Which schools should I apply to?

[Thebeyonder]

Hello,
I have a 3.0gpa overall.
I have a 2.65 science gpa overall.
My last 40 science credits have been
a 3.98 gpa.
My last 90 non science credits have been
a 4.0 gpa.
I messed up a few years ago and have
tried to make up ground.
I am a CT resident.
I am thinking of applying to UConn,
BU, Tufts, UIndiana, Nova, Umich, Creighton,
Uminnesota, and ULouisville.
Are these appropriate?
Any I should not apply to?
Any I should add?
I haven't taken the DAT yet, so I guess
if you have any suggestions based on the
stats I have now I would appreciate it.
Tim.

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tb

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[DrDMD05]

I think some of those state schools are very selective to residents. But if you want to live/practice in those states then by all means do it. I selected schools based on location and cost. Location, I think is key. If you want to practice in the northeast then go to a school that is NERB oriented. I would try to get into UCONN if I were you; not only because its your state school and thus cheap but also has a great reputation and provides an awesome education.
I think you have proven you can make great grades, and your gpa shouldn?t hurt your chances. I have heard it?s actually a bonus to pick up your grades like you have. But I would make sure that those schools you applied too look carefully at your application. I have a feeling that they sometimes just look at the gpa and DAT with out looking at the rest of the application. This might be a problem for you, so call them and make sure someone knows your true numbers.
And the DAT will be a huge factor, obviously. So just ace that darn thing and you should be all set.

 

[Dr. Pedo]

Hey I thought you were looking into podiatry school? At least that is one of your past threads. The only reason I bring that up is to make sure you want to be a dentist and not settling for a health profession you can get accepted to. Actually, it would be easier to get in Pod. school than the dental schools you are looking at.

I will only say one thing about the schools you are looking at----Creighton has had some major problem in the last couple of years with their peri. department. Becareful if you are wanting to go there! Other than that---like DrDMD has said Uconn is great and might fit everything you are looking for cost/rep.

Your GPA is obviously on the borderline yet with your latest effort--- you should look good to the admission board.

Just make sure you have some experience with dentistry----whether shadowing or volunteering.

Good luck.

 

[Thebeyonder]

OK,
I will make this post as succinct as possible
For everyone that woke up one day when they
were three and realized "I want to be a
dentist, or doctor, or whatever". Congrats
on your early decision. For the rest of us
we are left trying to decide which avenues
best suit us. I for one am attempting to
determine which avenue would best suit my
goals. Whether it is podiatry, osteopathic
medicine, or denistry, a person should
look into all avenues open to them.
How many people going into medicine actually
know what the field is all about. Obviously
you don't know until you are in the field.
For myself I know that I want to make money,
have a job where I am in control, have a
job that is respected in the community,
learn about the body functions, improve peoples health, and be
able to fulfill my real job (being a loving
father and husband). I feel that I am the
type of person that can make the most of any
profession. That is why I am looking into
numerous possibilities that will fulfill my
above goals. I also want to be able to
travel a lot (go on a lot of vacations)
If I were to tell you a lot of bs about
wanting to go into dentistry or podiatry or
medicine because I am a pure altruist or
egalatarian that wants to save the world
from monetary corruption then I would sound
cliched and would be dishonest to myself.
This post is long winded, but I wanted to
comment on your inference about my looking
into podiatry. I am saying I am not a pure
idealist but am a realist. I know that I
am not guaranteed a 100% entrance into dental
school and feel a responsibility to procure
a profession that will be suitable for my
own personal expectations. Everyone has
that option.
Tim.

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tb

 

[Dr. Pedo]

Easy my friend. I wasn't trying to be condescending or offensive. I just call it like I see it--

Do I think people should keep their career options open? You bet. However, I sometimes question the motives of some people. (and why not, the admission's committee and people writing your recommendations will too.) The people I find suspect are usually the ones that post their career aspirations of wanting to go into any type of medicine MD/DO/DPM/DDS, they take the MCAT (score a 29, which btw is not bad

), they decide on the med. schools they want to attend, and recently post that they are applying to those schools this summer---yet now post they want to go into dentistry. It appears they are simply looking for the career path they can get accepted to---and not based I what their passion is! Now, is that bad? Heck no, many people do it. And who am I to judge? My initial reason for responding was to say, make sure you do some volunteering or gain some type of experience in the dental field before jumping into the DAT and application process. With no clear idea of which field you want to pursue---you may want to take the summer to focus your commitment.

Most dental schools will question your motives and passion of wanting to be a dentist. They will know your background and will have knowledge of your MCAT and applications to your MD/DO schools.(should you choose to do that this summer.) Is that bad? Not particularly---but it is imperative that you demonstrate a desire for dentistry sometime between now and your application process!

I sincerely think dentistry would be a wonderful career choice. (I'm slightly bias

) Yet as you have indicated in your above post----one should explore all options available to them. Maybe you are still in the preliminary stages of deciding and hence one day you want to be a MD and another DPM. There are lots of occupations that would accomplish your goals with way less schooling and investment. Plus you'd have a normal life, respect in the community, knowledge of the body, good $$, control of destiny and time for your family---all the things you want. Here is just a couple examples:

Optometrist (4 years, but wonderful hours)
Pharmacist
Physical Therapist
Occupational Therapist
Physcian Assis.
Nurse
EMT
etc....

In either case sooner or later you'll have to make a decision on which career to pursue. Once you arrive at that conclusion---you can buckle down and give it everything you got! (which is what you'll need.) Good luck in the decision.

A sincere R.R.B


[This message has been edited by Dr.2b (edited 02-26-2001).]