You mean the opposite, of course.
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Just to clarify, it’s the University of Mississippi, not Mississippi State. The two are different institutions.
Oh yes. Thanks. Also only state residents can attend, so would have to live there for a year beforehand. Minnesota’s state university also offers dental school and has a 38% acceptance rate. I’m still going to apply to BU if I get that far. Unfortunately UMASS does not offer it (unless I’m mistaken). Of course I would love to go to BU.
Exactly! This is what many of us have been saying.
Anecdotally, my daughter thought she was interested in veterinary medicine. So she spent 6 weeks volunteering 4 days a week at a vet clinic… and decided that was not the right fit for her (primarily due to severe allergies that while normally controlled (we have always had pets) were problematic when exposed to 8 hours a day of pet dander). However, there were aspects she really did enjoy… the lab work and providing emotional support for both pets and their owners, in particular. Valuable information. So now she is on a pre-med track (biochem major). She had an unpaid internship this past summer at an urban free health clinic. Loved it… so that supports she is moving in the right direction with her career choice. She is currently shadowing a doctor one day a week… observing office visits and outpatient procedures (e.g. gallbladder, colonoscopy)… loves it. More validation she is pursuing a career she will enjoy. Next summer she has applied for a research position, but if it does not work out she plans to get her EMT certification so she can work through her college’s EMT group her junior and senior years.
You can do something similar with dental-related volunteering. Then if you enjoy it pursue entry-level work for further validation (and some income). Consider that experienced dental hygienists can do quite well; I know someone personally who makes approximately $130k in an urban area and LOVES her job, particularly the patient interactions. That was much more economically attainable (and much quicker) than going to dental school.
Please keep in mind what many posters have shared… most applicants submit 15-20 applications and only 40% receive even one acceptance and it could be across the country from your home state. And those who are accepted look like the students shared in the profile shared by @Creekland. Personally I think the idea of picking up your life and moving to MS for the remote hope of acceptance to the UMMC School of Dentistry is farfetched. On the positive side, the cost of living in Mississippi is a fraction of that of Boston. You could live a very good life with a career that does not involve med/dental school.
(Edits for typos)
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If I did put in the effort, volunteering, shadowing experience, completing undergrad at different college etc. There is no doubt that at least one med school may accept me.
That being said, that’s an awful financial debt and burden to take on for someone who is so sure. So I should not put the cart before the horse.
As you and others have pointed out, at this point I would like to test the waters and see what it’s about. I’ll ask around.
At this point regardless, I think I will be switching to UMASS Lowell, but will finish this semester at SNHU since I’m only taking a history and math class right now. That will give me the chance this Summer, to look for some volunteer work before next fall semester to decide whether I even like it first.
I think I’m steering more towards healthcare work instead of environmental science.
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I applaud your optimism.
I hope you will continue to update this thread as you do more research and talk to advisors. Your journey and evolving thought process will help others who find this thread.
Best of luck!
I am concerned that you are really not understanding your odds of admission and what the other applicants to medical and dental school are bringing to the table.
You say
If I did put in the effort, volunteering, shadowing experience, completing undergrad at different college etc. There is no doubt that at least one med school may accept me.
But…every single applicant to medical school does all of that. And more than half of them don’t get accepted. Your doing that puts you in the running but does not provide “no doubt” that you will get accepted anywhere, let alone your top choice.
And to be honest, most of the other applicants will have a more consistently strong academic record than you will have, even if you transfer to UMass Lowell. Please also look into other health-related fields that you would enjoy before spending so much time and effort and money into a path that does not seem at all guaranteed to bring you what you want.
And if you do transfer to UMass Lowell, and if your chemistry and physics courses were taken at a community college or online (which is what I think you posted), then most med schools and dental schools are going to want to see you take advanced courses in those disciplines at the four-year college to prove your mastery of those subjects. They are not going to want to accept the community college or online version of those courses, and they are not going to want to see you retake those exact same courses at Lowell. So please, if you do decide to continue this route, talk to an advisor about this issue – both at Lowell and at the medical/dental schools.
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Thanks and all great points. I will say even if I wasn’t going into dental, I would be interested in switching schools based on what others have said here, to pursue other health related fields. I’m not as happy with my current major. What I can do in the meantime would be asking around to shadow over a clinic and see what it’s actually like. Then pursue college with the mindset that I will be accepted into med school… while also looking at other options. I agree not to get my mind set on one thing, but I still want to put myself into the position of having a chance at being accepted by a med school in case I decide to go that route and it’s a possibility. I fully understand it may not happen.
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That sounds reasonable. Good luck to you!
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Oops I corrected that. Medical schools REJECT far more students than they accept. Far more!
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I’m sure that is what the 60% of applicants who get zero acceptances think every year.
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Even 45% means more are rejected than accepted, and that’s from a limited pool of residents.
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Also, how do you do on standardized tests? Both the MCAT and DAT are long , arduous, difficult exams.
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And those are just the beginning…test after test after test….oh and you get to pay to take them too. And sometimes you have to fly to a different location to take them.
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How do you do on standardized testing?
I’ve never taken my SATs either, and that’s why I went to community college. Not sure if that would be a stain on my record as well.
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Ironically… if someone had told me 10 years ago that graduate schools don’t take community or online colleges seriously… I definitely would not have gone.
The whole sales pitch I received was, go to community in case you want to pursue higher education later on in life. You have that option, because at least you have an associates.
Turns out I made my life more difficult going back to college 10 years later, than if I had bit the bullet at 18 and put in the work. I never once had that conversation.
I don’t think that’s true of most grad schools but from what others with a lot of knowledge have previously posted, it can be a problem for med school and dental school if you don’t also take more advanced courses in those subjects at a four-year university.
Did you take the PSAT?
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Many graduate programs DO take community college and online courses…and especially if you get some work experience after you get that bachelors.
It’s professional schools where this is an issue.
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So do you think it would be beneficial
if I got my bachelors at a 4 year university instead of SNHU? Like I could just finish my bachelors at SNHU, and the take extra courses at UMASS afterward. From what I hear though, a degree from a real university looks better. Only reason I care, I could get my bachelors a lot faster if I didn’t start over at another school.
I will definitely continue to update this thread on this journey. I’m sure it will help others who have the same idea in their heads.
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