Starting late, going after my dream.

[StartingLate007]

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I decided that I'm pursuing my dream of becoming a Dentist. However I'm unsure of what steps need to be taken and I'm concerned about my past and age (27) being a factor of getting accepted into Dental school.

Backstory: I'm currently 27, engaged with 2 kids, and the major/only bread winner of the house. I have a nice career that I make 105k a year at and have been there for 6 years. My fiance has 1 1/2 years of schooling left and will have her degree. We have discussed things and she is supporting me in going for my life long dream of becoming a Dentist. However, I have to wait until she gets a full time job with her new degree so she can become the major bread winner in the household.

I grew up very poor, graduated with a B- Average in Highschool. I attended EMT-BASIC program my first semester at community college. I finished the program and enrolled in the Fire Fighting academy program in the spring at my Community college. Finished both semesters with a B, maybe B+ average. Ended up having a baby with a girlfriend at the time. She didn't want it, signed over rights, and I became a full time single father at the age of 19 with two useless program certifications from my community college. I worked random jobs to keep food on the table. Enrolled into a spring semester at my community college a year later. Didn't even go or call them. Enrolled in the following fall semester and didn't even go. Defaulted on my school loans, and basically struggled until 2009. I applied for a part time position, they offered me a better position with training. I ended up working myself up the ranks until I'm where I'm at now making 105k. I started repaying my defaulted school loans immediately and have only 2000 left to pay on them. As I matured I learned money isn't everything but it does help make life easier. I like my job, but I don't love it. I have always wanted to become a dentist. At this point in my life I'm willing to sacrifice the time and effort to accomplish my goals.

My question is, where do I start? I know I have to get all the prerequisites to be able to apply for dental school, as well as make a great score on the DAT. I want to start at a community college then transfer to a big university, but would that look bad to the dental school admissions? What should I get my bachelors in to help get approval into it? Could I even start off at a big university for my prerequisites or would I get not accepted because of me not going to my community college semesters 6 years ago? Could I take part of the prereq as online courses, and will they be accepted in admissions to any of the Texas Dental schools?

Sorry for so many questions and this being as long as a book. I'm just looking for advice.

TLDR: I'm 27, was a community college drop out. Want to get into dental school, where do I start, and what degree is preferred for admission to dental school

 

[alumdent]

-Make sure you know what dentistry is and what it takes to be a dentist before you quit your 106K/year job. Its an expensive, long, and hard road for both you and your family. At the same time, dentistry is a great career and I think it will be worth the all the sacrifices (otherwise I would not be pursuing it myself).
-No degree is preferred (most go with a BS in biology as it overlaps with many of the prerequisites)
-Nothing wrong with starting at a community college, but take all/most of the science prerequisites at the university
-PLAN AHEAD (DAT, letters of rec., shadowing, community service, research, etc.)
-I think your life experiences will look good on a personal statement, but try not to let your grades suffer from being too busy (ie being a husband and father). Admission committees hear it all the time. Read previous posts on SDN and see what other nontraditional students have done.

 

[Hannah Banana]

I decided that I'm pursuing my dream of becoming a Dentist. However I'm unsure of what steps need to be taken and I'm concerned about my past and age (27) being a factor of getting accepted into Dental school.

Backstory: I'm currently 27, engaged with 2 kids, and the major/only bread winner of the house. I have a nice career that I make 105k a year at and have been there for 6 years. My fiance has 1 1/2 years of schooling left and will have her degree. We have discussed things and she is supporting me in going for my life long dream of becoming a Dentist. However, I have to wait until she gets a full time job with her new degree so she can become the major bread winner in the household.

I grew up very poor, graduated with a B- Average in Highschool. I attended EMT-BASIC program my first semester at community college. I finished the program and enrolled in the Fire Fighting academy program in the spring at my Community college. Finished both semesters with a B, maybe B+ average. Ended up having a baby with a girlfriend at the time. She didn't want it, signed over rights, and I became a full time single father at the age of 19 with two useless program certifications from my community college. I worked random jobs to keep food on the table. Enrolled into a spring semester at my community college a year later. Didn't even go or call them. Enrolled in the following fall semester and didn't even go. Defaulted on my school loans, and basically struggled until 2009. I applied for a part time position, they offered me a better position with training. I ended up working myself up the ranks until I'm where I'm at now making 105k. I started repaying my defaulted school loans immediately and have only 2000 left to pay on them. As I matured I learned money isn't everything but it does help make life easier. I like my job, but I don't love it. I have always wanted to become a dentist. At this point in my life I'm willing to sacrifice the time and effort to accomplish my goals.

My question is, where do I start? I know I have to get all the prerequisites to be able to apply for dental school, as well as make a great score on the DAT. I want to start at a community college then transfer to a big university, but would that look bad to the dental school admissions? What should I get my bachelors in to help get approval into it? Could I even start off at a big university for my prerequisites or would I get not accepted because of me not going to my community college semesters 6 years ago? Could I take part of the prereq as online courses, and will they be accepted in admissions to any of the Texas Dental schools?

Sorry for so many questions and this being as long as a book. I'm just looking for advice.

TLDR: I'm 27, was a community college drop out. Want to get into dental school, where do I start, and what degree is preferred for admission to dental school

Would you mind telling me what your job is? I'm curious because it sounds like a very nice income in such a short amount of time.

 

[BetaHelix]

OP I was in a similar position you were in a few years ago as I too am a non-trad applicant. Fee free to send me a PM with any questions.

 

[Pro-Dentite19]

I have a similar story to you OP. I have two kids as well. I quit a 100K/year job to follow my dream and was able to do it so I know you can too. The only advantage I had compared to you is that my wife has a job with full benefits so I didn't have to worry about health insurance for the family. You will find that your story is not that uncommon. There are over 10 students in my class that are in their 30s and have kids.

 

[RuffDay]

Oh dang ! 105k/year? That's pretty good. @Hannah_doc , there are many jobs that does not require a degree. Usually they start off with 40-50k, and you can work your way up in 7-8 years to get 6 figures. It involves a bigger role though, such as manager or district manager position.

 

[dentjo]

So what happened to the year worth of classes you didn't attend? Did you receive a fail?

Also, what is your GPA right now with every class you ever took?

I think these two have to be addressed before we can give you any advice.