In a Huge Dilemma, Don't Know What To Do!

[yhs96]

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Hey guys,

This year I applied to about 10 American Schools and 2 Australian Schools.
My AADSAS application was mailed out 8/28 and I finished most secondary apps by end of september.
My stats are:
BCP 3.36/Science 3.13/Non-Science 2.53/Total 2.99
AA 23/TS 23/ PA 24/ RC 24
During first year, I had one term where I simply dropped out and had 4 gpas of 0 🙁 From Third year second term my gpas were all 4.0.

Not surprisingly i haven't heard back from any american schools, but I received an offer from Melbourne University in Australia.
The problem is that, Melbourne wants me to accept/decline by Oct.26 and the schools starts in February.

So my dilemma is, I don't' know whether i should just screw US schools and go to melbourne or defer melbourne's offer for a year and give US schools a shot.

Can anyone share some of their thoughts about this?? 😕

 

[oreoson]

Hey guys,

This year I applied to about 10 American Schools and 2 Australian Schools.
My AADSAS application was mailed out 8/28 and I finished most secondary apps by end of september.
My stats are:
BCP 3.36/Science 3.13/Non-Science 2.53/Total 2.99
AA 23/TS 23/ PA 24/ RC 24
During first year, I had one term where I simply dropped out and had 4 gpas of 0 🙁 From Third year second term my gpas were all 4.0.

Not surprisingly i haven't heard back from any american schools, but I received an offer from Melbourne University in Australia.
The problem is that, Melbourne wants me to accept/decline by Oct.26 and the schools starts in February.

So my dilemma is, I don't' know whether i should just screw US schools and go to melbourne or defer melbourne's offer for a year and give US schools a shot.

Can anyone share some of their thoughts about this?? 😕

You sound like a smart person, why did you drop out of school if you don't mind me asking.

Anyways, I am in the same boat as you. I got offers from JCU, USYD, and UMEL, and my lapse dates are in October too.

As for UMEL, you can make a $10 000 deposit for now, but I don't think it's 100 percent refundable. Their tuition is around 60k, so you are entitled to 90% back, which works out to be around 6000.

I haven't made up my mind yet either, but I am really tempted to defer it one year and see if I have any luck with American schools.

 

[Bereno]

Where do you want to practice? Can a degree from a US dental school be used to practice in Australia? Vice Verse?

Congrats on your acceptance though!

 

[yhs96]

Wow you are on the exact same boat as me.
I tried to find out about the 10000 deposit but i don't think it's fully refundable as well.

Oh i was initially in another program but I really didn't know what I was doing and I just decided to drop out since I couldn't imagine myself going through 4 years without any goal or motivation

If I had only realized my career goal a little earlier, I feel as though I could have avoided this huge problem.

Are you planning to go with Australian schools for now?
Btw: one worry about Australia is that their living expenses are ridiculous.

You sound like a smart person, why did you drop out of school if you don't mind me asking.



Anyways, I am in the same boat as you. I got offers from JCU, USYD, and UMEL, and my lapse dates are in October too.

As for UMEL, you can make a $10 000 deposit for now, but I don't think it's 100 percent refundable. Their tuition is around 60k, so you are entitled to 90% back, which works out to be around 6000.

I haven't made up my mind yet either, but I am really tempted to defer it one year and see if I have any luck with American schools.

 

[yhs96]

I would like to practice in the US or Canada. I am a Canadian Citizen and if I were to graduate from Australia, I am legally eligible to practice in Canada but not US.

Where do you want to practice? Can a degree from a US dental school be used to practice in Australia? Vice Verse?

Congrats on your acceptance though!

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

To be honest, I'm not sure if you're likely to receive interviews for American schools. Not because you wouldn't be competitive at any schools, but rather because you applied late, in combination with the fact that you do have some failed courses, and a relatively low cumulative GPA.

If you would much rather do your schooling in the states than Australia, though, it may be to your benefit to see if you can defer your Melbourne admission. This is entirely subjective, of course. You might not want to spend another year not being in dental school. Half of me wouldn't mind a year off, while the other half of me would be thinking 'Come on, get on with it!' so that's entirely up to you.

But if you want to pursue American schools, I think you need to think long and hard about where you would rather live, which schools you've actually applied to and which one's you think you have a shot at. I'd love to live in Australia, but the point about living expenses is certainly valid. Keep in mind that the tuition is roughly on par with many American schools, though, and Melbourne is a fantastic, beautiful city (a far cry from some of the American cities you may find yourself in if you go to the States).

Personally, I would love to live and study in Melbourne! And lastly, please take solace in the fact that no matter what you decide, at least at the moment you do have an acceptance! You're going to be a dentist either way. 🙂

Best of luck!

I'd love to hear about your experiences with Australian schools too, since I'm planning on applying in the coming months... I may face a similar but reverse decision (ie. I may get an American acceptance, but since Australian ones only come in August/September, I may not be able to make a choice).

 

[oreoson]

Wow you are on the exact same boat as me.
I tried to find out about the 10000 deposit but i don't think it's fully refundable as well.

Oh i was initially in another program but I really didn't know what I was doing and I just decided to drop out since I couldn't imagine myself going through 4 years without any goal or motivation

If I had only realized my career goal a little earlier, I feel as though I could have avoided this huge problem.

Are you planning to go with Australian schools for now?
Btw: one worry about Australia is that their living expenses are ridiculous.

I see! It's little too early for you to start worrying though. I think it has more to do with your late application rather than one bad semester. I, too, withdrew from one academic year with 6 Ws, and still managed to get 2 interviews from American schools.

I know the clock's ticking right now, but I need to learn more about UMEL. They don't even tell you the tuition break down. So far, I learned that the 60k doesn't even cover instruments, living expenses or medical insurance...
So I think everything will add up to 100k per year-- more or less the same as some American private school tuitions. and that's quite a lot considering CDN dollar is sliding.






Another thing that worries me is even though Australian and Canadian school dental graduates are treated equally, do employers, associates, and patients view it that way? I mean, I would hate for people to think that I went to Australia coz I couldn't get into schools here.

 

[oreoson]

To be honest, I'm not sure if you're likely to receive interviews for American schools. Not because you wouldn't be competitive at any schools, but rather because you applied late, in combination with the fact that you do have some failed courses, and a relatively low cumulative GPA.

If you would much rather do your schooling in the states than Australia, though, it may be to your benefit to see if you can defer your Melbourne admission. This is entirely subjective, of course. You might not want to spend another year not being in dental school. Half of me wouldn't mind a year off, while the other half of me would be thinking 'Come on, get on with it!' so that's entirely up to you.

But if you want to pursue American schools, I think you need to think long and hard about where you would rather live, which schools you've actually applied to and which one's you think you have a shot at. I'd love to live in Australia, but the point about living expenses is certainly valid. Keep in mind that the tuition is roughly on par with many American schools, though, and Melbourne is a fantastic, beautiful city (a far cry from some of the American cities you may find yourself in if you go to the States).

Personally, I would love to live and study in Melbourne! And lastly, please take solace in the fact that no matter what you decide, at least at the moment you do have an acceptance! You're going to be a dentist either way. 🙂

Best of luck!

I'd love to hear about your experiences with Australian schools too, since I'm planning on applying in the coming months... I may face a similar but reverse decision (ie. I may get an American acceptance, but since Australian ones only come in August/September, I may not be able to make a choice).

My thoughts exactly.

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

If you guys don't mind me asking, what was the interview like at Melbourne? And did you guys happen to interview at USyd as well?

 

[oreoson]

If you guys don't mind me asking, what was the interview like at Melbourne? And did you guys happen to interview at USyd as well?

There is no interview for UMEL.

The USYD interview is MMI based, done on Skype 😀
You have 8 interviewers rotate and ask you about 9 different hypothetical scenarios.
I can't disclose the interview questions, but I recall some of them are extremely controversial 😉
There is an interviewer training guideline circulating on the net, you might wanna check it out if you decide to apply.

 

[dantemac]

Congrats on an international acceptance. Honestly, it sounds like you have the money, just put the deposit down. You can always attend american interviews too, if they really tug on your heart, then worry about tuition refund.

Congrats - go live your life in australia!