too late

[computeradmin]

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hello im a 21 year old male student. i was hoping someone could help me with some decisions.
i have attended community college almost 3 years ago for a semester. i did not do that great because back in the day my life was partying and bull****ting around. i have been on this forum for a while now but never registered as a user. i work for a computer company and make an alright amount of money for my age group ( please dont take this as bragging). i still live with my parents and they support me all the way.
however my life feels empty as because i want to go to school for medicine and leaning toward dentistry.
so my question to some of you is that do you think i can go back if i do really good in school for the next 3-4 years. like i said i screwed up badly in highschool and some of college but i have changed and want to go back to school for medicine. any chance i can get in?
thanks

 

[dentalWorks]

hello im a 21 year old male student. i was hoping someone could help me with some decisions.
i have attended community college almost 3 years ago for a semester. i did not do that great because back in the day my life was partying and bull****ting around. i have been on this forum for a while now but never registered as a user. i work for a computer company and make an alright amount of money for my age group ( please dont take this as bragging). i still live with my parents and they support me all the way.
however my life feels empty as because i want to go to school for medicine and leaning toward dentistry.
so my question to some of you is that do you think i can go back if i do really good in school for the next 3-4 years. like i said i screwed up badly in highschool and some of college but i have changed and want to go back to school for medicine. any chance i can get in?
thanks

Oh for sure. There are many non-traditional applicants around who did exactly that.

Have you received a college degree yet? Whats your overall college GPA? High school grades = nothing, they are irrelevant for dental schools.

For starters, do some shadowing with a dentist, see if you like it. Then you can go from there.

 

[bing12]

yea you can, if you have the drive you can do it. Sign up for your pre-reqs and start the process. Have you taken any science classes before? Why do you want to go into medicine/dentistry?

 

[computeradmin]

yea you can, if you have the drive you can do it. Sign up for your pre-reqs and start the process. Have you taken any science classes before? Why do you want to go into medicine/dentistry?

well im gonna get yelled at by people but there are 2 reasons why i wanted to become a doctor
1- i have always worshiped doctors specially those who do not become doctors for money.
2- haha and my fathers a dentist and i cant let him out due me

 

[bing12]

ha thats fine, why dont you go to the pre-med forum though, IF you are more interested in medicine. They can help you out with that.

 

[dentalWorks]

well im gonna get yelled at by people but there are 2 reasons why i wanted to become a doctor
1- i have always worshiped doctors specially those who do not become doctors for money.
2- haha and my fathers a dentist and i cant let him out due me

wait... your going for medicine or dentistry?

 

[youknowthedrill]

It sounds like you've grown up in the last few years. You can't change the past, but you can make better decisions henceforth. Have you only attended college for one semester? If so, you are in great shape. You'll need to enroll in school and aim for a high GPA. Dentistry is a great branch of medicine. Ask your dentist if you can shadow them to see if its the right choice for you.

 

[Mypeanut]

Its never late to start pursuing your dream I think...since you've taken only 1 semester and that was 3 years ago it won't matter so much if you do really good in your future classes....you are not late many non-traditional students start even later....i'd say shadow a dentist or a doctor (if that's what you were referring to I was unsure) and see how you like it and then you can talk to an advisor at a 4-year college for a degree plan and go on from there

 

[computeradmin]

thanks all for the kind words. its very encouraging to read them. to answer some of the questions:
i have only attended school for only one semester. but pretty much failed all my classes.( thinking back at it seams like it was such an idiotic move)
and oh yeah my dads a dentist but he pretty much gave up on correcting my methods a long time ago.

again thanks for the kind words guys.

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

Hey man, sorry he gave up on you. Looks like your head is in the right direction. Let me help you out. Here's what you need to do...

1) First off, enroll into a 4-year college. Pick any major you feel you may excel greatly in (maybe computer science since you like computers? idk anything)

2) Take the pre-reqs. These include
- General Biology 1 & 2
- General Chemistry 1 & 2
- Physics 1 & 2
- Organic Chemistry 1 & 2

3) See if your dad will let you shadow him or find another dentist to shadow ( you must do this throughout your course of study to show that you are interested and of course make sure it is right for you)

4) Do community service even if it is just a few hours a week. Also make sure this is continued throughout college.

5) After the pre-reqs register to take the DAT (score well, preferably 20+ considering your past)

6) Apply to schools through AADSAS and get good letters of recommendation (good rule of thumb- 1 BIO, 1 CHEM, 1 NON-SCI, 1 Dentist) Therefore, make connections with your professors)

7) If you have time, do some research– it's really fun and generally a GPA booster. Also, take more upper level BIO and CHEM classes if you choose to be a non-science major. These classes include Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Biochemistry etc.

Good Luck.

 

[computeradmin]

Hey man, sorry he gave up on you. Looks like your head is in the right direction. Let me help you out. Here's what you need to do...

1) First off, enroll into a 4-year college. Pick any major you feel you may excel greatly in (maybe computer science since you like computers? idk anything)

2) Take the pre-reqs. These include
- General Biology 1 & 2
- General Chemistry 1 & 2
- Physics 1 & 2
- Organic Chemistry 1 & 2

3) See if your dad will let you shadow him or find another dentist to shadow ( you must do this throughout your course of study to show that you are interested and of course make sure it is right for you)

4) Do community service even if it is just a few hours a week. Also make sure this is continued throughout college.

5) After the pre-reqs register to take the DAT (score well, preferably 20+ considering your past)

6) Apply to schools through AADSAS and get good letters of recommendation (good rule of thumb- 1 BIO, 1 CHEM, 1 NON-SCI, 1 Dentist) Therefore, make connections with your professors)

7) If you have time, do some research– it's really fun and generally a GPA booster. Also, take more upper level BIO and CHEM classes if you choose to be a non-science major. These classes include Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Biochemistry etc.

Good Luck.

thanks brother. much appreciated for the advice

 

[freckles91932]

I echo everything that everyone above has said, but I want to recommend saving physics 1/2 for the year right before you want to matriculate into dental school. Physics isn't on the DAT so try to get in as many DAT-related courses in before taking the DAT. For example, anatomy and genetics, which are additional pre-reqs for a few schools. So if you are going to take them, you might was well take them before you take the DAT. FYI if you are considering medicine, the MCAT does require physics so you may want to take that earlier in your schooling.....but why would you want to do medicine when you can do dentistry!!!

Also, start saving money NOW. Money for registering for the DAT, test prep material (and possibly a $1k+ course), applications, and travel and hotel for interviews....and if you are really good at saving money, possibly some money for your dschool tuition.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Winter Wind]

It's definitely not too late. Just do as Floss ur Teeth advised. Schools understand that we make mistakes. Show them that you have learned from yours.