Dental No undergrad - How can I attend Canadian dental school?

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi. Ive got a question for the unbiased pros.

I'm in my late 20's and have basically held down solid/technically involved jobs since I dropped out of highschool; super strong work ethic and I dont cut corners. I have no real desire to attend school just for the sake of it(aka persuing knowledge in a formal setting just to know things) which is mostly the reason for this thread.

I have since gone back and finished gr.12 equivalents of english, precalc, physics, chem, biology all in the 90th-99th percentile... main reason for doing that was to
A) have a grade 12 diploma to apply for certain jobs going forward and
B) take a stab at it and see how smart I was book wise considering I left highschool in grade 9 in favour of working fulltime.
C) I have considered professional studies but I dont like the uncertainty of being accepted....

Having said that,

Instead of going on to a degree after doing reasonably well in my upgrading I decided to stick to my roots of doing a trade and collecting a paycheque as I dont really see the light at the end of the tunnel of getting a degree to do something I dont/might not particularly enjoy. Well it turns out I dont particularly want to work as a tradesmen for the rest of my life just for the measily paycheque. So now I'm here... mostly ready to commit to dentistry.

When I was around 20 I wanted to persue dentistry but I didnt for a few reasons.

Now that I have come full circle some years later, a little older and a little wiser, I ask myself why not?

It is said to have a back up plan instead of dentistry (aka choose courses that allow you to do something else should you not be successful) but I dont really have a back up plan. Looking at the degrees based on the prereqs dentistry requires, I'm pretty much pinned in to having to get a degree in some field of biology. All I want out of attending undegrad is to go into dentistry.

My main reasons for dentistry: I get to satisfy people/helping people/customer satisfaction, there is a technical aspect of hands on, I get to be my own boss/can run the practice, it pays well, and I'd imagine its not slow and reasonably fast paced.

To re-iterate, the things I enjoy most are seeing a satisfied customer, working directly with my hands to produce, and being my own boss. I wouldnt particularly like sitting still for 40 hours a week, aka I need more than just intellectual stimulation.

If I were to sum up what I'm trying to get out of this post is:

Am I going to have a reasonable guarantee of being able to get into dentistry without completing a degree(aka getting into a 2nd year or 3rd year accepting school)?

If I only complete the pre-reqs for dental school and then "drop out" of sciences, am I going to be looked upon negatively on the 2nd(if it came to that) Dschool application when I'm no longer studying sciences?

Being that I'm in my late 20's, kind of a late bloomer on the schooling aspect, and that I dont particularly have a super-duper interest in the sciences for the sake of them to just get a degree and be happy working in a lab doing sciency things, would I be taking too much of a risk to go down this path of only taking science pre-reqs to take a shot at dental school?

Thanks in advance.

I have a suspicion to ask this question: where are you attempting to enroll in dental school? Are you in the United States?

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[Mr.Smile12]

Why are you having a suspicion?

The way you describe your education doesn't sound like you were educated through the United States education system. And the spelling. It will help our responses if we had a better idea of your academic history.

 

[Goro]

What do the Canadian DDS schools say on their Admissions websites???

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Most applicants to dental school are completing or have completed bachelor's degrees. Since you are applying to Canadian dental schools, you have to check in with their application process (AADSAS, OMSAS, or direct). They are very well known for being metrics driven and unapologetically so. If you are applying without a bachelors degree, unless there is another mechanism for early admission, you are setting yourself up to fail.

I hope I understood your post and question. You should carefully read the Canadian dental schools websites, the ADEA AADSAS website, and the Canadian Dental Association website for a better idea about the career training pathway and opportunities.

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[Mr.Smile12]

I graduated undergrad last year (2018) and am applying MD this cycle with no IIs yet, submitted late July/ August and some in September. I applied to 35 schools, have 5 pre II holds, and 3 rejections. I am wondering if I can get any advice on how to improve my application--foremost to increase my chances for this cycle, but also to prepare for reapplication if necessary. Thank you so much for your time.

1. 3.57 cGPA and 3.52 sGPA at top undergrad school, upward trend (BCPM: 2.82/3.14/3.77/3.75)
2. MCAT 515 (130/128/129/128)
3. NY resident, US citizen
4. Asian
5. Clinical experience: 250 volunteering at a hospital, 50 hours volunteering at school for sick children
6. Research experience and productivity: research technician at a lab for 2 years during undergrad and 2 years after graduation full time, co-author in top high impact journal (2900 hours)
7. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: 12 hours
8. Non-clinical volunteering: 200 hours of tutoring for an underserved community
9. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): leadership position on literary magazine, president of a cultural club. During gap years: research full time, continuing volunteering and teaching myself Spanish, joined a regional swim team, took class and studying for EMT certification currently.
10. Relevant honors or awards: Dean's list junior and senior year
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important: I am working towards EMT certification right now and had not taken the certification test at the time of my primaries submission. I am also starting a clinical volunteering position at a hospital next week that I want to update schools about once I start.

List of schools I have applied to:
Albert Einstein
BU (rejected pre II)
Case Western
Columbia
Hofstra
Howard
Drexel (pre II hold)
Emory
Geisel (rejected pre II)
George Washington (pre II hold)
Mount Sinai
SUNY Buffalo
Keck USC
Temple
NYMC (pre II hold)
Northwestern
Penn State (pre II hold)
Quinnipiac
Rutgers
Sidney Kimmel
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Upstate (pre II hold)
Tufts
Tulane
UCSD
U Cincinnati
U Maryland
U Miami
U Mich
U Pitt (rejected pre II)
U Rochester
Wash U St. Louis
Warren Alpert Brown
Weill Cornell

Of the schools on your list, which ones have you made networking connections before you started the application process? Networking connections can be students, recent alumni, or admissions staff or student affairs staff.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

On my behalf, I wasn't aware of the large application process differentiation between Canada and US and that this site is largely US domestic. Having said that, my quick study of US D schools seem to require degrees and in general the application process seems to be more involved for a US school. I have spent a reasonable amount of my time reviewing the admissions policy's to Canadian schools and quite frankly there is 1, maybe 2 schools I'm interested in applying to in Canada. To further narrow my question down, I will give specifics related to the school I am seeking admissions. I won't go into details why I'd only be considering 1 maybe 2 dental schools in Canada, but it is what it is.

As per Goro's question:
What does the schools site say for their admission criteria? Well... if we're going to be that black and white about it.... this is what it says:

1. It lists the pre req courses.... 36 credits make up the pre-reqs. They can be completed in 2 years.
2. It says the amount of credits required for application....which is 60.
3. It says the DAT is required, and they only look at a portion of the DAT to calculate admission.
4. It says an MMI and only an MMI interview is required
5. It says that the admission formula is derived from X% of the GPA is used. X% of the DAT is used. X% of the interview is used.



So, the school in question does allow for early admission. There is no undergrad requirement. It appears be strictly metrics driven.

Is it that black and white? If I simply do the 36 required pre reqs and then complete 24 more credits, write the DAT, and do the interview. I'm in? Taking that a step further.... Say I have a 4.0 GPA. I get a 75/90 on the DAT, and a 80% on the interview, and I haven't attended school since my 60th credit. Compared to another student applying with an undergrad or even a masters has a 3.9GPA, a 74/90 DAT, and a 80% interview.

Based on asking what does the admissions website say: then you say I get a seat over this other individual. I calculate out better. Even though surely there is another more diversely educated applicant.
Based on being metrics driven, and unapologetically so, I should also get the seat.
There should be no gray area.
BUT...is there actually no gray area?
Is there a gray area in the admissions committee that just isn't listed?
Do schools literally just tick the boxes off and I get the seat?

So to re-summarize, looking solely at the admissions criteria at this school: is it that black and white? Or am I setting myself up for failure by doing the bare minimum, but doing it to a better "metric" than the others that are applying.

I cannot speak for the programs that you are targeting about what they see in their application pools, which is one reason why I always suggest early networking prior to applying. I am sure they are not allowed to deviate from what their website says do where they're may be a gray/grey area is not clear to me.

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