Where Do I Go From Here?

[cnjr777]

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Hi, this is my first post even though I've been browsing this site for over a year. First a bit of background on myself.

I graduated high school here in Georgia in 2007 with a very good GPA (around a 3.7). I ended up going out of state to Auburn University. At the time, I was pre-med. Not by choice, but because it was what my parents wanted me to do. Unfortunately, my college experience wasn't what I hoped it would've been academically. After my first two years, my overall GPA sat at a 2.07 which included my first ever F.

Something was obviously wrong. How does someone go from being a straight A student in high school to barely being able to pass in college. Then I realized that it was because I wasn't motivated. I had no desire to go into medicine and that lack of desire was transferring over to my academics. The summer before the Fall 2009 semester, I took that time to really think about what it was that I would want to do with my life. I ran across the book I received for my pre-health professional seminar class that I took freshman year. I read through the different health careers and eventually stumbled across the section on dentistry. I never considered dentistry as a career at this point, but then again, I never really considered anything aside form medicine either. The more I read about it, the more interested in it I became. Eventually, I started to think that this might be what I want to do and could see myself doing for at least 20 years.

I transferred to Kennesaw State University the following fall with a new sense of direction. Only 35 credits transferred over and my old GPA didn't affect my GPA here. I declared as an Exercise and Health Science major mainly because I knew that most health professional schools don't require a specific major, and this was the one that interested me the most. My first semester I took four of my remaining core classes getting all A's and this semester I've done just as well (final grades come in in about a week).

Sorry for the long autobiography. Just wanted to give a little background info that might help me find the answers I'm looking for.

1. Will my bad start in college hurt my chances of ever being able to get into dental school? Assuming I continue to get all A's and B's for the next two years like I did this year, will it even be an issue? To be more specific, in my first two years I got four C's (Biology I, World Lit I and II, Ethics in Health Science), four D's (World History I and II, Calculus I, my second attempt at Gen Chem I), and one F (my first attempt at Gen Chem I). There was also three A's and three B's in those first two years as well. I retook Gen Chem I and Calculus I and it looks like I may get at least a B in both.


2. What things do I need to know about the career of dentistry before jumping in? What type of career options are there? Is unemployment an issue in dentistry?

3. What do I need to do from this point on to get to where I want to go? My school has a pre-dental club that just started that I want to join next year. And I know that people recommend shadowing a dentist so I'm going to try and do that as well.

 

[stlouisboi2002]

Hey, do you to go to KSU now? I just started a pre-dental association and we have a MCG visit coming up...

 

[psi169]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

1. Will my bad start in college hurt my chances of ever being able to get into dental school? Assuming I continue to get all A's and B's for the next two years like I did this year, will it even be an issue? To be more specific, in my first two years I got four C's (Biology I, World Lit I and II, Ethics in Health Science), four D's (World History I and II, Calculus I, my second attempt at Gen Chem I), and one F (my first attempt at Gen Chem I). There was also three A's and three B's in those first two years as well. I retook Gen Chem I and Calculus I and it looks like I may get at least a B in both.

A few points:

1. Thing is, while only some of your classes transferred (and so your GPA at your new school will be much better than your first school), those grades from your first school will be used when you submit your application to AADSAS.
2. I'm not sure how it works exactly when you got an F in Gen Chem 1 and then retook it for an A. Either way, averaging those two grades, you got a C in gen cem.
3. This means your AADSAS GPA could be much lower than you expect, especially with a few D's in the mix.
4. However, those most of bad grades look like they are in non-science classes, so hopefully your science GPA won't be too bad off. You need to look up the AADSAS grading policy and then calculate your GPA by hand. This will give you an idea of where you stand.
5. However, the best thing you can do for a bad start is to SHOW IMPROVEMENT. In your personal statement, you can address how you started college feeling a bit lost in your career and how you finding dentistry helped you keep focused.

Here's the link to AADSAS for their grading policy. Give it the once over: https://portal.aadsasweb.org/aadsas2009/gpas.htm



2. What things do I need to know about the career of dentistry before jumping in? What type of career options are there? Is unemployment an issue in dentistry?

Um, well, the best thing you can do is go shadow a dentist and get a feel for the career. Ask them a few questions. However, I think most everyone on this forum would say the best part about being a dentist is the lifestyle. Work office hours, get to help people, and low risk of killing someone. And if you own your own practice, you get the option of being your own boss. As far as career options, you always have the option of specializing (e.g. pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics), though (before you mentally commit to specializing) most all specialty programs are very competitive. A general dentist still makes a very comfortable living... Is unemployment an issue? No. Job outlook = very. good.


3. What do I need to do from this point on to get to where I want to go? My school has a pre-dental club that just started that I want to join next year. And I know that people recommend shadowing a dentist so I'm going to try and do that as well.

Yes, join a predental club or any other club. It would be GREAT if you could get a leadership position (e.g. president, VP, secretary) in one of these clubs. Get involved in your schools academic orientation program. Perhaps try to do some research (if you are an exercise major, there might be some exercise studies you can try to join). Job shadow. Volunteer.

When do you plan on applying?

Edit: Whoops, I forgot a very important detail: when you apply, you will need letters of rec. You can use your remaining semesters to get close to some professors that you know would write you letters of recommendation. That's your next mission!

 

[dentalWorks]

Welcome to SDN 🙂
I think you've made an excellent healthcare career choice 👍

Will my bad start in college hurt my chances of ever being able to get into dental school? Assuming I continue to get all A's and B's for the next two years like I did this year, will it even be an issue?

Don't worry about your initial years. Dental schools like to see mature applicants, not perfect applicants. Since you did bad initially but you matured later on, shows that you've thought thinks through and are willing to work hard to improve your status. This speaks volumes about your newly found work ethic. I say your on the right path 👍

What things do I need to know about the career of dentistry before jumping in? What type of career options are there? Is unemployment an issue in dentistry?

Find a dentist and do some shadowing. This will give you exposure to the field. Reading about dentistry on a brochure is one thing, experiencing it via shadowing is another world. This will also strengthen your personal statement when you apply. Also many dental schools like to see 50-100 hours worth of shadowing, keep that in mind.

As far as career options, there are plenty. Many dental graduates start working as general dentists, some go on and specialize into things like orthodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, etc etc. As far as unemployment goes, we are talking healthcare here, meaning job opportunities are ALWAYS available. I don't believe you'll find a dentist without a job, but Im sure anything is possible

As far as now, continue doing what you've been doing (I am assuming you were working toward obtaining an undergraduate degree) but just work hard in your classes and maintain strong grades. You said your becoming a member with a pre-dental club, thats always a good thing. Try to get some volunteering going on, just to show that you are involved with your community, it does NOT have to be dental/medical related, it can be in anything that you personally enjoy.

Good luck to ya

 

[cnjr777]

Thanks for the responses. It's really been helpful.

The more I learn about this career, the more interested I become. One thing I really like is the fact that you can start working right after dental school as opposed to the required 3-5 extra years of training in medicine. And the 30-40 hour work week is pretty appealing too. I want to have a career I'm dedicated to, but at the same time, I think it's important to be able to have a life outside of work too.

One more question I had was when do I start applying to dental schools and taking the DAT? Junior year, senior year, after graduation? Right now I have 51 credits making me a sophomore still.