Orthodontic Residency Chances??

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sdr1234*

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Hi everyone. I am wondering what my chances are (if there are any) to get into a residency for ortho. I'm a current D3 with a class rank of roughly 7/60. My GPA is just under 3.8. I am currently participating in research though it will not be published before I graduate. I currently hold leadership positions in several organizations on campus and I am a student ambassador. I am planning to take the GRE soon but my most recent practice test had a 161V/154Q.


Are my odds looking good or not really? I figured I needed to score really well on the GRE (better than I'm currently doing) to compensate for my class rank and GPA, or does this not really matter?
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bsmcga0 said:
there are so many spots now, everybody can get in
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What do you mean? I have been told several times by faculty that my class rank is too low to make it to residency. Do you think this is inaccurate?
 
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Just because the ortho specialty is declining, it doesn’t mean that it’s easier to get into ortho now. Ortho is still one of most competitive specialties and requires the applicants to have very good stats (high class rank + research). The same can be said about general dentistry. The dental field is declining (due to oversaturation, insurance pay cuts, high student loan debt etc) but there still a lot of people who are applying for dental schools….and their undergrad GPAs are almost as high as those of the medical school applicants. Many couldn’t get in the first time and had to reapply.

Georgia orthodontic program has a large class size but it’s still very hard to get in because one must show proof that he/she can pay for his/her own education, which is around $300-350k for 3years. Most of the US dental students don’t have that kind money…..most live on student loan money. This ortho program is for the rich foreign trained dentists. I know one US dental grad who went to this ortho program. Her brother is married to my cousin. They are from a very wealthy family.
 
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charlestweed said:
Georgia orthodontic program has a large class size
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Large class size is an understatement. It would take a legit program like the Mayo Clinic 45 years to graduate as many orthos as this place cranks out in a single year…

I agree, the dental profession as a whole is on a serious decline. I wouldn’t even encourage my own kids to pursue this career. I can definitely guide them to something with a much better ROI. My boys are 2-3 years above grade level, so I think I’ve gotten them off to a solid start.

Big Hoss
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
Large class size is an understatement. It would take a legit program like the Mayo Clinic 45 years to graduate as many orthos as this place cranks out in a single year…

I agree, the dental profession as a whole is on a serious decline. I wouldn’t even encourage my own kids to pursue this career. I can definitely guide them to something with a much better ROI. My boys are 2-3 years above grade level, so I think I’ve gotten them off to a solid start.

Big Hoss
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Being a good student in school is good but that's not enough. The hard part is to choose the right profession (long term stability, good pay, good work hours, recession proof etc) and to have the determination to finish it. I know plenty of top students in HS who have done silly things after they went to college.....like taking gap years, studying oversea (mainly to have fun instead of studying), switching college majors, dropping out of college etc. My son's HS buddy was a valedictorian. He got into UCLA with a UC regent scholarship, which was only granted to a very selected few. He recently told his mom that he doesn’t want to apply for med schools anymore....he wants to get a PhD instead. His mom called my wife and cried on the phone. His mom is not a typical Asian mom.....she is White. His mom's goal is very simple and practical....and that is for him to have a stable job and make at least $150k so he will be able to support his own family and kids the same way that she is supporting him right now. My wife's friend did a Phd also at UCLA and it took her 11 yrs (including her 4 undergrad yrs) to earn the degree....and she is currently living with her husband, who also has a PhD (they met at their PhD program) in a tiny condo in San Diego. It's good that they have no kid to support.

Once the kids become 18 yo, it's hard to tell them what they should do. Good luck at convincing them to attend cheap state schools. Most smart HS kids want to go to expensive schools. The friend of my son whom I mentioned above would not have gone to UCLA if either Northwestern or John Hopskins accepted him. As parents, we can only pray.

My son will apply for med schools this coming May. His upperclassman is applying right now....she has 4.0 undegrad GPA and MCAT score of 521. She got a few interviews and hasn't had any acceptance yet. Top tier med schools like Stanford, UCSF already rejected her without offering any interview. My son only got 518 on the MCAT. He plans to apply to some DO schools as a backup.
 
charlestweed said:
Most smart HS kids want to go to expensive schools.
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Even though my kids are still are in elementary school, I’m already indoctrinating them to want to go to BYU in Utah and to major in an engineering field. It’s cheaper than Utah’s flagship state school. Got to start early!

Good luck to your kids on their med school application!

Big Hoss
 
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sdr1234* said:
Hi everyone. I am wondering what my chances are (if there are any) to get into a residency for ortho. I'm a current D3 with a class rank of roughly 7/60. My GPA is just under 3.8. I am currently participating in research though it will not be published before I graduate. I currently hold leadership positions in several organizations on campus and I am a student ambassador. I am planning to take the GRE soon but my most recent practice test had a 161V/154Q.


Are my odds looking good or not really? I figured I needed to score really well on the GRE (better than I'm currently doing) to compensate for my class rank and GPA, or does this not really matter?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't waste time/money applying to any program other than GSO. Realistically, you are not getting an interview at any program besides GSO with that class rank. Save the money on other programs; you would just be donating it to them at that point.
 
OncePreDent said:
I wouldn't waste time/money applying to any program other than GSO. Realistically, you are not getting an interview at any program besides GSO with that class rank. Save the money on other programs; you would just be donating it to them at that point.
Click to expand...
what are you talking about.. he is number 7 out of 60... that's a competitive class rank lol
 
sdr1234* said:
What do you mean? I have been told several times by faculty that my class rank is too low to make it to residency. Do you think this is inaccurate?
Click to expand...
Your faculty may not be aware that a lot of programs have been added in the last 20 years so there are a ton more spots now compared to back when 7/60 would have been considered too low.
 
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