Dental If I explore other career options after college will it kill my chance of ever getting into dental school?

[setdoc7]

Hey all,

I'm a 24 year old considering pursuing other career options after dedicating much of my college to working towards dental school. I've been working as a dental assistant for around a year now and have been having second thoughts about applying to dental school for around a similar duration. It's not that I don't have a passion for it or wouldn't be happy doing it, but the prospective debt load is scaring me quite a bit. It's hard for me to envision going >$350,000 in debt considering I don't have much family to rely on since my parents passed away. I've been giving it a lot of thought about if it makes sense financially for me to pursue dentistry and it's giving me quite a bit of pause.

I've been taking online CS classes and have been doing fairly well and have been getting some offers for CS internships in the meantime. I've programming as a hobby since HS but haven't really done anything professionally with it. I suppose my question is that if I take any of these internships, how big of a red flag would that be on a potential application in the future? It's hard for me to close the door on dentistry because I really do love it, but it's hard for me to see myself doing it financially and might want to see if I could see myself doing something else.

Not sure if this matters but my stats are pretty good otherwise. GPA: 3.8, sGPA: 3.7 and have done fairly well (~22) on practice DAT tests I've taken. I also have quite a bit of clinical, volunteering, and research experience from undergrad. I have over 500 hours as a DA as well.

Thank you for anyone willing to chime in.

Technology is a big part of dentistry. Having a great CS background can only be helpful if you decide to become a dentist. I certainly understand the debt being a large factor in your decision, but with your good grades, and a potential high DAT score, you may not only qualify for your state school which would be a reasonable tuition by today's standards, but you may be able to get into the PHS scholarship program or one of the military pathways which would also greatly reduce your ultimate debt. CS is always useful, but it is not a clinically based profession like dentistry. It will basically come down to what you want out of work, and what you are willing to sacrifice.

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[2TH MVR]

I think you are a smart individual in keeping your options open. You also have great stats. You should be able to gain acceptance to a less expensive DS.
As for the CS internship .... I look at that as a POSITIVE on your DS app. Computer language is the current and future direction for all technology. DS want unique applicants that can add knowledge to their program. CS knowledge is invaluable. Just word it properly. You want to be a dentist and you want to improve or investigate current dental technology with your CS background.

Good luck.

 

[Cold Front]

Stellar stats, that’s definitely a shoe in at most schools. With 500+ hours DA experience, you should know by now if you like dentistry enough to be a dentist.

The cost of dental school is definitely a factor, and I’m glad you are aware of it. But if you fish for the cheapest schools, sub $200k range, you will be in far better position with your debt than most students at other schools.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

There are many applicants who work in different fields before preparing and presenting a very strong application to dental school. CS/IT or engineering or law or business... we've seen those and we've seen many offers extended to them. So to your original question: we understand if people work after graduating, especially if you are cognizant enough to save up some money for your education. The only little issue might be to make sure there are no concerns that you are "too far removed" from rigorous coursework. Given your undergraduate statistics, I would hope that's not a big factor, but you can't ever be sure without checking with individual schools.