need serious advice

[eyeloveu]

I have wanted to be a dentist as long as I could remember. When I got into college I had a very hard time transitioning because I was away from home and didn't know anyone. When I was taking my science courses I realized that my background in these subjects sucked and my grades slipped pretty bad. I have mastered the whole studying thing for about 3 years now and get all A's and B's (but mostly A's) in very difficult courses. Last year I took the DAT and received PA:20, Bio: 18, Chem:18, Orgo:19, QR:15, RC:20, AA:18, TS:19. Needless to say I didn't get in anywhere. I am already 24 yrs old and I graduated in May with my B.S. and was readmitted this year to get a second B.S., but no matter how well I do my GPA doesn't budge. I feel like I have so many credits already it is impossible to improve my GPA from a 2.8---which has to happen. I have had a full-time job at a dental office for 2.5 yrs (I have to pay for everything myself), have tons of shadowing hours and have tons of volunteering hours and held an officer position in pre-dental ASDA. I have become so discouraged about this that I think I am going to give up the whole dental thing and apply for optometry because the minimum requirements are more along the lines of where I am at academically. If anyone has any advise for me I would really appreciate it because I am giving up something that I truly love and have passion for because I dug myself a hole so big with my GPA there is no way I would get accepted anywhere b/c of the intense competition. I need to get in to a professional school this year because I feel like time is ticking away and I am beyond prepared for professional school, b/c I am tired of struggling financially and want to feel like I am moving forward. Advice?!!!

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[gkhan]

you know a friend of mine applied and didn't get in to dental school for fall 08, low/average DAT (AA 17/18 retake), 3.5+ gpa, bs biology
he/she told me they were reapplying this year into both dent. AND optometry.

personally i dont think thats a good idea.

what you could do is get into a masters program and then go from there.

but tbh. i don't believe you could have gotten A/B for 3 years and still have that low of a gpa. your first step is to find someone (a professor/doctor/advisor) you can fully disclose your grades/courses/academic history to and follow his/her advice. if you can't be truthful here then no one can give you any "golden" advice.

gl though

p.s. if you REALLLLLLLLLY wanted to do dentistry you wouldn't have picked "Pre-Optometry" when you signed up.
sorry i'm ragging on you but i can only judge by the info your releasing.

 

[TempleDMDKrazd]

I have wanted to be a dentist as long as I could remember. When I got into college I had a very hard time transitioning because I was away from home and didn't know anyone. When I was taking my science courses I realized that my background in these subjects sucked and my grades slipped pretty bad. I have mastered the whole studying thing for about 3 years now and get all A's and B's (but mostly A's) in very difficult courses. Last year I took the DAT and received PA:20, Bio: 18, Chem:18, Orgo:19, QR:15, RC:20, AA:18, TS:19. Needless to say I didn't get in anywhere. I am already 24 yrs old and I graduated in May with my B.S. and was readmitted this year to get a second B.S., but no matter how well I do my GPA doesn't budge. I feel like I have so many credits already it is impossible to improve my GPA from a 2.8---which has to happen. I have had a full-time job at a dental office for 2.5 yrs (I have to pay for everything myself), have tons of shadowing hours and have tons of volunteering hours and held an officer position in pre-dental ASDA. I have become so discouraged about this that I think I am going to give up the whole dental thing and apply for optometry because the minimum requirements are more along the lines of where I am at academically. If anyone has any advise for me I would really appreciate it because I am giving up something that I truly love and have passion for because I dug myself a hole so big with my GPA there is no way I would get accepted anywhere b/c of the intense competition. I need to get in to a professional school this year because I feel like time is ticking away and I am beyond prepared for professional school, b/c I am tired of struggling financially and want to feel like I am moving forward. Advice?!!!

Not to be an arse, but if you really loved dentistry...why are you going to give up and go to optometry...that showed us that you really didn't care what health field you went into. If you got all A's and B's (mostly A's) for the last 3 years you would have a tremendous uptrend...and I really can't see you having a 2.8 GPA unless you really really messed up and had like a 1.0 GPA for 1-3 quarters. The reason you didn't get any interviews is because even though you have an uptrend your DAT doesnt back up your grades. You already have a weak GPA of 2.8 and now your AA is 18 which is medicore compared to your GPA and some sections you didn't do so hot. If you get mostly A's then you should know the material and score in the upper bracket (20-22's) on most of the sections which you didn't.

Seriously, the your best motivators is you. Since you have your BS now it will help you. I would reapply again this year, but consider taking a few months studying to retake the DAT. If you don't get in this cycle apply to a post bacc/smp program. A post bacc/smp program > 2nd bachelors.

Wish you the best of luck on your endeavors!

 

[luckynumber3]

I think you should get back into the academic game. I'd think about spending the entire next year taking classes in an accelerated graduate program. Though it's pretty late now to formally apply as a matriculated student, you can still take the non-matriculate path until you officially "prove" yourself to the admissions committee. Then, you can look to transfer into the official program come the Spring 2009 semester and have credits transferred over. Again, I can totally sympathize with the hopelessness/defeat you feel.. but you HAVE TO realize and understand that nobody will simply hand out a DDS/DMD degree to you on a silver platter. Be prepared to work HARD and you WILL get to your dream of becoming a dentist. To be honest, I, too, once considered Optometry and almost convinced myself that it would be the easier route to travel. Since I pretty much screwed myself in undergrad w/a low GPA as well [my gpa of 2.78 < yours!], I thought my chances of improving my credentials were utterly lost. Here I am turning 28 in a few months and I have another 4 years of school to look forward to!?! Are you serious? But a few years is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and nothing can substitute the valuable professional experience gained throughout the years. I know for myself that it has sparked within me a different and very positive mindset for returning back to school and tackling academia. I know that I won't be content unless I give it everything I've got. Now, as I plan to start a fast-track MS program this fall to boost my low undergrad gpa and prove how badly I want this, I realize how important Medicine is to me (Medicine/Dentistry, same difference). Sure it'll take some time and energy, and I'd rather be going out boozing it up with freinds/gf, etc.. but if it is what will ultimately make you truly happy, then you can have no regrets. And if it doesn't work out, then there's plenty of other arenas to venture out into and make more than a comfortable living out of. Best of Luck to you my friend!