Hey everybody! Ive seen this forum before and always thought that it was an EXCELLENT resource for preDENT information and from briefly browsing around the forum lately I still maintain that same view.
To start Ive looked around quite a bit but feel like my question is a little outside the usual here and unique due to the situation I am in. Currently Im 24 graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and for the past year and a half have been part of the working world. I received a BA in Biology from the school and was just a couple credits short of a minor is Phil (working on that now). Coming out of high school I was the kid with the 4.35 (3.85 unweighed or something), president of the medical careers class, got my CNA, did job shadowing, got my EMT just to get it, all kinds of activities outside of school, etc, etc. I went into college with 15 or so credits and focused on my target of going to med school.
(For the sake of time below is both a long version and a short version of what Im trying to get at.)
Short Version: I went to college enthusiastic and wanting to attend medical school after college. Was a great HS student with a 4.35 gpa (3.85 unweighted) tons of extras, etc. I had personal issues after first semester freshman year (not looking for sympathy). Had to get a job at 25+ hours a week to put myself through. Lost sight of goals and future which led to my grades slipping to the point of my GPA being 2.8ish overall and 2.5ish for sciences (terrible I know). I met a girl in college who became my girlfriend of 3.5 years, she got into dental school and got me interested in dentistry. I was burnt out on school when I graduated, got a pretty good job, have national and global responsibilities in a company that is the 4th largest of its size in the world (so I actually have a respectable job in which all of my colleages at 35+), bought my own house, have only school loan debt and am comfortable but not entirely happy. I would ALWAYS look at my exgirlfriends dental school books and even loved playing with the wax and teeth when she brought them home, it always fascinated me and was a challenge. I think back to when I was 100% go on professional school and feel that is where I would be successful and able to help others. I slipped in college but realize now that it was wasted time and I missed excellent opportunities and have nobody to blame but myself.
After being out of school Ive missed that feeling I had when I would volunteer at the hospital and work with people like I had back then. My mom told me that there were two things that always made me happy: 1) when I would talk about medicine of any sort and the human body and 2) when I was with my now ex girlfriend (long story ). It sounds cliché to say I feel it is my calling but I cant put it any other way. Thinking about the prospect gets me excited and I havent even left home plate.
I have work to do though. My GPA is inexcusably low. I need to retake a number of biology, chem and a physics courses as well at take the DAT but I KNOW I can do it. I know I need to shadow as well. It will take time and will take a whole heck of a lot of effort but I feel it can be done in the next few years. Am I being unrealistic? Will any dental school accept a person who faltered during undergrad but shows they can redo the work and is proven responsible and aware through working?
Long version (hopefully it isnt too much of a bore): If you hear the sound of a train screeching to a halt, well you are hearing my college career at the beginning of the second semester of my freshman year. I went in enthusiastic, excited about my potential growth and future but instead kind of got turned upside down. The first semester was pretty good, just some adjustment but after that things kind of wound out. My parents got a divorce (tight family), stress got to me, my goals looked further out of reach and by my second semester I was basically on my own financially. I always worked on weekends in high school and during the summer but this time it was different, I HAD to put myself through school. I started interning with the company I am still with now (I was the intern they couldnt get rid of for like 3.5 years) and everything seemed to be going alright.
I know a LOT of people work when they are in school. It is necessary for a lot of people and for many it gives them an outlet outside of school. I started working just 10 or so hours a week but it quickly ramped up to 15, then 20 then 25+; some of it because of demand and some of it because of necessity. This however came at the cost of my grades. Ill be honest I wasnt as disciplined as I should have been, my interests, perception and goals slipped as did my grades. I went from being a motivated, goal driven person to somebody who just wanted to get it done but still felt guilty that I wasnt working towards my potential. I burned out quickly with school and work was rewarding, provided some financial stability and I was engaged in work.
At the start of my junior year I met a girl. She too was a bio major and we shared many of the same classes. We became best friends and eventually started dating. This was good in that we could study together but bad in that I became somewhat dependent on her for some classes. My grades did improve as did my outlook but I feel it was a too little too late. She was a diligent student whose goal was to get into dental school. I helped her with her studying for the DAT (I pretty much aced the perceptual ability sections on all her practice exams), took her to and from the Kaplan courses and was introduced to dentistry through her. She got accepted to two schools and attending one of them now.
After I graduated I got a GREAT job (in which I consult for and have both national AND global responsibilities for a company that is the 4th largest size of its kind in the world and am well respected across the country from interns to Co-COOs), took two weeks to Europe with my girlfriend and started my life. I make a healthy amount as a recent college grad and 3 month after graduating bought a nice house, payed off my car, and only had school loan debt. My then girlfriend and I practically lived together from that point forward and she exposed me to dentistry even more. I remember often picking up her books and just looking through them to see what was in there. I was always amazed at what I saw! More than that though was that I LOVED going with her to the cadaver lab to see bits and pieces of the whole process. I also remember the day she brought her articulator and wax supplies home. I spent like 3 hours with one stupid little molar (15 maybe?)! It came out looking like Zeus trident but I didnt care, I loved that kind of hands on stuff! Id be lying if I said I wasnt a little jealous of her at times. To be passionate about something like that and be involved in it was always incredible to watch.
So why dentistry? Why me? Why now? Like Ive said before the human body and more recently the mouth and teeth have fascinated me. Not only that but EVERY person is different! Each person is a new case each with unique needs. I was the kid who would sit down with legos on Saturday mornings with cartoons on building all kinds of things, insist on doing very detailed hands on things, Id take apart every little thing I could get my hands on and would meticulously put it all back together .Even now I LOVE working on cars with different tools, solving problems and engrossing myself in finding solutions. The pace, experiences and working with people all really appeal to me, they always have. I LOVED shadowing when I was in high school and the culture that I saw. Since working Ive realized that Im not the kind of person who is totally satisfied sitting at a desk doing monotonous things from time to time, or being responsible to others in a corporate environment. I guess Ive always wanted more from what Im doing. Everybody has always told me I will be my own boss and I feel like being a dentist would really challenge and focus my abilities for the best.
So I guess the point of why I wrote all this is to ask do you think I have a chance? My GPA coming out of college was pretty abysmal at 2.5 for the sciences like 2.9-3 overall and I have yet to take the DAT. Im also going to take as many classes over as I can (couple bios, a physics and org chems) to get better grades and hopefully within a couple years I might be able to pull through. Does any of this sound unrealistic? Do dental schools look back on everything you did as an undergrad or will they take into consideration life changes and reformatting yourself to be an applied person? Ive thought a TON on this and have decided it is really what I want to do so I hope it isnt too late!
Thank you so much!
To start Ive looked around quite a bit but feel like my question is a little outside the usual here and unique due to the situation I am in. Currently Im 24 graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and for the past year and a half have been part of the working world. I received a BA in Biology from the school and was just a couple credits short of a minor is Phil (working on that now). Coming out of high school I was the kid with the 4.35 (3.85 unweighed or something), president of the medical careers class, got my CNA, did job shadowing, got my EMT just to get it, all kinds of activities outside of school, etc, etc. I went into college with 15 or so credits and focused on my target of going to med school.
(For the sake of time below is both a long version and a short version of what Im trying to get at.)
Short Version: I went to college enthusiastic and wanting to attend medical school after college. Was a great HS student with a 4.35 gpa (3.85 unweighted) tons of extras, etc. I had personal issues after first semester freshman year (not looking for sympathy). Had to get a job at 25+ hours a week to put myself through. Lost sight of goals and future which led to my grades slipping to the point of my GPA being 2.8ish overall and 2.5ish for sciences (terrible I know). I met a girl in college who became my girlfriend of 3.5 years, she got into dental school and got me interested in dentistry. I was burnt out on school when I graduated, got a pretty good job, have national and global responsibilities in a company that is the 4th largest of its size in the world (so I actually have a respectable job in which all of my colleages at 35+), bought my own house, have only school loan debt and am comfortable but not entirely happy. I would ALWAYS look at my exgirlfriends dental school books and even loved playing with the wax and teeth when she brought them home, it always fascinated me and was a challenge. I think back to when I was 100% go on professional school and feel that is where I would be successful and able to help others. I slipped in college but realize now that it was wasted time and I missed excellent opportunities and have nobody to blame but myself.
After being out of school Ive missed that feeling I had when I would volunteer at the hospital and work with people like I had back then. My mom told me that there were two things that always made me happy: 1) when I would talk about medicine of any sort and the human body and 2) when I was with my now ex girlfriend (long story ). It sounds cliché to say I feel it is my calling but I cant put it any other way. Thinking about the prospect gets me excited and I havent even left home plate.
I have work to do though. My GPA is inexcusably low. I need to retake a number of biology, chem and a physics courses as well at take the DAT but I KNOW I can do it. I know I need to shadow as well. It will take time and will take a whole heck of a lot of effort but I feel it can be done in the next few years. Am I being unrealistic? Will any dental school accept a person who faltered during undergrad but shows they can redo the work and is proven responsible and aware through working?
Long version (hopefully it isnt too much of a bore): If you hear the sound of a train screeching to a halt, well you are hearing my college career at the beginning of the second semester of my freshman year. I went in enthusiastic, excited about my potential growth and future but instead kind of got turned upside down. The first semester was pretty good, just some adjustment but after that things kind of wound out. My parents got a divorce (tight family), stress got to me, my goals looked further out of reach and by my second semester I was basically on my own financially. I always worked on weekends in high school and during the summer but this time it was different, I HAD to put myself through school. I started interning with the company I am still with now (I was the intern they couldnt get rid of for like 3.5 years) and everything seemed to be going alright.
I know a LOT of people work when they are in school. It is necessary for a lot of people and for many it gives them an outlet outside of school. I started working just 10 or so hours a week but it quickly ramped up to 15, then 20 then 25+; some of it because of demand and some of it because of necessity. This however came at the cost of my grades. Ill be honest I wasnt as disciplined as I should have been, my interests, perception and goals slipped as did my grades. I went from being a motivated, goal driven person to somebody who just wanted to get it done but still felt guilty that I wasnt working towards my potential. I burned out quickly with school and work was rewarding, provided some financial stability and I was engaged in work.
At the start of my junior year I met a girl. She too was a bio major and we shared many of the same classes. We became best friends and eventually started dating. This was good in that we could study together but bad in that I became somewhat dependent on her for some classes. My grades did improve as did my outlook but I feel it was a too little too late. She was a diligent student whose goal was to get into dental school. I helped her with her studying for the DAT (I pretty much aced the perceptual ability sections on all her practice exams), took her to and from the Kaplan courses and was introduced to dentistry through her. She got accepted to two schools and attending one of them now.
After I graduated I got a GREAT job (in which I consult for and have both national AND global responsibilities for a company that is the 4th largest size of its kind in the world and am well respected across the country from interns to Co-COOs), took two weeks to Europe with my girlfriend and started my life. I make a healthy amount as a recent college grad and 3 month after graduating bought a nice house, payed off my car, and only had school loan debt. My then girlfriend and I practically lived together from that point forward and she exposed me to dentistry even more. I remember often picking up her books and just looking through them to see what was in there. I was always amazed at what I saw! More than that though was that I LOVED going with her to the cadaver lab to see bits and pieces of the whole process. I also remember the day she brought her articulator and wax supplies home. I spent like 3 hours with one stupid little molar (15 maybe?)! It came out looking like Zeus trident but I didnt care, I loved that kind of hands on stuff! Id be lying if I said I wasnt a little jealous of her at times. To be passionate about something like that and be involved in it was always incredible to watch.
So why dentistry? Why me? Why now? Like Ive said before the human body and more recently the mouth and teeth have fascinated me. Not only that but EVERY person is different! Each person is a new case each with unique needs. I was the kid who would sit down with legos on Saturday mornings with cartoons on building all kinds of things, insist on doing very detailed hands on things, Id take apart every little thing I could get my hands on and would meticulously put it all back together .Even now I LOVE working on cars with different tools, solving problems and engrossing myself in finding solutions. The pace, experiences and working with people all really appeal to me, they always have. I LOVED shadowing when I was in high school and the culture that I saw. Since working Ive realized that Im not the kind of person who is totally satisfied sitting at a desk doing monotonous things from time to time, or being responsible to others in a corporate environment. I guess Ive always wanted more from what Im doing. Everybody has always told me I will be my own boss and I feel like being a dentist would really challenge and focus my abilities for the best.
So I guess the point of why I wrote all this is to ask do you think I have a chance? My GPA coming out of college was pretty abysmal at 2.5 for the sciences like 2.9-3 overall and I have yet to take the DAT. Im also going to take as many classes over as I can (couple bios, a physics and org chems) to get better grades and hopefully within a couple years I might be able to pull through. Does any of this sound unrealistic? Do dental schools look back on everything you did as an undergrad or will they take into consideration life changes and reformatting yourself to be an applied person? Ive thought a TON on this and have decided it is really what I want to do so I hope it isnt too late!
Thank you so much!
