what to do with that extra year b/t dental school?

[marshall]

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Im applying next cycle and hopefully will get in. I recently toured some top tier dental schools and they are damn nice and I hope to go to one. Anyways, no need to speculate on whether I will or not based on my stats.

But what I would like advice on is what to do with that year when I'm not in school and just starting my apps. I was thinking of doing a Fullbright (sp?) but if I'm abroad I can't really come back to interview as it will be prohibitively costly.

I was also thinking Post-bac but I hear a lot of those are 1) really expensive 2) aimed to prepare you for the DAT/MCAT. I have the option for a 1 year Masters of Engineering at Cornell but that is also quite expensive and probably useless except to demonstrate graduate level ability. My GPA needs most improving while I'm probably going to finish with a 3.0-3.1. Any suggestions for possible 1 year Master's programs (preferrably that don't require me to take the GRE :-D )or something else that looks good?

If I had to get a job I guess a research job is the best thing to do but I find it somewhat boring, seeing as I'm currently doing it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[UBTom]

There is definitely nothing wrong with working a job to occupy yourself between college and dental school... Lots of my classmates did that.

The only reasons to go to some sort of graduate or post-bac program before dental school IMHO is if your grades in undergrad isn't so hot and you want to bolster your academic record, or if you need to fulfill course requirements.

HTH!

 

[ehop24]

In the time between undergrad and dental, I've worked full time assisting in an office, and I spent several weeks getting experience in a crown and bridge lab. I have quite a few friends that are finishing up their first year in dental school. I know more about dentistry (in general) than they do now. The experience i've gained in the last year has really prepared me well for what I will face in the coming years. I wouldnt trade it for anything. you learn things that they can't ever teach in dental school.

fyi, i wanted a research position, but couldnt get one. glad i didnt. it really depends on your motivations. i dont really care to do research in the end. the only reason i considered it was potential specialization, and i have since steered toward becoming a gp.

i dont know your scores, but a 3.0 isnt going to put you in the top 50% gpa wise. depending on where you want to go to school (top tier), you really might be better served doing something to boost that gpa. if youre confident with your scores, get a job in a dental office. work there everyday and see what life will be truly like when you graduate. enjoy this year. prepare yourself mentally. consider how you will approach school when the time comes. buy a house. travel. there are a great many things to do.

i was not planning on taking the year off. it was against my will. looking back, it's one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

 

[marshall]

im thinking along the lines of taking a year to improve my grades. it is most important to me to go to a school with a good name. not to sound elitist but only a few people per school get to go to specialty school and more people from my class at a good school will get to go than from a mediocre school, all things being equal in terms of grades ,etc. i've heard numerous people tell me this, both from good schools and moderate schools.

i've already interned near full-time for a summer in addition to doing research for this summer. although i intend to be a clinician, it is my intention to become a specialist. knowing this in advance, or at least wanting to keep this option open to me, i think that boosting the ol' gpa is prolly the best idea. thanks for your reply 🙂

 

[mcataz]

Well Marshall, you can go to my school but it's all the way the hell out here in AZ. 🙂

In all seriousness, a post- bac program would be a good idea if you are trying to bolster your GPA. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, find out a program in which you can realistically get A's. Because at this point you are trying to improve your GPA and you need A's to do that. There is no point attending a program that has a lot of gunners in it and where the professors are stingy handing out A's.

My program is pretty fair in my opinion. It's not easy by any means. Just ask Yah-E that. But you CAN actually get A's at our program.

So make sure you thoroughly research the post bac program by asking students one easy question: "How realistic is it to get A's in the program." I know that sounds like a dumb and fairly obvious question, but their response will tell you how difficult it is.

 

[marshall]

yeah i hear ya. im not too worried about it. im gettin A's now I just had a rough start. I finished with a 3.7 last semester with 20 credits 🙂 ive still got another year to go but those damn 1.7's and 2.3's are killing me from freshman/sophomore year. GPA has been steadily rising ... basically maybe i can turn this post into a review of post-bacs...

do any of them offer some sort of non loan based financial aid? i imagine not.

seeing as im applying next summer before i actually start a post-bac it will kinda suck if schools see my stats before they get my follow up grades and reject me on the spot ...

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by marshall
yeah i hear ya. im not too worried about it. im gettin A's now I just had a rough start. I finished with a 3.7 last semester with 20 credits 🙂 ive still got another year to go but those damn 1.7's and 2.3's are killing me from freshman/sophomore year. GPA has been steadily rising ... basically maybe i can turn this post into a review of post-bacs...

do any of them offer some sort of non loan based financial aid? i imagine not.

seeing as im applying next summer before i actually start a post-bac it will kinda suck if schools see my stats before they get my follow up grades and reject me on the spot ...

Well if you have another year to go, you may not even need to attend a post-bac. You have a 3.0-31. Just do well this year and you will probably be okay. There comes a point where attending more classes doesn't significantly raise your GPA. Then it's all a matter of proving how consistent you are. I was told by most adcomes that 4 semesters or 6 quarters of consistent work will make up for bad grades.

Good Luck

 

[UBTom]

to Marshall:

What are you planning to specialize in? Not all the specialties demand a DDS degree from a top-ranked school, and even then the school you are from is not weighed as heavily as your grades, your NBDE scores, or the connections you got, and this is true of even the most competitive programs in ortho, 6-year OMFS or endo.

Personally I think the best schools are the ones with small student bodies. That way you can make the effort to get to know the chairman of the department for the discipline you want to specialize in, and try to get letters of recommendations from them (and of course an LOR from a department chairman carries a lot of weight!).

I'm not sure where my school ranks among U.S. dental schools, but I daresay the top 10% of my class will most likely get into any PG program they want to get into.

 

[larryt]

I don't what you folks gonna do. I will start my dental hygiene program in the next couple weeks while applying for dental school of 2004. Hope I will learn something from there or at least a head start.🙄