The Increase in Applications

[t man]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm not noticing many intellectually stimulating posts here in the Dental Forum lately, so to get something going...

In the past couple of years there has been a serious increase in applications for dental school; I think we can all agree on that. However, I can't say that I know just what the reason for that is. I mean, I know that I decided to go into dentistry after being pre med for a while, and I'm sure the increase in competitiveness for med school admission is causing a trickle down effect to related health professions, but can that explain the increase of what I think is probably in the thousands of applications? (Please don't attack me as a former premed and attempt to sabatage this thread. I am committed to dentistry for many reasons.)

Do you instead think there's this dynamic equilibrium that exists throughout the years, with the past few years being a high to complement lows of previous years? Or has the increase been steady, pointing to the notion that there simply are not enough dentists in society and the ensuing economic implications of supply and demand that go along with that notion? Does it have to do with the fear of malpractice lawsuits enticing would-be doctors into a "safer" field? Maybe it's just that people are attracted by the shorter work weeks compared to similar fields that demand unreasonable and difficult hours.

Whatever the reason, one this is certain: dentistry is no longer the "secret" it once was. Personally, I think the competition is great, despite the stress it's causing this as-of-yet-unaccepted applicant. This is definitely an exciting time for the field. More qualified, intelligent, and talented dental students can only mean tremendous growth that we'll soon be witnessing first-hand. I'm happy to be a part of it.

What do you guys think?

 

[DDSY]

Here you go. Have fun:

Aging US population --> Increase in healthcare demand --> Increase income of healthcare professionals --> Supply of healthcare practitioners tries to catch up --> More qualified people trying to get into field --> Unfortunately, AMA and ADA are like monopolies (try to limit supply) --> Competition remains very high due to increasing number of applicatons.

 

[Revelde]

there have to be many reasons of increasing number of applicants.
But IMO, the one big reason is the "economy not going very well recently" or recession / stagnation, like some people call it.

many college graduates don't make as much as ealier graduates did before, and jobs are less secure and stable nowadays... So.. more and more people seek a more stable and sure job such as health related professions rather than just work as a salary man. and actually you can see many people(engineers for example) turn down their original jobs and come back for dentistry. I bet most college students feel in the same way these days...

how secure and confident could a economics/english/engineering major guy feel about their future career?

 

[KOM]

I'll say this about myself, I hate having a boss. I hate silly little chumps that think they know everything and like to dish out their power trips just because they can. At every single job I've had there has been at least one person somewhere above me that is an @$$hole. There have been quite a few wonderful people as well, but there's always the one jerk that overshadows and ruins it all.

I want to be able to choose the people I work with and do things the way I think they should be done.

 

[t man]

there have to be many reasons of increasing number of applicants.
But IMO, the one big reason is the "economy not going very well recently" or recession / stagnation, like some people call it.

many college graduates don't make as much as ealier graduates did before, and jobs are less secure and stable nowadays... So.. more and more people seek a more stable and sure job such as health related professions rather than just work as a salary man. and actually you can see many people(engineers for example) turn down their original jobs and come back for dentistry. I bet most college students feel in the same way these days...

how secure and confident could a economics/english/engineering major guy feel about their future career?

Yeah, this is definitely a good point. Today's job market has served as something of a rude awakening for recent grads. It could be that people are overcompensating for their fear of unemployability by gunning for high paying/super-competitive jobs in general.