I have a PhD in Engineering and been a Professor for 2 years, however, I am not satisfied with what I do and was thinking of giving Dental School a shot. I am 33 and have started studying for DAT, having hard time sitting down and studying for it. What do you guys think of my chance in getting into Dental School? What do I need to do? Any scholarships/ fellowships available for my situation?
Have a PhD and wondering?!
- Thread starter DrRoss
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Make sure you want to do this (shadow or talk to friends/family dentists). That's most important.
Grades and DAT reign above all. Look into pre-reqs and check out the DAT forum if you haven't. Lots of advice, encouragement, ideas, study methods, and all that.
There really aren't any special scholarships besides those elite students and only at a few schools. Then there's military. But understand the finances behind this sort of move.
I sat next to a PhD in microbio who had also taught. Your background isn't go to keep you from getting in. If you can produce the stats, it'll probably help.
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Greetings,
I can see your situation as being away as a student will be hard to become a student again when studying for the DAT. But it can be done with determination. One thing to consider is your age when you finish DS as you will be at 38. If you want to become a specialist, add at least another 3 years after that. Still you will have at least 25 years to practice. So you will begin your career late but at least you will be happier and financial more stable. I am not aware of any financial offers for people with advanced degree so likely you will have to take out loans and be prepared to own about 200Ks once you are done. DP
My master's degree was always brought up (in a positive way) during my interviews. I am sure your PhD will always be looked highly upon at any interview.
Make sure to check if your prereqs are considered "too old" for some dental school, since I am guessing that you finished some of those classes more than 5 years ago.
😀 You'll be fine! Good luck studying for the DAT
Make sure to check if your prereqs are considered "too old" for some dental school, since I am guessing that you finished some of those classes more than 5 years ago.
😀 You'll be fine! Good luck studying for the DAT
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How interesting that you are considering dentistry as a career. I spoke with one of my professors today about dental school and she said that if she could do it all over again, she would go into dentistry. (Her sister and her brother in-law are both dentists). It is certainly a great career and you certainly have the mind to excel in school!
Alright, let me give you some idea about my situation.
I was an international student for my undergrad, which as I understand they don't calculate that into my GPA. For Masters and PhD, I have an average of 3.6 and have published over 20 journal papers and have 4 books in my area of research. I have been successful in getting grants and have my own research lab. I am thinking of making a connection to a faculty member in Dental school to have some collaborations and maybe get research position with them to also pay some of my tuition. I appreciate your inputs.
I was an international student for my undergrad, which as I understand they don't calculate that into my GPA. For Masters and PhD, I have an average of 3.6 and have published over 20 journal papers and have 4 books in my area of research. I have been successful in getting grants and have my own research lab. I am thinking of making a connection to a faculty member in Dental school to have some collaborations and maybe get research position with them to also pay some of my tuition. I appreciate your inputs.
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You could work on your motivation for the switch and on your enthusiasm for studying since dental school is going to require a heck of a lot more study time than you seem to be (un)willing to sacrifice for the DAT.
You are getting way ahead of yourself. Shouldn't you be getting your blueprints in order before you start implementing your project?
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Greetings,
You need to do well on the DAT to gain admission first. Then once you get in, you can see if you can get a research with a faculty to make some money while in DS. I can tell you this is almost impossible to do because you will need every single minute in DS to study. I was an engineer when I started DS and I did got involved with a faculty to do research in the summer of my first year. However, that was the only time I had and what I made was barely enough for pocket money. DP
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That's impressive. Why exactly are you having trouble with the DAT? If it's the concepts, I usually tell my tutoring students to look at KhanAcademy's videos (I honestly don't know why they pay me when there are so many free resources online but I digress). The DAT was largely rote-memorization. With regards to cost, it's financially better to seek four-year military, academic (PhD), or service scholarships than to take out loans, even for most state schools. Since I'm borrowing around $41,000/year and assuming I am lucky enough to find a $120K/year position as a newly grad, I'll net around $35K/year (after taxes and loan repayment), that is, if I try to pay off my loans within 4-years. That's a best case scenario. A worst case scenario for a military dentist would be getting paid a $2K/month stipend while in school and >$60K/year as a practicing dentist for four-years (Army and Navy give a $20K sign-on bonus).
For whatever it's worth:
http://mnemotechnics.org/wiki/Method_of_Loci
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMiEj8wed9s
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