Pharmacy to Dentistry....

[Mo007]

Hi Everyone ,

I am new to this forum stuff. But after reading few of the posted threads, I found it very interesting to see how everyone feels applying to dental schools, and found more informative than what advisors told me about the application process.

I am currently a 1st yr pharmacy student at Mass. College of Pharmacy, and planning to change my career focus to Dentistry with the hope of attending a dental school. I got into the PharmD. program with 2 years of coursework. This means I completed all my gen. chem, o-chem, gen. biology, gen. physics, social sciences and humanities. My overall GPA is 3.18, and science 3.16. I have been pondering, if I have a chance at all.

I am taking Kaplan now, and hoping to take the DAT in october. My practise tests showed 15-18 socres in all areas.

Additionally, I shadowed dentistry with faculty members from Harvard Dental Clinic and Case. They both gave me good recommendations.

So... Any ideas if I have a chance? or wether I should not apply and wait another year.

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[UBTom]

Heya,

Your GPA is good enough to get into quite a few schools. Get a 20/20 on your DAT and you should be golden.

You should apply to the public dental schools in your state of residence (if there are any), because they usually give preference to in-state residents. And apply to a few private schools as well because they don't have residence preferences.

Good luck!

 

[Mo007]

Thanks UBTom,

What schools would consider my profile. I want to apply to:

Case
BU
Indiana
Louisville
NYU
UOP
Columbia

Anyone who had similar profile, who got interview from those schools?

Mo007

 

[Jone]

rock your DAT, and UoP won't care about your GPA.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Where are you from?

Unless you are from Indiana, then I would drop that school off your list. I also would drop Louisville. I think both those schools are too competitive for your GPA.

I think you can have lots of success with those other schools.

 

[aphistis]

Actually, I'd keep Indiana on the list till you see how your DAT goes. Like Tom said, a 20/20 would get you in the door as a serious out-of-state applicant. IUSD's DAT averages aren't particularly great: 18/17, if memory serves. I think this year's average GPAs were 3.4 overall, 3.3 science.

I'd let your performance on the DAT determine whether you apply to IUSD. Good luck!

 

[Mo007]

How about Nova? I heard the school facilities are all new, is there anything more special about it? Do you think maybe I should have it on my list...? or what other schools should I consider?

I called UOP admissions, everything about the school was going great.... until the tuition part was mentioned. ($56K!!!)... that's excluding from books, tools, insurance and expenses... That's equivalent to 2 years of tuition in an average dental school.

Mo007

 

[Yah-E]

Nova is a great idea!! Tuition here total is around $54K/year also. Private schools usually cost more $$ than In-State schools.

Nova is a DAT school as well, although our entering class for the past two years has been around 3.4 for cumulative GPA. If you have any questions about Nova, let me know. I'd be glad to try to answer them for you!

Welcome to the dental side!

 

[Prettygirl]

Keep Indiana on your list. They do accept a lot of out of state residents. I was accepted, despite my less than stellar grades, DAT scores and LACK of Indiana residency.
NOVA is also a good school to apply to!
As Yah-E said, the private schools will all be in the same price range so don't be alarmed when you hear the tuitions of BU, Case, and NYU!
Other options to consider are Temple and Tufts. I think you have a good shot at both if you do well on the DATS.

 

[Mo007]

Thanks guys,

Although, I am little concerned with the tuition, I have no idea how long it takes for a graduate to pay it all back. Also, is there an advantage for me being in Pharmacy School on my application. I got into Pharmacy with only 2yrs of coursework... and I am currently a 1st year student.

Mo007

 

[ecdoesit]

hi, Mo007
may i ask what r your reasons to switch from pharm to dental?

 

[ddstothecor]

Originally posted by Yah-E
Nova is a great idea!! Tuition here total is around $54K/year also. Private schools usually cost more $$ than In-State schools.

Nova is a DAT school as well, although our entering class for the past two years has been around 3.4 for cumulative GPA. If you have any questions about Nova, let me know. I'd be glad to try to answer them for you!

Welcome to the dental side!

Yah-E your total includes the sum of financial aid that all students receive for the year. 54K actually covers the tuition (30K/yr), instruments (8K/yr), and living expenses (12-14K/yr depending on book expenditure and insurance premiums). I don't think any school charges 54K/yr., yet, but some do come close (B.U., Tufts, N.Y.U.) However, by way of comparison, Nova is a relatively cheap alternative, and is equal in cost for an out-of-state student who attends either UPitt or Indiana.
Still, I concur, Nova is pretty sweet (except for the lack of sleep, late nights studying, and the overwheming amount of material).

 

[Mo007]

ecdoesit

Pharmacy turned out to be lil boring. Plus, I am looking for healthcare profession that allows me to work with patients more at the clinical level. Pharmacy is all about standing behind a counter... After shadowing the pharmacy profession, you will not believe how irritating customers can be for waiting prescriptions... Its a good profession for those who can handle that, but I don't see myself compounding day-in day-out, and publically get embarassed by some customer who wasnt happy about how long his/her prescription took.

Besides, most pharmacists work for either CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aide.... there is hardly a solo pharmacists due to competition.

I think Dentistry is more fun, and more rewarding.

Mo007

 

[ecdoesit]

please shadow a dentist and look into someone's mouth before applying to dental schools. cos optometry is another option too.

 

[Mo007]

ecdoesit

I did shadow dentistry with a faculty from Case. I like the art behind dentistry, plus the one-to-one interaction with a patient while you operate on them.

Optometry has a lot of physics involved, and physics is not my favorite subject.

Mo007

 

[groundhog]

My advise would be to get your PharmD and then go to dental school. The economy is a dynamic creature. Having both a PharmD and a DDS simply leaves you with more options in the future. We all know that regulated drugs will continue to take on a bigger role in the field of healthcare. Why not position yourself to be a part of that opportunity too.?

 

[ehop24]

of the 82 students in my class, atleast 2 have a pharmD. it surprised me a little bit.

 

[Mo007]

New Pharmacy graduate makes the same as Registered Pharmacist (with 10 or more years experience)...

The is a hardly a career advancement.

Mo007

 

[groundhog]

There may come a day when you wish you had that PharmD. Unless you started college later in life, it seems to me you are in a perfect situation to get both degrees. Let's see, 2 years undergrad, 3 years pharmacy, and then dental school. I would say that the average person entering dental school has around 5 years of undegrad under his or her belt belt. That puts you about even in time and ahead in degrees. I also have a hunch that most of the dental school adcoms will prefer that you finish the PharmD program since your undergrad GPA is just above 3.00. Some dental schools do mention a willingness to accept exceptional candidates who have not completed a degree program. I don't know that you would fall into that exceptional category given your undergrad GPA.

 

[Mo007]

groundhog

you are probably right, but i am just taking my chances. I have faith in Pharmacy in some-what..... but its never too late for anyone to make changes with a hope of moving on to some place they feel more comfortable.

Mo007

 

[airsimon]

crap!! look at those GPA averages! I wish I was 5 years older!

 

[doc toothache]

crap!! look at those GPA averages! I wish I was 5 years older!

Five years from now our wishes would probably be the same.

 

[MnBr63]

oops, shouldn't have responded

 

[jigabodo]

Before even looking at the date of the thread, I was about to recommend postbac/SMP since it's going to be hard to get in with that GPA unless you have some really nice DAT score.

Then I realized this thread is 5 years old.

 

[MnBr63]

Before even looking at the date of the thread, I was about to recommend postbac/SMP since it's going to be hard to get in with that GPA unless you have some really nice DAT score.

Then I realized this thread is 5 years old.

haha...wow...why did i even respond?