predent to prepod

[binh]

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hey yall
as the title of the thread suggests, i'm looking to switch from predent to prepod. everything i've done in the past 4 years has revolved around dent: volunteering, shadowing, clubs, leadership, etc. totalling upwards of 500+ hours, if not more. i was just wondering if there are any other ppl out there in my situation who switched over to pod from dent. if so, do you think its a good idea to mention all of this dentistry experience in the apps? i'd appreciate any guidance. thanks yall.

 

[TeethPuller905]

this is a great question I'm in the same boat as well. I just switched too and now am taking the MCATs this summer and could def use some guidance too and know whether to put my dental volunteer on the apps

 

[Gryhu]

Volunteering is volunteering. You don't have to specifically volunteer in a medical setting. Just make sure you do these things and you'll be set for podiatry:

1.) Take all pod pre-reqs (I think its the same thing as dent just double check)
2.) Shadow a pod. Thats important because it'll tell you if this is the right thing for you.

...and most importantly...

TAKE THE MCAT. Don't try to get in the with DAT. It'll show adcom that you just couldn't get into dental school and using podiatry as a backup. Some schools take the DAT but I STRONGLY recommend that you take the MCAT. Especially since you're crossing over this late into your studies.

Anyway, welcome to the Pod world. If you need any help there are a lot of good people on here that are willing to guide you. Just make sure to use the search function before you start a new thread 😉

 

[DaveApple]

I'm in the same boat as well. I graduated with a BS in Nutritional Sciences this past May and have been working as a personal trainer. I was pre-dent all the way through undergrad and interviewed at a dental last year (didn't get accepted). I realized I didn't want to do dentistry right before graduation and decided to take some time to figure out what I wanted to do. Ended up deciding podiatry and was convinced by a local pod to submit a late app (or at least what would have been considered late by dental school standards). I submitted last week and already have two interview offers at OCPM and CPMS. I take the MCAT in late April. Not really sure about what's going to happen but I'm optimistic. 3.3 cum, 3.1 science. PM me if you want any advice on how I handled it in my app. I wouldnt mind sending you parts of my app minus the SS#, etc.

 

[bobbio]

hey yall
as the title of the thread suggests, i'm looking to switch from predent to prepod. everything i've done in the past 4 years has revolved around dent: volunteering, shadowing, clubs, leadership, etc. totalling upwards of 500+ hours, if not more. i was just wondering if there are any other ppl out there in my situation who switched over to pod from dent. if so, do you think its a good idea to mention all of this dentistry experience in the apps? i'd appreciate any guidance. thanks yall.

Just curious - why the change to podiatry?

 

[GymMan]

Just curious - why the change to podiatry?

its harder to get bit...

 

[bobbio]

its harder to get bit...

That's true...but it's easier to get kicked.

 

[GymMan]

That's true...but it's easier to get kicked.

no prob, wear a cup

 

[allenmarchallo]

hey yall
as the title of the thread suggests, i'm looking to switch from predent to prepod. everything i've done in the past 4 years has revolved around dent: volunteering, shadowing, clubs, leadership, etc. totalling upwards of 500+ hours, if not more. i was just wondering if there are any other ppl out there in my situation who switched over to pod from dent. if so, do you think its a good idea to mention all of this dentistry experience in the apps? i'd appreciate any guidance. thanks yall.

I was in your same situation a few months ago.....However, I didn't apply to pod. b/c I didn't get in or anything like that.....I have good enough stats to get me into the field, but I changed my mind last minute......I originally wanted to be a endodontist, but after all the root canals I've seen, I can't imagine doing it for the rest of my life......I switched to pod. b/c it was interesting & captured my attention.....I was hooked from the first cases that I was exposed to.....I dropped dentistry like a rock......It hurt, yes....But to me, it was well worth it...


oh.....and to answer your question......No, it's not pertinent to mention you were a pre-dent.....but you damn better be sure to answer the question, "why podiatry?"

 

[binh]

hey yall
as the title of the thread suggests, i'm looking to switch from predent to prepod. everything i've done in the past 4 years has revolved around dent: volunteering, shadowing, clubs, leadership, etc. totalling upwards of 500+ hours, if not more. i was just wondering if there are any other ppl out there in my situation who switched over to pod from dent. if so, do you think its a good idea to mention all of this dentistry experience in the apps? i'd appreciate any guidance. thanks yall.

thanks for the responses yall...but i just wanted to clarify a few things.
i would like to include my dental experience in the apps, otherwise, its gonna look like ive absolutely done nothing in my four years of undergrad since my extracurriculars are related to dentistry in one way or another. do the pods schools frown upon this stuff when they see this on apps? i feel like im damned if i do and damned if i dont. somebody put my mind at ease, por favor.

 

[Porkchop22]

You should put it down. Any medical experience is good experience, however, as the others have said, DO NOT apply without shadowing a pod first. It needs to be on your application. The admissions committees will not take you seriously if you do not shadow one first. de nada.

 

[Paulywog]

thanks for the responses yall...but i just wanted to clarify a few things.
i would like to include my dental experience in the apps, otherwise, its gonna look like ive absolutely done nothing in my four years of undergrad since my extracurriculars are related to dentistry in one way or another. do the pods schools frown upon this stuff when they see this on apps? i feel like im damned if i do and damned if i dont. somebody put my mind at ease, por favor.

I was in your situation last year! Currently, I am a 1st year POD student. I also found out about Podiatry late into the game, had already applied to Dentistry and only took the DAT. I got into Podiatry exactly one year ago. I looked to see if it was too late to apply last year and it wasn't. I applied with the DAT score to Ohio, NY, AZ, and Barry. I interviewed at the some of these places and 2 accepted me with the DAT scores and one was contingent on MCAT score. So you can apply with the DAT score, not sure which ones take it this year, just call up each school. I applied late March and interviewed early April. I put all of my dental experience on my app as medical experience. I also used my letters of recommendation I had for dental school. Didn't seem to affect my application. One school told me that they like the dental cross overs because they do well at their school.
Podiatry is so much better, for me. Definitely go shadow at least 2 different podiatrists. I would recommend at least 4 because there are many different avenues for Podiatry and some podiatrists focus on certain areas than others and some are older with less training or some are better at business. Just take a look around.
I started to study for the MCAT until 2 weeks into my studying when I received an acceptance letter. So I never took the MCAT and am doing just fine in Podiatry school. I love what I am studying and do not regret it one bit. Throw on top of that having a new baby that came the first week of class and a terrible 2 year old. It is all manageable.
(PM me if you have any more questions.)

 

[binh]

I was in your situation last year! Currently, I am a 1st year POD student. I also found out about Podiatry late into the game, had already applied to Dentistry and only took the DAT. I got into Podiatry exactly one year ago. I looked to see if it was too late to apply last year and it wasn't. I applied with the DAT score to Ohio, NY, AZ, and Barry. I interviewed at the some of these places and 2 accepted me with the DAT scores and one was contingent on MCAT score. So you can apply with the DAT score, not sure which ones take it this year, just call up each school. I applied late March and interviewed early April. I put all of my dental experience on my app as medical experience. I also used my letters of recommendation I had for dental school. Didn't seem to affect my application. One school told me that they like the dental cross overs because they do well at their school.
Podiatry is so much better, for me. Definitely go shadow at least 2 different podiatrists. I would recommend at least 4 because there are many different avenues for Podiatry and some podiatrists focus on certain areas than others and some are older with less training or some are better at business. Just take a look around.
I started to study for the MCAT until 2 weeks into my studying when I received an acceptance letter. So I never took the MCAT and am doing just fine in Podiatry school. I love what I am studying and do not regret it one bit. Throw on top of that having a new baby that came the first week of class and a terrible 2 year old. It is all manageable.
(PM me if you have any more questions.)

Hey, thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it. I'm planning on applying to NY, Barry, and Temple since those are the schools accepting the DAT, with Barry and Temple being my top 2 choices out of every school. If you don't mind me asking, what school did you wind up going to and which schools did you get into. I'm asking this because I'm not sure if I should go ahead and take the MCAT as well because I'm scared that I might not get into any of the 3 schools that accept the DAT. I got a 18 AA and 19 NS, so I'm hoping thats good enough. Any input you can give me to put my mind at ease would help. Thanks again!

 

[dtrack22]

Put the Dent experience on your app. Clinical work is clinical work and it can't hurt. After having shadowed a pod (you need to before you can apply) I feel like you could confidently walk into an interview and say "These are my reasons for wanting to become a podiatrist (talking about what you like about medicine and specifically podiatry) and all of my dental experience only reinforced those notions."

Sounds like the fact that pre-dent kids generally do well that admissions won't be too concerned with your switch. Good luck!

 

[ChickMagnet]

This was weird. If you do a search on some dental stuff you link to this thread about predent - prepod. Alot of ppl thinking of changing it seems allover. Ok, don't know why I'm in podiatry but just thought it was strange to see alot of ppl leave dent for podiatry. Hmm.

 

[chober]

Hey, thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it. I'm planning on applying to NY, Barry, and Temple since those are the schools accepting the DAT, with Barry and Temple being my top 2 choices out of every school. If you don't mind me asking, what school did you wind up going to and which schools did you get into. I'm asking this because I'm not sure if I should go ahead and take the MCAT as well because I'm scared that I might not get into any of the 3 schools that accept the DAT. I got a 18 AA and 19 NS, so I'm hoping thats good enough. Any input you can give me to put my mind at ease would help. Thanks again!

Hey Binh, I also applied to those 3 schools, and I got accepted into Temple and NYCPM so far, and they both gave me scholarships. My GPA is sitting at 3.0 and below too.