Taking the DAT and the MCAT... no?

[chickensoupdr]

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For a long time, I have believed that I want to become a dentist. That's why I took the DAT last month, and actually did pretty well on it, too. However, lately I have been thinking that being a family physician or a pediatrician might also be interesting... Is it ok if I take the MCAT as well (in case I realize later on that medical school is more right for me)? Will dental schools know that I have taken the MCAT and, if they do, what would they think of it?

Thanks.

 

[crew09]

Generally the biggest hurdle most students face is academics, but based on your stats, I have a feeling you could take the MCAT and do well.

One of my friends got accepted to dschool last year and deferred to explore medicine. He just got accepted to medical school and told me his biggest regret is not taking time to explore before committing to a career path. Obviously he was thrilled to get in, but I think you could save yourself a lot of energy, time, and money by committing to either dentistry or medicine rather than taking the MCAT 'just in case.'

Although there are similarities, there are also considerable differences between Dentistry and Medicine that I suggest you explore, in addition to talking with practitioners in both fields.

In terms of what dental schools think, it most likely varies because ad coms are made of humans with varying personal biases, some may understand your choice while others may think dentistry is your back up which could be questioned.

In case your commitment does come into question, be sure to have a well thought out response ready for interviews.

 

[sbdento]

I don't know how much experience you have in either field, but I think it is very important to know what you want to do before you start applying and dropping beaucoup bucks on apps/tests/etc. Some people have the scores and smarts to do whatever they want, but in the end you want to be happy with your career choice. I would recommend spending the time before the next application cycle by volunteering orgetting a job in each field. Maybe you'll find that you don't belong in the medical field altogether, who knows. The volunteer work will make your app stronger in the end anyway. Good luck, and don't worry, you have plenty of time to decide (assuming that you're young 🙂 )