Worth applying to dental school?

[pulsar23921]

Would appreciate some honest input. Bullet points might be a bit more digestible:

- Finished bachelors degree in 2013 and matriculated to a US MD school in 2014.
- Passed first block of courses on pass/fail curriculum.
- Dropped out mid second block, transcript shows "withdrawal."
- Dropping out motivated by depression, not coping well with moving away from home, recent break-up, and dreading the 7+ year path ahead of me.
- Took off 2 years to work and then went back to school for a non-STEM masters degree.
- Have been working in this profession for the last ~5 years with proven success (promotions, increasing amounts of responsibility.)

I believe that I have addressed in my personal life the issues that lead to my dropping out, in that I can point toward my success (in a stressful professional) as evidence of this. I'm motivated to pursue dental school for the "right" reasons: an interest in medical/dental science, a desire to help people in poorly served areas (GP in my rural hometown), and being engaged with physical, hands-on work. I think I have a realistic view of what dental school and dentistry are, and I also feel that dentistry/dental school would have been a better fit than medicine/medical school.

Assuming I take some more recent coursework and obtain the necessary recommendations and DAT scores, do I stand a chance at getting into dental school? For what it's worth, I have a strong undergraduate and graduate GPA (3.85) and I can likely, with a lot of practice, score in the 80th percentile on the DAT, similar to how I did on the MCAT. Due to family considerations, I am constrained to schools in the NY/NJ/PA region.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Would appreciate some honest input. Bullet points might be a bit more digestible:

- Finished bachelors degree in 2013 and matriculated to a US MD school in 2014.
- Passed first block of courses on pass/fail curriculum.
- Dropped out mid second block, transcript shows "withdrawal."
- Dropping out motivated by depression, not coping well with moving away from home, recent break-up, and dreading the 7+ year path ahead of me.
- Took off 2 years to work and then went back to school for a non-STEM masters degree.
- Have been working in this profession for the last ~5 years with proven success (promotions, increasing amounts of responsibility.)

I believe that I have addressed in my personal life the issues that lead to my dropping out, in that I can point toward my success (in a stressful professional) as evidence of this. I'm motivated to pursue dental school for the "right" reasons: an interest in medical/dental science, a desire to help people in poorly served areas (GP in my rural hometown), and being engaged with physical, hands-on work. I think I have a realistic view of what dental school and dentistry are, and I also feel that dentistry/dental school would have been a better fit than medicine/medical school.

Assuming I take some more recent coursework and obtain the necessary recommendations and DAT scores, do I stand a chance at getting into dental school? For what it's worth, I have a strong undergraduate and graduate GPA (3.85) and I can likely, with a lot of practice, score in the 80th percentile on the DAT, similar to how I did on the MCAT. Due to family considerations, I am constrained to schools in the NY/NJ/PA region.

Thanks for all the background information. I'm not sure if anyone on this forum can answer your questions with certainty. It would be best if you approached dental schools directly with your situation before embarking on this journey. Since you've been out of school for quite a while, you'll need to put in a lot of effort to catch up on your GC and Orgo. Biology requires a lot of memorization, so that will take a significant amount of work as well. However, the Chemistries will likely pose the greatest challenge.

I always say that there is hope with a great personal statement and high DAT scores. I do believe it is possible for you to secure interviews at some dental schools, although not all. That is why it is crucial to do your homework first and reach out to schools in advance.

I hope this information helps you, and I wish you the best.

Nancy

 

[frenzysword]

No one can stop you from succeeding if you are truly passionate about something. Your grades are good from what I have seen you listed above. If you can explain well in your personal statement, and convince the interviewer during the interviews. I don't think anything would make you less competent than others.

I am a third-year student, I have a quite lot of classmates who are non-traditional students and from different fields. Just make sure you apply early, with good letters.

 

[Ivy.ch]

I graduated college in 2012, so I think you’re a couple years older than I am. I would really hesitate to recommend you go through with applying to Dental school. The payout and Return on investment for going to Dental school just isn’t worth it at our age anymore. I look at my classmates, some of who are really struggling to make it work with loans. In your region, the only schools I could stomach you attending are Rutgers, Stony Brook, or Buffalo. Anywhere else would be catastrophically expensive.

 

[pulsar23921]

Thanks for all the background information. I'm not sure if anyone on this forum can answer your questions with certainty. It would be best if you approached dental schools directly with your situation before embarking on this journey. Since you've been out of school for quite a while, you'll need to put in a lot of effort to catch up on your GC and Orgo. Biology requires a lot of memorization, so that will take a significant amount of work as well. However, the Chemistries will likely pose the greatest challenge.

I always say that there is hope with a great personal statement and high DAT scores. I do believe it is possible for you to secure interviews at some dental schools, although not all. That is why it is crucial to do your homework first and reach out to schools in advance.

I hope this information helps you, and I wish you the best.

Nancy

Thanks for the input. What would this even look like? Requesting a meeting with an admissions representative of each school (do they even do that)? An email briefly explaining my situation before I even apply?

I graduated college in 2012, so I think you’re a couple years older than I am. I would really hesitate to recommend you go through with applying to Dental school. The payout and Return on investment for going to Dental school just isn’t worth it at our age anymore. I look at my classmates, some of who are really struggling to make it work with loans. In your region, the only schools I could stomach you attending are Rutgers, Stony Brook, or Buffalo. Anywhere else would be catastrophically expensive.

I work in a financial type career so I'm familiar with accurately running numbers... the debt would be concerning but monthly payments and "tax bomb" on REPAYE would be more than manageable.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

the debt would be concerning but monthly payments and "tax bomb" on REPAYE would be more than manageable

Big Hoss

 

[pulsar23921]

View attachment 379558

Big Hoss

Assuming $175k gross income and SAVE IDR enrollment: 25 years of $1200/month student loan payment and $270/month tax bomb investment (3% inflation adjusted RoR to cover a ~$120k tax bill).

I'm not worried about the financial aspects of it, more like "is it even possible to gain admission."

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Assuming $175k gross income and SAVE IDR enrollment: 25 years of $1200/month student loan payment and $270/month tax bomb investment (3% inflation adjusted RoR to cover a ~$120k tax bill).

Big Hoss

 

[axiumgod]

I think you could do it. A withdrawal is a lot less bad than being dismissed.

Seems like you have a grasp on the financial aspect. Obligatory advice to go to the cheapest possible school, and don’t apply to NYU.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Thanks for the input. What would this even look like? Requesting a meeting with an admissions representative of each school (do they even do that)? An email briefly explaining my situation before I even apply?



I work in a financial type career so I'm familiar with accurately running numbers... the debt would be concerning but monthly payments and "tax bomb" on REPAYE would be more than manageable.

Most students lack the courage to take this effective approach. If possible, consider showing up in person at a nearby dental school. Explain your situation to the person at the front desk, and if you're lucky, you may get to speak with someone right away. It's crucial to reach out to the school you want to attend and ask for their recommendations to see if you have a chance at getting an interview.

Over the years, I have guided many students who have had success with this approach. While it may not work for everyone, it's worth giving it a try. Schools are more likely to ignore phone calls and emails, but it's not as easy for them to dismiss you if you show up in person.

Give it a shot and see what happens. Just my two cents.

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Nancy

 

[LFA20]

Assuming $175k gross income and SAVE IDR enrollment: 25 years of $1200/month student loan payment and $270/month tax bomb investment (3% inflation adjusted RoR to cover a ~$120k tax bill).

I'm not worried about the financial aspects of it, more like "is it even possible to gain admission."

Academically speaking you will have no problem getting in IMO. The issue is cost. Unless you have some kind of savings/help(parents, military, NHSC), I'd say it's not worth it.

 

[Roto Picante]

I am going to assume a few things that I think are important information in this decision.
1. Judging by your undergrad grad year that you are 32-33?
2. At least some current coursework will be necessary

Some simple math would mean that you will need 1.5-2 years of classes plus a 1 year app cycle. If you start in January you may be able to apply during 2025 and matriculate in 2026. So you will start school at the age of 35 or 36 and graduate close to 40.

I have always said, If I still HAVE to work at 60, I imagine I won't like this very much any more. I have seen too many careers of dentists I know decline in their 50's due to the physical demand of doing daily dentistry or due to the fact that they just don't want to work that hard that late in life. So what I am saying is that someone starting dental school should have a plan to be FIRE close to 55-59 or not start at all.

So I ask, what don't you like about your current career? Are you doing well financially? Are you living close to your family that you can't move far from?

 

[pulsar23921]

I am going to assume a few things that I think are important information in this decision.
1. Judging by your undergrad grad year that you are 32-33?
2. At least some current coursework will be necessary

Some simple math would mean that you will need 1.5-2 years of classes plus a 1 year app cycle. If you start in January you may be able to apply during 2025 and matriculate in 2026. So you will start school at the age of 35 or 36 and graduate close to 40.

I have always said, If I still HAVE to work at 60, I imagine I won't like this very much any more. I have seen too many careers of dentists I know decline in their 50's due to the physical demand of doing daily dentistry or due to the fact that they just don't want to work that hard that late in life. So what I am saying is that someone starting dental school should have a plan to be FIRE close to 55-59 or not start at all.

[/QUOTE]

Very good point, I've heard how physically demanding dentistry can be.

So I ask, what don't you like about your current career? Are you doing well financially? Are you living close to your family that you can't move far from?

Earning potential relative to stress and hours aren't great. I make low 100s with manageable levels of stress in a lower level management role. More money is available but the stress levels go up considerably and the hours tend to average 55-65/week, especially when one progresses beyond $150k/year. Lack of geographic flexibility. I want to go rural, back to my hometown. My job doesn't exist in rural areas. I'm also unsatisfied with staring at screens all day. I like problem solving with my hands and being "helpful."