Pos-bac good option for me?

[lazyindy]

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Hey dent heads!

So this past year I've seriously debated going to medical school vs dental school. I like medicine but I want a more hands on approach and a reasonable lifestyle. I genuinely have an interest in raising the self-esteem of others and I'm not choosing dental school solely because of the money (I would have gone into finance if I was crazy about money). Here are my stats:

cGPA: 3.45
sGPA: 3.36

I took the MCAT and got a 34 (11/11/12). I'm a good test-taker so with enough time and effort I should be able to do well on the DAT.

My GPA is the problem here and I can't decide if I should do a post-bac program like Rutgers? I will take dental school courses and If I perform well I can show adcoms I have what it takes to handle a rigorous curriculum. Also are there any opportunities to shadow dentists while you're in a post-bacc program? I have no dental shadowing experience...

 

[futuredoc2019dds]

You did really well on your MCAT, so if you do well on your DAT (21+) you should be fine in regards to your academia. A lot of schools look at other things as well such as leadership, volunteering, and shadowing. I was pre-med before switching to pre-dental and I utilized all my volunteer work I did for my applications despite it being hospital volunteering because I was still having that patient interaction. My recommendation is to start shadowing now on a regular basis (4-5 hours a week) and have 100+ hours of shadowing by this summer and you should be fine by the start of the application cycle. I had 8 months of intensive pre-dental activities by the time I applied and got accepted into dental school. If you do all this and play your cards right, a post-bac will be unnecessary IMO.

 

[lazyindy]

You did really well on your MCAT, so if you do well on your DAT (21+) you should be fine in regards to your academia. A lot of schools look at other things as well such as leadership, volunteering, and shadowing. I was pre-med before switching to pre-dental and I utilized all my volunteer work I did for my applications despite it being hospital volunteering because I was still having that patient interaction. My recommendation is to start shadowing now on a regular basis (4-5 hours a week) and have 100+ hours of shadowing by this summer and you should be fine by the start of the application cycle. I had 8 months of intensive pre-dental activities by the time I applied and got accepted into dental school. If you do all this and play your cards right, a post-bac will be unnecessary IMO.

thanks for the reply!! 🙂

I was just worried about my GPA being on the low side. If I score well on the DAT I am definitely applying this cycle

 

[futuredoc2019dds]

Of course! Your GPA is on the lower side, but it can be offset with a high DAT score. Just make sure to start shadowing and immersing yourself in dental opportunities A.S.A.P. I did a bunch of volunteering for dental organizations, 320 hours of shadowing, and even did a dental presentation to kindergarteners about oral hygiene. Main thing to do is to show interest in the field at this point. High stats doesn't cut it anymore, and doing all these things can cover up the lower GPA scores. If you look at the forums, there's a bunch of people with a low GPA but high DAT score that got in.

If you don't get in with a high DAT score and low GPA, most likely it's because the adcoms would like to see a longer commitment to the dental field rather than just 6 months of intensive dental related volunteer/shadowing. I said that my volunteer work only began 8 months before applying, but in actuality I was exposed to the dental field my whole life since my mom is a dentist (all the hours on my application excluded the time I spent with my mom in her office because I didn't consider it countable since it was with a family member). I think that's what gave me an acceptance my first time applying.

 

[sjv]

thanks for the reply!! 🙂

I was just worried about my GPA being on the low side. If I score well on the DAT I am definitely applying this cycle

You GPA isn't really on the low side in terms of dental admissions, low side would be like 3.0 where a post-bac would be a better idea. If you can get a 34 on the MCAT, you can definitely do well on the DAT and would be fine in terms of admissions IMO.

 

[lazyindy]

Of course! Your GPA is on the lower side, but it can be offset with a high DAT score. Just make sure to start shadowing and immersing yourself in dental opportunities A.S.A.P. I did a bunch of volunteering for dental organizations, 320 hours of shadowing, and even did a dental presentation to kindergarteners about oral hygiene. Main thing to do is to show interest in the field at this point. High stats doesn't cut it anymore, and doing all these things can cover up the lower GPA scores. If you look at the forums, there's a bunch of people with a low GPA but high DAT score that got in.

If you don't get in with a high DAT score and low GPA, most likely Tis because the adcoms would like to see a longer commitment to the dental field rather than just 6 months of intensive dental related volunteer/shadowing. I said that my volunteer work only began 8 months before applying, but in actuality I was exposed to the dental field my whole life since my mom is a dentist (all the hours on my application excluded the time I spent with my mom in her office because I didn't consider it countable since Twas with a family member). I think that's what gave me an acceptance my first time applying.

wow you were very lucky in having a dentist family member!

One last question: I am actually enrolled in a DIY post-bacc (to fix GPA issues) but took the fall semester off to study for the MCAT. do you think it's wise to take economic and management courses while I still have a chance to better manage a practice in the future? my post-bacc school (hosftra) can actually guide me in acquiring dental volunteering/shadowing opportunities as well. Worth it for the extra cost of attendance or should I just forget about the post-bacc entirely to shadow a practice near me and study for the DATs?

 

[futuredoc2019dds]

I would say it's worthwhile in doing those classes. If I were in your shoes I totally would! It benefit's you in multiple ways. One, it gives you knowledge about management because no matter what, any knowledge about management would be great especially if you're thinking about opening up/buying into a practice. Two, it'll help you with acquiring dental opportunities because if you don't know the right people, getting dental exposure is quite hard. I contacted different offices to shadow and most of them didn't even get back to me. The only reason why I got dental shadowing hours was because I knew the dentists I shadowed from mutual friends. If you're planning on taking the DAT in May/early June (which I recommend if you're shooting for this cycle), you'll have a bunch of extra time to study, take a few courses that will benefit you in the future as a dentist, volunteer/shadow, and even work.

 

[lazyindy]

so my parents are being extremely unsupportive now and pushing me to find a job asap IN THIS CURRENT JOB MARKET...sigh how do I explain to them that I just can't go out there and force someone to hand me a job? 🙁

I have a B.S. in Biochemistry and one year- undergraduate research experience. Have applied everywhere in NYC and still no luck. Any other positions I should be looking out for? I really need a job to help me buy DAT prep materials and finance applications this upcoming cycle..help me!!

 

[springlove123]

why don't you just pursue medicine if you made a 34 on MCAT? You didn't even shadow a dentist, yet you picked dentistry over medicine with a 34 on MCAT.... I just don't get it. Also, if you have lots of volunteer, shadowing, research, and extracurriculars, it should cover ur low GPAs w/ that good MCAT.

 

[firenzy07]

why don't you just pursue medicine if you made a 34 on MCAT? You didn't even shadow a dentist, yet you picked dentistry over medicine with a 34 on MCAT.... I just don't get it. Also, if you have lots of volunteer, shadowing, research, and extracurriculars, it should cover ur low GPAs w/ that good MCAT.

Perhaps OP's interest/priorities are different now? The only way you know if you want to do something is to shadow, and if the OP shadows some dental offices and he likes the experience more than medicine, who are we to say to not go for it?

 

[lazyindy]

why don't you just pursue medicine if you made a 34 on MCAT? You didn't even shadow a dentist, yet you picked dentistry over medicine with a 34 on MCAT.... I just don't get it. Also, if you have lots of volunteer, shadowing, research, and extracurriculars, it should cover ur low GPAs w/ that good MCAT.

I like the hands-on work in dentistry and find the engagement more appealing than just prescription-writing in medicine. Sure, surgery is also hands on but the terrible hours just aren't for me. You can form long-term patient relationships in a dental practice and see almost immediate results of your hard work, which also serve to improve the self-esteem of the patient.

 

[shonster460]

I like the hands-on work in dentistry and find the engagement more appealing than just prescription-writing in medicine. Sure, surgery is also hands on but the terrible hours just aren't for me. You can form long-term patient relationships in a dental practice and see almost immediate results of your hard work, which also serve to improve the self-esteem of the patient.

These are all great reasons but like others have suggested you should still shadow! It will help your app tremendously.

so my parents are being extremely unsupportive now and pushing me to find a job asap IN THIS CURRENT JOB MARKET...sigh how do I explain to them that I just can't go out there and force someone to hand me a job? 🙁

I have a B.S. in Biochemistry and one year- undergraduate research experience. Have applied everywhere in NYC and still no luck. Any other positions I should be looking out for? I really need a job to help me buy DAT prep materials and finance applications this upcoming cycle..help me!!

You should use the search box to finds threads that ask about post-bacc options (I replied to a similar thread only a couple of days ago). Finding a job with a BS in biochemistry is probably going to be difficult, particularly in industry, and there may be some academic lab tech positions. Consulting is another option to look into. I also suggest you look into the NIH post-bacc IRTA program, which is a great experience that pays (not much but its something). If research isn't your style then maybe even try to market yourself as a private tutor to help middle school or high school students. I know colleagues who do this well and make a good amount of money from it. Good luck!

 

[springlove123]

Perhaps OP's interest/priorities are different now? The only way you know if you want to do something is to shadow, and if the OP shadows some dental offices and he likes the experience more than medicine, who are we to say to not go for it?

I know that. I said "he did NOT shadow a dentist yet, but he picked dentistry over medicine, and he took the MCAT and got 34." It does not make sense...He needs to shadow a lot more and give the admission reasons why he didn't go for medicine bc he took the MCAT.

 

[lazyindy]

I e-mailed my post-bacc advisor and she told me to take additional post-bacc science classes to raise my science GPA. right now it is a 3.36, I know it's on the low side but with a good DAT it shouldn't be too much of a problem I assume? I will begin shadowing this week.

If I can get a 34 on the MCAT, I'm sure I can break at least a 21-22 on the DAT