how does a master's program work?

[qwerty934]

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Hey guys,

I don't think I have any chance to get in this cycle so I am currently applying for '15 fall master's programs.
I was wondering if I should re-apply to dental schools 15-16 or 16-17 because if I start this fall, I would be re-applying even before I start my master's program without any grades.

Should I apply to dental schools after I finish my master's program next year? I would love to save one year if I could apply this summer, but have no idea how this thing works.

Thanks!

 

[Dental2000]

What's your GPA and DAT like? What are your Extra's like? How many shadowing hours do you have? Did you get any interviews at all?

If your GPA is the issue then bumping that up is important. Make sure you take a full load of science classes in your masters. You will need to apply for '16-17 if you want your masters to hold merit for a potential pre-dec interview.

 

[qwerty934]

What's your GPA and DAT like? What are your Extra's like? How many shadowing hours do you have? Did you get any interviews at all?

If your GPA is the issue then bumping that up is important. Make sure you take a full load of science classes in your masters. You will need to apply for '16-17 if you want your masters to hold merit for a potential pre-dec interview.

I had a 3.62 in CC and then transferred to 4 year. Graduated with 3.14 oGPA. AADSAS combined is 3.30 oGPA and 3.20 sGPA, but downward trend in 4 year instutition.

For the DAT, 19 AA 20 TS 22 PAT 19 BIO 20 GC 22 OC 16 RC 17 QR

I've been working as a dental assistant for about 1.5 years now so I have plenty of shadowing hours. I have plenty of community services as well, but no research. I did not receive any interviews yet.

 

[Dental2000]

I had a 3.62 in CC and then transferred to 4 year. Graduated with 3.14 oGPA. AADSAS combined is 3.30 oGPA and 3.20 sGPA, but downward trend in 4 year instutition.

For the DAT, 19 AA 20 TS 22 PAT 19 BIO 20 GC 22 OC 16 RC 17 QR

I've been working as a dental assistant for about 1.5 years now so I have plenty of shadowing hours. I have plenty of community services as well, but no research. I did not receive any interviews yet.

Ok...The thing is that you need to take as many upper science courses as you can an Ace them by the next cycle(2016). Only then will they see you have improved. You are going to have to take the DAT again. So I would suggest taking the DAT my the end of August (or before your masters starts). A 16 RC is not going to cut it.

I would actually suggest re-taking any undergrad courses you got C's in and getting A's in them before jumping onto masters. I'm not sure you can go back and take undergrad courses once you're a Grad student(at least that is not how it works in my school).
If I was you I would do that first before applying to masters and delay your 2016 application by a year. This allows Adcoms to see an upward trend for more than just a year. I know you're thinking this is wayy too long but I'll tell you my story.

I applied for the incoming class of 2012. I did not get in, so I took a 1.5 year off working with a dentist and shadowing another one and re-amping my extras ( I even shadowed a dentist abroad). Try looking for a Masters with some amount of research. I applied again this year and got in. Most of my friends that I graduated with will graduate this May with their DMD/DDS degrees. But in the long run it doesn't matter. The point is to show the Adcoms how the years have molded you into a stronger person.

This is just my 2 cents. But if you still plan to start masters this Fall. No point applying this june. Re-take the DAT this SUMMER. Get it out of the way and aim for a 21+.

 

[qwerty934]

Ok...The thing is that you need to take as many upper science courses as you can an Ace them by the next cycle(2016). Only then will they see you have improved. You are going to have to take the DAT again. So I would suggest taking the DAT my the end of August (or before your masters starts). A 16 RC is not going to cut it.

I would actually suggest re-taking any undergrad courses you got C's in and getting A's in them before jumping onto masters. I'm not sure you can go back and take undergrad courses once you're a Grad student(at least that is not how it works in my school).
If I was you I would do that first before applying to masters and delay your 2016 application by a year. This allows Adcoms to see an upward trend for more than just a year. I know you're thinking this is wayy too long but I'll tell you my story.

I applied for the incoming class of 2012. I did not get in, so I took a 1.5 year off working with a dentist and shadowing another one and re-amping my extras ( I even shadowed a dentist abroad). Try looking for a Masters with some amount of research. I applied again this year and got in. Most of my friends that I graduated with will graduate this May with their DMD/DDS degrees. But in the long run it doesn't matter. The point is to show the Adcoms how the years have molded you into a stronger person.

This is just my 2 cents. But if you still plan to start masters this Fall. No point applying this june. Re-take the DAT this SUMMER. Get it out of the way and aim for a 21+.

I don't understand why you are suggesting to re-take the undergrad courses that I got C's in. If I go for masters program and ace upper level sciences courses, wouldn't that be enough to show adcoms that I am capable of handling hard level classes? But yes, I will definitely re-take my DAT... I feel like that 16 in RC is detrimental on my application and also yes. I will re-take the DAT before my master starts this fall.
I've already applied for OHS at BU and planning to apply for CERT at VCU, biomedical science at tufts and rutgers.

any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!!!

 

[Dental2000]

I don't understand why you are suggesting to re-take the undergrad courses that I got C's in. If I go for masters program and ace upper level sciences courses, wouldn't that be enough to show adcoms that I am capable of handling hard level classes? But yes, I will definitely re-take my DAT... I feel like that 16 in RC is detrimental on my application and also yes. I will re-take the DAT before my master starts this fall.
I've already applied for OHS at BU and planning to apply for CERT at VCU, biomedical science at tufts and rutgers.

any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!!!

That was a suggestion for 2 reasons
a) Show that you can do those courses and do well in them
b) You will have more than 1 year of coursework under your belt before you apply.

You don't have to re-rake them, I had a couple of C's in Undergrad and I got in but my GPA was 3.5 even with those C's. I was merely suggesting better ways to boost your GPA.

Look up what courses you will be taking in this Masters program and calculate what your GPA will be like if you were to get A's in all of them. Remember AADSAS will calculate your undergrad GPA and your Grad GPA separately. So you will have 3 columns in your ADDSAS app. Undergrad GPA, Grad GPA and combined GPA. From what I have heard, they still take into account your Undergrad GPA regardless. So boosting your undergrad GPA will be beneficial.

Not receiving interviews was expected with your RC score. most schools have cut-offs at 17 and many of them take RC into account very highly (Detroit Mercy did at least). Your Extras look great. Research is just a plus to your app, but the only thing holding you back is your GPA and DAT. If you can get your GPA up to a 3.5ish and a great DAT score (and you apply early and broadly) you should def get some pre-dec interviews.

 

[Proxybrush15]

This book helped clarify the master's degree choice
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This thread helped me too: http://www.dentaltown.com/MessageBoard/thread.aspx?s=2&f=1709&t=241115&v=1

 

[DentalDoge]

Apply for masters, apply for entering class of 2016, retake DAT.

Do it.

 

[GinaS2K]

Apply for masters, apply for entering class of 2016, retake DAT.

Do it.

+1

 

[M1K3AA]

I had a 3.62 in CC and then transferred to 4 year. Graduated with 3.14 oGPA. AADSAS combined is 3.30 oGPA and 3.20 sGPA, but downward trend in 4 year instutition.

For the DAT, 19 AA 20 TS 22 PAT 19 BIO 20 GC 22 OC 16 RC 17 QR

I've been working as a dental assistant for about 1.5 years now so I have plenty of shadowing hours. I have plenty of community services as well, but no research. I did not receive any interviews yet.

If I were in your shoes I would not do a masters program.. I had similar a similar GPA, [3.2 as a bio major] and my science was actually lower than yours, but my DAT was a little higher, 21AA 20TS 20PAT 22RC and a 16QR which sucked.

I would consider masters if you had a sub 3.0 gpa.. since yours is just a bit lower and you mentioned a downward trend, a 4.0 semester packed with upper level science classes at a nearby college should be enough to convince adcoms you can handle the work load.

Then, retake the DAT, focus on that RC try to get at least 20, your other sections were right where they need to be.

i would also apply broadly if you didn't the first time, i hit at least 20 when i applied and when it was all said and done only 2 interviews and 1 acceptance off the wait list

this isn't to say a masters won't benefit you but they are expensive and from what I remember most traditional programs are at least 2 years long which puts you out another year. there are a few special masters programs linked with certain schools that can be shorter and are kind of feeder programs into which ever school it is associated with, the draw back is that you're kind of limited to that school so if you decide to go this route you better be OK with matriculating there

good luck!

 

[qwerty934]

If I were in your shoes I would not do a masters program.. I had similar a similar GPA, [3.2 as a bio major] and my science was actually lower than yours, but my DAT was a little higher, 21AA 20TS 20PAT 22RC and a 16QR which sucked.

I would consider masters if you had a sub 3.0 gpa.. since yours is just a bit lower and you mentioned a downward trend, a 4.0 semester packed with upper level science classes at a nearby college should be enough to convince adcoms you can handle the work load.

Then, retake the DAT, focus on that RC try to get at least 20, your other sections were right where they need to be.

i would also apply broadly if you didn't the first time, i hit at least 20 when i applied and when it was all said and done only 2 interviews and 1 acceptance off the wait list

this isn't to say a masters won't benefit you but they are expensive and from what I remember most traditional programs are at least 2 years long which puts you out another year. there are a few special masters programs linked with certain schools that can be shorter and are kind of feeder programs into which ever school it is associated with, the draw back is that you're kind of limited to that school so if you decide to go this route you better be OK with matriculating there

good luck!

The only reason why I'm thinking master's program is because special ones take the DAT scores instead of GRE.
If there are any post-bacc programs where they take DAT instead of GRE, I'd love to do that.

Do you know any? I would love to complete my science courses near providence/boston

Isn't post-bacc always the GRE?

 

[TourdeTeeth]

The only reason why I'm thinking master's program is because special ones take the DAT scores instead of GRE.
If there are any post-bacc programs where they take DAT instead of GRE, I'd love to do that.

Do you know any? I would love to complete my science courses near providence/boston

Isn't post-bacc always the GRE?

I took the GRE and the DAT. The GRE is a joke. I studied for three days and got a good score. Most people I know studied for less than a week and everyone got accepted into a master's program. So if the difficulty of the test is something that is holding you back, then don't worry about it.

I did a 2 year master's with thesis and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm so much more prepared for dental school and I feel much more mature than I ever did before. I love research though and was able to get my master's paid for, so I didn't have to worry about some of the things that other people worry about.

 

[Dental2000]

The only reason why I'm thinking master's program is because special ones take the DAT scores instead of GRE.
If there are any post-bacc programs where they take DAT instead of GRE, I'd love to do that.

Do you know any? I would love to complete my science courses near providence/boston

Isn't post-bacc always the GRE?

I did not know post-baccs required an application? Isn't post-bacc just taking extra science courses beyond the required amount for your degree??

 

[qwerty934]

I took the GRE and the DAT. The GRE is a joke. I studied for three days and got a good score. Most people I know studied for less than a week and everyone got accepted into a master's program. So if the difficulty of the test is something that is holding you back, then don't worry about it.

I did a 2 year master's with thesis and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm so much more prepared for dental school and I feel much more mature than I ever did before. I love research though and was able to get my master's paid for, so I didn't have to worry about some of the things that other people worry about.

Would you personally recommend a master's or post-bacc?
And I know there are master's with thesis and without, but what exactly is thesis?
Lastly, where did you get your master's at?

Thanks a lot!

 

[TourdeTeeth]

Would you personally recommend a master's or post-bacc?
And I know there are master's with thesis and without, but what exactly is thesis?
Lastly, where did you get your master's at?

Thanks a lot!

I got my master's at Missouri State University and for me it was the best decision I ever made. With a post-bacc you just take extra classes and so it's exactly like under-grad. A master's without thesis degree would be the same because you will be taking courses only. Most of these master's without thesis degrees cost a lot of money. Though they are typically one year programs.

Most master's with thesis programs you can get paid for by your university whether it be through teaching labs, working as a research assistant, etc. These degrees are typically two year programs. A thesis is a research project (typically 50-100 pages) that you complete over the two year period working in a scientific laboratory under the coordination of a research advisor/professor. You have to coordinate with an advisor before you can be accepted into their lab, which essentially is you emailing them and getting to know them. Then if they have an opening and you fit what they're looking for, then you will be accepted.

The reasons why I would do a thesis instead of a non-thesis master's is simple. Dental school is tough and anyone can think like a student. Anyone can learn the material. I'm a trained scientist though, so I can attack problems and classes a lot differently than most people because I understand how the body/cells work. It's not simply regurgitating information. I can logically question and critique things as a scientist and not just as a dental student. Plus I'm being published in medical research journals and that's great for a future career.

The other thing to consider when applying for a master's is that you have to finish the program before you matriculate to dental school. You can't just start a master's and then leave if you're accepted to dental school. 95-100% of dental schools won't accept you if you try to do that and bail on your master's degree.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

I did not know post-baccs required an application? Isn't post-bacc just taking extra science courses beyond the required amount for your degree??

Not really. There are 2 types. Informal post bac (which is just taking upper level classes at a nearby school) and a formal program (competitive, expensive, and can give you an interview if you do well). If you cant get into a formal program, it's all good. Just take classes that are relevant to dental school and kick butt. More than likely, you can get an interview if your DAT is above avg and the rest of your app is solid.

 

[xerxes106]

I think TourdeTeeth said it best, masters with a thesis seems 100x more valuable than a non thesis/SMP to me, not to mention far cheaper.

 

[TourdeTeeth]

I think TourdeTeeth said it best, masters with a thesis seems 100x more valuable than a non thesis/SMP to me, not to mention far cheaper.

It all depends on your situation. SMP's are one year programs, while most thesis based master's take two years. So there is a year of lost revenue that you won't be making as a dentist if you do a two year master's. The price of an SMP and the lost revenue from that year you won't be working as a dentist will probably even out.

But there is one thing they don't tell you about SMP's. If you apply for one of these programs to begin taking courses in the fall of 2015, then you will be forgoing the 2015 application cycle that begins classes in fall 2016. With an SMP you will graduate Spring 2016. But, if you're banking on good grades in an SMP to get you into dental school then you won't be able to apply with your SMP grades on your transcript until the 2016 application cycle, to begin classes in fall 2017. So you'd have to find a job or something for your year off and I don't think that an SMP would be as marketable as a thesis based degree. And with a thesis degree you could stay in your program until May 2017 and that would most likely be paid for as a graduate assistant on your campus.