Non-Trad Advice

[TthDec]

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Some background: Two application cycles ago, I was holding a dental school acceptance. Just prior to school starting, a string of some majorly unfortunate circumstances occurred which resulted with my dropping out about 3-4 days prior to school starting. Before anyone asks, no deferment was not option (trust me, I tried).
Hoping to get my life back on track, I re-applied early this year and seven months later, I have had one late interview (haven't heard back yet) but its safe to say that if this school doesn't accept me, I'm looking at another wasted year. Given the stark contrast between my first application (late application + 6 interviews w/ 13-14 schools applied) and second (early application + 1 late interview w/ 19 schools applied) I think its safe to assume that due to my past actions, gaining entry to another dental program is... unlikely.

That brings me to my current dilemma. I've started to slowly digest that an acceptance may or may not occur and, as such, I've begun to evaluate my options. Primarily, medical school. Now, before anyone jumps down my throat for using medicine as a 'backup', know that medicine has always been where my interests lie but the practicality / lifestyle of dentistry won out. That said, I don't feel that I'll be making any sacrifices by going down the route (if its even feasible) of medicine but, quite the contrary, I woke up today feeling excited to go down the path I had always seen myself going down.

All of that nonsense aside, onto the real reason I posted.

How poorly would a Dental School acceptance reflect upon me? Should I just give up now?
Whats the best method of acquiring LoRs as a graduate? Do I head back into school and take on more debt?
Is it possible to be geared up and ready to apply this coming June?

Current Stats:

cGPA: 3.72 (Huge upward trend)
sGPA: 3.61
280 hrs of health related volunteering
110 hrs of shadowing
over 1000 hrs of non health related volunteering
over 2k hours in employment throughout
NO Research

PS I do apologize for the rambling / poorly constructed phrasing (I haven't had my morning coffee!)

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I'll be honest--not sure about how the past dental acceptance would affect you. I'm not even sure that med schools would know that you applied and got accepted to dental school? Maybe someone else here can chime in?

Assuming your science classes are from a few years ago, yes, you'll probably have to re-enroll in classes to get science LORs. (Most MD programs I applied to required 2.) You could do this just by enrolling as a non-degree student at any university.

My other question would be, what is your shadowing/clinical volunteering like? If you've only shadowed/volunteered in dentistry, you'll probably need to start fresh. I imagine it would raise eyebrows if an MD/DO applicant only had experience in dentistry.

And then there's the MCAT... To me, it seems like you'd be rushing to apply this June. If re-applying to dental doesn't work out, the last thing you want is to have to apply MD/DO twice, too. So I would probably hold off and apply with the strongest possible app.

 

[TthDec]

I'll be honest--not sure about how the past dental acceptance would affect you. I'm not even sure that med schools would know that you applied and got accepted to dental school? Maybe someone else here can chime in?

Assuming your science classes are from a few years ago, yes, you'll probably have to re-enroll in classes to get science LORs. (Most MD programs I applied to required 2.) You could do this just by enrolling as a non-degree student at any university.

My other question would be, what is your shadowing/clinical volunteering like? If you've only shadowed/volunteered in dentistry, you'll probably need to start fresh. I imagine it would raise eyebrows if an MD/DO applicant only had experience in dentistry.

And then there's the MCAT... To me, it seems like you'd be rushing to apply this June. If re-applying to dental doesn't work out, the last thing you want is to have to apply MD/DO twice, too. So I would probably hold off and apply with the strongest possible app.

Well, if I'm forced to go back to school to get LoRs, I wouldn't have the option to apply this cycle anyways. On this note, should I just pick up CC science courses and get my LoRs that way? Or do I have to shell out thousands of dollars for University classes? In regard to the MCAT, I saw that the general prep time is a little over 3 months which, given that June is 4 months away doesn't come across as 'rushing' to me as I'll an extra month to prepare if necessary or am I missing something?

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Well, if I'm forced to go back to school to get LoRs, I wouldn't have the option to apply this cycle anyways. On this note, should I just pick up CC science courses and get my LoRs that way? Or do I have to shell out thousands of dollars for University classes? In regard to the MCAT, I saw that the general prep time is a little over 3 months which, given that June is 4 months away doesn't come across as 'rushing' to me as I'll an extra month to prepare if necessary or am I missing something?

I would think that CC would be fine, especially considering that you already have a degree and have a strong GPA. Makes sense to me to go with something cheap.

You're right, three months is probably plenty of time for MCAT prep. As long as you get to a point where you're consistently scoring well on full-length practice tests.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

But I would also say that it's preferable to take the MCAT as early as possible when you do plan to apply. A June MCAT isn't bad (scores usually reported in July) but if you can take the MCAT before June, that's always your best bet since that way your scores will be available before AMCAS even opens. July is probably the latest I would take it, in general.

 

[TthDec]

I'll be honest--not sure about how the past dental acceptance would affect you. I'm not even sure that med schools would know that you applied and got accepted to dental school? Maybe someone else here can chime in?

Assuming your science classes are from a few years ago, yes, you'll probably have to re-enroll in classes to get science LORs. (Most MD programs I applied to required 2.) You could do this just by enrolling as a non-degree student at any university.

My other question would be, what is your shadowing/clinical volunteering like? If you've only shadowed/volunteered in dentistry, you'll probably need to start fresh. I imagine it would raise eyebrows if an MD/DO applicant only had experience in dentistry.

And then there's the MCAT... To me, it seems like you'd be rushing to apply this June. If re-applying to dental doesn't work out, the last thing you want is to have to apply MD/DO twice, too. So I would probably hold off and apply with the strongest possible app.

Oh, right, I totally spaced your question in regard to my volunteer work. Its entirely generic volunteer stuff that is nonspecific. Volunteered a food bank, medical center, tutoring, etc. There's no question I'd like to beef up my clinical and shadowing hours though. I think I have around 280 hours volunteered at a medical center (did it over two summers in Australia, though) so I'll probably need to do some work stateside.

But I would also say that it's preferable to take the MCAT as early as possible when you do plan to apply. A June MCAT isn't bad (scores usually reported in July) but if you can take the MCAT before June, that's always your best bet since that way your scores will be available before AMCAS even opens. July is probably the latest I would take it, in general.

Given that I have plenty of free time right now, I'll likely begin studying in February leading up to April / early May and take it in May.

Just kinda bummed that I might have to delay applying by an entire year because of two letters of rec. though =/

Edit: I read that some people were able to get that requirement waived due to being out of school for over 2 years? Anyone know anything about this? I'll probably give a call or two to a few schools in regard to this.