The "Am I Good Enough For Dentistry" Megathread

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Then what do you think i should do? I'm graduating nursing but in Poland and my my exam results equivalent to A-level are not good enough...so i thought i could just do Alevels in UK to get into dentistry in UK...so i'm confused...can i do alevels or i should go to college in UK? and if should go to college then what kind of college and how many years?
Thanks for replying

Your welcome. I suggest you come to the UK and go to college where you can do courses which are equivalent to a levels. Because you’re over 20 you most likely won’t get into a 6th form which is part of a secondary school (High school)which do proper A levels. College in the UK is the best choice, all you have to do is research colleges and if they do the qualifications you want you can simply apply. To make sure you get into a dental course you should do a 2 day course with something medical such as phelebotomy (taking blood tests / needles etc) that’s a good work experience to get into dental work. Its only a 2 day course which comes in handy

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 2221

123chem

Original post by domi6816

just gonna point out here that university and college are two different things in UK and you can do A levels in college.

Reply 2222

08sinmk

Hi everyone,

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Reply 2223

Sara40

Hi

Am a 40 year old single mum and would like to study dentistry

I don’t have A levels or GCSEs

I have completed a BTEC in science dental technology in 2000 then studied LLB bachelor of laws and achieved a 2:1 in 2005

I did my legal practice course and achieved a distinction in 2007

I got married during my final year of my LLB then had 2 kids and got divorced. I am now working as a marketing manager in private healthcare for the last 3 years. I have always wanted to study dentistry but was never encouraged them personal and extenuating circumstance got in the way. I am now an independent and self sufficient woman my older is starting secondary this year and my younger will be in secondary in 2 years time.

I would be grateful for anyone who can advsie on the following:

1- Should I do access or A Levels
2-Would having a law degree be a 3-disadvantage since I didn’t pursue the path of becoming a solicitor
4-Would my BTEC in science dental technology be advantageous
5- Is working in private healthcare a plus
6-What advsie would you give on UKCAT as I hear it’s very tough
7- what universities look favourably on mature students
8- how to write a good personal statement
9- what type of work experience should I do

Your responses will be greatly appreciated

Reply 2224

CoolCavy

Volunteer Team

Original post by Sara40

It's awesome that you want to get back into study, i wish you all the luck :hugs:

(your story reminds me a little of my own parent :colondollar:

)
Have popped this over into the Dentistry subforum for you, you should get more replies here

Reply 2225

random_matt

Original post by Sara40

Hi

Am a 40 year old single mum and would like to study dentistry

I don’t have A levels or GCSEs

I have completed a BTEC in science dental technology in 2000 then studied LLB bachelor of laws and achieved a 2:1 in 2005

I did my legal practice course and achieved a distinction in 2007

I got married during my final year of my LLB then had 2 kids and got divorced. I am now working as a marketing manager in private healthcare for the last 3 years. I have always wanted to study dentistry but was never encouraged them personal and extenuating circumstance got in the way. I am now an independent and self sufficient woman my older is starting secondary this year and my younger will be in secondary in 2 years time.

I would be grateful for anyone who can advsie on the following:

1- Should I do access or A Levels - Access
2-Would having a law degree be a 3-disadvantage since I didn’t pursue the path of becoming a solicitor - Hell knows
4-Would my BTEC in science dental technology be advantageous - Perhaps
5- Is working in private healthcare a plus - Definitely
6-What advsie would you give on UKCAT as I hear it’s very tough - Ask someone else
7- what universities look favourably on mature students - They do not give a **** about GCSE's, and like your life experience
8- how to write a good personal statement - Google it
9- what type of work experience should I do - Anything subject relevant

Your responses will be greatly appreciated

My thoughts.

Reply 2226

redhelen

It will.be 7 years until you qualify at a minimum and you won't get your degree funded as you have already recently done one. Why pick dentistry? Why did you not go onto be a solicitor?

On the plus side there are mature students on my daughters course so you are certainly not too old to apply.

Reply 2227

username2393237

Why did you choose to do law after the BTEC?

Reply 2228

Sara40

Many thanks for your replies so far.

it’s a long story but here goes although I am still unable to cover everything 🙂

When I did my BTEC it was a course offered at the time whereby you Study for 3 years and during that you do blocks of studying at college and train by spending blocks in between at Guys dental school ( which later became King’s) and you get paid a monthly salary for the 3 years. It was an interesting course and at least close to dentistry you make dental appliances for real patients. Getting paid was an incentive because we had just been in the country for 5 years and we were refugees at re time trying to make ends meet. My family are awesome but they were new to the country and got influenced by some of their relatives in that no one should support girls to spend years on education because they will eventually get married and have to stay at home to raise them back then that was the mentality and I felt shackled.

Law was something that always fascinated me and with my BTEC at the time I was able to get into university for the sake of at Lear getting . My family were opposed to me trying for dentistry as I did attempt studying A Level biology,chemistry and maths for only one year I really needed a tutor but I didn’t have the finances and the other issue was my family said even if you get the grades if you happen to get accepted outside London they will never accept the idea of a “girl” living out so either way they said it’s not worth trying and again the cliche of you’re gonna get married and your husband will be the bread winner and you’re gonna end up at home raise the kids so what’s the point of studying.

So doing law was to at least end up with a descent degree as the university I went to didn’t require A levels and accepted my BTEC

I don’t wanna the next 10 years to pass by and I look back and regret not doing what I have always wanted to do but couldn’t achieve at the time

I really hope to hear some helpful comments🙂🙏🏻

Reply 2229

Sara40

Apologies a lot of typos and errors am commuting to work getting on and off trains, and buses and also walking lol

Reply 2230

Sara40

Hi all

Hope to hear more responses that could help me 🙂🙂

Reply 2231

username1539513

Original post by Sara40

1- You'll probably need to meet GCSE and A-level requirements as all graduate entry dentistry schools I'm aware of ask for them. Ideally you'd do A-levels as they're more widely accepted but check with the university in question if they accept access courses (unlikely)

2. No, showing higher study before especially at a 2:1, will give you an advantage. Funding dentistry may cause you an issue though as I'm unsure if dentistry can be funded as a second degree like medicine can (I think it is) I don't think not becoming a solicitor will be a disadvantage as long as you explain why in the interview

4 .It may be helpful to refer to it explaining what made you choose dentistry and of course the experience will help. It's advisable to get some more recent experience if possible

5. No, NHS or private experience is accepted

6. The UKCAT can be difficult, do as much practice as you can and start as early as you can. There are courses out there like Kaplan and Medify but they're expensive and their effectiveness is debated. The more questions the better!

7. Most universities do; it shows good life experience

8. A good personal statement will include your reasons for wanting to study dentistry, why you're suitable for the course and about your relevant work experience and other soft skills such as time management. This is the place to really blow your own trumpet. Show your passion for dentistry

9. Anything relating to dentistry, e.g: Work experience shadowing a dentist, working as a dental nurse is a start

Reply 2232

Amberooney

Original post by Sara40

I am a mature student too and when I applied I spoke to each dental school, told them my background and they told me what I would need to do to get a place. They are best placed to tell you if access or a levels are better and which access courses they accept. Access may be better for you as it’s only one year rather than 2. I decided to apply to Liverpool’s dentistry with foundation year rather than doing an access or A levels but for this I think you would still need to do GCSEs.

If you do dentistry you will need to pay the fees for the first 4 years of your degree as you already have a degree although student finance should give a maintenance loan and any grants you are eligible for. You will also need relevant dental work experience so I would suggest doing some now as it sounds like a while since you did anything dental related.

UKCAT is tough and takes practice. The UKCAT website has a lot of information and some practice questions to give you an idea. It’s mostly working at speed that will get you the top marks. Personal statement is personal to you. Once you know what unis you are applying for look at what they want from candidates and show it. As a mature student you will probably have a lot more things you want to include than the average applicant as you have done so much more so editing to focus on the key points is really important.

Reply 2233

Sara40

Many thanks for the replies

If I was to go for access what GCSE s do I require and what grades

Reply 2234

username1539513

Original post by Sara40

Many thanks for the replies

If I was to go for access what GCSE s do I require and what grades

Depends which college you’re applying for. You can get GCSE maths and English for free off the government if you didn’t pass them or do them first time at 16

Reply 2235

Miss Bones

I would say speak to the dentistry schools you are interested in for advice. You may get funding worth looking. Have a look at the scholarship hub.

Reply 2236

Paupaw

Hey everyone.

I'm an international student who wants to apply to study Dentistry in 2020.

I've graduated Anthropology in Poland and expect my overall degree grade to be the equivalent of a 1st in the UK. Seeing how similar my subjects in Anthropology were to those in medical schools, I believe that Dentistry is something I can manage. However, my "equivalent of A Levels" is not good enough, which is partly why I came to this forum with a question:

Do I need to resit my equivalent of A-Levels to be considered for a place? Which subjects should I focus on? Or is my grade in Anthropology going to be enough to be considered?

I want to apply for an Undergraduate (5 year) course as a Postgraduate, to study either at KCL or at Queen Mary University preferably.

Many thanks,
Paula :smile:

Reply 2237

sneh11

i have 9 gcses
a- maths
a- chemistry
b- physics
b- art
b-geogrophy
b- humanities
c-biology
4- english lit
5-english lang

and i am doing 3 alevels and i am predicted
a*- maths
a*-chemistry
a-artwill i be consider for the dentistry course in uk university

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 2238

luketprg

I won’t lie it would be difficult to get into dentistry without a UKCAT score high enough to balance the grades but with that considered it is definitely still possible with very good predicted grades like you have, and a strong personal statement. Try to supplement this with extra curricular activities and work experience/ volunteering and I think you would definitely be considered

Reply 2239

sneh11

Original post by luketprg

what score would i need to get in ukcat to be competative and if i apply with the known alevel grades and take a gap year for work experience will it make any difference going into dentistry