Walking on thin ice

[Omahahahaha]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I know there have been various threads addressing the question "What would you do if you don't get into dental school?"
The answer is that you will simply find another career or apply for the next application cycle.

I want to address what people think about this?.. How does it make you feel when people ask you what you are going to do with your life? I am proud to say I am going to be a dentist. So when I tell all of my family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and teachers that I are going to dental school next year, I feel some anxiety that I MAY NOT GET IN!! And that everyone will think that I am a failure if I don't get in!! 🙁

Every time I tell someone that I am going to be a dentist, I feel like I am walking on thin ice until the day that I (hopefully) actually get accepted.

Just wondering if there are any other predents out there that share my feelings?

 

[dr_benj]

Took the words right out of my mouth...I will feel like I let everyone down if I don't get accepted this year.

 

[Bickle]

Get over it!!! I've said this many times before, if you dont get accepted your 1st time, ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!

Who cares what anyone else thinks, just keep your head, and continue working towards your goal no matter what.

If someone askes you what your plans are, just tell them you're a pre-dent who's applying to dental school.

 

[le fort guy]

I know exactly how you feel. I am in my last year of college and have busted my butt for 4 years to get the grades for dental school. What really gets me nervous is that the DAT which takes about 4 hours to complete can make or break you.

 

[ItsGavinC]

A sidenote: even now, when people ask me what I do, I simply say I'm a graduate student.

Saying "I'm a dental student" comes with a lot of hassles.

 

[Bickle]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC


Saying "I'm a dental student" comes with a lot of hassles.

Why does it come with hasseles? I love telling people I'm a dental student!

 

[DrRob]

Tell your friends and family that you are applying to dental school.
Who cares what they think if you don't get in - I went through 3 application cycles of telling people that I am applying to dental school.

 

[PERFECT3435]

, if you dont get accepted your 1st time, ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!

not totally true. its very very hard to have your dreams and work at it for a long time trying to make it and then you don't.

for me, not getting into a dental school WOULD almost mean the end of the world. i have had this hope for a long time now and have been working very hard to get it. it scares me so much that i don't even wanna think about the "what if?"

good luck to everyone here!

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by SouthDakotaDDS
So when I tell all of my family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and teachers that I are going to dental school next year, I feel some anxiety that I MAY NOT GET IN!! And that everyone will think that I am a failure if I don't get in!! 🙁

At some risk of sounding callous here, the most obvious solution is to stop telling people conclusively that you're going to dental school next year, until you get an acceptance letter from somewhere. Is there something inherently embarrassing about still being in the application process that every dentist in the world has had to go through?

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
A sidenote: even now, when people ask me what I do, I simply say I'm a graduate student.

Saying "I'm a dental student" comes with a lot of hassles.

I agree that mentioning dental school tends to generate more questions, but I enjoy pimping dentistry to people 😉

 

[PERFECT3435]

some of my relatives already ask me about teeth and oral diseases. its like i am supposed to know about it all already since i am a per-dent student.

go figure...

 

[Bickle]

Originally posted by PERFECT3435
not totally true. its very very hard to have your dreams and work at it for a long time trying to make it and then you don't.

for me, not getting into a dental school WOULD almost mean the end of the world. i have had this hope for a long time now and have been working very hard to get it. it scares me so much that i don't even wanna think about the "what if?"

good luck to everyone here!

No, I still disagree. If this is something you really want, then you will apply as many times as it takes, along with improving your application. It is not the end of the world, its just a speed bump to your destination.

And if you do decide to give up, then thats fine. But if you do, then dentistry was not something that you really wanted. And I know this is easy for me to say now that I am accepted, but trust me, nothing was going to get me down in my journey to reach my goal.

 

[ShawnOne]

I always told people "I'm applying to dental school" or "I'm working towards dental school", but after my 3rd interview letter it changed to "I'm starting dental school next year".

But it gets wierd when they repond, "cool!, where?"..."ahh.."

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

I will have good enough stats to make admission probability very high. I still worry though, but less than I used to.

 

[Comet208]

Originally posted by PERFECT3435
not totally true. its very very hard to have your dreams and work at it for a long time trying to make it and then you don't.

for me, not getting into a dental school WOULD almost mean the end of the world. i have had this hope for a long time now and have been working very hard to get it. it scares me so much that i don't even wanna think about the "what if?"

good luck to everyone here!

Perfect,

i understand your feelings and i used to think the same till i had to re-apply. I am feeling so much guilt right now since all of my family moved b/c of me waiting to go to dental school and now my first try has failed. I agree with dental dream.. it is not the end of the world (and i thought it was). if people are asking, it is either b/c they care or want to be nosy. either way, it should not matter to you a bit. relatives that i have never met are calling my parents asking about my progress😱 crazy people....
what do i do in the mean while?? try focousing on what i need to do to get in, for thats what matters after all.

No one said this was going to be an easy thing.

Comet

 

[savvysearch]

I say that too. I say "Im a graduate student" The two or three times I said I was a dental student, I always get this furrowing of the brow and the equivalent of "eww, why do you want to look into people's mouths all day?" It annoys me. Ive just stopped saying Im a dental student. Not that I am ashamed of it or anything, but I hate having to explain myself.

But when I say Im a grad student, people ask me "so you want to be a teacher?" I just say yes, but Im really thinking "yeah, like that is the only reason why people do grad."

🙄

 

[ecdoesit]

well, future is ours.
we have the privilege to change the view on dentistry.
make sure we will be proud to say we are pre-dental, dental students, or a dentist.

 

[craigory]

Originally posted by savvysearch
of "eww, why do you want to look into people's mouths all day?" It annoys me.

Boy, I can't tell you how many times I have heard that.

 

[aphistis]

Yeah, but there's an easy fix to that. I've got a buddy who's an MSI at IU Med across the street from the dental school...when people start carping about how gross looking at people's mouths is, I just tell them about my friend who's aiming for gastroenterology 😉 It usually wins the point.

 

[larryt]

Originally posted by SouthDakotaDDS
Every time I tell someone that I am going to be a dentist, I feel like I am walking on thin ice until the day that I (hopefully) actually get accepted.

Hey... bro... How many interview did you have so far ? Anything new ?

 

[sallyubc]

No doubt,

last year when i got the rejection letters one after one and i knew that there was no hope for that year, i felt sooo bad, I cried for days then you get over it and become strong again to do it again... it is definilty hard but there is always the worst case senario... but then you will get over it and try again and that's what I did!!!

Family, friends, coworkers...don't even think about them and try to focus on your goal... just the fact that you are trying and applying makes you special because you have a goal and you are working on making it come true!!! they should understand and encourage you and if they don't, i don't think they want the best for you.... in addition, you can't please everybody..

Good luck everybody 🙂

 

[blankguy]

I just hope I have a shot at this when I am through with the prereqs. It would be a shame if I was told that my chances are like trying to win a lottery.😳

 

[Turnpike]

Originally posted by savvysearch
I say that too. I say "Im a graduate student" The two or three times I said I was a dental student, I always get this furrowing of the brow and the equivalent of "eww, why do you want to look into people's mouths all day?" It annoys me. Ive just stopped saying Im a dental student. Not that I am ashamed of it or anything, but I hate having to explain myself.

But when I say Im a grad student, people ask me "so you want to be a teacher?" I just say yes, but Im really thinking "yeah, like that is the only reason why people do grad."

🙄

If it's not, "eww, why do you want to look into people's mouths all day?" .... then it's always the famous.....

"Did you know dentists have the highest suicide rate?"

 

[Omahahahaha]

Originally posted by larryt
Hey... bro... How many interview did you have so far ? Anything new ?

I've had two interviews since our Arizona interview and that's about it. I only applied to 6 schools so I'm not expecting much more. But I thought they were promising.

Obviously I know that you have a better chance at getting in if your apply to more schools, but money was an issue for me. So whether I applied to 6 or 20 schools, the approach I am taking is that....... It only takes one school for my dreams to come true!!

Larry good luck to you, and to all of you!!