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How can I increase my chances of getting into dental school?

I underachieved in my GCSEs but I still got good grades, and I have realised now that underachieving has given me a massive disadvantage. I am a competitive swimmer competing at national level and training 8/9 times per week and 4 of those sessions include morning training where I have to get up at 5 Am to get to training for 6:30 but apart from the successful swimming career and dental work experience what else can I do to increase my chances of getting into dental school? Also my form tutor said we should start to read articles about the subjects we want to study at university so where can I reafd articles and books on dentistry and is there any that anyone can recommend?

help would be appreciated
Original post by jamie7991
I underachieved in my GCSEs but I still got good grades, and I have realised now that underachieving has given me a massive disadvantage. I am a competitive swimmer competing at national level and training 8/9 times per week and 4 of those sessions include morning training where I have to get up at 5 Am to get to training for 6:30 but apart from the successful swimming career and dental work experience what else can I do to increase my chances of getting into dental school? Also my form tutor said we should start to read articles about the subject as we want to study at university so where can I reafd articles and books on dentistry and is there any that anyone can recommend?

What you do now looks great. Make sure you have enough work experience at more than one dental practice and perhaps do some volunteering which shows that you have good people/team working/social skills :smile:
Hey, what GCSEs did you get? The big problem with GCSEs is that these days for most dental schools (but not all, you'd have to research yourself as each dental school is different) is that the chances are, unless you have A grades in Science, Maths and English then Unversities will not consider you when you apply as an undergraduate. If you've covered those bases, then you will need to research into Unis that put a high emphasis on things like the UKCAT, work experience and extra curricular instead of GCSEs, as some Unis use GCSEs as a point system to give out interviews.

Finally, on the articles, I highly suggest looking into articles posted by the British Dental Journal, and specifically, BDJ student. If you know someone who's a member of the British Dental Association (most dentists and dental students are), asking to borrow one of their magazines won't do any harm. Good luck!
Reply 3
Original post by AmyAintDead
Hey, what GCSEs did you get? The big problem with GCSEs is that these days for most dental schools (but not all, you'd have to research yourself as each dental school is different) is that the chances are, unless you have A grades in Science, Maths and English then Unversities will not consider you when you apply as an undergraduate. If you've covered those bases, then you will need to research into Unis that put a high emphasis on things like the UKCAT, work experience and extra curricular instead of GCSEs, as some Unis use GCSEs as a point system to give out interviews.

Finally, on the articles, I highly suggest looking into articles posted by the British Dental Journal, and specifically, BDJ student. If you know someone who's a member of the British Dental Association (most dentists and dental students are), asking to borrow one of their magazines won't do any harm. Good luck!



I got As in physics, chemistry, biology and maths and got a B in English language :/
I'd personally say:

- Plenty of work experience (at least 2 weeks GDP)
- Show manual dexterity (just something simple - don't go all pretentious and force yourself to do something that you don't genuinely enjoy)
- Good grades - you don't have to have a reel of A*'s but it helps.
- Good ukcat score
- Have a look at GDC standards and other basic documents that are involved in the professionalism side of dentistry. Don't go all OTT and read like 40 years of BDJ, Maxfax etc journals, you've got to balance your time with A levels as well. A general insight into the profession is fine.
- Be passionate but don't be a kiss-arse. Honestly when I heard some people with their answers to why they wanted to do dentistry e.g. "I fell over when I was 6 and I was just amazed by the teamwork in the dental office to fix my broken tooth it just inspired me so much" it's cringe-worthy. This is also reinforced by what a former admissions tutor told me. They want you to have an appreciation of empathy so that you aren't some sadistic bugger in practice but at the same time they want you to be realistic. The former admissions tutor said to me "You know the real answer to give at interview is that you want a job that pays reasonably well and is situated in a healthcare environment". He thought it was literally hilarious that these kids found "teeth" incredibly interesting. He himself is dual qualified in dentistry and medicine. Oh and also there's quite a lot of my year that are in it for money, so the whole interview thing (MMI, panel, whatever) is just a big facade for many.

That's probably it about the whole admissions process. Sorry I was awfully bitter, but I did find the process a bit silly. I personally felt getting into dental school was one big facade. Oh, and make sure you get Occ health sorted (Hep B injections etc) - my university and GP etc were very unhelpful in giving advice about it.

When you get there, it's great :biggrin:.

Source: Family friend is former admissions tutor at a UK dental school.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by jamie7991
I got As in physics, chemistry, biology and maths and got a B in English language :/


Okay, no need to panic, it's not the end of the world because I had a B in English language too, and that's the only reason I mentioned it, but I got in! I know for definite Leeds and Plymouth accept Bs in English and if you look at other Unis, hopefully they'll be the same too. At the end of the day, you only need one offer! If you follow the advice from the previous poster behind me (especially work experience, Leeds especially like long-term work experience in a caring environment) you should be okay! Best of luck!
Can anyone link where I can get student BDJ ? Thanks
Reply 7
I would just like to say thank you to everyone that replied your advice is great


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Original post by AmyAintDead
Okay, no need to panic, it's not the end of the world because I had a B in English language too, and that's the only reason I mentioned it, but I got in! I know for definite Leeds and Plymouth accept Bs in English and if you look at other Unis, hopefully they'll be the same too. At the end of the day, you only need one offer! If you follow the advice from the previous poster behind me (especially work experience, Leeds especially like long-term work experience in a caring environment) you should be okay! Best of luck!


What GCSEs grades did you end up getting if I may ask

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