Why is dental school getting more competitive?

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skitz

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I'm from a smaller city in Canada. We have a DMD program at the bigger university we have here.
The core gpa for OOP is 3.8 with a DAT score of about 23. I'm IP, so it's a bit less (3.5-3.6 gpa, about 19 on DAT minimum). I was looking at stats from previous years online and the gpa from some years back was 3.3-3.4 gpa.

I spoke to a dentist at a symposium recently and they said they had a 3.1 gpa and got accepted. I was surprised they got an interview with that but I realized that they went to dental school probably 10 or so years ago.
Why do you think it's gotten more competitive over the years?

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Why do you think it's gotten more competitive over the years?

Dentistry is an amazing profession and more and more people are realizing that. In Canada, you don't have a lot of dental schools. The increase in applicants is much greater than the increase in seats, therefore you have an increase in competitiveness.
 
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The rate at which more applicants are coming in year after year exceeds the total seats that are being added with each cycle.


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Dentistry is an amazing profession and more and more people are realizing that. In Canada, you don't have a lot of dental schools. The increase in applicants is much greater than the increase in seats, therefore you have an increase in competitiveness.
It's not that dentistry isn't an amazing profession, but it's not because "more and more people are realizing that." It's just how things are these days. It doesn't matter if it's Pharm/Nursing/Dental/Med/etc., everything is getting more competitive because more people are going to college than ever before. Add the ability to pretty much be guaranteed loans from the government if needed and you've got yourself a pool of applicants that gets bigger and bigger every year.
 
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As a fellow Canadian I know what you mean, but its not just dentistry thats getting much more competitive so is med school, nursing and even some master programs like physiotherapy have almost 89% entrance average (at least at UWO). I think some of it is because of the crazy increase in med school requirements which in turn has caused a lot of students who initially planned on going to med school but didn't get accepted to seek alternative paths in the healthcare field like dental school. So it really isn't just dental school thats becoming more competitive in Canada its the entirety of the healthcare field. I also think that with the changing economy and globalization people are becoming more aware that healthcare is one of the few remaining fields where employment rates and job satisfaction are high since healthcare is one of the few job sectors that you can't ship overseas.

PS check out the premed101 dental forum its pretty much all Canadians they are usually much more understanding of how the Canadian system works compared to SDN
 
As a fellow Canadian I know what you mean, but its not just dentistry thats getting much more competitive so is med school, nursing and even some master programs like physiotherapy have almost 89% entrance average (at least at UWO). I think some of it is because of the crazy increase in med school requirements which in turn has caused a lot of students who initially planned on going to med school but didn't get accepted to seek alternative paths in the healthcare field like dental school. So it really isn't just dental school thats becoming more competitive in Canada its the entirety of the healthcare field. I also think that with the changing economy and globalization people are becoming more aware that healthcare is one of the few remaining fields where employment rates and job satisfaction are high since healthcare is one of the few job sectors that you can't ship overseas.

PS check out the premed101 dental forum its pretty much all Canadians they are usually much more understanding of how the Canadian system works compared to SDN

In addition to what you said, now we also have more resources for studying for exams, etc, etc... So it has become more competitive in that aspect too.
 
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In addition to what you said, now we also have more resources for studying for exams, etc, etc... So it has become more competitive in that aspect too.

This.
 
Because most students haven't figured out what 500k of debt means yet.
 
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As a fellow Canadian I know what you mean, but its not just dentistry thats getting much more competitive so is med school, nursing and even some master programs like physiotherapy have almost 89% entrance average (at least at UWO). I think some of it is because of the crazy increase in med school requirements which in turn has caused a lot of students who initially planned on going to med school but didn't get accepted to seek alternative paths in the healthcare field like dental school. So it really isn't just dental school thats becoming more competitive in Canada its the entirety of the healthcare field. I also think that with the changing economy and globalization people are becoming more aware that healthcare is one of the few remaining fields where employment rates and job satisfaction are high since healthcare is one of the few job sectors that you can't ship overseas.

PS check out the premed101 dental forum its pretty much all Canadians they are usually much more understanding of how the Canadian system works compared to SDN

I think I agree with you about premeds applying if they didn't get in. I know a few of my premed classmates are applying to dental school as well. I can see that other programs have gotten more competitive. I know nursing has, even the psych nursing program at the school I'm currently going to jumped almost +.2 in gpa just from last year.
 
I'm from a smaller city in Canada. We have a DMD program at the bigger university we have here.
The core gpa for OOP is 3.8 with a DAT score of about 23. I'm IP, so it's a bit less (3.5-3.6 gpa, about 19 on DAT minimum). I was looking at stats from previous years online and the gpa from some years back was 3.3-3.4 gpa.

I spoke to a dentist at a symposium recently and they said they had a 3.1 gpa and got accepted. I was surprised they got an interview with that but I realized that they went to dental school probably 10 or so years ago.
Why do you think it's gotten more competitive over the years?
I think it has something to do with the fact that many students who were planning on going to other professional schools such as medical schools and pharm schools are changing their career path and applying to dental schools. I've been told by many pre-pharm students (all my friends are pre-pharm) that they're considering applying to dental schools since the recent addition of private pharm schools really lowered the "acedemic standard" for admission and it is likely that pharm field will be very saturated once those schools start pouring out graduates. So the pre-pharm people who have relatively high stats (for pharm schools) are applying to dental schools.
But the biggest problem IMO is that, it's gotten so hard to get a job that pays well (not even well, but decently) with a bachelor's degree (and everyone has bachelor's). I was both a biology and microbiology major at my state school and we had hundreds of students in those two departments and about 90% of them were pre-med/pre-pharm/pre-dent/pre-PA. I was looking for a job with TWO bachelor of science degrees for months and all the jobs I looked at were only paying 32k~35k/year (state government jobs were paying slightly better). Isn't it outrageous?
 
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Prolly cuz some can't get into med school or just cuz of Asians in general.... LOL jkjk.

Everything has become more competitive man and it will be even more so in the future. Not just dentistry.
 
Prolly cuz some can't get into med school or just cuz of Asians in general.... LOL jkjk.

Everything has become more competitive man and it will be even more so in the future. Not just dentistry.
Unless we bring some jobs back to our country. More jobs = less competition for the jobs we have here. As of now, our economy sucks and in many places it's hard to find work honestly.
 
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Unless we bring some jobs back to our country. More jobs = less competition for the jobs we have here. As of now, our economy sucks and in many places it's hard to find work honestly.
Nice try, Trump. But seriously, though. I doubt people who work in the secondary sectors have a college degree.. let alone going for dentistry field..
 
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Nice try, Trump. But seriously, though. I doubt people who work in the secondary sectors have a college degree.. let alone going for dentistry field..
Lack of jobs puts stress on all the jobs we do have and makes them all more competitive. If we had more jobs, not everyone and their dog would feel they have to get a college degree. It's becoming increasingly difficult to get a job even if you have a degree. Have you been watching too much Clinton News Network? I saw an ad at my house where it was actually hillary said we need to stop outsourcing jobs and bring them back to the US (she tries to copy him on a lot of things thoigh). But this isn't a partison issue, it's an "anyone who has a brain" issue.
 
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I think it has something to do with the fact that many students who were planning on going to other professional schools such as medical schools and pharm schools are changing their career path and applying to dental schools. I've been told by many pre-pharm students (all my friends are pre-pharm) that they're considering applying to dental schools since the recent addition of private pharm schools really lowered the "acedemic standard" for admission and it is likely that pharm field will be very saturated once those schools start pouring out graduates. So the pre-pharm people who have relatively high stats (for pharm schools) are applying to dental schools.
But the biggest problem IMO is that, it's gotten so hard to get a job that pays well (not even well, but decently) with a bachelor's degree (and everyone has bachelor's). I was both a biology and microbiology major at my state school and we had hundreds of students in those two departments and about 90% of them were pre-med/pre-pharm/pre-dent/pre-PA. I was looking for a job with TWO bachelor of science degrees for months and all the jobs I looked at were only paying 32k~35k/year (state government jobs were paying slightly better). Isn't it outrageous?

This is absolutely a factor. There are a number of students who transitioned away from medicine or pharm to attend dental school this year.
 
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Ugh, seriously? It's like I am reading the comments section of Fox News.
Didn't mean to offend the far-left liberals. Remember, I hate fox news too. However, the brain control is real. Liberals like to pretend like there is no media bias, except with fox. It's pretty laughable that someone could think CNN doesn't have a bias.
 
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This is absolutely a factor. There are a number of students who transitioned away from medicine or pharm to attend dental school this year.
You act like it doesn't happen the other way around though. I know two people who dropped out of dental school after the first year to attend medical school.
 
You act like it doesn't happen the other way around though. I know two people who dropped out of dental school after the first year to attend medical school.

Yes, it happens, but in my anecdotal experience and from these forums it seems to be far more common to go the other way.


Didn't mean to offend the far-left liberals. Remember, I hate fox news too. However, the brain control is real. Liberals like to pretend like there is no media bias, except with fox. It's pretty laughable that someone could think CNN doesn't have a bias though.

While I won't disagree that CNN displays a fair amount of bias, I don't think it is to the same degree as Fox News. To match Fox you would have to go with MSNBC.
 
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Yes, it happens, but in my anecdotal experience and from these forums it seems to be far more common to go the other way.




While I won't disagree that CNN displays a fair amount of bias, I don't think it is to the same degree as Fox News. To match Fox you would have to go with MSNBC.
You are just simply biased. I have read far more accounts of dental students wishing they had gone into medicine than the other way around.

And no, MSNBC is just bat-sh** crazy. You'll hear fox being critical of trump all the time. I've NEVER seen a CNN anchor critical of Hillary. Fox is pretty much sided with the Republican establishment (why I hate them) - and thus pretty anti trump. All mainstream media tries to influence how you think - which is why I hate it all.
 
You are just simply biased. I have read far more accounts of dental students wishing they had gone into medicine than the other way around.

And no, MSNBC is just bat-sh** crazy. You'll hear fox being critical of trump all the time. I've NEVER seen a CNN anchor critical of Hillary. Fox is pretty much sided with the Republican establishment (why I hate them) - and thus pretty anti trump. All mainstream media tries to influence how you think - which is why I hate it all.

I think it's hard to say if there were more dental students who wish they went into medicine or vice versa. I know people who got into both medical and dental and chose dental as well as another person who actually decided medicine wasn't for them after 1 year and switched to dentistry.

This is one of those things we need an unbiased poll to really figure out whether people who are in dentistry wanted it or only chose it because they couldn't do medicine rather than base it off of what you see on SDN.
 
I can tell you this, with my MCAT score + EC'S, I was competitive for allopathic med schools, but Obamacare ruined the profession imo.

Between residency years, work/life balance, and even the quality of care I was seeing when shadowing, General Dentistry > Primary Care and Specializied Dentistry > Medical Specialties.

It was a no brainer once I sat down and weighed everything. I think many are making the same decision that I made.
 
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I can tell you this, with my MCAT score + EC'S, I was competitive for allopathic med schools, but Obamacare ruined the profession imo.

Between residency years, work/life balance, and even the quality of care I was seeing when shadowing, General Dentistry > Primary Care and Specializied Dentistry > Medical Specialties.

It was a no brainer once I sat down and weighed everything. I think many are making the same decision that I made.

Very true. If there is one thing that worries me, it's the rise of corporate dentistry
 
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Very true. If there is one thing that worries me, it's the rise of corporate dentistry
Yep. That's the direction dentistry is headed, unfortunately, I believe. Of most of the dentists i've shadowed, they believe dentistry will go the way of medicine.
 
Historically dentistry is 20 years behind medicine
 
unless a president/congress decides dental care is an absolutely must and pass laws to socialize it, theres no way dentistry is going the way of medicine.

there are a lot of factors that go into this. but don't worry. I can see the rise of corporate dentistry and ballooning student debt but I don't see dentistry going the way of medicine soon.
 
unless a president/congress decides dental care is an absolutely must and pass laws to socialize it, theres no way dentistry is going the way of medicine.

there are a lot of factors that go into this. but don't worry. I can see the rise of corporate dentistry and ballooning student debt but I don't see dentistry going the way of medicine soon.
Dental care a must? Is that even a question? Of course it's a necessity. People don't inherently like going to the dentist, but do anyway. Why? Well have you ever had a bad cavity or an abcess? Dental care is an absolute necessity. The point is that our medical system isn't socialized completely, but it's becoming socialized. Dentistry, without a doubt, will go down that path. Recent changes have required businesses to provide insurance and forced individuals to become insured. Medicaid and Medicare already have stepped their foot into the dental door, and will continue to grow - as they have under obamacare. More and more people are enrolling in the goverment Healthcare programs (there are more than just Medicaid and Medicare). Not only that, insurance in general is expanding with density. When that happens, insurance starts to dictate who controls the reimbursement rates. All of that is already happening in density (which hit medicine a little bit earlier). All it will take is for Medicaid to continue to bloat, laws requiring employers to provide dental insurance, and insurance takeover in general.. soon it will look more and more socialized. It's the small changes over time that transform our Healthcare industry.
 
You are just simply biased. I have read far more accounts of dental students wishing they had gone into medicine than the other way around.

And no, MSNBC is just bat-sh** crazy. You'll hear fox being critical of trump all the time. I've NEVER seen a CNN anchor critical of Hillary. Fox is pretty much sided with the Republican establishment (why I hate them) - and thus pretty anti trump. All mainstream media tries to influence how you think - which is why I hate it all.

Being equally critical of two opposing candidates is not parity. I don't watch either, so I can't say that one is crazier than the other.

What are you watching, reading, listening to that isn't 'trying to influence the way you think' ?
 
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Being equally critical of two opposing candidates is not parity. I don't watch either, so I can't say that one is crazier than the other.

What are you watching, reading, listening to that isn't 'trying to influence the way you think' ?
So you think mainstream media should tell you how to think. Must be why you love hillary so much.
 
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Is there not enough political bickering on Facebook for you? Can you really not just let this terribly off-topic thread die?


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Is there not enough political bickering on Facebook for you? Can you really not just let this terribly off-topic thread die?


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Not sure who you are talking to but Cello doesn't want to seem to let this die. Started with talking about lack of jobs. That's just ammo for politics right before an election right there. Yuck I want to get this stupid election over with already. :beat:
 
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