Is this true? Dental school is easier?

[Kelo]

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Hey!

I've done quite a bit of research, and came to the conclusion that its easier to get accepted into a dental school than med school...

To be considered to get into dental you should have a gpa of 3.35...while med school is 3.45-3.50......GPA.

Also...

I've heard that after you graduate from dental school you can go streight into practive..But if you go to med school you have to do an additional 3-4 years of residency.....

So obviously its faster to become a dentist than a Medical Doctor...
And, the DAT is easier than the MCAT.....true?



I posted this is the PRE-MED forums because I want PRE-MED opinions...

 

[Stratego]

Not too many people here have taken both the MCAT and DAT, so we can't compare their relative difficulty for you, but it is certainly true that you can potentially become a hign income earning professional sooner, if you don't count the $41,000-52,000 salary that a resident earns. Dentists don't have to worry so much about malpractice and missing dinner due to emergencies either.

 

[ksmi117]

This is not really a thread about a specific user's chances of getting into medical school and doesn't belong in the What Are My Chances? forum. I'm going to move it to the main Pre-Allo forum.

 

[Stratego]

Median GPA for those accepted to med school is 3.65, BTW.

 

[muhali3]

Do what you want to do, don't do something just because it's easier. Dental school is harder in some ways, easier in others.

 

[Compass]

Is it true? Being a garbage disposal specialist does not require an advanced degree in Biotechnological Sciences?!

NEVER settle for less because it is easier.

 

[J ROD]

I have taken the DAT and MCAT. MCAT is much harder academically but there is a PAT part on the DAT that made it hard for me. If you see shapes, then you are okay, lol!!

Dental school is just as hard as medical school from where I reside. I know people that just completed both. Medical might be a little harder academically but dental has crazy lab work. I would call it a draw.

In my state, both are about equally competitive. I would even say over the last couple of years dental may be more competitive since there is only one school and stats have risen pretty high.

Dental does not have the diagnosing that medical does and is very repetitive. At the end of the day, dental may get you there quicker in terms of being a Dr. but I want more than what it can offer.

MD gives more job satisfaction for me.

 

[macbwizard]

But do you really want to be working in people's mouths all day? Doesn't sound like fun.

 

[redlight]

im pretty sure dental is easier to get into on average.

i dont remember the details, but i know i looked into it. the lifestyle and lack of mandatory residency is appealing, but dentistry does not equal medicine in terms of work options, specialties, etc., and id suggest going with the one which you like best and think you'd get the most satisfaction from.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

Your questions are very broad, and I have to generalize my answers.

State Residency:
Majority of dental schools are public schools that take students from its own state. Now some state schools are harder to get into than others, for example UCLA vs. West Virginia.

All of the private schools with exception of Ive Leagues, Meharry, and Howard, the level of difficulty for acceptance is about the same.

Minority Status:

URM_ underrepresented minority, you will be favored by Meharry and Howard regardless of low stats.

I've done quite a bit of research, and came to the conclusion that its easier to get accepted into a dental school than med school...

Well that depends on what dental and medical school you are comparing. Dental school admission had its trends; it was easier in the early 90s then got progressively tougher.

According to last year’s data, average matriculate had an average academic (AA) DAT score of 19-20, that is 80-85 percentile. MCAT score of 31 is 80-85 percentile.

Now DAT vs. MCAT

MCAT: Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Verbal, Essay
DAT: Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Reading comprehension, Math, Perceptual ability test (PAT)

DAT consists of two sores: Average Academic (AA) and PAT.
AA is the average score of Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Reading comprehension, and Math. PAT is not factored into the AA.

Sciences:
MCAT consists of both passage based and stand alone questions. Science DAT is composed of only stand alone questions, there are no passages. Also, physics is not included in the DAT.

Verbal Reasoning (MCAT) vs. Reading Compression (DAT):

VR has 5-7 short passages total of 40 questions.
RC has 3 long passages with 16-17 questions each passage total of 50 questions.

RC has some inference questions and a lot of detail questions that require you to go back and find the answers within the passage (these passages are a lot longer than MCAT passages).

VR is all about the main idea with fewer detail questions.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

Also there is no DO business with dental schools. If you have average DAT scores, you will have to retake unless you have extensive dental /research experience or if you are a URM.

 

[wanderer]

According to last year’s data, average matriculate had an average academic (AA) DAT score of 19-20, that is 80-85 percentile. MCAT score of 31 is 80-85 percentile.

It is not the same pool of test-takers, so it makes more sense to compare GPAs.

 

[NyCzPeter]

It is not the same pool of test-takers, so it makes more sense to compare GPAs.

Well average GPA for dental school enrollees last year was 3.54 according to the ADEA

 

[just one]

Median GPA for those accepted to med school is 3.65, BTW.

Not trying to start an argument, just clarification but median equals the middle score while mean equals average. Were you trying to illustrate the mean? If the median score was 3.65 then that indicates no one below a 3.30 GPA was accepted which is not true.

 

[wanderer]

Not trying to start an argument, just clarification but median equals the middle score while mean equals average. Were you trying to illustrate the mean? If the median score was 3.65 then that indicates no one below a 3.30 GPA was accepted which is not true.

Median score just means half the scores are above that and half are below that. The median is not necessarily the midpoint.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

I posted this is the PRE-MED forums because I want PRE-MED opinions...

Damn, I should have read this before writing that big ass post.

 

[just one]

I stand corrected

 

[redlight]

Median score just means half the scores are above that and half are below that. The median is not necessarily the midpoint.

that poster said middle not midpoint.. the median will always be in the middle range because 1/2 score at or above it and the other half scores at or below it.

 

[wanderer]

that poster said middle not midpoint.. the median will always be in the middle range because 1/2 score at or above it and the other half scores at or below it.

The term I was looking for is actually mid-range, not midpoint ("middle" is vague and not used in statistics). In any case the median need not equal the mid-range, which is the case when the distribution is skewed.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Could any of you dental folks break down what you do in dental school. What classes you take and in what year. I heard you take boards after your first year, so do you spend the other 3 years doing clinical rotations?

 

[NyCzPeter]

Could any of you dental folks break down what you do in dental school. What classes you take and in what year. I heard you take boards after your first year, so do you spend the other 3 years doing clinical rotations?

Well at Stony Brook the first and second years are spent at the health sciences center taking basic science classes with medical students such as gross anat, molecule gene cells, embryology, neurosci, medical physiology, pathology, radiology, pharmacology, etc. But on top of that, we usually have dental labs in the afternoon to build dexterity before we start on patients. Then third and fourth years are constituted by rotations in all of the dental specialties. Boards are after second year, but only a couple of schools do it after the first year. Almost forgot about the 7AM fingerpainting classes every morning

 

[honeyyygirl]

Do what you want to do, don't do something just because it's easier. Dental school is harder in some ways, easier in others.

agreed. Off hand it sounds like you are probably in this for the money, so I'd just say go with dental.

 

[Californian]

yes dental school is easier to get in. Also, DAT is easier.

 

[AlanAlanine]

yes

/thread

 

[ReallyCuteGirl]

yes dental school is easier to get in. Also, DAT is easier.

Actually, med school is easier to get into since you guys have DO and Caribbean schools. We only have 50 some schools with a total of 4000 some seats, and no equivalent DO or Caribbean option.

 

[Omni]

Post this in the dental forums. I'm curious.

On a serious note, education wise, I've heard med is easier, and practice wise, med is hell beyond anything.