MBA??!!

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Bimmer boy

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Hey guys, so I'm planning on doing a 1 year masters program just incase this cycle doesn't go as planned. I got accepted to both programs i applied to, one is an MS program the other is an MBA. The reason why I'm leaning more towards an MBA is because we spent 4 years in undergrad learning the type of science that is quite irrelevant to the field of dentistry and i don't wanna continue doing the same thing for an extra year except this time in more depth. On the other hand, I'm actually very surprised that dental school doesn't require any business classes prior to attending since we're all planning to operate our own practice one day. So my question is, does it put me at a disadvantage for doing an MBA rather than an MS? I just feel like spending a year learning fundaments in business is more useful in the real world than continuing to do what we've been doing in undergrad except this time in more depth.

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The whole point of doing a masters degree is to offset a low GPA, especially a low science GPA. Schools want to see if you can handle rigorous science classes because that is what makes up D1 and D2 year. Getting a 4.0 in an MBA, art history PhD, etc. does not tell the programs you can handle their coursework. A masters in a science-related topic does.
 
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You said you’re weighing a MS vs MBA in case this cycle doesn’t work out - what are your stats/extracurriculars/etc like?

Also, are you sure both programs would finish before you would theoretically need to be at any of the dental schools you applied to, assuming you got accepted? It would be a real waste to throw money at another degree to ultimately drop out a month before you earned it.
 
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The whole point of doing a masters degree is to offset a low GPA, especially a low science GPA. Schools want to see if you can handle rigorous science classes because that is what makes up D1 and D2 year. Getting a 4.0 in an MBA, art history PhD, etc. does not tell the programs you can handle their coursework. A masters in a science-related topic does.
My science gpa is around a 3.6 so I’m pretty sure I proved I can handle the coursework, at least I’m hoping I proved that lol, I guess I should rephrase my question, what’s the better alternative to utilize and get the best out of this gap year, I don’t wanna just find a random job and go work, I wanna continue building my application for the next cycle if I have to because I don’t know where I’ll end up this cycle so I don’t wanna waste my time and take a gap year when I can be productive.
 
You said you’re weighing a MS vs MBA in case this cycle doesn’t work out - what are your stats/extracurriculars/etc like?

Also, are you sure both programs would finish before you would theoretically need to be at any of the dental schools you applied to, assuming you got accepted? It would be a real waste to throw money at another degree to ultimately drop out a month before you earned it.
Science gpa is around a 3.6, overall is in the 3.3-3.4 range (i was an immature child first 2 years of college lol, luckily hadn’t taken pre reqs yet), my extra curriculars aren’t better or worse than most applicants you hear about so to say they’re pretty average I guess, and yes I’ll finish both programs the semester before dental school starts. I’m just having trouble deciding how to utilize my gap year. I can’t really use my judgement to weight out the significance for each route. Obviously I know science is more relative to dental school as an applicant, but business is more relative to the actual world of dentistry rather than the science we’re learning.
 
Science gpa is around a 3.6, overall is in the 3.3-3.4 range (i was an immature child first 2 years of college lol, luckily hadn’t taken pre reqs yet), my extra curriculars aren’t better or worse than most applicants you hear about so to say they’re pretty average I guess, and yes I’ll finish both programs the semester before dental school starts. I’m just having trouble deciding how to utilize my gap year. I can’t really use my judgement to weight out the significance for each route. Obviously I know science is more relative to dental school as an applicant, but business is more relative to the actual world of dentistry rather than the science we’re learning.


I want to make it clear that I have absolutely no experience with any of this. With that being said, I think that getting your MBA might be a really smart move. It will make you a unique candidate for dental school, show that you are commited to continuous education (which is very important in the field of dentistry), and if for some reason you don't get in to dental school you can still find a decent job that utilizes your MBA. If your science GPA was lower I might suggest a science-related Masters degree, but it honestly appears that you are a pretty competitive applicant as is.

Good luck!
 
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Your desire to go back to school is commendable. But holy **** man, your grades are fine. Why are you even going back to school??? If your goal is to improve your app, it would be more beneficial (and cheaper) to get your DAT up another point or two. I'm a dental student now. Trust me, don't go take out more debt just for the hell of it. You are almost certainly going to have over 300K in debt by the time you start school. Get a job in whatever field you like and continue to shadow dentists to show your interest.

Also, the dental practice model is changing with fewer and fewer private offices as the years go by. Chances are, by the time you graduate, it will be rare to be a practice owner. And most people don't even THINK about owning until they work for around 7-10 years. Are you going to remember what you learned from your MBA in 15 years? I don't even remember what courses I took my D1 year.

An MBA will set you up for a job if dentistry doesn't work out ONLY IF you are going to a top 15 program (think Kellog, Sloan, Booth, Wharton). If not, its probably not going to do much for you. My assumption is its not just because it sounds like the program is only for 1 year. Either way, good luck!
 
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If you’re not needing an advanced degree to make up for a poor undergrad record, why take on student loans you don’t need? Keep in mind, the number of dental schools that will leave you $500,000+ in debt is quickly rising. Any idea how much fun a half million dollars in student loans is?

Big Hoss
 
If you’re really gung-ho on getting a masters, why not just do a dual MBA/DMD or MPH/DMD (the MPH doesn’t require any additional tuition) from a school like Penn. Otherwise, there’s no need to if all you want to do is boost your application.
 
With a 3.6 science I would deff go for the MBA, I wish I had one
 
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