Fallback Options?

[Biofilm preventer]

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I am currently a predental in my college and have a gpa of 3.56 with a science gpa of 3.65. I have currently done all of the prereqs for dental expect for orgo 1 and 2. I plan on taking the dat this coming summer. however, I do have concern about the dat exam and am scared that if I don't do well, what I will do with my life.

I am concerned because I know a few people who this happened to and are basically doing nothing with their degree and have completely wasted their time in school and I don't want this to happen to me as well,
And since I have a somewhat decent gpa, I feel it will be foolish to not do anything with my degree in bio in case my dat exam doesn't work out.

I know I am going to get those answers "you can't even think about this because then you will surely fail" but I am just worried that I will be putting all of my marbles into one place and would like to have a backup option and be prepared in case I don't do well.

As the saying goes "people don't plan to fail, rather they fail to plan."

So do you guys know of any good careers in the health care field (I definitely know that I want a career in the health care field to be in a position to help people) that makes a nice living, has some prestige along with the career as well (I know that sounds foolish to say but that does play a small role as to why I would like to become a dentist, im sure others can truthfully relate to that as well, albeit not publicly) that I can easily jump right into in case my DAT doesn't go according to plan.
I've been thinking about physical therapy but would also like other career choices to look into.

Thank you so much!

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

If you are serious about becoming a dentist you will put in the work and get a good enough DAT score. If you do poorly then retake it or reapply when you don't get in. I met plenty of students at the Dschool I toured in spring who took 2-3 cycle of applications to get their ONE acceptance.

If you're really looking for alternatives the barrier for entry to becoming a podiatrist is pretty low and they make a nice income working private practice.

 

[Iroh]

Be sure to mention your interest in other options in your future interviews

 

[princeafrica]

I will just repeat AppalachianDentalBoy

I turned down a guaranteed spot into a pharmacy school a year ago yesterday to pursue dentistry. I have a 3.55sgpa and 3.59cgpa. If you want it bad enough you can put in the work for it. I took 16-17 credits both semesters and managed to get 200 hours of shadowing as well as do well on the DAT.

My other friend got into pharmacy school and rejected the offer a week before starting and took another year to pursue dentistry and he got in. If you want something you gotta be willing to sacrifice.

How do it start? I stopped comparing myself to others and worried about my own path directly infront of me. If you keep comparing yourself to others and worrying about ending up in the same path as others you will run yourself into a dead end.

I told my advisors "I'm scared about my DAT, what date should I schedule it in order to be able to do a retake?" He literally said "wtf you haven't taken the test and you talking about retakes on it? Plan on taking it once". That hit me hard. If you plan on retaking it or thinking about retakes before you even do the 1st attempt you are planning to fail.

 

[dent_wannabe]

I too was extremely scared about taking the DAT that I put it off for over a year from when I thought I would take it. However, at some point I paid the $450 fee, reached the end of the six month eligibility window, and just had to do it or else I forfeit that fee. It went fine for me.

Truth is, you will never feel fully ready. At some point, you will be as ready as you can possibly be. Bio was always my weakest section, and I was still freaking out the day of the exam. It turned out I got an 18 on that section. But I did well enough in all other sections that everybody's consensus was to not retake.

 

[deleted903013]

The DAT is VERY gamable in my opinion. It's not like the MCAT or LSAT which I think are much much harder tests. I was terrified of it and went through the panic of "what back ups do I have if I don't get in?" If you really put in the work, I think you will do very well. Moreover, one of my friends bombed undergrad and didn't get in his first cycle. Instead of giving up, he did a masters and put in the work for the DAT and is now killing it as a D3. You've done well so far. This is the final hurdle. You got this!

However, some back ups could be a phd if you like research, nursing, PA, physical therapy, etc. There are plenty of other options in healthcare.

 

[knewstance]

Scuttling - Wikipedia

 

[queenki]

I am currently a predental in my college and have a gpa of 3.56 with a science gpa of 3.65. I have currently done all of the prereqs for dental expect for orgo 1 and 2. I plan on taking the dat this coming summer. however, I do have concern about the dat exam and am scared that if I don't do well, what I will do with my life.

I am concerned because I know a few people who this happened to and are basically doing nothing with their degree and have completely wasted their time in school and I don't want this to happen to me as well,
And since I have a somewhat decent gpa, I feel it will be foolish to not do anything with my degree in bio in case my dat exam doesn't work out.

I know I am going to get those answers "you can't even think about this because then you will surely fail" but I am just worried that I will be putting all of my marbles into one place and would like to have a backup option and be prepared in case I don't do well.

As the saying goes "people don't plan to fail, rather they fail to plan."

So do you guys know of any good careers in the health care field (I definitely know that I want a career in the health care field to be in a position to help people) that makes a nice living, has some prestige along with the career as well (I know that sounds foolish to say but that does play a small role as to why I would like to become a dentist, im sure others can truthfully relate to that as well, albeit not publicly) that I can easily jump right into in case my DAT doesn't go according to plan.
I've been thinking about physical therapy but would also like other career choices to look into.

Thank you so much!

If you are serious about it, everyone can get decent score in DAT. If you can't survive DAT, you won't survive dental school. Don't worry, do study, efficiently.

I took 3-4weeks of 1-2hr (~ 20-25 hr) and then 3 weeks of 9-5 hours (120hr) for DAT and survived. I had full time job and two young kids. That was the most hours that I could spare.

If you aren't sure that you want to be a dentist, find time to explore what you want to be. There are many people who are dying to be dentist.

 

[thisismyacct]

The DAT is VERY gamable in my opinion. It's not like the MCAT or LSAT which I think are much much harder tests. I was terrified of it and went through the panic of "what back ups do I have if I don't get in?" If you really put in the work, I think you will do very well. Moreover, one of my friends bombed undergrad and didn't get in his first cycle. Instead of giving up, he did a masters and put in the work for the DAT and is now killing it as a D3. You've done well so far. This is the final hurdle. You got this!

However, some back ups could be a phd if you like research, nursing, PA, physical therapy, etc. There are plenty of other options in healthcare.

would you happen to know specifically how badly your friend "bombed undergrad"? I kinda messed up (thankfully I'm in my senior year so not all hope is lost).

 

[dent_wannabe]

would you happen to know specifically how badly your friend "bombed undergrad"? I kinda messed up (thankfully I'm in my senior year so not all hope is lost).

Many people may say "bombed" for any GPA less than 3.3, almost always for any GPA less than 3.0. By "any GPA", I mean at least one of overall, science, BCP, or non science. Basically a GPA that makes admission unrealistic (though not necessarily impossible, if you had extenuating circumstances).