So I have a bit of a predicament: I am currently a senior with a 4.0 GPA, with 89 volunteering clinical hours at a medical clinic (excluding my dental 48 hrs and environmental 20 hrs), former president of the predental club, and currently work as an Orthodontic Office Technician. I have always been exposed to dentistry since I was young, I always loved working with my hands, and I do well with patients, hence why I love my job. But here's the thing.... my greatest strength when it comes to skills is more in line with the medical field. I also feel more confident that I would be happier as a medical doctor than as a dentist. I was originally considering both dentistry and the medical field during my sophomore year of college, but out of fear of medical school admissions, I decided to go to dentistry. Ever since then, my decision has been nagging on my mind. I am not saying that I would not be successful within the dental field, but I feel I would be happier within the medical field, especially knowing the current world of business in dentistry. I am graduating next semester... In case I truly decide to commit to medicine, what steps should I take to make myself more competitive? I believe in finding a job in the medical field, as well as continuing. volunteering should be best. Thank you!
Possibility of switching to premed as senior
- Thread starter Lev2001
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I was essentially in the exact same situation as you. I took my DAT and even applied to dental schools only to have growing doubts and realization that I liked dentistry for the aspects it shared with medicine. This all happened after I graduated so you're still fine timing-wise. I was lucky to be a physiology major which already fulfilled med school pre-reqs. What you need to do is start prepping for the MCAT and ensure you do well on it to go along with your GPA. In addition, you'll need some shadowing hours to ensure this is what you want to do and demonstrate it to the schools as well. I think anywhere around 50 - 100 hrs is sufficient. You'll also need to have some additional experiences such as community-involved volunteering (non-clinical) and clinical experience (volunteer or paid is fine). Lastly, while it may be a little tricky given you only have a semester left, but if you can, try getting involved in research because it will certainly help with your application (it can even continue after graduating). A gap year will definitely allow you to get these things sorted without it being too overwhelming imho.
I'm sure more qualified people will chime in but I just wanted to give me 2 cents haha. Best of luck!
I'm sure more qualified people will chime in but I just wanted to give me 2 cents haha. Best of luck!
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A lot of the preparation is the same, so you should probably be set on pre-requisite courses and a lot of your past leadership, volunteer, and other experience will help. If you've taken the DAT, there's a fair amount of overlap with preparation for the MCAT as well.
My suggestion to a student in this case (and I've worked with a *lot* that were in this situation) is twofold:
I feel like these statements are often much stronger than students who "have wanted to be a doctor their whole lives" because I always wonder if they've explored alternatives or just picked before they knew what else was out there.
As far as where to get experience, you could look at an EMS/EMT/CNA certification and get a job, you could start scribing part/full time, etc.
It may well be possible that you can make the switch this year and apply in May. A lot depends on your Spring course schedule and how accessible clinical experiences are where you are. But one core piece of advice I always give to my students applying is to remember that the goal is to be a strong and prepared applicant on your first submission, not to rush it and have to play catch-up.
My suggestion to a student in this case (and I've worked with a *lot* that were in this situation) is twofold:
- Plan on taking a gap-year and getting some full time clinical experience in the medical field.
- Own your desire to switch from dentistry to medicine as a core part of your narrative.
I feel like these statements are often much stronger than students who "have wanted to be a doctor their whole lives" because I always wonder if they've explored alternatives or just picked before they knew what else was out there.
As far as where to get experience, you could look at an EMS/EMT/CNA certification and get a job, you could start scribing part/full time, etc.
It may well be possible that you can make the switch this year and apply in May. A lot depends on your Spring course schedule and how accessible clinical experiences are where you are. But one core piece of advice I always give to my students applying is to remember that the goal is to be a strong and prepared applicant on your first submission, not to rush it and have to play catch-up.
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Bluntly, I think that it would be near-miraculous to put together a strong application during the 2024-2025 cycle. You would need to pretty much have everything put together by the end of June 2024. Plus pre-writing secondaries.
You'll have to prep for the MCAT, and do it well. I'm going to assume you get a very good score.
If you get a very good score, you will be yield protected at lower ranked schools, which means that you will need to apply to a bunch of top ranked schools, most of which favor applicants with some research. If you don't have a lot of research, you will at least have to demonstrate that you understand really well the basis for research / scientific method. Question -> hypothesis -> test -> analysis/conclusion -> rinse & repeat.
You'll need a fair amount of non-clinical volunteering to put together a competitive application, especially for higher ranked schools. That means a bunch of time. You will need clinical experience too. Also, a bunch of time. Plus, shadowing.
Sidebar: this all reminds of the movie, Paper Chase, where the protagonist tries to become an elite Law Student, only to realize that once there, it requires even more work to stay there. If you have really good stats, then all your other attributes similarly have to be really good. This is, unfortunately, why some 4.0/52x applicants don't get into med school.
If you go the premed route, you already have one gap year built in; I think taking a second gap year is far more realistic, and this gives you 2024-2025 to buff your application. Also, this way, you can enjoy your last semester of college. You only have that last semester once in your life.
You'll have to prep for the MCAT, and do it well. I'm going to assume you get a very good score.
If you get a very good score, you will be yield protected at lower ranked schools, which means that you will need to apply to a bunch of top ranked schools, most of which favor applicants with some research. If you don't have a lot of research, you will at least have to demonstrate that you understand really well the basis for research / scientific method. Question -> hypothesis -> test -> analysis/conclusion -> rinse & repeat.
You'll need a fair amount of non-clinical volunteering to put together a competitive application, especially for higher ranked schools. That means a bunch of time. You will need clinical experience too. Also, a bunch of time. Plus, shadowing.
Sidebar: this all reminds of the movie, Paper Chase, where the protagonist tries to become an elite Law Student, only to realize that once there, it requires even more work to stay there. If you have really good stats, then all your other attributes similarly have to be really good. This is, unfortunately, why some 4.0/52x applicants don't get into med school.
If you go the premed route, you already have one gap year built in; I think taking a second gap year is far more realistic, and this gives you 2024-2025 to buff your application. Also, this way, you can enjoy your last semester of college. You only have that last semester once in your life.
