Switching from Pre-Med (oh boy..)

[SebDev]

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Hey all,

Not so new to this forum, although it may seem like it. I am currently seriously considering switching to Pre-Dental as a senior in college (Duke). No, it's not because of grades or anything of the sort, nor do I believe dental school is easier, etc., I simply genuinely believe that this may be the path that most suits my desires in terms of a profession.

I was always planning on taking a gap year before med school, and if I do decide to start applying for dental school next summer, I am apprehensive that med schools will notice my drastic change and consider it a negative. I have shadowed more doctors than dentists by FAR, work at my school's Emergency Medicine department doing clinical research, and all in all my application looks like a typical PreMed student. I'm taking winter break as a way to fully contemplate whether I am ready for making the switch, and if I do, I will commit full force to making it happen, including shadowing more dentists, participating in my school's pre-dental association, etc.

Would there be sufficient backlash at my application that it would prompt dental schools to not even consider me? I have fairly decent grades (cGPA: 3.55, sGPA: 3.2), my extracurriculars are diverse yet not directly dentistry-related, I have practiced manual dexterity in some form or other, and I would hate to be rejected simply because my application is too "med school." Thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[aqz]

The question you need to ask yourself is, even if that lowers your chances of getting into dental school, is that going to stop you from changing?

But to answer your question, no you should be fine. Just be sure to have a story to tell when you're interviewing.

 

[ckgibbs115]

Pre-med or pre-dental doesn't really mean anything. They both fall under pre-health, which basically means you need a good science foundation. You're application would look great for med school or dental school. Just leave out the doctor shadowing imo.

 

[KN19]

As long as you have a decent amount of dental shadowing and volunteer hours ( like 100+) by the time you apply I don't see schools making a big deal out of your pre med activities. If anything you could explain why you chose dental over medicine during your interviews since you will have experience volunteering on both sides. Try to shadow not only a general dentist but other specialties as well to show that you've really thought about this profession. Also make sure your reasons for going into dentistry are genuine and write a killer personal statement which showcases those reasons. Your grades are decent but try to raise your science gpa as much as you can before you apply. Your extracurricular activities do not need to be dental related as long as you have sufficient volunteer/shadowing hours. If you are truly committed to dentistry, then it will show through in your application as well as your interview. So if this is the profession for you, start racking up those shadowing hours, get involved in your pre-dental society and anything else dental related that you can and good luck 🙂

 

[sgv]

its a good idea that you switched. there's no way you would've gotten into an MD school in the U.S. Maybe a DO or Caribbean. Luckily, it is relatively easier to get into dental school. But you're probably going to get stuck at an expensive private school with those stats at the moment...

 

[xatlasb]

its a good idea that you switched. there's no way you would've gotten into an MD school in the U.S. Maybe a DO or Caribbean. Luckily, it is relatively easier to get into dental school. But you're probably going to get stuck at an expensive private school with those stats at the moment...

You don't know that he or she would not get into MD school in the US. Also you have no idea what's going to happen if he or she decides to apply to dental schools, so your discouragement isn't helping anyone.

To OP: I think there is really little difference between pre-med and pre-dent coursework as an undergraduate. True the shadowing should be different between the two professions as an undergrad, but I'm sure you are aware of that. I don't think that there will be any sort of backlash at all even if you do include your pre-med activities, you can just discuss how you chose to pursue dentistry through the experiences you had with those pre-med activities, or something along those lines. Study hard for the DAT and keep trying to get high grades (beefing up your science GPA can only help you improve) and you'll definitely get accepted to some of your top choice schools. Good luck! 🙂

 

[sgv]

You don't know that he or she would not get into MD school in the US. Also you have no idea what's going to happen if he or she decides to apply to dental schools, so your discouragement isn't helping anyone.

To OP: I think there is really little difference between pre-med and pre-dent coursework as an undergraduate. True the shadowing should be different between the two professions as an undergrad, but I'm sure you are aware of that. I don't think that there will be any sort of backlash at all even if you do include your pre-med activities, you can just discuss how you chose to pursue dentistry through the experiences you had with those pre-med activities, or something along those lines. Study hard for the DAT and keep trying to get high grades (beefing up your science GPA can only help you improve) and you'll definitely get accepted to some of your top choice schools. Good luck! 🙂

No, I'm certain he/she with 3.2 sci GPA would get rejected. http://medschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Med-School-Predictor-MD-Predictor.htm
Not sure if it's discouragement since he/she already decided to switch.

Also you have no idea if he/she would get into a dental school in the U.S. So I'll stop being pessimistic when you stop adding false hope.

 

[SebDev]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they're much appreciated and hopefully will help those in a similar spot as I am. As I said, this isn't definite, but having the background knowledge is essential.

Sgv, thanks for the laugh. With my GPA and an MCAT score of 30+, I have an 80% chance of getting accepted into a US med school, if my ethnicity (Latino) is taken into account. Not to mention I go to Duke. The problem is not whether I will get into med/dental, the problem is choosing the path that is best for me. No need for discouragement.

 

[y3nd0]

No, I'm certain he/she with 3.2 sci GPA would get rejected. http://medschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Med-School-Predictor-MD-Predictor.htm
Not sure if it's discouragement since he/she already decided to switch.

Also you have no idea if he/she would get into a dental school in the U.S. So I'll stop being pessimistic when you stop adding false hope.

https://www.aamc.org/download/157590/data/

EDIT: OP is URM, so definitely more possible.

 

[sgv]

...well then...I'll show myself out....

 

[lwen5]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they're much appreciated and hopefully will help those in a similar spot as I am. As I said, this isn't definite, but having the background knowledge is essential.

Sgv, thanks for the laugh. With my GPA and an MCAT score of 30+, I have an 80% chance of getting accepted into a US med school, if my ethnicity (Latino) is taken into account. Not to mention I go to Duke. The problem is not whether I will get into med/dental, the problem is choosing the path that is best for me. No need for discouragement.

Your chances of getting into dental school are good. Being a URM automatically will give you a drastic boost in chances. If you can get that science gpa up to like 3.5 and if you can get a 20+ on the DAT, you could be receiving an acceptance from some of the top dental schools in the country. Good luck.

 

[SebDev]

Thanks! I'm a college senior, so I doubt I'd be able to get it to 3.5, although after recalculation, my sGPA is actually 3.37, which is pretty great for my standards (I started with a 2.8 GPA my first semester).