Switching from MD to DDS: Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[WhatToDo1]

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Hey all -

I started a thread in Pre-Med, but would also like to know my chances for Dental school. I know, its a drastic change but I recently met a dentist which lead to my sudden epiphany. Don't know if it was that encounter or whether I'm just overwhelmed from studying for the MCAT, but I would really appreciate some mature and honest feedback. Here is the same exact post that I posted over on the Pre-Med forum:

"Hey all -

Many of you might laugh from reading my stats, but I'm really curious to know if I should even bothering taking the MCAT or if I should start considering a different career. When I first started my undergrad, I really messed up in general Bio 1,2 and Chem 1.

Embrace yourself...

Chem 1: Initially got a D, then retook and got an A. Bio 1 (I'm really embarrassed): Initially got a W, then a F, then finally an A. Finally. Bio 2: Initially got a F, then finally an A.

After those three classes, I knew I had no choice but to get straight A's/B's. So here are the rest of my stats: Chem 2: A+; Orgo 1 & 2: B+, A; Physics 1 & 2: A+, A+; Microbio: B; Anat. & Physio.: A+; Biochem: A-. Knowing that the only way schools will give me a chance was if i excelled in the upper level science classes, is what pushed me to study harder and to not quit.

I DID shadow doctors in-between (MD and DO) and worked part time as a receptionist at a Doctors office. I have some volunteer experience as well. I also started a club and remained President for 2 years.

Now that I look back, I can't believe I did so bad in the basic science classes.

Suggestions? Advice? Recommendations? Anything."


I know, seems a bit ridiculous, but I would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you. 🙂

 

[NMC2010]

Hey all -

I started a thread in Pre-Med, but would also like to know my chances for Dental school. I know, its a drastic change but I recently met a dentist which lead to my sudden epiphany. Don't know if it was that encounter or whether I'm just overwhelmed from studying for the MCAT, but I would really appreciate some mature and honest feedback. Here is the same exact post that I posted over on the Pre-Med forum:

"Hey all -

Many of you might laugh from reading my stats, but I'm really curious to know if I should even bothering taking the MCAT or if I should start considering a different career. When I first started my undergrad, I really messed up in general Bio 1,2 and Chem 1.

Embrace yourself...
Chem 1: Initially got a D, then retook and got an A. Bio 1 (I'm really embarrassed): Initially got a W, then a F, then finally an A. Finally. Bio 2: Initially got a F, then finally an A.

After those three classes, I knew I had no choice but to get straight A's/B's. So here are the rest of my stats: Chem 2: A+; Orgo 1 & 2: B+, A; Physics 1 & 2: A+, A+; Microbio: B; Anat. & Physio.: A+; Biochem: A-. Knowing that the only way schools will give me a chance was if i excelled in the upper level science classes, is what pushed me to study harder and to not quit.

I DID shadow doctors in-between (MD and DO) and worked part time as a receptionist at a Doctors office. I have some volunteer experience as well. I also started a club and remained President for 2 years.

Now that I look back, I can't believe I did so bad in the basic science classes.

Suggestions? Advice? Recommendations? Anything."

I know, seems a bit ridiculous, but I would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you. 🙂

*Embraces self* [see above]

Yes, I'm hugging myself because the Browns got Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert. So you just met a dentist after 20 years eh? I know, they're pretty awesome, but you should see them more often to keep those teeth healthy. [/troll]

But yeah. Why are you worried again? Idk your GPA, but it's probably 3.5+ by now. Just keep getting good grades, do well on the DAT (look at the DAT forum), etc. etc. etc.

 

[Illfavor]

GPA, DAT, Research, ECs, LORs and your personal statement are what matter. So, make those things good, be sure this is what you want, and then do it.

 

[Bottle]

Seems to me you are choosing your career based on your grades. Don't go to Dental school because you think you can't handle med school. IF you really want to be physician, then continue to take upper level classes. You clearly have the potenital to do well in your classes, but you choose to screw around during your freshman year. Both fields are open to you, but you will hate yourself in the future if you went to dental school because you thought you can't handle med school and didn't even take a chance in applying.
My advice is to stop thinking about schools and grades for a second, and think about what type of future/life you want to live? I wanted to be pharmacist at one point because I kept thinking about how cool the school/the material I'm going to study (I'm semi-chemistry geek). But thankfully, I realized that I only like the idea of studying pharmacy, and would've commited suicide if I worked as pharmacist standing up all day facing grumpy drug addicts. For your question, you might want to start asking yourself, Do I like science and research so much that I'm ready to give up most of my social life? or Do I like practicing medicine with business related to it at the expanse of limiting my scientific career? This is just sample questions, but you get the idea.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Seems to me you are choosing your career based on your grades. Don't go to Dental school because you think you can't handle med school. IF you really want to be physician, then continue to take upper level classes. You clearly have the potenital to do well in your classes, but you choose to screw around during your freshman year. Both fields are open to you, but you will hate yourself in the future if you went to dental school because you thought you can't handle med school and didn't even take a chance in applying.
My advice is to stop thinking about schools and grades for a second, and think about what type of future/life you want to live? I wanted to be pharmacist at one point because I kept thinking about how cool the school/the material I'm going to study (I'm semi-chemistry geek). But thankfully, I realized that I only like the idea of studying pharmacy, and would've commited suicide if I worked as pharmacist standing up all day facing grumpy drug addicts. For your question, you might want to start asking yourself, Do I like science and research so much that I'm ready to give up most of my social life? or Do I like practicing medicine with business related to it at the expanse of limiting my scientific career? This is just sample questions, but you get the idea.

This

 

[Demilaax]

Title is misleading. You're going from pre-med to pre-dent, not MD to DDS.

 

[BabyShades]

Title is misleading. You're going from pre-med to pre-dent, not MD to DDS.

He should've said going from a DO to DDS.

 

[Demilaax]

He should've said going from a DO to DDS.

Lol i stopped reading after his first sentence.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Hey all -

I started a thread in Pre-Med, but would also like to know my chances for Dental school. I know, its a drastic change but I recently met a dentist which lead to my sudden epiphany. Don't know if it was that encounter or whether I'm just overwhelmed from studying for the MCAT, but I would really appreciate some mature and honest feedback. Here is the same exact post that I posted over on the Pre-Med forum:

"Hey all -

Many of you might laugh from reading my stats, but I'm really curious to know if I should even bothering taking the MCAT or if I should start considering a different career. When I first started my undergrad, I really messed up in general Bio 1,2 and Chem 1.

Embrace yourself...

Chem 1: Initially got a D, then retook and got an A. Bio 1 (I'm really embarrassed): Initially got a W, then a F, then finally an A. Finally. Bio 2: Initially got a F, then finally an A.

After those three classes, I knew I had no choice but to get straight A's/B's. So here are the rest of my stats: Chem 2: A+; Orgo 1 & 2: B+, A; Physics 1 & 2: A+, A+; Microbio: B; Anat. & Physio.: A+; Biochem: A-. Knowing that the only way schools will give me a chance was if i excelled in the upper level science classes, is what pushed me to study harder and to not quit.

I DID shadow doctors in-between (MD and DO) and worked part time as a receptionist at a Doctors office. I have some volunteer experience as well. I also started a club and remained President for 2 years.

Now that I look back, I can't believe I did so bad in the basic science classes.

Suggestions? Advice? Recommendations? Anything."

I know, seems a bit ridiculous, but I would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you. 🙂

Disregard the negativity. Like bottle mentioned above. Figure out what you really want to do in life. Investing your time, money and life into something is great feat and one that you must be sure of completely. I would try shadowing more with a variety of dentists and some specialist to see if this is where you see yourself. Do you want to be a carpenter of the mouth and want to work with your hands/be the sole provider of your patients oral health? Or do you want to be the investigator behind their overall health/wellness? I would advise to not focus so much on grades but rather what YOU want to do. You have done excellent in a lot of coursework which others (many others) fail at and had some slip ups but you obviously have learned from your mistakes with your big improvements. Are you a people person? Do you like working with people/have a genuine interest in the well being of others? Adcoms can definitely spot out individuals who are jerks, narcissists and otherwise unfit for a provider role. Figure out with time and keep those grades up like you have them. Cheers.

 

[doc toothache]

Lack of academic performance should not dictate a career choice.

 

[djd0516]

It really confuses me when pre-meds have the mindset that they will be able to just switch to dentistry if they perform poorly in undergrad. That mentality is really disrespectful to the people who are passionate about dentistry and have actually made the effort to explore the field. A ton of highly qualified applicants get rejected from dental school every year because it's becoming insanely competitive and there just aren't enough seats. Chances are that if you can't get accepted into medical or DO school, then you won't get accepted into dental school. If your major concern is having to study for the MCAT then then just stick with DO school. The average MCAT for DO is like 26-27, which is only like the 50-60 percentile, but a lot of people get accepted with even lower than that. At this point it's really impossible to chance you for dental school. The F's in your intro courses obviously doesn't look good, but the fact that you've improved your grades so much looks really good. Until you've taken the DAT and done some shadowing, there's really no way to predict how successful you'll be as an applicant.