Inspirational story for non trads

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flybry2000

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Hello SDNers,

It has been awhile since I have posted but I wanted to offer some information for non-trads, as well as anyone looking for advice. It has been a ten year journey for me to get accepted to dental school. I did my undergrad in 5 years, and spent the next 5 working full time and studying for my second round of DAT's (as well as growing up). I have applied twice to dental school with no interviews, only rejection letters. I was sure that I would have at least one interview this last cycle with a huge improvement on my DAT's. Still no bites.

However, I found out about a post-bacc program at UC Denver, and I charged full speed ahead to get an interview. I constantly called to see when they would start reviewing apps. Finally, I got a call from the dean of the program inviting me for an interview. I went to the school a day before to learn my "battlefield" and met with students that actually attended the same program previous years.

I went into my interview thinking I was going to be asked a bunch of questions about myself, but it was quite the opposite. It was pretty casual yet formative. I toured the school then flew home. For two and a half months I waited for an answer, and it was very frustrating. It gives a person a lot of time to second guess their abilities. Eventually, I was at a crossroad. It was either keep pursuing dentistry and go back to school to retake some classes, or advance with my job (a major home supply retailer). That day I got a call from the dean stating that he "wanted to make my dream of becoming a dentist come true". After woo hooing and jumping around like a maniac I told him he made the right decision.

So I will begin my journey in a couple of months, and I'm very excited. The main reason I'm writing this is because I hope to inspire those who doubt their abilities from time to time. If the dental profession is your dream, you can't give up. People will try to talk you out of it, tell them to f&*% off. The DAT's are rough, but gain the momentum and stay motivated. Things will present themselves that will test your metal and maybe make you reconsider. Don't give up. If I can do it you can do it. One more thing my girlfriend told me in one of my low points, if dentistry was easy, then there would be a lot of bad dentists out there. We don't have an easy road ahead of us, but having a shot at the title gives me the drive to kick ass and have fun with it. Best wishes to you.

Flybry2000

"Nothing comes easy, and if it did it wasn't earned."
 
you should also include your GPA & DATs, these are usually the 2 most prevalent obstacles for non-trads (especially GPA)
 
Sure thing guys.

1st round of DAT's:

15 PAT
13 QR
18 RC
17 Bio
14 Gen Chm
13 O chem
15 TS
15 AA

2nd round:

25 PAT
18 QR
17 RC
18 Bio
21 Gen Chm
19 O Chm
19 TS
19AA

GPA after completing undergrad: 3.0
Current Masters: 4.0

I studied about eight months for the 2nd round of DAT's everyday for about 4-10 hours.
 
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