How to Pick a School that Vibes with You: Part 4
Personal Stories of Selecting a School
In searching for a location, there are many things that can affect your choices, and your path to dental school. Here are a few stories and experiences from friends and colleagues :
The Family Lover:
The family lover is someone who must live in the same state as mom and dad. He or she has separation anxiety. There are several reasons why the family lover cannot be far far away from the parents, for one the parents may rely on the family lover for social support if they do not speak English well. The family lover is committed to the family and that is why he or she is going for a professional degree. He or she will help the family out economically in the future.
If you are a family lover, do not apply to a state far far away. When you get this acceptance you most likely will say no. Apply to states that border yours or have direct flights to get home quickly and easily.
If you are a family lover and want to increase your odds of getting into dental school by applying to out of state schools, you should talk with you family. Prepare them if get into an out of state dental school. Will you go? Will they support you?
The Good Daughter:
My friend Regina and I were both pre-dental students at UCLA. We both said that we would attend any dental school that accepted us. She applied first, while I took a year "off" to work and applied the following year. Regina is a good daughter. She is always there to help her family especially in difficult times. She told me stories about driving her sick family members to and from the hospital when she was in high school.
When the application cycle came to an end Regina got into one school, Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. This was unknown and far from the comfort of California. Regina declined her acceptance and choose to hide it from her family. She worked the next two years and spent quality time at home before she applied a second time. This time she decided to accept her invitation to attend the neighboring out of state school: Midwestern University in Arizona. She now works in public health dental clinics in California.
In the end, Regina ended up attending dental school a year after me. Life works out very differently then how you plan, but we all get to the finish line. Do what is right for you.
Life Happens:
My friend Emma was accepted in UCLA school of dentistry. When she was supposed to start dental school her dad needed triple bypass surgery. She decided to put her acceptance on hold last minute to be with her family. UCLA would not hold her spot, and she knew that she would have to reapply the following year.
Emma took the year off and spent time with her father, nursing him back to health. After his recovery, she applied to dental school. She got into UCLA the second time. Emma received her DDS from UCLA and is now pursuing an executive masters in public health degree at UCLA.
Life happens. If you get into dental school and decide to decline your invitation for personal reasons, it is not the end of your career. You hear time and time again that if you get in and don’t go, you will have a hard time getting in again. The dental schools will somehow know and blacklist you. There is truth to the part about dental school being difficult to get into, but if you were good enough to get in once you already have the qualities the schools are seeking. Just explain yourself and why you decided not to attend on your initial acceptance.
Dental school is pretty darn hard to get into. If you get into a dental school and decide not to go, you better have a great explanation for this the second time you apply.