my 2 cents on dual applications

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MrBenny

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with regards to applying to both medical and dental schools, and the apparent idea that doing both looks bad to both adcoms, I just think this just makes no sense. Even if it is true, I think to make the assumption that a person applying to both doesn't know which one he or she really wants is ludicrous. How many of us are taught from a young age that we must always keep our options open? Fine, dental stats might be slightly lower than med stats; but if someone applies to both schools, and gets rejected from med but accepted at dental, great for him/her. why are there so many haters out there who believe these ppl "steal" spots away from people who really do want to do dentistry? if you really want to do dentistry, then work your butt off in undergrad, and you'll get into dental school. don't worry about anyone else. and as for dental schools that are heavily biased against those who apply to both, my feeling is that such an ideology works completely against one of the most solid principles of young, mature adulthood: keeping one's options open.

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Mr. Benny ~ I think your ideology would be ... ideal. If someone feels they should apply to both schools, by all means...go right ahead. Just be real about it, and what kind of feedback such a person is likey to bring on themselves.
 
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Applying to both at once isn't about keeping your options open.

You are basically delaying the inevitable - having to choose b/w medicine and dentistry. If you don't choose at the time when you submit your applications, then you will have to choose between the two a few months later if you get accepted to both med school and dental school.

You will have to choose, better to choose earlier and be satisfied with your decision. You won't be second guessing yourself b/c you are commited to the choice you make. And you will save a ton of $$$ for yourself b/c it is expensive to apply to both only to give yourself a chance to delay your decision for a few months.
 
MrBenny said:
with regards to applying to both medical and dental schools, and the apparent idea that doing both looks bad to both adcoms, I just think this just makes no sense. Even if it is true, I think to make the assumption that a person applying to both doesn't know which one he or she really wants is ludicrous. How many of us are taught from a young age that we must always keep our options open? Fine, dental stats might be slightly lower than med stats; but if someone applies to both schools, and gets rejected from med but accepted at dental, great for him/her. why are there so many haters out there who believe these ppl "steal" spots away from people who really do want to do dentistry? if you really want to do dentistry, then work your butt off in undergrad, and you'll get into dental school. don't worry about anyone else. and as for dental schools that are heavily biased against those who apply to both, my feeling is that such an ideology works completely against one of the most solid principles of young, mature adulthood: keeping one's options open.

My 2 cents on deciding before applying is not about stealing spots away but rather not hurting your chances of getting in. If I were on an adcom (though obviously I'm not) and I had two candidates that had equal CV's but the only difference is that one applied to both dental/med schools and the other applied only to dental school, I'd choose the latter. What I'm saying here is that this topic plays a factor, somehow, someway...maybe the factor is small, but it's still there. That means that if you apply to both, it might actually hurt your chances of getting into a school, rather than help.

So in this case, IMO, it doesn't matter what the applicant thinks (of whether it keeps his/her options open), it matters what the adcoms think. And I just can't believe that it won't affect their decision making process, no matter how small.
 
In my case, I applied for medical school two years ago, but didn't get in, and I'm not thinking of applying for dental school alone. What's your thoughts on that?

I feel it is okay, and it's not like I'm applying to medical school now, concurrently with the dental, I'm just applying to dental schools now.
 
jk5177, it shouldn't affect it.. if it does, that means anyone who took a shot at medical school has no right to ever apply to dental school. That, to me, is complete B.S.
 
griffin04 said:
Applying to both at once isn't about keeping your options open.

You are basically delaying the inevitable - having to choose b/w medicine and dentistry. If you don't choose at the time when you submit your applications, then you will have to choose between the two a few months later if you get accepted to both med school and dental school.

You will have to choose, better to choose earlier and be satisfied with your decision. You won't be second guessing yourself b/c you are commited to the choice you make. And you will save a ton of $$$ for yourself b/c it is expensive to apply to both only to give yourself a chance to delay your decision for a few months.


That was a good post
 
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