Whose not getting in

[virajpatel]

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I hear about all the good news with interviews and GPAs and DATs but what about people who aren't getting accepted this cycle. I have a horrible GPA (under 3.0) and a high DAT (22) and I'm not surprised that I have not heard from any schools until now NOT because I applied late but because I have horrendous stats.

Anyways, enough with the dwelling, what are all those who are in a similar situation planning on doing this upcoming year before applying again to strengthen our applications.

list the following:

College Major: Psychology but took all pre-dental prereqs
Pursue masters or post bacc: Unsure

 

[dyesht]

-

 

[virajpatel]

haven't been given any positive feedback about the profession

 

[DentalDoge]

What do you mean? It's a good profession, like most of the healthcare profession.

 

[distressstudent]

pre-dents aren't exactly getting a positive feedback about the profession either lol (i.e: CoA)

 

[niv3k]

I have roughly a 3.5 gpa (overall and science) and a 20 on my DAT, unfortunately I have about 9 Ws, 2 of which are from labs, and one of those Ws is a WF from nursing school.

I still haven't received interview and I'm not really expecting any acceptances for this year because of my Ws. I have read that schools take a huge investment when they accept students into their program because they want as few drop or withdrawals from their program as possible.

What I plan to do to hopefully is to improve myself:

I am going to take a few science classes this upcoming semester (biochem2 because I'll learn it later I'll learn it later, tissue engineering because I want to). I may also take molecular biology at my school to hopefully impress the interviewers since it is considered a difficult class at my college. I have also been shadowing more dentists as I honestly feel that every time I shadow them I literally learn something new (science, procedurally, or business-wise). Personally, my reason for taking more classes as a post bacc is that it may impress the interviewers since I know my number of Ws set off several red flags. I am thinking that because of the number of Ws that I have they may fear that I may drop out of their program. I do not blame them if they do think that, however, this is the
most solid decision (dentistry) I have ever made in my life. I feel so confident that this is what I want to do and honestly, if I do not get in I will try again because I do not see myself doing anything else.

To those who are thinkin about dentistry:

DO NOT enter this program if you are thinking about money, this is not the career. The amount of debt (from what I have read) is not worth it. I am telling you from what I have read and researched, dentistry is a passion that you feel is right for you, not just a job in the future, but something you feel you will want to improve yourself on forever. I am currently a nail tech at a nail salon and I feel from my experiences that dentistry is for me. Despite the major difference in learning between dentistry and nails, I feel that they both have their similarities (tools, dexterity, and in general type of work) which have helped me decide my career choice.

Honestly I'm pretty damn drunk right now but I can't stop ever thinking about dental school . I don't really have anything to say but if you EVER have any questions, please DO NOT EVER hesitate to ask. We are at the same level but I am so more than willing to talk to anyone about dentistry.

 

[SM555]

I have roughly a 3.5 gpa (overall and science) and a 20 on my DAT, unfortunately I have about 9 Ws, 2 of which are from labs, and one of those Ws is a WF from nursing school.

I still haven't received interview and I'm not really expecting any acceptances for this year because of my Ws. I have read that schools take a huge investment when they accept students into their program because they want as few drop or withdrawals from their program as possible.

What I plan to do to hopefully is to improve myself:

I am going to take a few science classes this upcoming semester (biochem2 because I'll learn it later I'll learn it later, tissue engineering because I want to). I may also take molecular biology at my school to hopefully impress the interviewers since it is considered a difficult class at my college. I have also been shadowing more dentists as I honestly feel that every time I shadow them I literally learn something new (science, procedurally, or business-wise). Personally, my reason for taking more classes as a post bacc is that it may impress the interviewers since I know my number of Ws set off several red flags. I am thinking that because of the number of Ws that I have they may fear that I may drop out of their program. I do not blame them if they do think that, however, this is the
most solid decision (dentistry) I have ever made in my life. I feel so confident that this is what I want to do and honestly, if I do not get in I will try again because I do not see myself doing anything else.

To those who are thinkin about dentistry:

DO NOT enter this program if you are thinking about money, this is not the career. The amount of debt (from what I have read) is not worth it. I am telling you from what I have read and researched, dentistry is a passion that you feel is right for you, not just a job in the future, but something you feel you will want to improve yourself on forever. I am currently a nail tech at a nail salon and I feel from my experiences that dentistry is for me. Despite the major difference in learning between dentistry and nails, I feel that they both have their similarities (tools, dexterity, and in general type of work) which have helped me decide my career choice.

Honestly I'm pretty damn drunk right now but I can't stop ever thinking about dental school . I don't really have anything to say but if you EVER have any questions, please DO NOT EVER hesitate to ask. We are at the same level but I am so more than willing to talk to anyone about dentistry.

I love getting all philosophical on these boards when Ive been drinking also

 

[DentalDoge]

Hes right though. Most people think about money and job stability when going into a healthcare profession. But in this economic climate and the way our healthcare system is setup neither of those are certain.

If you want money, then youd be better off going into business. Or if you dont have any regards to your morality, the oil industry. Either of those will make you a ton more money than any of the healthcare professions.

 

[free99]

Hes right though. Most people think about money and job stability when going into a healthcare profession. But in this economic climate and the way our healthcare system is setup neither of those are certain.

If you want money, then youd be better off going into business. Or if you dont have any regards to your morality, the oil industry. Either of those will make you a ton more money than any of the healthcare professions.

Just curious, because people often offer "business" as an alternative to dentistry to make a strong income, what business ventures are you proposing will come even close to the income of a dentist? Most of my friends who were business majors in college, some who went on to get MBAs, work in gigantic firms in a very "dog eat dog" environment - none of them are making six figures. I think the ease with which someone lands a job with a salary even close to a dentist/physician/opto/etc, is highly over exaggerated on these boards. I do think there is a breaking point with the COA (both $ and time commitment) and your "return on investment," but that number is hard to define with a shifting landscape in dentistry.

 

[JimmyDe]

I am currently a nail tech at a nail salon and I feel from my experiences that dentistry is for me. Despite the major difference in learning between dentistry and nails, I feel that they both have their similarities (tools, dexterity, and in general type of work) which have helped me decide my career choice.

 

[oceanangel4]

Just curious, because people often offer "business" as an alternative to dentistry to make a strong income, what business ventures are you proposing will come even close to the income of a dentist? Most of my friends who were business majors in college, some who went on to get MBAs, work in gigantic firms in a very "dog eat dog" environment - none of them are making six figures. I think the ease with which someone lands a job with a salary even close to a dentist/physician/opto/etc, is highly over exaggerated on these boards. I do think there is a breaking point with the COA (both $ and time commitment) and your "return on investment," but that number is hard to define with a shifting landscape in dentistry.

Actually, it is not unlikely for business people to make as much as dentists. Most of my friends are in business and they graduated with me this spring and I know one or two who are making 6 figures straight out of college (no MBA). One of them is a trader and he is ridiculously smart lol. So it is definitely possible, but difficult. There is another person I know who is making 6 figures doing coding for Amazon since he was an engineer (not business, but still). My investment banking friends are making around 70-80k straight out of college. The thing with business is that you have to climb the corporate ladder to make 200k+, but in dentistry you would also make more with experience, which takes time as well. However, we also have to remember that we are investing an additional 4+ years in schooling in order to making money as dentists, while these business people are making money already. Therefore, if you compare a dentist and a successful business person, say, 5 or 6 years out of college, I think the salaries would be pretty similar.

 

[grivacobae]

Hes right though. Most people think about money and job stability when going into a healthcare profession. But in this economic climate and the way our healthcare system is setup neither of those are certain.

If you want money, then youd be better off going into business. Or if you dont have any regards to your morality, the oil industry. Either of those will make you a ton more money than any of the healthcare professions.

Going into to business is the most vague alternative, even then, dentist have the highest paying salaries, plus, dentistry IS a business. Owning your own practice means you are a business owner. Dentist have one of, if not, the most stable outlook in our economy and have been, show me a dentist without employment and I'll show you 300 business graduates without employment, better yet, show me a dentist w/o employment. Our healthcare (obamacare?) doesn't affect dentistry nearly as much as it affects medicine, correct me if i'm wrong but I don't even think it affects it. It's also not just healthcare industry being affected by economic climate... it's a macroeconomic problem, not a healthcare recession. Stop trying to preach that going into dentistry for the money is almost like a sin or a BIG mistake, it is not. I don't know if people post these stuff to tell themselves or proof to others that they are doing it solely for the "right" reasons, or because they are just plain ignorant. Grant it, it's not THE main reason, but to many, it's very high up there. I am assuming, but at least i'm conceding.
On the other hand, oil industry here in Texas does have it's merits, good money there, I ain't arguing that one.

Just curious, because people often offer "business" as an alternative to dentistry to make a strong income, what business ventures are you proposing will come even close to the income of a dentist? Most of my friends who were business majors in college, some who went on to get MBAs, work in gigantic firms in a very "dog eat dog" environment - none of them are making six figures. I think the ease with which someone lands a job with a salary even close to a dentist/physician/opto/etc, is highly over exaggerated on these boards. I do think there is a breaking point with the COA (both $ and time commitment) and your "return on investment," but that number is hard to define with a shifting landscape in dentistry.

They just don't do their due diligence and inform themselves correctly, and then they preach to these forums that doing it for the money will leave you empty handed.