as a research fellow at the NIH (again... non-dental). Should I wait a year to work in a dental office or should i just go for it now?

Ok, your GPA is not a problem at all. Your masters is a strength, and so is the undergrad school you went to. Now in terms of experience in dentistry (such as exposure to a family member who’s a dentist or a specialist or dental assisting or shadowing a dentist or an OMFS), you do not need much for applying to and getting into d-school; volunteering at a hospital dentistry dept. for 3-4 months, only on 1 or 2 days of the week, would be enough for the purpose of demonstrating your desire to pursue a career in dentistry. Having said that, an experience in dentistry would not be as important for the application as much as it would be for you, so that you’d know whether or not you truly like dentistry. In every profession, observing is different from actual practice. In dentistry, observing is not just different but it is VERY different. In fact, I’d say that applicants who truly know what they’re getting into are only those who have actually assisted dentists (they were officially dental assistants or were just volunteers but who got their hands “dirty” and did some work for the dentist or the specialist). Also, you must address the med-to-dent switch in your PS with a rational degree of transparency and honesty. During the interview, you will be asked about your change of heart and you will be asked about dental experience or lack thereof. Your answers must be consistent and they must correspond to what you wrote on your PS in a clear and honest way. Also, keep in mind that dentistry is very different from medicine. The commonalities between the two are much less than the differences. Tread into this carefully; know who you are and what you want, and do get some dental experience for your own sake, not the application’s. Some people make great dental and medical students. Others make great med-students but mediocre dent-students. Some make great dent-students but mediocre med-students. A 33 on the MCAT is commendable; congrats on it! But it does not say or predict anything about your performance in d-school because it has nothing to do with your fitness to practice dentistry in the clinic or pre-clinic .

Best of luck!!!