just a thought

[ibo man]

which one is easier to get into med school or dental school. To me it seems that it's easier to get into med school that dental school because there are a lot of medical schools in the nation. which increases someone chance of getting accepted correct me if am wrong thanks.

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[DesiDentist]

Hi Iboman,

The chances are quite similar. You have to understand that there are more pre-med's out there than pre-dental students (just look at how many pre-med posts are on this site). Currently there are about 16,200 spots at about 120 medical schools in the country. About 32,000-38,000 students apply. So there is about a 50% acceptance rate.

For dental schools there are about 54 in the US. A couple of years ago there was about 9,000 applicants for about 4,200 spots so that is a little less than 50% acceptance. However I heard the entering class of 2002 had one of the lowest amount of applicants around 7,500 or so. So the chances of admission are higher. You also have to understand that medical school admissions tend to accept higher gpa's. I think the average now is 3.6. However dental school gpas are climbing higher and higher each year, even though there is a decline in applications.

I hope this helps.

DesiDentist

 

[Yah-E]

DesiDent,

Do you mean entering class 2002 had a lower applicant number and not the entering class 2003? Because the entering class of 2003 would be you! I think you meant us who applied for 2002-2003.

 

[DesiDentist]

Hey Yah-E,

Thanks for correcting that, I corrected that by the way. I hope it is the same way this year as well with a drop in applications. Any predictions from your part???

DesiDentist

 

[Yah-E]

DesiDent,

Yeah, I was really surprised to hear that application number from ADEA in mid March when the application service closed! I was like "WOW, that's a low number for over 4000 seats between all the US dental schools!" As far as my prediction about 2003-2004 applicants? I say it would go up!! More people will apply! Why? I have no supporting evidence! :wink:

 

[DesiDentist]

Blah!! I hope it doesn't go up. I don't know though. The applications are dropping throughout the entire health professional schools. Hopefully the trend will continue for at least another year.

Please God let only 4186 students apply, so we all can be happy.

DesiDentist

 

[UofM01]

I agree with the above posts but keep in mind that dental school is still very competitive to get into. The quality of the applicant (avg Gpa and DAT) have continued to go up each year. Study hard and keep your eye on the ball and do not worry too much about stats. If I were to look at stats everytime I was questioning myself I would of never have made it anywhere. Good LucK!

 

[Pi_Guy1]

Let's face it, guys. It's definitely harder to get in Med School. I know a lot of friends who are having a tough time getting into med school with a 3.6 GPA!

 

[Beagle]

Desi
I'm right there w/ ya. Lets hope and Pray that the number of applicants this year drops to an all time low!!! Please please please....
Anyone else have guesses on if the number of applicants will increase or decrease this year?

 

[deciduous]

Last year, for the first time, the entire state of Texas began using their own state application service (sorry guys, but it's a lot more efficient and trustworthy than the AADSAS, from the stories I've heard). As a result, you'll have had a decrease in numbers there. I'm not saying that accounts for the total number drop, but it is something.

 

[deciduous]

Or maybe it was the second year the whole state did it that way. I'm not sure.

 

[ibo man]

I'm thinking that the number of students applying to dental school this year will be at all time low. Why ? since aadas is increasing their fees, it will make the number of students applying to each school to decrease, maybe you don't want to pay all that money to get a rejection letter. On the other hand people with lower stats should apply to a lot of schools, thereby increasing their chances of being granted an interview. Let me know what you think? How many people applied to dental school in 2002 and how many got accepted. Thanks

 

[cusp of carabelli]

I heard that if the economy is bad then there will be more applicants for post-graduate studies but if the economy is good then there are less applicants b/c there are more jobs available...

 

[DesiDentist]

Cusp may be on to something. If the economy is not good then more people will apply. Especially the older applicants if they are out of work and have nothing else to do. However, applying is a huge financial burden in itself. I am looking to spend $1,100 dollars for AADSAS and another $1,000 secondary fees, $100 mailing stuff, and hopefully if I get 5 interviews then about $3,000 dollars there. That is at least a $5,000 dollar investment. If i was a family man just laid off I would think twice before spending that much money and time. Especially in the computer science/engineering dept there are a lot of undergrads headed to grad schools due to the lagg in the economy. However, those people with other degrees will have to go back to post-bac to finish up or start their pre-dental requirements. Thus, judging from this, I would say that there will be a lag for the entering class of 2003 and pick up for the entering class of 2005, or 2004 if Bush's luck changes.

What do you think about my hypothesis?

Regards,

DesiDentist

 

[Beagle]

I agree w/ you desi. I've heard that the same old stuff--when the economy is bad, more applicants. However, to what fields are there more applicants? Obviosuly not anyone can apply to dental or medical school. These people who are going back into proff schools need time to prepare. They can't simply jump into the application process as if they just graduated from college? Or could they???? In any case, if there are people doing this, I am sure they would first consider medical school before dental school (just because medical school is so popular, and there really aren't that many people who are willing to work w/ mouths all day long).
So perhaps in the year after this cycle, there will be more applicants???? Let's just hope for the best this time around~!

 

[cusp of carabelli]

I think that theory was mainly looking at people who were in their senior years and deciding whether to go to work or to keep on going into school. If there was a slow job economy, then these students might look into fields like dentistry, medicine, optometry, etc. and it probably wouldn't be too hard to finish the requirements. I agree w/desi that it would be hard for a family man/woman to all of a sudden jump into dentistry especially w/all the time they'd need to put in during school.

There should be more spots opening up w/the arizona school opening up and also if UNLV follows the trend of new schools, they'll probably be offering more positions in their class (like NOVA did). And theres always schools that increase there enrollment size year to year...
how many schools are you guys thinking of applying to?....i'm sure you'll get in somewhere...i'm rooting for ya!!!