How to represent my derelict adolescence when going about admissions?

[LTD123x]

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Hi Guys,

First post on SDN here. Wanted to ask everyones opinion on how I should go about representing some of my shortcomings if and when it comes time for me to apply to dental school. This is kinda long so I apologize in advance 😀

I come from a family of divorce and spent most of my young childhood being raised by my single mother while she worked as a nurse.

I'm a high school dropout, I stopped attending high school half way through my sophomore year. Basically I was getting into a lot of trouble at school and starting to get into smoking pot and drinking. I either had to go to some rehab ordered by my high school or get the boot.

I chose the boot and went about enrolling myself in a program at a local community college. The program offered a chance to earn an associates degree in a specific field (no transfer degrees) and was paid for by grants as long as you were under 21 and didnt have a high school diploma or GED.

The next few years I went about being in this program but doing it at a very leisurely pace. When I got the boot from school, I also got the boot from my house. I lived on my own and provided for myself. I worked full time and would often only take 1 or 2 classes and there were a few stretches were I didnt enroll for a few quarters or more. I never ended up finishing the 2 year degree, came up about 15 credits shy.

During this time I was continuing down the social path that I had found myself on when I left high school. I was partying and being a stupid kid. This pattern continued until I was 21 and I got arrested for possesion of marijuana. I went through the court process and had to plead guilty, and do a day in jail. Had a year to not get in trouble and made it through that time fine. After that whole incident I ended up getting my act togethor pretty good. I got out of the bad scene which I seemed to find myself in often. Cleaned up and stopped doing any drugs and drinking in excess.

A few months before I turned 23 I decided I wanted to get back in school and re-enrolled at the same local community college. I decided I wanted a bachelors degree and that I would not seek to complete my 2 year degree that I had sluggishly been pursuing from the age of 16 to 21.

For the next two years I worked hard on finishing my transfer degree. I had to make up a lot of classes that were missing from my high school career ( Foreign language, Algebra, English). I ended up graduating with that transfer degree and now I find myself at a good four year university pursuing the completion of my undergraduate degree and the pre-reqs required for acceptance to dental school.

My GPA coming out of the community college was not excellent (3.0) but it includes close to 125 credits that were not relevant at all to my transfer degree (old credits from degree I was pursuing previously, I actually got 3.45 on my transfer degree credits). So far I am 3.9 in my 1 year at university that I transfered to and I am confident that I can produce a very high GPA through the remainder of my classes left ahead.

I am solely focused on school now and making it into dental school. I spend much time shadowing and volunteering. I have gotten involved with research and have a lot to show that I am serious about dentistry.

I have also taken my possesion of marijuana case back to court and got the conviction vacated. I was told by the judge at my vacation hearing that I can act as if this conviction and arrest never happened and can LEGALLY deny the charges if ever asked. Including military and government job applications. ( I was very sure to ask this as I have been extremely worried about how this will effect my chances @ dental school )

My questions for all of you people out there who are probably sick of this ridiculously long thread: 🙂

How should I spin all of this? All of this crap that i've been through is part of who I am and has absolutely contributed to my drive and work ethic that I have now, but at the same time it is not who I am anymore. Are my youthful indiscretions going to be frowned upon?

I certainly lost my path for quite a long time, but I have finally found my way back to a good one and have been blazing on it rather successfully, and by the time I apply I will have 4 years under my belt of good grades (3.6+) and a trouble free life.

Do I mention the marijuana possesion fiasco? I have legal documents that uphold my right to deny the charges and arrest... so I'm not sure about this one.

Im open to talking about all this stuff as I am very comfortable with it, but I just am not sure if I should try to play these previous shortcoming up as "struggles" when I look to apply or try to play them down and keep the attention as far away from them as possible.

Whatd'ya think?

Thanks in advance,

LTD

 

[iralex801]

I say put your childhood difficulties in your personal statement. Most importantly, talk about what you learned and how your experience has shaped the man you are today. However, telling them you changed is not enough. Your gonna have to get a high DAT and an amazing upward trend in GPA to back up the fact that you have changed. I don't think you should mention the marijuana possession though.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Personal statement is exactly what it is, personal.

I hope you're a good writer 😉

Just some advice, its good and all that you've had this interesting life experience as material for your PS but I hope that your passion/reason for pursuing dentistry is just as grand.

In my opinion, I prefer personal statements, which are more personal instead of the typical resume in the guise of a PS.

 

[NOLAdentist2016]

Dental school's love to see different people and stories that stand out to them. They don't necessarily care about people who came from great backgrounds and can just get high test scores and GPAs. They want people who can overcome adversity and grow from their experiences. This will help you become a better dentist, and they know it.
I wrote an awesome personal statement that described how I was raised by my mom in working class family and worked my way through college (working 3-4 jobs at a time on farms, golf courses, delivering newspapers at night for example) to become the first college graduate from a great university, while still taking a lot of time to volunteer, etc etc, and everybody loved it.
Don't dwell on the past too much, but use it to your advantage to show who you are today and how you came to be that person.

 

[crax]

I would make sure that when you disclose your records, this will not show up. many schools ask if you ever plead guilty, or not guilty,( or were charged for one specific school for any misdemeanor or felony. youre also then swearing when you submit that the information you provided is truthful.

If i were you, i would call the schools now which you mgiht apply, ( a long time prior to applying) and ask to speak with someone from dental school admissions. explain your story, and that you had the charges "vacated" (expunged?) and see if this is something you MUST disclose. also maybe try calling the schools twice, so you can speak to someone different, and then i would record their names and the time you called.

goodluck 🙂

-also, when youre retelling the story, i wouldnt so openly describe your drug usage & partying.