If you’ve ever contemplated a career in dentistry, two sites might warrant review: “Becoming a Dentist,” at http://becomeadentist.org/why-to-choose-dentistry, and the “Meet a Dentist” site at http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/1/Dentist. The second site comes to you under the auspices of the ADEA, which also publishes a guide that profiles dental schools and explains the pathway to becoming a DDS, The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools ($35 at the ADEA website, www.adea.org). Considering the average 2010 graduate from USC’s dental school was encumbered with $283,000 in debt, it is a publication well worth the price.
For a high school student contemplating a career in dentistry, the book offers some very good advice along with a strong dose of reality about the dental school admissions process. First, the more AP science and math classes you take, the better (that is pretty much a given for anyone who is planning a career in health care). It also recommends job shadowing and finding someone in dentistry to serve as your mentor. Information on the American Dental Association’s (ADA) mentoring program can be found at www.ada.org/public/careers/beadentist/mentoring.asp.
Dental school admissions are more competitive than those to medical school. During the 2010 admissions cycle, of the 12,210 applicants for dental school, 4,871, or 39%, enrolled. For medical school, during the same cycle, there were 42,742 applicants; 18,665, or 43%, enrolled. What, however, complicates the dental application process (as it does the medical school process) is that the average dental applicant submits 14 applications. The most selective schools are extremely competitive: Harvard Dental School, for example, received 940 applications, interviewed 127, and enrolled 35 dental students, for an admissions rate of 3.7%.
The ADEA Guide delves into the opportunities in dentistry, the process of applying, choices for financing a dental education, and useful organizations and resources. It then profiles all the dental schools in the United States and Canada. Looking at University of Pennsylvania, for example, you discover the entering class is 120, the time to degree is 45 months, the required and recommended preparation courses (e.g. Organic Chemistry), the mean DAT score of the incoming class, 20, the average GPA, just under 3.7, the costs by year, around $90,000, the number of applicants, 2,114, those invited for an interview, 366, and the number enrolled, 117, or 5.5%.
Of interest are the profiles of current dental students. Daniel Hammer, who is a third year dental student at University of Pacific (UOP) is on a US Naval Scholarship, and, upon graduation, will begin his general practice residency (GPR) with the US Dental Corps. The wisdom of having a dental education subsidized by the navy cannot be overstated. First year costs at UOP’s Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry are estimated at over $125,000—tuition alone is in excess of $80,000 a year. Other profiles include students from Baylor, the University of Florida, and Columbia University, to name but a portion. Their insights include the importance of job shadowing, developing (or having) manual dexterity, having hobbies, such as ceramics or juggling to ensure dexterity is maintained or enhanced; and reviewing dental schools based on each ones pass rate on the National Board Dental Exam, clinical requirements, research programs, and lab work requirements.
If after doing your due diligence, you find yourself convinced dentistry is the profession for you, you might want to apply for a 7 or 8 year combined BS/DDS program. A listing of the combined programs is on page 43, and includes: Loma Linda University in California, Tufts, University of Minnesota, University of Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Marquette University. Some schools, such as Temple, in Philadelphia, have affiliated pre-dental programs with a variety of outside colleges and university. Temple has 20 such affiliated programs.
The best way to have a successful career in dentistry, or any profession for that matter, is by planning well. None of us ever executes, to the letter, such a plan. What the planning process serves to do is supply direction, information, and details to better enable success. If you’re planning for a dental career, the ADEA Guide is an indispensable tool.
치의학과 개괄: ADEA (American Dental Education Association) 2011년 안내서소개
- 고교생에게 유익한 정보 찾기
- 치과대학 입학의 높은 경쟁률
- 학생 프로파일 살펴보기
- BS/DDS 혼합 프로그램
만약 여러분이 치과의사가 되고 싶다면, 두 곳을 먼저 방문하는 것이 좋다: “치과의사 되기” (http://becomeadentist.org/why-to-choose-dentistry) 와 또한 “ 치과의사를 만나보자” ( http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/1/Dentist ). 두 번째 웹 싸이트는 ADEA의 후원으로 치과대학 소개와 치과의사가 되는 길을 안내하는 책, The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools (ADEA웹싸이트, www.adea.org에서 35불에 구입가능)을 편찬하였다. 2010년 USC 치과대학 졸업생들이 평균 $283,000을 빚지고 졸업하는 상황을 고려할 때, 매우 가치 있는 책이다.
치과의사가 되려는 고등학생에게는 이 책은 치과대학 입학에 관한 현실을 자세히 소개하며 조언을 주고 있다. 첫째, 되도록 많은 AP과학을 택하라고 조언한다( 이 방면에서 활동하려면 당연하다). 또한, Job showing을 하고, 치과의사를 조언자로 두길 조언하다. 멘토링에 관한 정보는 ADA (American Dental Association, www.ada.org/public/careers/beadentist/mentoring.asp)에서 찾을 수 있다.
치과대학 입학은 다른 의과대학보다 경쟁이 심하다. 2010년을 볼 때, 12,210명이 지원하여 39%인 4,871명이 등록했다. 의과대학은 42,742명이 지원하여, 43%인 18,665명이 등록했다. 치과대학의 입학과정이 매우 복잡하고, 평균 한 학생이 14개의 응시원서를 내는 것으로 나타난다. 그래서, 경쟁이 매우 심하다: Harvard Dental School은 940명이 원서를 내고, 127명이 인터뷰를 받고, 3.7%인 35명이 입학했다.
ADEA Guide 는 치과대학의 모든 것을 파헤친다. 응시의 과정, 재정 알아보기, 유용한 기관과 자원들 조사 하기등. 또한 미국과 캐나다의 모든 치과대학의 정보를 싣고 있다. University of Penn을 살펴 보면, 120명이 정원이고, 학위과정이 45개월 소요되며, 필수과목으로 Organic chemistry를 추천한다. 또한 DAT 평균성적이 20이며, GPA는 평균 3.7이고, 연간 교육비는 $90,000이다. 2.114명이 응시하여 366명이 인터뷰했으며 5.5%인 117명이 입학했다.
또한 흥미있는 것은 현 치대생의 프로파일이다. University of Pacific의 치대 3학년인 Daniel Hammer는 US Naval 장학생이며, 졸업하면 US Dental Corps에서 실습 레지던시(GPR)을 하는 것으로 나타난다. 해군장학금은 정말 유용하다. 본 대학의 치과대학 교육비가 평균 $125,000이다: 등록금만 $80,000이 넘는다. 또한 Baylor, Univ. of Florida, Columbia Univ. 학생들의 프로파일도 볼 수 있다. 대부분, Job shadowing을 하며, 도자기나 저글링을 취미로 손 기능을 계발한다. 물론 National Board Dental Exam의 합격률과 임상요건, 리서치 프로그램, 실험실 요건 등을 싣고 있다.
여러분이 정말 성실하고 치의학이 본인에게 맞다면, BS/DDS프로그램에 응시하기를 권한다. 통합프로그램에 대해 책43쪽에 있다: Loma Linda University in California, Tufts, University of Minnesota, University of Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Marquette University. 한편, Temple in Philadelphia는 여러 가지 교외 프로그램과
연계되어있는데, 20개의 프로그램이 있다.
치과의사로 성공하는 가장 좋은 길이며 모든 직업에서 성공하는 길은 계획을 잘 세우는 것이다. 계획을 세우는 과정에서 바른 방향과 충분한 정보를 얻음으로 성공에 이를 수 있다. 만약 여러분이 치과의사의 길을 계획한다면, ADEA Guide는 결코 간과할 수 없는 길잡이이다.