To kind of get straight to the point with my really complicated question, I am really interested in both Pre-Med and Pre-Dent. I am a freshman in college currently. If I continue to go Pre-Med, I most likely want to specialize in Dermatology. If I switch to Pre-Dent, I most likely want to specialize in oral surgery. I am having trouble deciding which path to choose for a multitude of reasons. 1, I know dermatology is an extremely competitive field. 2, I’m pretty sure dental school debt exceeds that of med school by a long run. 3, I probably have better shadowing opportunities with oral surgery because my mom works at a dental office and has connections to highly regarded oral surgeons, one of which is an associate professor at Yale who might be able to write me an outstanding letter of recommendation. I could also probably somehow get a job at my mom’s work over one summer. I guess the cost of dental school is really a huge discouraging factor. I really want to get into a good medical / dental program and believe my best shot would lie in pre-dent. But again, the price…
You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Don’t worry about “pre-med” or “pre-dent.” I didn’t even know there was a such thing as pre-dent anyway. The prerequisites for dental and medical school are basically the same. If you major in biology and take a semester of calculus, it should be more than enough for any medical or dental school. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you major in as long as you have the prerequisites. I had a friend who got into medical school with an English degree.
It is normally 1 year of calculus (2 semesters or 3 quarters) and agree that the pre-med and pre-dental science curriculums are basically the same. I know of someone who majored in economics/math who worked at Goldman’s Sachs for a couple of years, later got into medical school but turned it down to stay in investment banking (salaries are high). This person took all the science prerequisites for medical/dental school while majoring in econ/math. To get admitted to a good or top school, the GPA for medical is a little higher than for dental school.
First, since you’re a freshman, now is the time to make sure that you will take all the required courses for any potential application to dental or medical school. These vary a bit by profession, and vary a bit by specific professional school. Your school’s pre-health advisor and an extensive internet search will give you the answers you need.
Second, see what other parts of a successful application are needed. Again, these will vary according to profession.
Third, not sure why you think dental school is more expensive than medical school; it isn’t, but both are extremely expensive. Have you considered how you would pay for either?
There’s really no question(s) in your post, but based on what you’ve written, there is a lot of research you need to do.
And learn something new every day; didn’t know Yale had a dental school.
@StudentBMA2 Two cents!
Cent 1:
Check with your pre-med & pre-dent offices of your current school and plan to complete all the pre-requisite courses. Mostly both tracks courses should be the same, may be 1 or 2 may differ. Typically 1 year of Chem, OChem, Physics, Math/Stat, English/Writing, Sociology, Bio, 1 semester of BioChem. Some of them you can get credit if you have AP with 4 or 5 score. Meantime, try to shadow clinicians in both dental and medical fields. Plan for your clinical and non-clinical voluntary work on a consistent basis.
Cent 2:
You decide your career choice because that line of business interests you, you have a passion, you have the ambitious goal & determination to solve a problem which is haunting some population of the world. That is what will make you to do that job day in and day out for 40+ years. Also assess your skills and strengths to ensure the career path are aligned.
Get strong LOR because of what you have done during volunteer / shadow work and not because of your connections. Don’t decide dental or medicine because of the price. Both are expensive and agree dental is more expensive. But later explore where there are opportunities to get some price break (need or merit or external scholarship) by identifying the right schools (IS vs OOS).
Choose specialty (Oral surgery or Derm) later once you know and even can comprehend what it means for a career and what pros and cons than the earning potential alone. Some may give more $, but positions are hardly 1/10th (#of Derms needed may be 10% of FM/Peds/ObGyn). Also it depends on where you are flexible to work (Metro, rural, suburban) and depends on your spouse/family career/locations. Lot of dots need to be connected later in life and some times it may not be straight line.
Last week met a 3rd student in a MD college. He told he does not know what specialty he is planning to pursue but admitted he better decide in the by this semester after rotations since he will be applying for residency this year.
I agree you’re getting way, way, way ahead of yourself.
Concentrate on doing well academically this first year of college. Once you’ve got your academics down, then you need to some job shadowing of both dentists and physicians. (Shadowing is an expected EC for both dental and med school.)
Then you can start to think about which profession you prefer more.
And I hate to toss a bucket of cold water on your ambitions, but dermatology is one of THE most competitive specialties. Less of 1% of US MD grads match into derm. You need to be one THE best med students in the US to get a derm residency positions.
Likewise oral maxllofacial surgery is THE most competitive specialty in dentistry. Not only do you need a dental degree, you also need to earn a medical degree to admitted to the 4 post-grad program.
If these are the only specialties you’re interested in, you probably need to re-think your career goals.
No one can stop your target high. However, you need to prove that those targets are attainable. If you can come back after you completed the second year in college, you have accomplished a very high GPA with all the basic science courses behind you. Maybe your goals can be a reality. But right now, go back to the desk and work hard.