I’m 29, married, and have been working as a dental assistant for almost 10 years. I’ve wanted to become a dentist for a long time, and I genuinely love dentistry, but I’m reaching a point where I don’t know if I can realistically keep pursuing this dream.

I’m currently finishing my bachelor’s degree while taking my science prerequisites at community college. Academically, things haven’t been going well. I’ve struggled with chemistry, and I’m now considering withdrawing from chemistry again. I know I’m capable of learning the material, but between work, financial stress, and trying to keep up with several classes, I feel like I’m constantly falling behind.

The biggest issue is money.

I work part-time at a warehouse because the schedule is flexible enough to accommodate my classes, but the pay barely covers my expenses. I’m living paycheck to paycheck, my credit cards are maxed out, and this month I couldn’t even afford to pay my full share of rent. Apart from being physically demanding.

I have nearly 10 years of experience as a registered dental assistant, including restorative dentistry, implants, and digital dentistry. I could probably find a better-paying full-time RDA position, but most dental offices need someone during normal business hours, which conflicts with my science classes.

I feel stuck. If I work more hours, I sacrifice time for school. If I prioritize school, I can’t make enough money to support myself. And the stress from both is affecting my academic performance.

I’ve considered learning a trade, finding a different career temporarily, starting a small business, or taking time off from prerequisites to work and save money. But every option seems to come with another setback or delay.

I’m not looking for someone to tell me that dental school is easy or that I just need to work harder. I know it’s difficult, and I’m willing to put in the work. I just don’t know how to make the financial side sustainable long enough to even get there.

The thought of giving up on dentistry after all these years honestly breaks my heart. But I’m also scared of spending another few years struggling financially and academically without making meaningful progress.

Has anyone here been in a similar position? Did you take time off to work full-time and save money? Did anyone struggle with multiple withdrawals or retakes and eventually make it into dental school? How did you financially support yourself while completing prerequisites?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from older or nontraditional predental students.

I’m just feeling pretty lost right now and could really use some perspective.

I knew I had mediocre stats when entering the cycle, so I applied to a crap ton of schools in case. I applied to most schools late June, some throughout July, and Howard was a last minute addition in late September so I’m aware that may just be a donation. I completed my NYU Kira end of July and got my interview invite the first week of August. That has been my only invite this cycle and I don’t know what to make of it because the only question they asked us was what questions we had about the program, so I’m not even sure I’ll get in there. Quite frankly, I’m going insane wondering what’s wrong with my application or me that’s causing this massive list of 27 schools to not interview me. Apart from NYU, it’s been radio silent for MONTHS and my state school seems to have swept over me and is filling their last pre-December slot. I know my sgpa may be on the lower side, but for some context, I went to a t20 school with super rigorous pre-health courses so it was an uphill battle fs. Please offer your insights and whether i need to start considering alternative careers.

Stats: 3.7 cgpa, 3.5 sgpa, 430 AA, 420 SNS, 410 Bio, 410 GC, 440 OC, 470 RC, 400 PAT, 410 QR

ECS: tons of shadowing and assisting, leadership in multiple orgs, long term non profit involvements, cultural orgs, strong art background, etc

Schools: Boston, VCU, ASDOH, MOSDOH, Case Western, LECOM, MUSC, Midwestern il, NSU, Roseman, Rutgers, Temple, Tufts, Alabama, Midwestern Az, Creighton, Buffalo, Howard, Loma linda, Marquette, NYU, Colorado, Detroit mercy, UMD, Utennessee, WVU, Pitt

I learned about Temples 440 AA cutoff after applying so ig that’s off the table. Interview waitlist for midwestern az so basically soft rejection. Rejected from NSU.

If it says "application complete" for a school on the AADSAS portal but you received no word from that school, does that lowkey mean a soft rejection? Some schools are still "under review" but two of the schools I could only dream of getting into show as completed so I was wondering if thats the case.

Do you know anyone that has done the Canadian militaries Special Officer Training Program (SOTP) for dentistry? There’s not a lot of information about it online, and I’d like to hear the opinion of someone who’s actually done it.

Do I need to bring anything with me or can I just show up empty-handed?

For anyone interviewing/has interviewed at USC this cycle, how should I prepare the documents they've asked me to bring? It's almost 20pgs. My plan was to fill it out electronically and then print it. Can I print it double-sided? stapled or paper-clipped? Should I bring it in a folder? Do I paperclip the 2x2 photo to the document? Also any tips or comments on your experience would be great.

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know the likelihood of receiving an acceptance to California Northstate University (CNU) College of Dental Medicine after interviewing in September?

I'm curious if anyone has been in a similar situation or knows how CNU typically handles post-interview acceptances, especially for applicants who interviewed in September.

Before anyone brings up the cost of attendance, I want to mention that I'm incredibly fortunate to have a supportive family and have carefully considered the financial commitment, including private loans.

I'd really appreciate any insight or personal experiences!

Thank you, everyone, and have a blessed day!

3.4 gpa

3.7 masters gpa

17 DAT

500+ dental assisting hours, 500+ dental lab tech hours

I was wondering if I should send a thank you email to the admissions team of the school I interviewed at or to the faculty that interviewed me. I didn’t get their email address and was planning to just look it up in their directory but google’s AI overview listed that as something not to do. Personally I didn’t think it was that weird to just search up their email address, but would an email to admissions be better?

Last week I got an interview invite for Yeshiva via email. I chose the 12/9 date. If anyone interviewed there already, how did it go and what kinda questions did they ask? Any advice helps!

creighton said in their jay days visit that you'll either receive an acceptance or alternative on decision day, and if you're on the alternative list, they start pulling off of it mid-March. they also said they'll interview people in the spring.

what I'm confused about is those being interviewed in the spring. when do they hear their acceptances? is it before they start looking at the alternate list or do they look at alternate and spring interviews at the same time to determine acceptances?

am I making sense...

Hello, all! Is there a common day of the week schools book interviews for? I’ll be applying next year and work as a full time hygienist right now. My manager and I were starting to look at my schedule next summer/fall and decide what days of the week I should work? They’re super flexible with my schedule. I was just curious if it’s common for interviews to be on a particular day. Thanks for any insight!

I’ll be applying to the Texas schools, Lecom, Nova, UNE, Tufts, Midwestern, MUSC if that makes a difference.

I interviewed at UKCD, wrote thank you emails to the students from mix and mingle, and interview panel afterwards and never got a response email back. Is this normal, or am I cooked?

I have an upcoming interview at UF and wanted to hear from anyone who has interviewed there recently. How was your overall experience? Were the questions mostly conversational or more challenging? How stressful or intense was the interview, and approximately how long did the individual one-on-one interview last?

IUSD is a good school but is rarely talked about. Why is that? Do people just not want to live in Indiana or is there something I’m missing?

I’m looking for some honest advice about my situation this cycle because I’m starting to get pretty concerned about my chances of getting into dental school.
I’m a Georgia resident who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2025 with a B.S. in Biology and a Chemistry minor. I’m currently applying for Fall 2027 matriculation.

Stats:
cGPA: 3.48
sGPA: 3.15-3.2 (not exactly sure of AADSAS calculation)
DAT: 24 AA (490 new scale)
PAT: 430 (~20 old scale)
Application submitted: June 2, 2026
Schools applied to: 12
Interviews as of October 14: Zero

Extracurriculars:
1,000–1,200 hours working as a clinical dental intern
170+ hours of dental shadowing
Volunteering at two free dental clinics
Additional community service, tutoring, and Special Olympics volunteering
Four letters of recommendation (two science professors and two dentists)

Academic background:
I know my sGPA is the biggest weakness in my application. During undergrad, I experienced some significant personal circumstances, including losing my mother before my junior year. This seriously affected my academic performance, particularly in some of my science courses.
I addressed these circumstances in my application and was hoping that my 24 AA DAT would help demonstrate my academic capabilities despite my lower science GPA.

Schools applied to:
NYU, DCG (in-state), MUSC, UNC, BU, Tufts, USC, Rutgers, UAB, Penn, and UIC (now I’m aware of how top heavy lol :/

Should I start applying to master’s programs?
I’ve been looking into programs such as BU M.S. in Oral Health Sciences, Rutgers, and other biomedical sciences master’s programs.
I’m willing to complete a master’s if that’s what it takes to become a more competitive applicant, but I’m hesitant to commit to another year of school and significant tuition expenses if I still have a realistic chance of getting accepted this cycle.

A few questions:
How concerned should I be about having zero interviews by mid-October?
Can a 24 AA realistically compensate for a science GPA around 3.0–3.2?
Should I start applying to master’s programs now or wait until December/January?

Thanks!

Hey guys, I was wondering if you know how many interview invites Roseman sends? I heard a number like 600, but wasn't sure.

For those who received and submitted the secondary, did you receive a confirmation email for it?

Need advice please! Interview next week😭

I know it’s just an interview but im so grateful. I applied so late into this cycle like around September. I also have low stats and a subsection score below the min. Again, I know this isn’t an acceptance or anything but I just feel super grateful that at least one school found something they liked in me

For anyone still waiting on an interview, don’t lose hope ❤️

Should I be worried if people with lower DAT scores and GPA, and applied months after me are getting interview invites when I haven’t received any? I’m starting to question whether there is a red flag in my application (I am a Texas resident with a 500AA and 4.0 gpa, applied early June, met “minimum” volunteering and shadowing hours)

I only applied to the 4 schools in Texas and I’m so happy for everyone who has gotten invites, but anxiously waiting for it be my turn!

Honestly, just wanted to give NSU some props. Even though I got rejected, I genuinely appreciate that they’re actually letting applicants know where they stand instead of just leaving us hanging for months. I’d much rather get rejected now than be led on and have no idea what’s going on with my application.

Obviously getting rejected sucks, but I honestly respect how NSU is handling things. It feels like they’re one of the few schools that actually respects applicants’ time. Wish more dental schools would do the same.

I submitted in earlyish September and got email for supplemental and paid October 3rd. Do I have any chance of a pre-December interview/kira invite? Anyone know what their waves are like?

If you get a Kira from them how likely are you to receive the zoom interview?

Hi everyone! I know I posted a million questions just about lecom, but I'm so nervous!! I was wondering if lecom's interview is a high stress interview. The fact that it's a 8 person group interview really scares me. Do people take turns answer questions or are people fighting to answer questions? If the interview is 40 minutes total and there's 10 people (2 interviewers + 8 students), is there even enough time to talk? At this point, I'm just making up scenarios in my head haha.

hi! has anyone send a letter of interest to midwestern IL? I submitted it through the portal since there’s a section where u can submit them but now i’m overthinking if i should’ve emailed them instead