- Joined
- Mar 2, 2009
- Messages
- 469
- Reaction score
- 23
Hello everyone!
First off, I'd like to congratulate those that have gained acceptance to the school of their dreams, those still deciding what school they want to be, and encourage those to continue applying to dental school because it is well worth it! After my missionary trip in Liberia, Costa Rica with my predental friends, I've gained a new respect for dentistry that I otherwise would not have been able to gain. Keep trying, because I have friends that have applied for years, some as long as 3 or 4 years, and they are finally getting into the school they want to go to. Of course, this is after spending the time they needed to do well in a formal post-bac program and ace the DAT.
Over this holiday break, I've done lots of reflecting and thinking about dental school, family, my love life, friends, and where I will be heading in the near future for dental school. As the title suggests, I've decided to pursue a dual degree program at U-Mich, the DDS/PhD program. Some of you already know this from previous posts that I was accepted, but I finally decided that this was for me.
Of the schools on radar, I received 6 interviews early in the application season. The first of all my interviews was indeed U-Mich for their DDS program. I learned about their PhD program at the end of my interview, started the application process soon after, and after talking to my PIs, PhD students, DDS/PhD students, tons of DDS/PhD professors, I was finally able to make this decision today. My other acceptance was at UPENN, a school which I personally loved, the atmosphere is amazing, the student body is invigorating, and it makes you feel incredibly special to be in philly and absorb the rich history of the place! However, the price tag is discouraging and it became hard for me to decide where to go and such. With that said, money is not the only consideration that was in play for my decision to go to U-Mich over UPENN. It was a large factor, but there were many others that I had to consider. I also received interviews at UNLV and ASDOH (no word from them yet). I canceled my interviews at Western and Midwestern AZ. I plan to cancel the rest of my interviews and rescind my applications after the holiday break.
I personally love research and have been considering a life in academia for some time now. I know this route is also not one that many others would ever want or wish to pursue. However, when I was applying to dental school, I didnt think that Id ever want to go into research and just wanted to make a good living and support my family. Ive done a lot of research in undergrad and continue to do research working in a lab to produce recombinant antibodies. I guess I wanted to find ways to finance my dental education and I figured that a life in the armed forces didnt suit my lifestyle or doing IBR for the government or other things. As I continued to apply to U-Michs DDS/PhD program during my d-school interview season, I realized that I had a shot of actually getting it. After 10 interviews with the faculty at the school, I received admission and have been in touch with Dr. Hu since then. She is the program director for the dual degree program at U-Mich and is incredibly awesome and nice.
Obviously, this thread is not intended to ask other applicants where I want to go, because Ive decided where I will be heading for d-school and graduate school. Yes, the path of a DDS/PhD student is like 7-8 years long. Yes, research can be a drag and your results or findings will never be what you expect. However, I will take this gamble and see how things pan out. Please feel free to ask me questions!
Who knows, I may be the one to solve oral cancer or figure out how to use dental stem cells for new treatments!
First off, I'd like to congratulate those that have gained acceptance to the school of their dreams, those still deciding what school they want to be, and encourage those to continue applying to dental school because it is well worth it! After my missionary trip in Liberia, Costa Rica with my predental friends, I've gained a new respect for dentistry that I otherwise would not have been able to gain. Keep trying, because I have friends that have applied for years, some as long as 3 or 4 years, and they are finally getting into the school they want to go to. Of course, this is after spending the time they needed to do well in a formal post-bac program and ace the DAT.
Over this holiday break, I've done lots of reflecting and thinking about dental school, family, my love life, friends, and where I will be heading in the near future for dental school. As the title suggests, I've decided to pursue a dual degree program at U-Mich, the DDS/PhD program. Some of you already know this from previous posts that I was accepted, but I finally decided that this was for me.
Of the schools on radar, I received 6 interviews early in the application season. The first of all my interviews was indeed U-Mich for their DDS program. I learned about their PhD program at the end of my interview, started the application process soon after, and after talking to my PIs, PhD students, DDS/PhD students, tons of DDS/PhD professors, I was finally able to make this decision today. My other acceptance was at UPENN, a school which I personally loved, the atmosphere is amazing, the student body is invigorating, and it makes you feel incredibly special to be in philly and absorb the rich history of the place! However, the price tag is discouraging and it became hard for me to decide where to go and such. With that said, money is not the only consideration that was in play for my decision to go to U-Mich over UPENN. It was a large factor, but there were many others that I had to consider. I also received interviews at UNLV and ASDOH (no word from them yet). I canceled my interviews at Western and Midwestern AZ. I plan to cancel the rest of my interviews and rescind my applications after the holiday break.
I personally love research and have been considering a life in academia for some time now. I know this route is also not one that many others would ever want or wish to pursue. However, when I was applying to dental school, I didnt think that Id ever want to go into research and just wanted to make a good living and support my family. Ive done a lot of research in undergrad and continue to do research working in a lab to produce recombinant antibodies. I guess I wanted to find ways to finance my dental education and I figured that a life in the armed forces didnt suit my lifestyle or doing IBR for the government or other things. As I continued to apply to U-Michs DDS/PhD program during my d-school interview season, I realized that I had a shot of actually getting it. After 10 interviews with the faculty at the school, I received admission and have been in touch with Dr. Hu since then. She is the program director for the dual degree program at U-Mich and is incredibly awesome and nice.
Obviously, this thread is not intended to ask other applicants where I want to go, because Ive decided where I will be heading for d-school and graduate school. Yes, the path of a DDS/PhD student is like 7-8 years long. Yes, research can be a drag and your results or findings will never be what you expect. However, I will take this gamble and see how things pan out. Please feel free to ask me questions!
Who knows, I may be the one to solve oral cancer or figure out how to use dental stem cells for new treatments!
