questions on dental school

[gmcguitar4]

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New to the dental forums:

Is a high score on the MCAT a good indicator of getting a high score on the DAT? assuming I am good at the spatial reasoning section

Do dental schools do grade replacement?

 

[Philippines03j]

New to the dental forums:

Is a high score on the MCAT a good indicator of getting a high score on the DAT? assuming I am good at the spatial reasoning section

Do dental schools do grade replacement?

From a graduated med student in my class (now a 2nd year dental student). he said they are pretty interchangable. if you do well on one you can do well on the other.

No if you fail a class and take it again and get an A both graees go toward your gpa.

hope that helps

 

[tayloreve]

From a graduated med student in my class (now a 2nd year dental student). he said they are pretty interchangable. if you do well on one you can do well on the other.

No if you fail a class and take it again and get an A both graees go toward your gpa.

hope that helps

Why did that fellow classmate of yours decide to go to dental school? Just curious o.o


OP -- did you already apply to med school?

 

[dmdluffy]

New to the dental forums:

Is a high score on the MCAT a good indicator of getting a high score on the DAT? assuming I am good at the spatial reasoning section

Do dental schools do grade replacement?

The science sections are pretty much the same material plus the physics. I think the MCAT test format is different but if you are grasping ideas for BI/OC/GC well on the MCAT, then I'd assume that translate well to the DAT.

 

[flyingforever]

I hate these threads, this person is not giving out the full details. He or she has applied to 17 med. schools and now waiting to change the career options. 2.7 sGPA is too low for dental schools too. Stop wasting our time.

 

[NguyenDDS]

Dental schools do not do grade replacement. Dental school counts math towards sGPA though.

If you're interested in pre-med, try going the D.O. route because AACOMAS does grade replacement. But AACOMAS does not count math towards sGPA. DO = MD just as DMD = DDS ...I prefer going to a DO because they take a holistic approach for patients, but in the end... a DO and an MD can do the same thing.

MCAT and DAT features similar concepts and stuff, but the layout of it is totally different. One requires more reading comprehension and critical thinking than the other, IMO. My friend took the MCAT and received a 24. He then took the DAT and got a 23... but it may also work vice versa... someone bombing the DAT may do well on the MCAT. I think it all depends on the person and which format the person feels more comfortable with.

Good luck!


EDIT: MCAT also features a writing section and the physics sections. The MCAT layout will be changing within the next year or so... they are eliminating the writing section and replacing it with a critical thinking section. The DAT does not have physics but it has a Perceptual Ability section, a section that can be improved easily with practice overtime.

 

[gmcguitar4]

I hate these threads, this person is not giving out the full details. He or she has applied to 17 med. schools and now waiting to change the career options. 2.7 sGPA is too low for dental schools too. Stop wasting our time.

This is not a "what are my chances" post. I'm glad you further wasted your time reading my previous posts and wasting my time with yours.

Thank you everyone else for answering my questions.

Also, I have 3 interviews to non-carribean medical schools so it's not about not getting in.

 

[tayloreve]

This is not a "what are my chances" post. I'm glad you further wasted your time reading my previous posts and wasting my time with yours.

Thank you everyone else for answering my questions.

Also, I have 3 interviews to non-carribean medical schools so it's not about not getting in.

I don't want to come off as rude, but why the sudden interest in dentistry? I'm just curious, lol. I always like to hear why pre-meds switch over. My room mate did the same thing! Thought she was pre-med for 4 years, now working on her masters and applying to dental school next cycle. Crazy.

 

[MrAvicii]

This is not a "what are my chances" post. I'm glad you further wasted your time reading my previous posts and wasting my time with yours.

Thank you everyone else for answering my questions.

Also, I have 3 interviews to non-carribean medical schools so it's not about not getting in.

people dont appreciate you using dentistry as a backup. just like you wouldnt appreciate it if your mom was single and guys were trying to hit on her. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!

 

[gmcguitar4]

It's not as a backup..I would just do DO if I couldn't get into MD, already have an acceptance. I just feel like medicine is something you can't go into if you have any doubt. I have always considered denistry but tried to convince myself I wanted to be an MD. I have always put MD on some pedastil and now as I read more about the nitty gritty of a profession as a physician paired with future changes in healthcare it seems less appealing. Another factor is that I've shadowed a couple of general dentists and they seem very happy and I could talk to them for hours. The doctors I have worked with always seem pissed off/miserable and just want me to stay out of their way. They act annoyed at everyone. I understand that for medicine you need to overcome emotion at times and I feel that they just develop a heart of stone over time, it's just natural with the profession.

With dentistry I can still be intellectually stimulated by unique cases on a daily basis as well as develop relationships with patients(I wanted to be a PCP at first). The profession just seems to fit my personality. I just want to be happy doing what I'm doing while making a difference at the same time. I mean, I've already studied and took the MCAT twice (31 and 33) which was pretty intense, so it has to be worth it for me to study for the DAT and pursue this. I think it is so I am going to go forward with it.

 

[Demps]

I think you should be more than fine on DAT if you pulled off a 33 on MCAT. Just practice some PAT and you will be good to go.

And thanks for sharing your story on possibility of why to switch from med to dent.

 

[MrAvicii]

It's not as a backup..I would just do DO if I couldn't get into MD, already have an acceptance. I just feel like medicine is something you can't go into if you have any doubt. I have always considered denistry but tried to convince myself I wanted to be an MD. I have always put MD on some pedastil and now as I read more about the nitty gritty of a profession as a physician paired with future changes in healthcare it seems less appealing. Another factor is that I've shadowed a couple of general dentists and they seem very happy and I could talk to them for hours. The doctors I have worked with always seem pissed off/miserable and just want me to stay out of their way. They act annoyed at everyone. I understand that for medicine you need to overcome emotion at times and I feel that they just develop a heart of stone over time, it's just natural with the profession.

With dentistry I can still be intellectually stimulated by unique cases on a daily basis as well as develop relationships with patients(I wanted to be a PCP at first). The profession just seems to fit my personality. I just want to be happy doing what I'm doing while making a difference at the same time. I mean, I've already studied and took the MCAT twice (31 and 33) which was pretty intense, so it has to be worth it for me to study for the DAT and pursue this. I think it is so I am going to go forward with it.

lol bro sorry but NOT BUYING IT! you're just scared that healthcare reform might screw you out of a lot of money and NOW you decided to take the time to look into dentistry. AND you took the MCAT TWICE! Good luck trying to explain this to d-school adcoms. I dont know if you know this, but you have to state on your d-school application if you applied to any other medical related profession and why you changed to dentistry. And good luck trying to sell that after you took the mcat twice and you applied to DO schools as a backup for MD.

Now you might think im not giving you the benefit of the doubt, I am a non traditional myself, but I took a lot of serious time to invest into thinking about my next profession before taking any steps. I'm not saying you dont have the right to change your mind, i'm just saying you are doing it so late in the game that most people will either think you're flaky, a liar, compulsive, or simply using d-school as a backup to avoid the Caribbean mess.

Just remember its not how you perceive yourself, its how your application will come across.

 

[gmcguitar4]

lol bro sorry but NOT BUYING IT! you're just scared that healthcare reform might screw you out of a lot of money and NOW you decided to take the time to look into dentistry. AND you took the MCAT TWICE! Good luck trying to explain this to d-school adcoms. I dont know if you know this, but you have to state on your d-school application if you applied to any other medical related profession and why you changed to dentistry. And good luck trying to sell that after you took the mcat twice and you applied to DO schools as a backup for MD.

Now you might think im not giving you the benefit of the doubt, I am a non traditional myself, but I took a lot of serious time to invest into thinking about my next profession before taking any steps. I'm not saying you dont have the right to change your mind, i'm just saying you are doing it so late in the game that most people will either think you're flaky, a liar, compulsive, or simply using d-school as a backup to avoid the Caribbean mess.

Just remember its not how you perceive yourself, its how your application will come across.

Am I worried that the healthcare reform would screw me out of money as a physician? Of course, that is why most doctors protest it. Nobody wants to work a 14 hour day and get paid barely enough to sustain your practice. Is that the main reason for my decision, no. It's is more about being happy doing what I am doing. I understand why you protest my decision though and I am not going to hate on it. I don't feel at a disadvantage explaining this to dental schools. I am sure they hear the same story of how people are born with some innate desire to enter this proffession. I admit I was not. I didin't decide to pursue a career in a medical field until my junior year.

Was a I a flake for dropping med school and deciding on this? I have already dedicated all my time and effort to medicine. I have plenty of energy to go forward and and could do it. But it just doesnt feel right for me. I just have doubts. Medicine is not a field to go into with any sort of doubt. I mean, I already have acceptance and 3 interviews, so its not like I can't do it.

DO was not a backup. As I said before I was interested in becoming a PCP. Also, taking the MCAT twice means nothing considering I did better the second time. Its only a red flag for med schools if you do worse, doing better looks great. If I took the MCAT a 3rd time and got a 40 that would look even better. I have no problem explaining my situation to an adcom.

so another question: do dental schools like down on taking the DAT more than once? Even if you do better on all sections?

I also don't really consider it "late in the game." The average age of matriculating dental students is 24. All I have to do is delay another year and take the DAT. My ec's are already in place. I have 2 years clinical experience, am a clinical research coordinator, 2 pending publications, 3 poster presentations, taking post-bac courses, and shadowed two general dentists and an orthodontist(about 40-50 hours). There are more but those seem most relevent toward dental. My application is also very unique(some stuff I didn't mention here) so that helps too.

The feedback is helpful though!

 

[MrAvicii]

Am I worried that the healthcare reform would screw me out of money as a physician? Of course, that is why most doctors protest it. Nobody wants to work a 14 hour day and get paid barely enough to sustain your practice. Is that the main reason for my decision, no. It's is more about being happy doing what I am doing. I understand why you protest my decision though and I am not going to hate on it. I don't feel at a disadvantage explaining this to dental schools. I am sure they hear the same story of how people are born with some innate desire to enter this proffession. I admit I was not. I didin't decide to pursue a career in a medical field until my junior year.

Was a I a flake for dropping med school and deciding on this? I have already dedicated all my time and effort to medicine. I have plenty of energy to go forward and and could do it. But it just doesnt feel right for me. I just have doubts. Medicine is not a field to go into with any sort of doubt. I mean, I already have acceptance and 3 interviews, so its not like I can't do it.

DO was not a backup. As I said before I was interested in becoming a PCP. Also, taking the MCAT twice means nothing considering I did better the second time. Its only a red flag for med schools if you do worse, doing better looks great. If I took the MCAT a 3rd time and got a 40 that would look even better. I have no problem explaining my situation to an adcom.

so another question: do dental schools like down on taking the DAT more than once? Even if you do better on all sections?

I also don't really consider it "late in the game." The average age of matriculating dental students is 24. All I have to do is delay another year and take the DAT. My ec's are already in place. I have 2 years clinical experience, am a clinical research coordinator, 2 pending publications, 3 poster presentations, taking post-bac courses, and shadowed two general dentists and an orthodontist(about 40-50 hours). There are more but those seem most relevent toward dental. My application is also very unique(some stuff I didn't mention here) so that helps too.

The feedback is helpful though!

You miss understood the majority of my post. You decided that you want to jump to dentistry AFTER you 1) took the MCAT twice 2) applied to MD and DO schools and 3) got admitted to some sort of schools (good or bad)

Now imagine that MD/DO schools are a girl/boyfriend what you basically did is to ask them out, go out for a few years, give them a ring and get engaged, walked to the altar AND THEN decided to pull the plug RIGHT BEFORE the ceremony LOL While this sounds drastic this is exactly what you did.

Now imagine I am an adcom for d-school and I read your application. Please tell me why I wouldnt think you would do the same for d-school OR tell me why I should trust that you have made up your mind rationally instead of some flaky or indecisive last minute move. "Why dentistry now?" Will be the harder question you will have to face. Again I am not saying you cannot go into d-school but mind you, you have just quit on your last gf (ie MD school) and now you want to get married all over again. Do you realize why there may be a bit of a mistrust? (also your post seems to indicate that you dont want to go to Med school but that doesnt mean you have to or badly want to go to d-school, so that makes it look more suspect that d-school is just a backup and you are not really into it.)

Also the fact that you took the MCAT twice shows you were really concerned about going to MD/DO school, it doesnt make you look better, it makes you look even worse because you were clearly dead set on MD/DO school, why else would you take the exam twice? Your points are understandable, but you must see things from an admissions point of view. All your indecisiveness should have been thought about pre-MCAT and pre-Accepted into MD/DO school. Not saying you have to control your emotions, but the point is that your gonna have to sell yourself really really hard and hope that people willing to buy your story. Im sure your stats are fine and your probably a pretty bright individual, but this isnt just about numbers, its a professional degree. People have to trust that you have finally made up your mind and that d-school is not a pure backup (as it is for 95% of all former MD students.)

Again im not here to degrade you or shoot down your posts, but I do want to provide you with an expectation for the future (should you do well on the DAT and get actual interviews.)

 

[gmcguitar4]

Yea I completely understand. I the kind of person that if I put my mind to it that I give it everything I got. I just think my effort has been focused on something that I really did not want. I convinced myself I did but I always knew I didin't.

Mock interview:

So how do you know if a profession is right for you? I feel that question is something that you cannot answer until you live the experience yourself. I know people who entered professions, went through medical school, etc. and completely switched to different professions. They did not know until they really experienced it. I am sure there are many people here are convinced dentistry is for them but how could they know until they go through the 4 year program and practice it? I am following my interests and feelings and something just feels right about this decision that I did not feel when deciding medicine.

So if not medicine, why dentistry? why not pharmacology or become a nurse practitioner since you like working with people in a medical setting.

Well thats a good question. Luckily enough, I work in a hospital and witness what these people do on a daily basis. I deal with pharmacists for my clinical studies and work in an office with a couple of NP's. I have also shadowed dentists though and I just naturally feel attached to it more so than these other professions. This feeling is not something new to me. When deciding between colleges, I was dead set on attending notre dame. I applied for and attended two summer scholar programs for the summer before my junior and senior year, visited friends there frequently, and had family that went. I applied and was accepted. But there was another school that I visited that I just felt was right and could actually picture myself going there. I feel like I just convinced myself I wanted Notre Dame and that was going to be my life. But I chose this other school because I just knew it was right for me. I only visited it twice also. The other school was not worse academically or anything, it was just a different end of the spectrum type school. I had the best 5 years😀 of my life there.



I am tired of typing..but do you get ma drift? I understand that convincing an adcom will be tough..but if given an interview I know I would win them over. It is unfortunate though that it is considered a "backup" profession for former pre-meds because it just makes it that much harder for me!

 

[MrAvicii]

Yea I completely understand. I the kind of person that if I put my mind to it that I give it everything I got. I just think my effort has been focused on something that I really did not want. I convinced myself I did but I always knew I didin't.

Mock interview:

So how do you know if a profession is right for you? I feel that question is something that you cannot answer until you live the experience yourself. I know people who entered professions, went through medical school, etc. and completely switched to different professions. They did not know until they really experienced it. I am sure there are many people here are convinced dentistry is for them but how could they know until they go through the 4 year program and practice it? I am following my interests and feelings and something just feels right about this decision that I did not feel when deciding medicine.

So if not medicine, why dentistry? why not pharmacology or become a nurse practitioner since you like working with people in a medical setting.

Well thats a good question. Luckily enough, I work in a hospital and witness what these people do on a daily basis. I deal with pharmacists for my clinical studies and work in an office with a couple of NP's. I have also shadowed dentists though and I just naturally feel attached to it more so than these other professions. This feeling is not something new to me. When deciding between colleges, I was dead set on attending notre dame. I applied for and attended two summer scholar programs for the summer before my junior and senior year, visited friends there frequently, and had family that went. I applied and was accepted. But there was another school that I visited that I just felt was right and could actually picture myself going there. I feel like I just convinced myself I wanted Notre Dame and that was going to be my life. But I chose this other school because I just knew it was right for me. I only visited it twice also. The other school was not worse academically or anything, it was just a different end of the spectrum type school. I had the best 5 years😀 of my life there.



I am tired of typing..but do you get ma drift? I understand that convincing an adcom will be tough..but if given an interview I know I would win them over. It is unfortunate though that it is considered a "backup" profession for former pre-meds because it just makes it that much harder for me!

agreed well if you really want to go to d-school, then take the dat and apply. its best to take it once and do well, retakers are not necessarily frowned upon, but it looks better to knock it out once (and its easier.)

good luck to you 👍

 

[tayloreve]

You miss understood the majority of my post. You decided that you want to jump to dentistry AFTER you 1) took the MCAT twice 2) applied to MD and DO schools and 3) got admitted to some sort of schools (good or bad)

Now imagine that MD/DO schools are a girl/boyfriend what you basically did is to ask them out, go out for a few years, give them a ring and get engaged, walked to the altar AND THEN decided to pull the plug RIGHT BEFORE the ceremony LOL While this sounds drastic this is exactly what you did.

Now imagine I am an adcom for d-school and I read your application. Please tell me why I wouldnt think you would do the same for d-school OR tell me why I should trust that you have made up your mind rationally instead of some flaky or indecisive last minute move. "Why dentistry now?" Will be the harder question you will have to face. Again I am not saying you cannot go into d-school but mind you, you have just quit on your last gf (ie MD school) and now you want to get married all over again. Do you realize why there may be a bit of a mistrust? (also your post seems to indicate that you dont want to go to Med school but that doesnt mean you have to or badly want to go to d-school, so that makes it look more suspect that d-school is just a backup and you are not really into it.)

Also the fact that you took the MCAT twice shows you were really concerned about going to MD/DO school, it doesnt make you look better, it makes you look even worse because you were clearly dead set on MD/DO school, why else would you take the exam twice? Your points are understandable, but you must see things from an admissions point of view. All your indecisiveness should have been thought about pre-MCAT and pre-Accepted into MD/DO school. Not saying you have to control your emotions, but the point is that your gonna have to sell yourself really really hard and hope that people willing to buy your story. Im sure your stats are fine and your probably a pretty bright individual, but this isnt just about numbers, its a professional degree. People have to trust that you have finally made up your mind and that d-school is not a pure backup (as it is for 95% of all former MD students.)

Again im not here to degrade you or shoot down your posts, but I do want to provide you with an expectation for the future (should you do well on the DAT and get actual interviews.)

OR.... they might like him because at the last minute he switched over from the dark side!