I thought I would share

[Andrew324]

I find that I keep getting asked "How competitive is it", and I do not think that there is really any way to compare Law, Dental, Medical, MBA....however people seem to think that going off straight numbers such as #Applied and #Accepted works for them. I thought I would share this for you all.

"In 2006, 39,108 people applied to medical schools in the United States through the American Medical College Application Service. 17,370 of them matriculated into a medical school for a success rate of 44%"

In 2006 12,010 individuals applied for admissions to dental school. 4563 were enrolled for a success rate of 38%

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[needa20]

thanks for the update because i get the same questions

 

[mep771]

Interesting. Maybe I should make med. school my backup plan?

 

[DRHOYA]

That is an interesting stat, thanks for sharing. Another thing to note is how many more medical schools (or law schools) there are than dental schools. When I get asked this question by neighbors/peers from other fields, and tell them that their are only 55 schools in the country, they are always shocked. There are 8 medical schools in NY-state alone!!

 

[DentGuy]

Yeah, we need to crush the idea that dental school is (a) easy to get into (b) backup for med students (c) easier than med school- the curriculum is much harder. Thanks for the stat, now I can tell my med friends to sthu.

 

[DrDDSman]

Something else to consider: AAMCAS doesn't account for DO schools. Since many people apply to both MD and DO schools, the actual number of those applicants that matriculate into medical school is actually more.

 

[cobalt31]

while the overall numbers are pretty similar, there's no denying that the medical field does attract the best of the best. the top 10-20 med schools are vastly more competitive than any dental school (applicant stat-wise), except maybe harvard. i don't know if you know any exceptional premeds, but its always unbelievable to see 37+, 3.9+ with plenty of experience applicants getting rejected from top 10 med schools.

 

[Andrew324]

Law school rate = 57% acceptance for the entire pool

I Found some rough numbers but they are estimates, they range from 55-60%, many many more take the LSAT than apply so you have to look deeper.

 

[shoombol tallah]

law school is pretty easy to get into with over 180 schools which most have between 150-200 seats per class. The loop hole that med school has that dental doesnt is that you can get your education somewhere else and come here and take the boards. Like the caribbean or romanian med schools that take anyone. I know if dental school was like that we wouldnt have nearly as many third time applicants as we do now.

 

[Waitlisted2009]

.

 

[MichaelVicksDog]

Why did you bump this you *******.

 

[JamesOSU]

Why did you bump this you *******.

Whoa there bud. You are just an angry dog in every post you put on here, go get a massage.

 

[NyCzPeter]

Whoa there bud. You are just an angry dog in every post you put on here, go get a massage.

Give him a break, it must have been stressful being michael vick's dog.

 

[hellonurse]

Whoa there bud. You are just an angry dog in every post you put on here, go get a massage.

Yeah I am so sick of these angry people just looking to stir stuff up. Get a girlfriend/boyfriend..GO OUTSIDE!!

 

[DLC9647]

A good data point indeed...but I hear many folks often using this point to imply that medical school is easier to get in than dental school..very untrue....I would argue these two matriculation rates are not comparable...they are two different sets of applicants (in most cases, a negligible group apply to both). Consider this, is running a marathon against 100 Olympians the same as running against a hundred of your neighbors? (I am not insinuating that one represents medical school and one represents dental...just that to compare acceptance rates between two groups...they need to be the same group)

 

[Frederico Albin]

.

 

[DLC9647]

I don't want to get into the dental vs medical debate...I just for fun wanted to point out that it is definitely not statistically accurate to say that dental school is more competitive than medical school because a lower percentage matriculates. They are different pools of students and IF pre-meds are a higher caliber of students (I'm just saying 'if') then there is already a bias before this matriculation figure is calculated. AN example will better illustrate this:

Let's say for example....again just for fun that we take 20 of our nation's finest students.. They all equally want to go to either medical or dental school and we get to choose for them. they all must take the same standardized test. Let's also say that they are are from the same school, have the same major etc..... We now rank them from highest scorers (GPA and test) to lowest.....the Top Ten have to apply to medical school and the bottom ten have to apply to dental school. Now we get the acceptance and 8 get into medical school (an 80% acceptance rate) and 2 get into dental school (a 20% acceptance rate)......Can you say by this figure that dental school is more competitive? Should be obvious that this is not the case because the groups were split and therefore biased before the applications even went in......

Now again, I'm not saying that pre-med students are higher caliber students or not....I'm just saying that if the two groups are different (which they are) you can not say one is more competive than the other based on acceptance or matriculation rates. If in fact, pre-med students are a higher caliber student then.....44% is still much harder to achieve than 38%......again, this is just for arguments sake....comparing the two stats is very misleading.

 

[bjhath]

they are two different sets of applicants

Please do explain.

I am confident I would be equally successful in any profession (dentistry, law, medicine, engineering, etc.) if I put in the time and dedication. I chose dentistry because, for me, it is the best fit. People who are accepted to schools in medicine, law, and dentistry are typically intelligent overachievers. How do I, as a dental school applicant, differ from a medical or law school applicant?

I will never understand the, "my profession is superior to yours!" mentality. It is an attitude that is arrogant and close minded.

 

[Frederico Albin]

.

 

[thethethe]

clown college might be the most competitive school then.

 

[NyCzPeter]

DLC dude is right. Dental school certainly has more competition, but more competition does not always equal more competitive. I hate to admit it as much as the rest of you but its true that as a whole, md medical schools are more competitive to snag a spot than dental schools. Probably can't say the same about our DO friends though.

 

[Frederico Albin]

.

 

[DLC9647]

...more competition does not always equal more competitive.

This is what I was trying to say that Peter did a better job at saying. I in no way think any profession is superior to another or any pool of applicants to any professional school is superior to the other. Medicine, business, engineering, dental....whatever...my only point is that each pool of applicants is different because each group choose a different path.....it's the individual's choice....but you can't simply compare matriculation rates and declare one is more competitive than other...doesn't matter what you're talking about in statistics....if you're going to make this direct comparison it has to be between like populations. My example wasn't to show that one group is superior to the other....who knows, perhaps dental applicants is a higher caliber student..I don't know..my only point is that the comparison is not a direct one.....

This isn't as fun anymore..too sensitive a subject I guess...I wish everyone the best in whatever they choose.

 

[DLC9647]

...more competition does not always equal more competitive.

This is what I was trying to say that Peter did a better job at saying. I in no way think any profession is superior to another or any pool of applicants to any professional school is superior to the other. Medicine, business, engineering, dental....whatever...my only point is that each pool of applicants is different because each group choose a different path.....it's the individual's choice....but you can't simply compare matriculation rates and declare one is more competitive than other...doesn't matter what you're talking about in statistics....if you're going to make this direct comparison it has to be between like populations. My example wasn't to show that one group is superior to the other....who knows, perhaps dental applicants is a higher caliber student..I don't know..my only point is that the comparison is not a direct one.....

This isn't as fun anymore..too sensitive a subject I guess...I wish everyone the best in whatever they choose.

 

[Andrew324]

ooo Lots going on in here, lots of people putting words in my mouth

 

[DLC9647]

Andrew you tried to come clean and posted a warning..."I do not think that there is really any way to compare Law, Dental, Medical, MBA".......but no one heard you...I did buddy.

Love the Clown School comment too.....there are very few seats in clown school....therefore it's the most competitive...classic. Good times

 

[Contach]

thanks for 'sharing' i feel so blessed.