Does this Canadian still have a pretty good shot? + other Q

[Smooth Operater]

Hello guys! I finished my first yr science, and am looking around different health related that i can pursue in, and ofcourse dentistry is the one of them I am reasearching on.

my GPA in % was 78.74% for first year in a Canadian univeristy. I am wondering with the grade I have so far, is it too far-fetch to apply US dental schools in future?

I did lots of EC activities (i.e volunteering, member of clubs) in my first year, and probably will continue next year cuz i enjoy them. I don't know about dental schools in US, but I know Canadian dental school tend to weight GPA heavily than EC's, therefore, Canadian schools are hader to get in in general. So, Do US dental school consider EC's as a big chunck of factor when admitting students from Canada?

Are there many US dental schools welcome Canadian? Where can I find a list of schools that welcome Canadians?

Can someone refer me a link where it has the list consiting roughly the pre-reqs I need for US dental schools? Are statistic and psychology required?

and lastly, How much is the tutition for Canadian without US citizenship to study in US per yr?


Hope someone will help me out as I am in the process to learn more about Dentistry . thank you very much!

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[Dr.BadVibes]

hey....well you're only first year, so i dont want to say its for sure that you'll get in, but your first year marks are good so far....in my first year, I bombed, but you did well.....maybe not good enough for Canadian dental schools, but for US, you are more than fine....just do well on the DAT....

About your ECs....depends on what they are and what your involvement is....at a big uni like UofT, there are a lot of social clubs (mostly ethnic based) where they have like hundreds of members....i would guess that these are insignificant, cause they are just an excuse to get together....what type of ECs are u talking about?

About schools that welcome Canadians, your best and probably only bet are private schools.....if you really want to become a pro at the dental process, you should definitely buy the ADEA official handbook to dental schools....you can find it at www.adea.org If you dont buy this book, you are stupid.

As far as cost, you are looking at between 70-90K US/year for 4 years.....not chump change my friend...

 

[Smooth Operater]

thanks for the reply, i wll take the look at the book u refer me to. All the clubs I am involving in are volunteer clubs. We go to ghetto part of my city to help out kids with HW, deliver food, and educate the druggies and etc..And the cost u mentioned above, do they include living cost and book costs or just purely tution? That's pretty high just for tution

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

thanks for the reply, i wll take the look at the book u refer me to. All the clubs I am involving in are volunteer clubs. We go to ghetto part of my city to help out kids with HW, deliver food, and educate the druggies and etc..And the cost u mentioned above, do they include living cost and book costs or just purely tution? That's pretty high just for tution

Yah, those ECs are great and will look good on your application!! will probalby come up in your interivews as well, so its a good thing to have. About the costs, those are total costs which include food, living, instruments, tuition...etc. By the time you get into dental school, you are probably looking at 300-350K US for your 4 years....

 

[Smooth Operater]

are the interviews more relaxed than med school's interview?

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

are the interviews more relaxed than med school's interview?

if you are talking about med school interviews in canada, then yes....they are completely different.....

canadian interviews are extremely difficult, whereas US interviews are very laid back and they truly just want to get to know you more....no scare tactics or trick questions....

 

[Smooth Operater]

3 more questions:

Do most dental schools put more weight on Cumulative GPA? or Science GPA?

Do US adcom often look at the trend of GPA. Like if one bombs his/her first year, he will have pretty good shot if he/she pull it up above 3.0 as years goes on?

Will the competition to get in US dental schools rapidly increase in the next 3 years? any guess?

Thank you!

 

[The Musketeer]

It depends on the dental school (about cum GPA or Science GPA), but most likely because different people take different amount of science courses with varying difficulty, I think they will look more toward the cum GPA as that is the most stable score between applicants so they have an a good comparative tool.

Yes, some schools do look at a applicant with an increasing GPA trend as a more competitive individual than constant or decreasing trend applicant. The increasing trend allow adcoms to see that you have adapted to the challenge and is able to overcome it (so you will most likely be able to handle the challenges of dental school) However, and increasing trend does not guarantee acceptance, it also depends on how great the curve is and the resultant (final) overall GPA.

Yes, most likely the competition will increase. One thing I know is that more Canadian applicants are becoming more aware of how easy the process in applying for U.S. dental schools.

 

[Bickle]

Hey smooth,

Which school are you presently attending?

 

[Smooth Operater]

UBC, so I am aiming for schools in west coast.

 

[Bickle]

UBC, so I am aiming for schools in west coast.

Cool, I'm in calgary right now, going to van next wed.

There are many more Canadian friendly schools in the east. But as for the west, look into UNLV, UoP, and USC.

 

[Smooth Operater]

that's cool! Do you live Calgary originally? The weather in Vancouver is great atm! so I think you will enjoy ur stay here!

I wouldn't mind studying in east coast if I really have to. Cost will be a big issue to me when choosing a school.

I haven't shadow any Dentist yet. So my reasons for chooseing Dentistry over other health professions are:

-I like to own my private practice one day and have constant patient interaction.
-I find the tools and machines that my Dentist use in his clinic really cool, even though it's scary when they are used on me I also like the sound when my Dentist drills my teeth But I don't like it when my teeth start to hurt
-I want to have flexible working schedule and constant cash flow, so I can pursue other interests and raise a family.
-I want to have autonomy over my practice.
-I want to see the results I've made on my patient's health right after they visited me.
-With a Dent degree, I can choose to practice anywhere in North American without too my hurdles like medicine.
-I had a werid dream last week, I won't tell you the whole story, but it ended with me claiming "I want to be a Dentist!"

I am still young, just done my 1st undergrad and going into Biochemistry major, so I still have some time to research in this profession and evaluate myself. Right now, I don't love or hate the subject of teeth and I feel the same for other health related professions (ie. med, optometry) too. I don't see myself working in a cut-thorat environment, therefore, career in business is out of the question. I don't mind research, but I can't stand working in a lab for a LONG time.


So, are the reasons I have so far valid to be interested in a Dentistry career?
Or am I just dreaming? Any encouragements/insults/advices are welcome


I know I will have to scarifice alot finanicially and there will be lots of hard work in the beginning, but I don't mind as long I won't be in debt for a LONG. time. And Next thing on my agenda is to shadow a Dentist or perhape involve in a dental related voluteering programs (if they exist??? )

 

[Bickle]

Yeah, I've been born and raised in Calgary. I have family in van, and I go there pretty much every chance I get.

Your reasons for dent are legit. Just remember that you will have to pay more in the States than in Canada. The only Canadian school that rivals the tuition in the US is UBC, but thats in Canadian currency.

 

[Smooth Operater]

what's the estimation on your dental education cost in US (including books, living,equip...)?

 

[Bickle]

what's the estimation on your dental education cost in US (including books, living,equip...)?

I agree with the numbers Dr. Bad Vibes stated above. Tuition will probably increase year by year. Dont be surprised if it costs 250k-300k for all 4 years.

 

[olliewagner]

Are state schools that bad (tuition wise)?

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Are state schools that bad (tuition wise)?

No, those figures are for private schools...state schools are WAY cheaper...cheaper than Canadian schools...its just as a Canadian you dont have the opportunity to study at a state school with state tuition...

 

[olliewagner]

Well then, I hope UCLA lets me in

 

[Dtrain1]

I agree with the numbers Dr. Bad Vibes stated above. Tuition will probably increase year by year. Dont be surprised if it costs 250k-300k for all 4 years.

holy f**k that is so expensive!!! how much financial aid is usually offered? how can ordinary ppl afford that... our parents aren't millionairs....

 

[Dtrain1]

Oops sorry I did the math... it ain't as bad as I originally thought.

but still fuggin expensive

 

[Smooth Operater]

yeah, it's pretty expensive, I gotta start being cheap from now..