For those that failed to get in, what are you doing with your life?

[craigory]

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Simple question. For those of you that failed to get into dental school, what are you doing (for money and future plans). I don't intend for this to be a pity party, but I just want to see what other people in my situation are doing.

I'll go first.

Job: I'm going on two years as a PSG technician in a sleep lab. I make 37,000 a year and I have to work four nights a week from 8:00 p.m. to roughly 6:30 a.m. Not a single one of my co-workers is college educated and I am depressed and bitter every night when I go to work. I have tried and completely failed to find any other employment that would pay me more than 25,000 aside from being a waiter which I will not regress to.

Plans: I have 13 active dental school applications out right now and haven't gotten any interview invites. I'm applying to a post-bacc program and if I'm rejected from that, I'm going to suck up my pride and beg my parents to financially help me go back to school to become a respiratory therapist, although that is iffy as I am still looking into other options. I guess I was naive enough to never consider the possibility that I wouldn't be a dentist one day.

 

[kingcon9]

dude, you can do it! my undergrad GPA suuucked! I'm doing a 1-year master's program in biochem right now, reapplying in June, and working full-time next year to pay off the loans for grad school (~10 grand) and hopefully to pay for plane tickets to my interviews.

I don't know what's holding you back, but if you want it badly enough it's not even that tough, just find a good master's program or post-bac, really focus on getting good grades for 1-2 years, improve your DATs, and you won't have to work for 35,000/yr for the rest of your life

 

[craigory]

I'm sure going back to school is an inevitability for me. I appreciate the advice and the words of encouragement! The masters in a science route seems to be par for the course around here.

But I want to know what everyone else is doing right now, and planning on doing for the future. There have to be at least couple of people here working some interesting jobs or planning something out of the norm...

 

[sks2286]

Hey Im a reapplicant also. I got waitlisted at two places last year and i was in a very difficult position last year as well. I had no clue on what i was doing.

After doing a ton of searching and alot of wandering, I accepted a position at the Red Cross doing disaster relief. Its an Americorp position so the may isnt much, very little actually....kinda of pathetic but it is very service based and should look very good for interviews. Ive done some cool things but nothing related to dentistry. Im happy with it but I dont know what im going to do next year if i dont get in this year. Im running out of money!

 

[yskim]

If not accepted this cycle, I'm gonna just work at the lab I'm working at right now. The pay is good $47,000 but from what I heard, with only a bachelors in science, you can only get so far in research. So I'm gonna go to school part time and get a masters..not only for dental school purposes..but also for my career itself.

 

[vlct0ria]

Hey Im a reapplicant also. I got waitlisted at two places last year and i was in a very difficult position last year as well. I had no clue on what i was doing.

After doing a ton of searching and alot of wandering, I accepted a position at the Red Cross doing disaster relief. Its an Americorp position so the may isnt much, very little actually....kinda of pathetic but it is very service based and should look very good for interviews. Ive done some cool things but nothing related to dentistry. Im happy with it but I dont know what im going to do next year if i dont get in this year. Im running out of money!

You were waitlisted at the only two places you applied according to predents! And now you've got a ton of interviews now that you sent out more apps...you have above-average stats, don't get anyone else in here with similar scores/gpa down on themselves. I think leaving that bit of info out is a little misleading to someone who really is worried about getting in with below-average stats.

 

[craigory]

If not accepted this cycle, I'm gonna just work at the lab I'm working at right now. The pay is good $47,000 but from what I heard, with only a bachelors in science, you can only get so far in research. So I'm gonna go to school part time and get a masters..not only for dental school purposes..but also for my career itself.

Wow, can I ask for more details about what kind of lab you work in and what you do? I'd love to make almost fifty grand and work in the daytime!

 

[sks2286]

hey

Yea i do have decent stats but the first time i applied I had a significantly lower dat scores. 18/19/18. Same gpa though.

But yea i dont want to mislead anyone but i want everyone to learn a lesson from my experiences. I basically thought i was in last year. I had pre dec interviews at my state schools, and compared to everyone else at my school i was on the ball and well prepared. I did apply to BU, NYU, and UCLA..no interviews so i didnt include it in my pre dents. I didnt know what i was thinkin when i choose those schools. Well december flew by and no acceptances then came by may and then i got waitlisted. Finally got rejected in august and septmember but I got the hint in may. I felt that i did well in my undergrad, tried, and even interviewed very well at both schools but i ended up not gettin in.

I was heart broken and basically had to scramble to get any kind of employment. Summer was rough because i felt so lost but i studied and retook the dat. I am really proud of those scores but i see so many other people get 22+s and im like wow...wtf. Props to them.

I have a BS in Integrative Biology and a minor in chemistry with some undergraduate research but i live in a small city with few opportunties for my career. I didnt want to relocate to chicago if it was only for a year.

So i just want everyone to know to be prepared for the worst because of alot of qualified people slip through the cracks in the admissions process. Gettin into dental school is very ultra competitive and in the end it all comes down to luck. Im ****tin bricks until i get an acceptance this year no matter how many interviews i go to.

Ive blown almost 5 thousand so far on this process but ive learned alot and have given myself chances to get into some schools that I didnt even know about. I also learned a ton more about dentistry and really confirmed that I want this and want to do this for my lifetime. I have a more concrete career path defined now and i hope i can display to the interview committees.

Good luck to all and may we all have our hands in someone elses mouth in a year.

 

[fenderdude]

I work at a dental lab right now. If I don't get in this cycle I want to get a dental lab job in a southern state? Anyone know of any good labs?

 

[visbimmer79]

it's not the decent stat, but my number of interviews...


that leads me to think "I will surely get in this cycle"

Even so, I am very very nervous, too! Cuz, I know I am really serious about this application with great great interest and passion, which I have never imagined before. 🙂

If decilined, I will never pursue either medicine or dentistry.
Instead, I will suceed my mom's business (not my fathers)

And, buy a ferrari!

 

[achilles2]

Worked at a lab full time and published, went to grad school and am finishing up a masters and put my shoulder to the plow and earned a GPA of 3.84.

Lived at home the first year after graduation to save as much as I could

Woke up at 5am everyday before work to study for the DATs then took the test and got a 25. Currently applying this cycle so if I don't get in I don't know what I'll do lol.

In short worked my ***** off

Prob go drink a handle of vodka then take all the money I saved for dental school and go on margin and buy a high risk stock when the market is down

j/k about that last part

 

[blackfriesian]

This is my third year applying. After my first mess of an application cycle I worked in a dental office as an assistant and applied again. However I did not have a state school at the time. Since then I moved and started a masters in education, thinking that maybe I would just like to be a teacher. I could not have been more wrong. Iam completely miserable every single day. The only thing getting me through right now is thinking positively about December 1st. I have had only one interview but keep telling myself that one is all it takes. My GPA is decent but my DATs are not fantastic. I am hoping my positive interview showed them another good side to me. I'm not the best test taker when it comes to tests like the SAT, DAT, MCAT type of thing. I am still trying and I feel like this is the year. I'm not giving up on my dream. I went to the school I interviewed at last week to watch the clinics and I was so jealous of the students there. I wanted to be there and not doing my crappy job of teaching 6th graders. Who by the way are the rudest group of children I have ever met in my life. Everynight when I go to bed I countdown how many days until December first. It is literally ALL I think about. I'm hoping my masters is going to help show how dedicated to learning I am.

 

[craigory]

Well your GPA isn't THAT bad, what were your DAT scores? I do see that you only applied to four schools or so - I think those of us with <3.5GPA and <21AA really need to step up the number of schools we apply to (although the case could be made that we are just burning through money doing so!)

 

[blackfriesian]

Well my GPA is my combined undergrad and masters. I am three classes away from my masters and have received all A's minus one class. My dat overall is an 18. I know there are a lot more competitive scores but I did receive an interview at my state school for their very first interviews of the year. I am hoping that is a good sign. Who knows. Like I said this is my third time applying and I intend of applying again if I hear bad news.

 

[nhpham2]

This is my first year applying and if I don't get accepted I'll just work at my chemical plant for another year till I get in. I won't give up since I don't want to be a chemist all my life. But then again, when the time does come I'm going to feel bad leaving my company. Like Tupac once said "you've got to keep your head up" or Aaliyah "pick yourself up and try again.' Nothing is impossible if you work your *** off like achilles did.

 

[DrReo]

This is my first year applying and if I don't get accepted I'll just work at my chemical plant for another year till I get in. I won't give up since I don't want to be a chemist all my life. But then again, when the time does come I'm going to feel bad leaving my company. Like Tupac once said "you've got to keep your head up" or Aaliyah "pick yourself up and try again.' Nothing is impossible if you work your *** off like achilles did.

Really random, but whatever works for you. How hard are those jobs to come by with a B.S. in Chemistry?