What do i do?

[DagS132]

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Hello all, new to the forums and am hoping to get some answers.

I have recently took some interest in dentistry, i thought about this as something i would like to do as a career. I havnt done any job shadowing so i dont know what a dentist does all day nor do i know what kinds of dentists there are. Maybe i should do this to see if i want to do this. But before i go on to job shadowing i am wondering if its worth it.
I have a low GPA of 2.82, major in chemistry, and have not been taking 14+ credit hours each semester. There is a reason why i only took like 12 credit hours though but i am not sure if it would be a good reason if asked why i didnt take more than 14 hours.
When the semester starts again i will see if there is some kind of predental club at my school and go there for more info.
Im just wondering is there any hope for me? If so where do i start on this journey to become a dentist.

 

[Bifenthrin]

What year of school are you in?

If you can start to take more credits per semester, take the necessary classes, and raise your GPA, it would probably be possible to get into school.

 

[DagS132]

I have 1 more year of school left so i should be graduating 2013-2014. The reason i am not confident of taking 14+ credits per semester is because i travel throughout the year doing a competitive physical activity, also there is that training time that i would like.
Again i just recently took interest in dentistry so i tried to balance out my physical activity with school without the thought of trying to get into a dental school. Also this physical activity is my passion but sadly this activity really doesn't have the best future which led me to look into dentistry.
Raising my GPA will be hard since my last few classes are real tough but its possible i can get A's..... i hope. But anyway, other than just checking out a pre dental club and trying to job shadow a dentist is there anything else i should be doing to try to better my chances of getting into a school?

 

[scrambledgreggs]

.

 

[Kahr]

You might read this thread: The Under 3.0 Club
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=362708

You will likely need to do very solidly on your DAT, and while you're talking about doing extras, why not start volunteering actively? Many schools value volunteer activities (and yes they can be other than dentistry related).

Trying to be a realist: prepare for the possibility of completing a masters, it may be what you'll have to do (with a solid GPA).

Edit: While you're reading, take a look at doc toothache's dental school guide for an idea of where you might want to apply and other facts and figures of related interest:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453

 

[DagS132]

>in reply to scrambledgreggs
i am majoring in chemistry, its my school work that hinders my performance in my physical activity. My priorities are school first then my EC. Is it recommended that i just do 14+ credits for my last year? I guess so, might as well grind it out right? What do you mean by no pre-reqs? Not sure what that means.

>in reply to Kahr
Nice to see a thread like that! When you say volunteering even if its not dentist related, do you mean anything? Be as real as you can with me, i dont want anyone trying to bring my hopes up. Id rather be told that i will have to work really hard so i can quickly get started with my journey to become a dentist.

Thanks for the replies btw!

 

[Kahr]

>in reply to scrambledgreggs
i am majoring in chemistry, its my school work that hinders my performance in my physical activity. My priorities are school first then my EC. Is it recommended that i just do 14+ credits for my last year? I guess so, might as well grind it out right? What do you mean by no pre-reqs? Not sure what that means.

>in reply to Kahr
Nice to see a thread like that! When you say volunteering even if its not dentist related, do you mean anything? Be as real as you can with me, i dont want anyone trying to bring my hopes up. Id rather be told that i will have to work really hard so i can quickly get started with my journey to become a dentist.

Thanks for the replies btw!

Sure dude, I volunteered planting trees and educating communities on doing so as well as adopting a tree over 2 years at my undergrad. It came up at several of my interviews. It's great to volunteer in a dental environment, but it's not always possible. Volunteering is about selfless service to others and communities, and hopefully in a capacity you are passionate give a damn about (which will naturally become evident when you write or speak about it), this is something I believe anyone (including adcoms/interviewers) will find interesting and respect you more for.

Don't think that my above advice about volunteering is some kind of sure fire way to pad your application to the point that it'll blot out bad grades, it's just something good to do, that will help make your app more solid. You DO and WILL need to work hard if you want to get into dental school, which is why I also mentioned that you may end up needing to complete a masters.

Best of luck.