high schooler to a foreign med school

Bigredmed
Thu, 18 May 2006 01:51:30 +0000

The pre-reqs are almost entirely the same.

Your MCAT will not show up on your transcripts at all.

The limited number of spots (fewer schools with smaller classes) does make dental school very competitive, especially b/c you do not have to finish a bachelor’s degree - only three years (90 hours) of undergrad. Again, like any graduate school you need to show dedication to the profession. There is a lot of money invested in you to become a dentist, they want to make sure you make it through. You need to shadow dentists (just like you would doctors), work in a dental lab, or somehow show that you are dedicated to dentistry. There are many students who desperately want to be dentists (my cousin among them) and for you to take this cavalier attitude that dentistry is a “backup” will be noticed. Also, I really think that if dentistry is viewed as some sort of begrudged alternative you will be extremely unhappy in practice, and also in school. Dental school is just as rigorous as medical school, and I can attest that if you aren’t 100% tied to the profession, the schooling will destroy you. Medical school will (and has in my class) weed out any who are at all hesitant to become doctors. Dental school will do the same.