Switching from Pre-med to Pre-dental

[MBLAQ]

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Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope everything is going well for you guys.

I am currently a Junior finishing up all of my Pre-Med courses and the required courses that my school wanted me to take. Things has been tough for me for the past of couple days as I was thinking of switching from Pre-Med to Pre-Dental. There are many factors why I am thinking of switching. My GPA is not great (3.25) and my science GPA is about the same as my cumulative. I wouldn't say being a dentists is a easier and more enjoyable than being a physician, but I feel like that is the right profession for me or just about right. There are a lot of reasons behind that but I am not going to get into it right now.

I wanted to know what modifications or additional things that I need to do to satisfy the transition from pre-med to pre-dental. I know they are quite similar to each other but I know there some differences such as the MCAT and DAT and clinic and dentistry experiences. Any help and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks guys.

 

[Double Bonded]

I wanted to know what modifications or additional things that I need to do to satisfy the transition from pre-med to pre-dental. I know they are quite similar to each other but I know there some differences such as the MCAT and DAT and clinic and dentistry experiences. Any help and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks guys.

Go shadow a dentist and get some dental experience. That's pretty much it.

There are a lot of reasons behind that but I am not going to get into it right now.

Your GPA is probably a huge part of it.

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

You should do some shadowing before you make that decision to see if you really like it. If you hate it, it's probably not worth it.

 

[JdogDMD]

If you're switching because your GPA is low and you think that dental school is easier to get into then you'll be wasting your time. Dental school has become more competative than medical school. Your GPA is quite low. The averages for most schools are 3.5 and up for both science and cumulative. But if you want to try, good luck. You'll have to rock the DAT!

 

[ViviPreDent]

If you're switching because your GPA is low and you think that dental school is easier to get into then you'll be wasting your time. Dental school has become more competative than medical school. Your GPA is quite low. The averages for most schools are 3.5 and up for both science and cumulative. But if you want to try, good luck. You'll have to rock the DAT!

I couldn't agree more. I don't think it's necessarily more competitive than med, but you definitely should not switch on the presumption that your GPA will get you into dent and not med. I, too, made the switch during my sophomore year of college. However, it was not because I didn't think I would be competitive for med, it was because I genuinely realized dent was better for what I wanted to do professionally. Don't go dent just because of your GPA. Ultimately you will regret it in some way or another. Find a way to do med (DO school, masters, whatever). FWIW, I saw plenty of kids with 3.8+ and solid DATs get flat-out rejected this semester.

Good luck!

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

FWIW, I saw plenty of kids with 3.8+ and solid DATs get flat-out rejected this semester.

If you have a 3.8 and a solid DAT score without anything under 19, you will get in somewhere. Those students must have had some negative element to their app that they didn't tell you about. Red flags can come up for academic dishonesty or DUI. Maybe they're a History major with B's in all the prereqs. Maybe they had 10 hours of shadowing. Maybe they had terrible letter of recommendations. Maybe they only applied to Columbia, Penn, and Harvard.

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

If you have a 3.8 and a solid DAT score without anything under 19, you will get in somewhere. Those students must have had some negative element to their app that they didn't tell you about. Red flags can come up for academic dishonesty or DUI. Maybe they're a History major with B's in all the prereqs. Maybe they had 10 hours of shadowing. Maybe they had terrible letter of recommendations. Maybe they only applied to Columbia, Penn, and Harvard.

Yeah I gotta agree with AwesomeTeeth, I'd believe that most kids with 3.8 and solid DATs will get in to dental school.

 

[Double Bonded]

If you're switching because your GPA is low and you think that dental school is easier to get into then you'll be wasting your time. Dental school has become more competative than medical school.

No. It's not.

 

[bing12]

No. It's not.

+1...in regards to an M.D at least. debatable with DO/Caribbean

 

[MBLAQ]

I brought up my GPA so you guys can have an idea of my academic standing, and no, it is not the reason why I am switching from pre-med to pre-dental. I have talked to my advisor and she embarrassed the crap out of me by contradicting my original belief from word of mouth that dental schools are less competitive as med schools. I have shadowed a surgeon, who is the head of the department, and his job is hectic as hell. He has to talk to patients, dictate charts and perform long hour surgeries at various locations. I am not a very open nor people person, and I don't mind performing repetitive tasks, so I believe that dentistry is a good profession for me, but I have to shadow one soon. There are some dental schools that go easy on the GPA such as NYU dental, but I am still in the process of bringing up my GPA and preparing for the DAT. Life is a learning experience.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

I am not a very open nor people person, and I don't mind performing repetitive tasks, so I believe that dentistry is a good profession for me,

If you're not a people person, you're not going to be very happy as a dentist. You realize you're going to have to communicate with patients as much as a doctor right? It's not just yanking teeth and moving on. You're also probably going to own a practice one day which requires you to be a business owner and a leader in your office.

Maybe you should think about becoming a radiologist. No people interaction necessary. Just because you shadowed one hectic surgeon doesn't mean all doctors are like that.

I definitely think you need to shadow a dentist to learn what it's about. No idea why you're making a switch if you haven't even done the research yet. It sounds like you're only doing it because you think its easier to get in.

IThere are some dental schools that go easy on the GPA such as NYU dental, .

🙄

 

[doc toothache]

I am not a very open nor people person, and I don't mind performing repetitive tasks, so I believe that dentistry is a good profession for me, but I have to shadow one soon. There are some dental schools that go easy on the GPA such as NYU dental, but I am still in the process of bringing up my GPA and preparing for the DAT. Life is a learning experience.

The concept of choosing a profession without any knowledge of what it is all about is kind of like a mail order bride.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

I am not a very open nor people person, and I don't mind performing repetitive tasks, so I believe that dentistry is a good profession for me, but I have to shadow one soon.

We're gonna have a field day with this...

I would suggest you not go into health care if you're not an open or people person.
It'll be hard for you to go into any professional school with a mandatory interview.
You have quite a few strikes against you right now.

1) No shadowing experience
2) Low GPA
3) Introverted

Dentistry is a very competitive market right now, and saturated in many places.
It will be hard for you to attract patients if you are introverted.

But they would most likely weed you out during the interview if they think you're introverted. If you have a 3.8 and 95th percentile DAT and are slightly introverted, they might let it slide, but if you have a 3.3 gpa, you have to blow them away at the interview to stand any chance of getting in.

Fix those 3 strikes as best you can, and good luck.

 

[Baker2010]

Not a peoples person, so dentistry is fitting?

This kids a troll

 

[yellowjeeep79]

The concept of choosing a profession without any knowledge of what it is all about is kind of like a mail order bride.

Doc, My wife and I getting along quite well, thank you

Seriously, dentistry requires probably more social interaction that quite a good bit of medicine. You are in your patient's personal space for probably 45 minutes a pop. A surgeon's schedule is quite often terribly hectic, and you have to get along with your surgical team and typically visit with your patient briefly before and after your surgery, but you earn your keep with the patient out! As was mentioned earlier, radiology typically involves minimal interaction, but going to medical school and limiting your self may be tough.

Like they all said, shadow 3 or 4 dentists for a couple of full days before you order that bride.

 

[gotRice]

I'm a huge fan of MBLAQ myself: "Oh yeah oh yeah,,,oh yeah yeah yeah!"

that's beside the point though. Ummm yeah up your GPA in the remaining semesters that's all I gotta say.😴

 

[the67project]

I will probably be repeating what everyone else is saying but a lot of what has been said is very true. You already mentioned that your switch was not due to GPA which is good because Dental school is very competative as is med school. If you pick up any ADEA Guide to Dental Schools you will read that many are accepting only 3.5 and 19-20 DAT scores. These are "Averages" remember that! You need to also remember that if you are a returning student and you have a bad GPA because of your first degree it can sometimes be overlooked if you have been showing improvements in the Prereq classes. Many returning students I know who have a 3.0 due to bad GPA from their other first degree will have killed the Prereq classes getting all A's. If you do that make sure to write about it in your personal statement and make it clear as to why it happened.

Ok so now a different take on the "Not a People Person" part:

I have been a Certified Dental Assistant for 4 years now and when i started i would say that I was really not a "peoples person". I had a hard time talking or even bringing a patient back to get them ready for the dentist to come in and work. After the first year i eased up and started breaking out of my shell. Now i probably talk more than anyone in the office and I get requested to assist by the patients.... So i would say find a dentist that will let you shadow and maybe jump in and clean some ops, talk to his patients, Take a patient back and check over their health history for correct and up to date information, just anything that gets you interacting with the patients and the dentist so you can see how much interaction really takes place. You dont want to just sit and take notes that are meaningless to you.... make your time count jump in and really learn what goes on.

Also if you really dont work well with people and you know this for a fact dont do dentistry!!!!! Dentist interact more with their patients than any Medical Doctor! That IS FACT!!!!!! Dentists see their patients every six months and keep record of them and their health histories. The Dentist I work for knows probably about 70 to 80 % of his patients by their first names..... He knows his more complicated patients by FIRST, LAST, MEDICAL HISTORY, and LAST VISIT!!! This is an intimate work environment that requires sincere doctor to patient contact.

Hope all my blabbering has helped!

 

[youknowthedrill]

You need to shadow some other doctors. Try shadowing family practice or internal medicine. Also shadow a general dentist. You must be able to interact with people in either profession- you have to build the trust of your patients or you won't be successful. Perhaps you need to get a job over the summer that forces you to interact with the public. You may be a natural introvert, but you can build up your people skills.

 

[MBLAQ]

Not a peoples person, so dentistry is fitting?

This kids a troll

It doesn't mean I never interacted with the society.

I'm a huge fan of MBLAQ myself: "Oh yeah oh yeah,,,oh yeah yeah yeah!"

that's beside the point though. Ummm yeah up your GPA in the remaining semesters that's all I gotta say.😴

That is what I am going to do when the semester begins. Thanks. MBLAQ Hwaiting!

 

[doc toothache]

Doc, My wife and I getting along quite well, thank you
Like they all said, shadow 3 or 4 dentists for a couple of full days before you order that bride.

Looks like the Sears Roebuck Catalog was a good source after all.

 

[yellowjeeep79]

Looks like the Sears Roebuck Catalog was a good source after all.

Sears Roebuck? C'mon doc, I'm old, but not THAT old.

 

[Bereno]

Sears Roebuck? C'mon doc, I'm old, but not THAT old.

lol 😀