Previous med applicant

[maxell123]

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Here's the predicament. If one has applied to medical school in the past and not been accepted. How should they go about applying for dental school, meaning that they will probably find out that you've applied.

1) On your application for dental school it will ask if you've applied before.

2) how should one deal with interview questions regarding the history of the applicant who has applied to med school.

If anyone is in a similar sitiation, please advise on what you should do.


Note: There is no intention of desiring medical school anymore. Dentistry is what i would like to do.

 

[Supernumerary]

I 'm not in this situation, but I'll share my opinions anyway.

First of all, be honest. Don't try to hide anything from them.

Secondly, have good, solid reasons as to why you now want to be a dentist. Do a lot of shadowing or other dental related activities to show that you know what it's all about. Formulate a reasonable and convincing response to the question, "What made you decide you wanted to be dentist rather than a physician?" Ideally, these reasons would not include poor grades or MCAT scores. 😉

I don't think it will be much of an issue if you can show that you have a genuine interest in dentistry. Schools just don't want students who chose dentistry only as a second option. These people are unhappy, unpleasant, and have a high rate of attrition - all bad things for the school.

When I interviewed at my state school, they were very direct about telling people that dentistry was not a substitute for medical school. They had lost one or two students the previous year who quit and went to med school. This leaves two empty seats over next three years that should have been filled by tuition paying students; now the school has to operate on the decreased budget.

On the other hand, dental schools know that many applicants started out their undergrad as pre-med until they discovered dentistry; you just took it a few steps further than most before you realized what you really wanted. Just be sincere about your motivation, and you shouldn't have a problem. Good Luck 🙂

 

[gradM.S.]

I was totally in your situation. In 1998 I applied to medical school. Didn't get in. Retook my mcat a year later. Wasn't happy with my score and decided that maybe the medical school thing was not for me. When on applying for dental school I did state that I previously did apply to medical school. It did not hurt me into getting in this year to a handful of schools! Only at my UCONN interview did my interviewer mention it. And I was truthful into why the change of mind. Good luck!

 

[eight143]

Just like GradM.S. I was totally in this situation. I was premed because I didn't know any better. I'm your typical asian whose parents wanted their kids to be medical doctors. I took the MCAT 3 times and got rejected to medical school twice. I took a Career in dentistry workshop and I was instantly excited about dentistry.

Just be honest with your application and with them. I told them I was initially premed, but after extensive shadowing, I became passionate about dentistry. Make sure you know that dentistry is what you want to do rather than medical school and they will sense that in you. Otherwise, they will just think you're just applying because you couldn't get into med school.

I hope this makes sense. Good luck to you! If I can do it, anyone can!