Picking the best route

[Dr.Sauce 0]

Hello! I'm considering pursuing a career in dentistry and I'm trying to figure out the best/fastest way to get there.

A bit of background info:

I graduated from a business program with a major in finance and have been working as an accountant in the entertainment industry for approximately 4 years now.  I have no idea what has drawn me to dentistry but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for the last year or so.  I've done a ton a research to make sure that this is the right step for me, and I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on this.

Academically here's where I stand:

I don't have my pre-requisite courses, and my graduating GPA from finance was a measly 2.97.  I've passed the first two out of three CFA exams if that make any difference at all.  I know I'll have to get better grades going forward, but I'd be going all in by going down this path and failure is not an option.

 

From what I've read my choices are to either do a bachelors in a health based program or to do a masters, and then to demolish the DAT followed by applying to every dentistry school under the sun.

 

What are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear anything and everything you all have to share.

 

[Chaxon 17]

Gpa matters a lot in Canada. If you wanna save time just finish Pre-reqs online and go to Australia, Ireland or USA. That way you can work and still have money coming in while finishing your pre reqs.

[JohnGrisham 1,754]

21 minutes ago, Chaxon said:

Gpa matters a lot in Canada. If you wanna save time just finish Pre-reqs online and go to Australia, Ireland or USA. That way you can work and still have money coming in while finishing your pre reqs.

They are not getting into the USA with a 2.97gpa

OP, its great you have a new interest in dent.  Start by taking some pre-requisites at a local college or university, start off slow, take 1-2 classes per term or more if youre leaving work. Prove to yourself you can even handle 100 and 200 level pre-reqs and do WELL, before you even consider thinking about applying. Then yes, once that is under your belt, and then prepare for the DAT and do well. Then apply to Aussie and Ireland(both are expensive), and Canada if you somehow get things into a competitive range and are from a province where things are more lax, but its likely aussie or ireland. But you need to prove it with courses and then after 1-2 years the DAT.

[Chaxon 17]

Idk man. There are a decent amount of private US dental universities that are in it for the money. If he can build up extracurriculars/shadowing, get a high DAT score, and have a good interview score I think he’d get in. 

After all money talks, he’d have to pay more obvi. If he’s passed the CFA level 2 he should be decently smart and get a high DAT score. Explain to the interviews why his GPA was low before and get in.

or he can avoid the whole GPA weight and just go to Australia. Also just another business scheme imo lol. 

[Starburst 71]

On 5/24/2019 at 4:39 AM, Chaxon said:

Idk man. There are a decent amount of private US dental universities that are in it for the money. If he can build up extracurriculars/shadowing, get a high DAT score, and have a good interview score I think he’d get in. 

After all money talks, he’d have to pay more obvi. If he’s passed the CFA level 2 he should be decently smart and get a high DAT score. Explain to the interviews why his GPA was low before and get in.

or he can avoid the whole GPA weight and just go to Australia. Also just another business scheme imo lol. 

While that's true it's almost unrealistic with a 2.97 GPA unless you have a money tree. And even Australian schools have high standards, a 2.97 GPA won't get you into any program there.

Dr.Sauce The best route is doing a bachelor's while taking a full course-load and absolutely killing it. There are no shortcuts, in fact it might be pointless doing a Masters since your GPA is extremely low. You still have a good chance in Canada since schools like Western look at your best 2 years. Hopefully this is some sort of encouragement. 

[Chaxon 17]

https://sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/faculty-of-medicine-and-health/guides/md-dmd-international-admissions-guide.pdf

 

page 11. Minimum 2.7 gpa for Sydney university. And they don’t consider in the admissions process.

 

Dr. Sauce, email oztrekk. They’ll tell you what you can apply to and if you need anything. 

 

 

[cleanup 433]

As someone who works in finance I hope you understand the gravity of taking on half a million dollars of debt.

[Chaxon 17]

Just curious. Are you a dentist that switched into finance? @cleanup

 

[cleanup 433]

3 hours ago, Chaxon said:

Just curious. Are you a dentist that switched into finance? @cleanup

 

No, I'm referring to OP (who is currently in the finance field). I'm a practicing dentist.

My brother is in finance and he would laugh the face off of anyone who told him they were going to shell out $500k and 4 years of earning potential to go into a rapidly shrinking field.

The dental industry is becoming a value-based service industry, and the old dogs who lead the educational side of things (not only the schools but also our regulatory bodies) are performing a large money grab as good baby boomers should. It's a lot like the direction pharmacy went in that way. 

[GlassHalfFull 12]

16 minutes ago, cleanup said:

No, I'm referring to OP (who is currently in the finance field). I'm a practicing dentist.

My brother is in finance and he would laugh the face off of anyone who told him they were going to shell out $500k and 4 years of earning potential to go into a rapidly shrinking field.

The dental industry is becoming a value-based service industry, and the old dogs who lead the educational side of things (not only the schools but also our regulatory bodies) are performing a large money grab as good baby boomers should. It's a lot like the direction pharmacy went in that way. 

Just curious.. when you mention rapidly shrinking field, do you mean that dentistry is not worth pursuing anymore? Or does that refer to the saturation in big cities?

[cleanup 433]

1 hour ago, GlassHalfFull said:

Just curious.. when you mention rapidly shrinking field, do you mean that dentistry is not worth pursuing anymore? Or does that refer to the saturation in big cities?

Mainly saturation and the high matriculation of internationally-trained dentists. I find markets are being saturated, quality control & standards are going down, patients becoming increasingly more price conscious vs. service conscious, level of insurance coverage dropping (esp as more people become self-employed), etc. 

I don't think this is some consequence of the public and society as a whole being against dentistry, although there are some uncontrollable factors at play. By and large though, it's made umpteen times worse by the fact that dentists are slowly dismantling their own field for short-term personal gains. It's a race to the bottom.