Should I give up pursuit to d-school?

[thirk_dds]

Hello all, so long story short:

Im 30 years young and when I was 24, I decided to become a dentist after graduating with my BFA. I went into a university where I took a few science courses and bombed them. I didn't study at all, although I attended my classes, and lost focus very fast as the environment was more like a "party school", differing from my last school. Therefore, I got caught up in the commotion and college life rather than studying like I should have. At the time I was heavily involved in the pre-dental organization in my university and attending volunteer and shadowing hours. Eventually, I ended up running out of money, paying out of pocket, and ended up working for a dentist. She ended up firing me for charging her a fee for creating a graphic design ad for her office; which she wanted me to do at home. At this job, I cleaned the operatories, met with patients to get the "low-down" on why they were there so I can inform the doc in her office. I took x-rays and ct scans of patients, and I still know my tooth numbers! But it all ended. Then I drove dentistry out of my life.

Fast Forward to 2017:

Right now I work in retail. Absolutely hate it, more-so now that my beautiful mother suddenly died of cardiac arrest in Jan 2017. This makes me feel like I never did anything to make her very proud of me and I feel like a failure working at a clothing store at my age. I wanted to do another career but am having absolute trouble finding a good career for me as I gave up on dental. Now, I have almost nothing to live for any longer but something keeps bugging me: that maybe had I stayed focused, she would have seen me at least grad dent school and maybe I would have made her so happy.

Future: I don't know if I should even try any longer but I don't know what else to do. I can only afford to go to a college close by, its not a university or a community college, its a state college. Even if I do attend, I can only take upwards of 2 courses/semester starting all over again since I flunked out in 2011. Idk if it's worth it even more, or if I would even be considered from taking a couple courses at time, or if I'm just too damned old ....should I give up?

Please help me

UPDATE: A poster commented that it is not my age, but my lack of motivation...I sincerely and wholeheartedly agree with this post. My next question is how can I get back into the game. Even though I was not successful in my courses, I was heavily volunteering and shadowing trying to gain experience. I think after I ran out of money and had nothing at the time ( I was going thru a financial crisis) I gave up on the dream and felt that I was not good enough. What can I do to help snap me out of that way of thinking and help move me forward

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[oralcare123]

Not old, try

 

[dr.d00m]

I'm not going to be sitting here playing the dream-crusher role by telling you to give up. But if dentistry is what you really want to do, then you have a long road ahead of you. Whether that's worth pursuing or giving up, is only a decision you can make

It's certainly doable, but requires a certain magnitude of commitment, hard work, and diligence that you seemed to have had a problem with in the past. Time to get serious if you want to go down this path

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

What's your overall GPA?

What science classes did you take and what were the actual grades in them?

You're not too old at all, but we need to know more info.

 

[Master Yoda]

At the school that I interviewed I got to know a guy who was 45 years old, and he wanted to become a dentist. He started going to college at age of 38 and got his BS in 6 years while he having family, kids and part time job. Anything is possible as long as you work hard for it.

 

[Incis0r]

Do you want to become a dentist? I can understand that you wanted to make your mother proud, but do YOU want dentistry?

 

[thirk_dds]

What's your overall GPA?

What science classes did you take and what were the actual grades in them?

You're not too old at all, but we need to know more info.

In my bfa my overall was 3.5

I took chem 1 and 2 physics 1 and bio1 and 2. failed 3 of them, one of the f's was because I did not drop the course this was back in 2011....I had a lot going on in my life at the time and overlooked it, I was just not in the right frame of mind at the moment.

 

[workofshart]

The time will pass by anyway so you may as well try if dentistry is really what you want to do.

On the other hand if you just want to do something more with your life even if it isn't necessarily dentistry, I would research and see if there are grad programs which do grade forgiveness for those sciences courses you need to retake. Not trying to dissuade you but there are definitely easier professional programs you could try and get into where in the end you would still have a very respectable salary and occupation, oh and not nearly as much debt.

Good luck!

 

[thirk_dds]

Do you want to become a dentist? I can understand that you wanted to make your mother proud, but do YOU want dentistry?

I did want it badly, I just didn't understand what it really took to succeed in science courses as opposed to art courses, like study habits.

Do I want dentistry? Idk but if I could turn back time I certainly would have put my head on right and made it

 

[thirk_dds]

Not old, try

Thank you, I always feel like I'm 40

 

[nowaysurvey]

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

That being said, you no doubt will have a long and difficult path ahead of you (we can be more specific about this once you give us a little more detail about your o/sGPA and the number of science/pre-requisites you completed so far). If your GPA is subpar or if you barely have any pre-requisites completed and taking into consideration that you can only take a couple courses at a time...I don't see you getting into dental school anytime soon (2-3 years+).

Anyways, assuming you have been out of touch with dentistry for a while, are you still certain you want to become a dentist? Like dentistry, but desire a more manageable path? Consider dental hygiene or becoming a dental technician (or a plethora of other good healthcare careers as well).

Best of luck~

 

[thirk_dds]

I'm not going to be sitting here playing the dream-crusher role by telling you to give up. But if dentistry is what you really want to do, then you have a long road ahead of you. Whether that's worth pursuing or giving up, is only a decision you can make

It's certainly doable, but requires a certain magnitude of commitment, hard work, and diligence that you seemed to have had a problem with in the past. Time to get serious if you want to go down this path

You're right I had serious trouble last time. I wasn't aware of the true college life and got caught up easily into it and before I had a chance to correct it, my money ran out and it was game over. I really don't know what else to do with my life and it's tearing me apart.

 

[Master Yoda]

I did want it badly, I just didn't understand what it really took to succeed in science courses as opposed to art courses, like study habits.

Do I want dentistry? Idk but if I could turn back time I certainly would have put my head on right and made it

Figure it out before you start your journey. I can tell you from my experience that if wasn't for my desire to become a dentist I would have gave it up long time ago. The only thing that kept me going was my love for the profession.

 

[thirk_dds]

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

That being said, you no doubt will have a long and difficult path ahead of you (we can be more specific about this once you give us a little more detail about your o/sGPA and the number of science/pre-requisites you completed so far). If your GPA is subpar or if you barely have any pre-requisites completed and taking into consideration that you can only take a couple courses at a time...I don't see you getting into dental school anytime soon (2-3 years+).

Anyways, assuming you have been out of touch with dentistry for a while, are you still certain you want to become a dentist? Like dentistry, but desire a more manageable path? Consider dental hygiene or becoming a dental technician (or a plethora of other good healthcare careers as well).

Best of luck~

Thanks, my bfa was a 3.5
sgpa is terrible...scared to even post it.
I completed chem 1,2 bio 1,2 and physics 1. but this was back in 2011 and I got mostly c's and failed a few of them...my head was not on straight and I had many issues plaguing me at the time with no family around for support.

Honestly if I were to do dental I would only want to be the dentist as that was my original goal and nothing else in the field. Naive, probably, but idk anymore, I don't know what else to do..

 

[thirk_dds]

Figure it out before you start your journey. I can tell you from my experience that if wasn't for my desire to become a dentist I would have gave it up long time ago. The only thing that kept me going was my love for the profession.

I think what kind of turned me off from it was me being fired from the dentist with no money to pay for my classes at that time as well. It made me feel like I was wasting my life away trying to become something I was, "too stupid to do". I have a problem with comparing myself to others more well off

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

I did want it badly, I just didn't understand what it really took to succeed in science courses as opposed to art courses, like study habits.

Do I want dentistry? Idk but if I could turn back time I certainly would have put my head on right and made it

You could do it. It comes down to how hard you are willing to work and whether or not you desire it.

Your overall GPA kind of helps here, I would retake the classes at a local community college, Dental schools do grade averaging, so it will at least bring your GPA back up to the acceptable rate.

Your science GPA will be low though, you could fix this by taking lots of higher level science classes and doing well in them.

If you took an informal post back with just science classes, you could have an acceptable gpa with a solid chance of admissions in 2 years.

Year one:
Fall
Bio 2
Chem 2
Physics 1

Spring
Ochem 1
Physics 2
Easy bio class

Summer/next fall
Ochem 2 or bio

Year 2
Fall

Ochem 2 or bio
Micro Bio
Choose classes to get full time

Spring

Biochemistry
Choose classes to get full time

Obviously there may be a lot of errors with that quick list, but I just wanted to show you it is possible. I am usually very quick to tell someone if I think they should consider another path, but I think you have a decent shot at it.

Do you want to sacrifice two additional years for a maybe? After which you would sacrifice a minimum of four more? That's all it comes down to.

 

[dr.d00m]

Thanks, my bfa was a 3.5
sgpa is terrible...scared to even post it.
I completed chem 1,2 bio 1,2 and physics 1. but this was back in 2011 and I got mostly c's and failed a few of them...my head was not on straight and I had many issues plaguing me at the time with no family around for support.

Honestly if I were to do dental I would only want to be the dentist as that was my original goal and nothing else in the field. Naive, probably, but idk anymore, I don't know what else to do..

Thinking positively, since you didn't take all the pre-req science courses yet, if you retook all the ones you didn't do so hot on and got A's in everything else, your science GPA would actually be pretty decent. And since your overall GPA is already fine, you would have a good shot in getting into dental school

Take several science courses a semester and focus on doing well, don't give up just yet!

Edit: @stoopidmonkeycatdog beat me too it!

 

[workofshart]

Okay... I read some more of your posts. Don't think of yourself as a failure, I know it's hard and a lot of us have had those thoughts at one point or another but it's not a healthy mindset. I'm also sorry to hear about your mom and I guarantee she did not think of you as a failure, she loved you as her son. Don't go chasing dentistry as a knee-jerk reaction to grief or thoughts of disappointing anyone. It is a difficult road and if you aren't 100% committed to the profession it will be extremely tough to succeed.

IMO, take some time and research other professions. Look at podiatry, PT, OT, pharmacy, optometry etc. Read about them on SDN, watch youtube videos, call/email/go in person and ask to shadow local practitioners to see if any of those are something you could see yourself doing (and get some shadowing hours for your future app). There are easier roads to having a good job with a good salary so only go for dentistry if that's the only thing you see yourself doing in life.

Also, there is going to be a lot of information and a long road no matter what you decide on so don't get overwhelmed. Start slowly, take 2 science classes that you need to retake and get A's. Start building your academic confidence and take all the baby steps you need to until before you know it in 2-3 years you have a complete application. You can PM for specifics on what to take or how to build your app. Good luck!

 

[thirk_dds]

Thinking positively, since you didn't take all the pre-req science courses yet, if you retook all the ones you didn't do so hot on and got A's in everything else, your science GPA would actually be pretty decent. And since your overall GPA is already fine, you would have a good shot in getting into dental school

Take several science courses a semester and focus on doing well, don't give up just yet!

Edit: @stoopidmonkeycatdog beat me too it!

thanks for the encouragement, but what if I can only afford a couple classes/sem? thats what scares me is that I may be judged for something out of my financial control

 

[thirk_dds]

You could do it. It comes down to how hard you are willing to work and whether or not you desire it.

Your overall GPA kind of helps here, I would retake the classes at a local community college, Dental schools do grade averaging, so it will at least bring your GPA back up to the acceptable rate.

Your science GPA will be low though, you could fix this by taking lots of higher level science classes and doing well in them.

If you took an informal post back with just science classes, you could have an acceptable gpa with a solid chance of admissions in 2 years.

Year one:
Fall
Bio 2
Chem 2
Physics 1

Spring
Ochem 1
Physics 2
Easy bio class

Summer/next fall
Ochem 2 or bio

Year 2
Fall

Ochem 2 or bio
Micro Bio
Choose classes to get full time

Spring

Biochemistry
Choose classes to get full time

Obviously there may be a lot of errors with that quick list, but I just wanted to show you it is possible. I am usually very quick to tell someone if I think they should consider another path, but I think you have a decent shot at it.

Do you want to sacrifice two additional years for a maybe? After which you would sacrifice a minimum of four more? That's all it comes down to.

I see. but wouldn't aadcoms look down on community college courses? Also, with my financial situation I may only be able to afford 2 courses/sem. I would have to double check this though

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

I see. but wouldn't aadcoms look down on community college courses? Also, with my financial situation I may only be able to afford 2 courses/sem. I would have to double check this though

Sorry, I meant you should retake the failed ones there and limd of get in the rhythm of school again. I would take 1 year of classes at the CC and take the others at a 4 year.

Adcoms are human beings, except for the schools that dont accept any CC credits, they all understand that life happens and you may have no other choice. They won't look down on you for that.

As far as financials go, for the second year you should look for a cheap state school and just take alot a few loans if needed. Federal grants through financial aid should get you about 5k a year, the rest either pay or get Federal loans for.

 

[Alcancia]

I can't vote yes or no (that depends on you), but I will drop my $0.02 here.

I'm 31 and will be starting dental school this summer. Age is NEVER an issue when it comes to getting an education.

You left the dental field at 24 and you're 30 now. Have you just been chilling out for the past 6 years? What else besides your retail job have you been doing in that time? That's a big gap that admissions committees will be asking about. Every interview I had expressly asked what I did during that time between 25-30. I was a dedicated professional in another career and was doing community service like mad, so I was able to easily answer this.

To be a dentist, it takes people that are motivated, driven, and involved with their communities. At least from what you posted here, that won't really be evident to AdComms. Honestly, getting sucked into the "party scene" at your last school and then doing 6 years of just-getting-by makes me think that the responsibility and dedication of a full-on DDS/DMD may not be your thing. That's not bad at all, it just means that you may value other things in life than what being a dentist will offer.

Don't do it to make your mom proud. She would rather see you happy than accomplished.
Don't do it just because your current job sucks. Being a dentist because it's less-sucky than retail is not a solid enough reason to get you through.
Bottom line, if you're thinking that being a dentist will just give you the easy life, you will most likely be disappointed. There are other lucrative fields (computer engineering, business, even some other healthcare fields) that give better returns for the commitment level.

However, if you want to work hard to help people, then get to work and make those sacrifices. You'll need to show real change to overshadow the 6 years off. Start volunteering as much as you can. Get super involved in anything and everything you can. Dedicate yourself to your studies and really do well on the pre-reqs.

Do it because you truly love the industry. Do it because you truly want to make an impact on your community and in the lives' of others. Do it because you want to give to others more than yourself. Do it because you want to be a dentist, not because you don't want to do something else.

Think about all the jobs out there and ignore their salaries. If money didn't matter at all, what would you choose to do? That's the profession you should pursue.

 

[osker246]

I see. but wouldn't aadcoms look down on community college courses? Also, with my financial situation I may only be able to afford 2 courses/sem. I would have to double check this though

It depends on the schools you are applying to really. I did my general chemistry, organic chemistry and biology prerequisites at community college before transferring to University. The schools I interviewed at never questioned it and I was still accepted with a below average GPA. That being said, 30 is not to late to go back to school. I'll be 30 going into dental school this year as well. At most of my interviews I met quite a bit of older students. I swear one of the guys I spoke with must of been in his late 40s. I say to give a shot. You have experience from age that a majority of applicants don't have. You know the dental field already. I think you may be surprised on what you find if you were to give it a try.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[thirk_dds]

It depends on the schools you are applying to really. I did my general chemistry, organic chemistry and biology prerequisites at community college before transferring to University. The schools I interviewed at never questioned it and I was still accepted with a below average GPA. That being said, 30 is not to late to go back to school. I'll be 30 going into dental school this year as well. At most of my interviews I met quite a bit of older students. I swear one of the guys I spoke with must of been in his late 40s. I say to give a shot. You have experience from age that a majority of applicants don't have. You know the dental field already. I think you may be surprised on what you find if you were to give it a try.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Ok thank you kind sir

 

[Flemish]

There are other prospective careers with less opportunity cost for someone in your situation.

 

[thirk_dds]

I can't vote yes or no (that depends on you), but I will drop my $0.02 here.

I'm 31 and will be starting dental school this summer. Age is NEVER an issue when it comes to getting an education.

You left the dental field at 24 and you're 30 now. Have you just been chilling out for the past 6 years? What else besides your retail job have you been doing in that time? That's a big gap that admissions committees will be asking about. Every interview I had expressly asked what I did during that time between 25-30. I was a dedicated professional in another career and was doing community service like mad, so I was able to easily answer this.

To be a dentist, it takes people that are motivated, driven, and involved with their communities. At least from what you posted here, that won't really be evident to AdComms. Honestly, getting sucked into the "party scene" at your last school and then doing 6 years of just-getting-by makes me think that the responsibility and dedication of a full-on DDS/DMD may not be your thing. That's not bad at all, it just means that you may value other things in life than what being a dentist will offer.

Don't do it to make your mom proud. She would rather see you happy than accomplished.
Don't do it just because your current job sucks. Being a dentist because it's less-sucky than retail is not a solid enough reason to get you through.
Bottom line, if you're thinking that being a dentist will just give you the easy life, you will most likely be disappointed. There are other lucrative fields (computer engineering, business, even some other healthcare fields) that give better returns for the commitment level.

However, if you want to work hard to help people, then get to work and make those sacrifices. You'll need to show real change to overshadow the 6 years off. Start volunteering as much as you can. Get super involved in anything and everything you can. Dedicate yourself to your studies and really do well on the pre-reqs.

Do it because you truly love the industry. Do it because you truly want to make an impact on your community and in the lives' of others. Do it because you want to give to others more than yourself. Do it because you want to be a dentist, not because you don't want to do something else.

Think about all the jobs out there and ignore their salaries. If money didn't matter at all, what would you choose to do? That's the profession you should pursue.

You are good at speech. IJS lol

 

[doc toothache]

Fast Forward to 2017:
Right now I work in retail. Absolutely hate it, more-so now that my beautiful mother suddenly died of cardiac arrest in Jan 2017. This makes me feel like I never did anything to make her very proud of me and I feel like a failure working at a clothing store at my age. I wanted to do another career but am having absolute trouble finding a good career for me as I gave up on dental. Now, I have almost nothing to live for any longer but something keeps bugging me: that maybe had I stayed focused, she would have seen me at least grad dent school and maybe I would have made her so happy.
Future: I don't know if I should even try any longer but I don't know what else to do. I can only afford to go to a college close by, its not a university or a community college, its a state college. Even if I do attend, I can only take upwards of 2 courses/semester starting all over again since I flunked out in 2011. Idk if it's worth it even more, or if I would even be considered from taking a couple courses at time, or if I'm just too damned old ....should I give up?
Please help me

Age is not the problem; motivation is.
2014 Age and DS 2006-2013

 

[oralcare123]

Thank you, I always feel like I'm 40

Look, I feel like I am 180, still we need to do something to get something. It is never too late, unless you are scared of the debt

 

[Alcancia]

You are good at speech. IJS lol

It takes a lot of words to sugar-coat someone's life regrets.

The honest version is a lot shorter: If you have to ask an internet forum if you should be a dentist or not, then you should not. It's obvious you lack the motivation and it appears that you're looking for the easy life with minimized responsibility. I really hope you find a path that brings you happiness. Dentistry isn't it. Find something else.

You should not be a dentist. IJS lol

Now, I have almost nothing to live for any longer...

Serious note: Stating things like this as well as contemplating huge life changes could be an indication of depression; especially as you deal with losing your mom. If you think this could be true at all, please seek some counseling if you haven't already. Things will get better with time, but some help working through it could speed up the healing process.

/speech

 

[thirk_dds]

Age is not the problem; motivation is.
2014 Age and DS 2006-2013

I agree with you. What can I do to turn this around? I kind of feel like there's a weight attached. I think because all of the negativity I had previously, it changed my attitude a bit.

 

[thirk_dds]

It takes a lot of words to sugar-coat someone's life regrets.

The honest version is a lot shorter: If you have to ask an internet forum if you should be a dentist or not, then you should not. It's obvious you lack the motivation and it appears that you're looking for the easy life with minimized responsibility. I really hope you find a path that brings you happiness. Dentistry isn't it. Find something else.

You should not be a dentist. IJS lol


Serious note: Stating things like this as well as contemplating huge life changes could be an indication of depression; especially as you deal with losing your mom. If you think this could be true at all, please seek some counseling if you haven't already. Things will get better with time, but some help working through it could speed up the healing process.

/speech

I guess the better question is why has the motivation left. But I would like to correct you on something...I do NOT seek an easy life with minimum responsibility, aka laziness. I work full time and do not live with my parents or have help from family. Life isn't easy for myself as it is any other working adult. Telling someone they should not pursue something is very negative and overly judgmental as you are not aware of my personal life. Thanks for your input

 

[thirk_dds]

Look, I feel like I am 180, still we need to do something to get something. It is never too late, unless you are scared of the debt

I was scared to debt but you know what..you will owe someone until the day you die. I do agree with your statement.

 

[thirk_dds]

There are other prospective careers with less opportunity cost for someone in your situation.

This is true, however, I've spent years on learning about dentistry as I believed that was to be my future and was very excited for it. I've been looking into other fields and cannot find anything that gets me as excited as dentistry did. I think that's what scares me the most

 

[thirk_dds]

If you have to ask....

Not really asking honestly, I'm just wondering why the lack of motivation...I didn't know if it's something I should give up or maybe I'm just overly stressed about it

 

[thirk_dds]

You could do it. It comes down to how hard you are willing to work and whether or not you desire it.

Your overall GPA kind of helps here, I would retake the classes at a local community college, Dental schools do grade averaging, so it will at least bring your GPA back up to the acceptable rate.

Your science GPA will be low though, you could fix this by taking lots of higher level science classes and doing well in them.

If you took an informal post back with just science classes, you could have an acceptable gpa with a solid chance of admissions in 2 years.

Year one:
Fall
Bio 2
Chem 2
Physics 1

Spring
Ochem 1
Physics 2
Easy bio class

Summer/next fall
Ochem 2 or bio

Year 2
Fall

Ochem 2 or bio
Micro Bio
Choose classes to get full time

Spring

Biochemistry
Choose classes to get full time

Obviously there may be a lot of errors with that quick list, but I just wanted to show you it is possible. I am usually very quick to tell someone if I think they should consider another path, but I think you have a decent shot at it.

Do you want to sacrifice two additional years for a maybe? After which you would sacrifice a minimum of four more? That's all it comes down to.

Thank you for not only answering the question, but being positive about it and also drawing an outline. You didn't have to do that and I really appreciate your input. I will give this serious thought. I think like another poster said, I lost my motivation and that's what I have to figure out, is why

 

[redhotchiligochu]

You only have one life (as us young ones say, YOLO) so if this is what you want, DO IT.

Not to downplay your personal experiences, but I've had more or less a similar crisis. I spent my early 20's thinking "what if" regarding dentistry, and jumped between 5-6 unsatisfying jobs, and I finally pulled the trigger a year ago. And I'm about to start this July as someone who's closer to 30 than 21, assuming I finish up my classes on time and find a valid health insurance in that state lol.

First step would be to retake chem, o-chem, biochem, bio, physics, and math. Sure, it may take several years and you may/will be in debt, but do you want to live the rest of your life thinking "what if I pursued dentistry?" The strongest regret IMO are things that you HAVEN'T done (although some people may disagree with me on that).

BTW your dentist boss is a douche. I wouldn't let that affect your perception of dentistry as a whole. You must get paid for the work that you do, if not, it's wage theft.

 

[thirk_dds]

You only have one life (as us young ones say, YOLO) so if this is what you want, DO IT.

Not to downplay your personal experiences, but I've had more or less a similar crisis. I spent my early 20's thinking "what if" regarding dentistry, and jumped between 5-6 unsatisfying jobs, and I finally pulled the trigger a year ago. And I'm about to start this July as someone who's closer to 30 than 21, assuming I finish up my classes on time and find a valid health insurance in that state lol.

First step would be to retake chem, o-chem, biochem, bio, physics, and math. Sure, it may take several years and you may/will be in debt, but do you want to live the rest of your life thinking "what if I pursued dentistry?" The strongest regret IMO are things that you HAVEN'T done (although some people may disagree with me on that).

BTW your dentist boss is a douche. I wouldn't let that affect your perception of dentistry as a whole. You must get paid for the work that you do, if not, it's wage theft.

Thanks sir. You are very on point with this. You just have to jump, I think Steve Harvey mentioned the same thing. Check it out:

Yes I will jump. I have to start over from scratch but I would rather pursue something greater and change my future, than to do nothing at all and go into the unknown and always wonder what if. Thanks to you.

 

[Alcancia]

But I would like to correct you on something...I do NOT seek an easy life with minimum responsibility, aka laziness.... Telling someone they should not pursue something is very negative and overly judgmental as you are not aware of my personal life. Thanks for your input

You posted a bunch of information about your personal life and asked people to judge whether dentistry is for you or not. I did exactly what you asked. Also, admission committees will be "overly judgmental" with a lot fewer words on your application than what you've written here. Discouraging you from investing in a profession that I don't think you will like is not "very negative," it's quite the opposite.

I'm not saying you're lazy at all. I'm just pointing out that dentistry is a much more demanding position with a lot more responsibility than other career options. That's why the pre-reqs and application process are so difficult. It's also why volunteer and service hours are included in the application.

Now, I have almost nothing to live for any longer...

I really don't know what else to do with my life and it's tearing me apart.

I lost my motivation and that's what I have to figure out, is why

It really sounds like you're dealing with some depression. You may seriously think about getting some professional help. There are great medications exactly for this.

 

[Namelessking]

I'll just be honest; I think you should give up on dentistry. If anything I'm sure your mother could care less about you being a superstar dentist over the fact that you were simply with her. Parents will always be proud of their children even when we think they hate us or look down on us. Your chances at dental school are slim as a point of fact since many schools are extremely competitive nowadays. Just realistically, avoid hurting yourself more because dental school is brutal in every regard. Then there's the debt. People in their late 20s usually finish paying off the more expensive schools up to 2 decades later. Best of luck in whatever you decide to pursue.