I'm lost - what are my options for dentistry?
I recently got my alevel results after resitting all 3 and I have not got the grades I need for dentistry. I even got worse grades than last time I have no idea how thats possible genuinely I feel like im the only person in the world thats managed that 😖 My original plan was to do biomed and then apply for grad entry dentistry. But I am now rethinking my decisions. There are only 42 places in the whole country. Everyone around me is telling me that if i messed up my alevels twice, I am definitely not capable of even getting a 2:1 let alone getting a high UCAT, GAMSAT etc. Now I am thinking of studying abroad instead. If i take this route I will have to work multiple jobs this year to save up as we cant afford this. I do really want to be a dentist but its becoming unlikely. I mentioned to my parents that I could do a dental technician degree now, and then I will apply for grad entry dentistry later. That way even if I dont get into dentistry I will still be doing something I enjoy, but they refused and said its a "rubbish" job. They are only allowing me to study abroad, but they dont have money, I have to fund it all myself. I am really lost I have no idea what to do. Has anyone studied abroad, and how did you find it financially? I also want to ask if you've got in for grad entry dentistry, how did you find the whole process? I know it's extremely difficult but I am willing to put in the work, I just dont want to aim for something if its basically impossible.
Reply 1
hi , I totally get you . well eventhough I didnt quite go through the same situation i have been there once. so when I picked out my subjects for my a levels I was planning to do dentistry however it was really hard for me to get the three A's that I wanted even for my predicted grades. so I Thought about applying to dental hygiene and therapy , however got rejected because of my international status as well as some other criteria and when I sat my a levels I was pretty sure i am not capable to get that high grades however now i got into something which is entirely different from what I initially planned. and i am really happy . My advice would be that to not resit and do dental therapy and hygiene course or dental technition course as an undergraduate degree , from what I know the percentage of you getting into an actual dental degree is very less so try the graduate route I would say. Also, about going abroad i wouldn't recommend that as most of the students who went abroad to do their dental degree are still in state where they can't even get a job here in the uk. so, my advise would be not to take that risk . do an undergraduate degree in dentistry field or try to look onto something else that you love.
Reply 2
Original post
by hi hello 123hi , I totally get you . well eventhough I didnt quite go through the same situation i have been there once. so when I picked out my subjects for my a levels I was planning to do dentistry however it was really hard for me to get the three A's that I wanted even for my predicted grades. so I Thought about applying to dental hygiene and therapy , however got rejected because of my international status as well as some other criteria and when I sat my a levels I was pretty sure i am not capable to get that high grades however now i got into something which is entirely different from what I initially planned. and i am really happy . My advice would be that to not resit and do dental therapy and hygiene course or dental technition course as an undergraduate degree , from what I know the percentage of you getting into an actual dental degree is very less so try the graduate route I would say. Also, about going abroad i wouldn't recommend that as most of the students who went abroad to do their dental degree are still in state where they can't even get a job here in the uk. so, my advise would be not to take that risk . do an undergraduate degree in dentistry field or try to look onto something else that you love.
it is cheaper abroad than in the uk. however i wouldn't recommend as I have met a lot of doctors as well as dentist who dod the degree abroad and didn't get the job in the uk. It is because Uk hospitals prefer people who have studied here and also you have to write an exam and stuff which I heard is really hard .
Reply 3
The reality is this only 3% of applicants get a dentistry place. You are up against it. Not only do you need all A's but if you have completed resits the pool of schools depletes significantly. On top of that they want top GCSE's (scoring system) in place for numerous schools which rules you out if you havent got all 9's and you need a top UCAT score this year looking at 2100 plus i suspect. Then and only then do you get an interview and youve got to score high in that to get a place.
I tried this year managed to get a interview at Liverpool but didnt score enough to secure a place. There was absolutely no movement on clearing day in dentistry.
I dont want to disillusion you but the odds are against you unfortunately. I dont know what a levels you have but maybe go for medicine and then specialise in maxfax later? With medicine there are more places, they dont seem to concerned about resits and the ucat expectation is lower.
By the way ive got into vet med via clearing so i can still do dentistry just not on humans 🙂 i wasnt expecting to be doing that in clearing but silver linings and all that.
i wish you all the best for the future.
I tried this year managed to get a interview at Liverpool but didnt score enough to secure a place. There was absolutely no movement on clearing day in dentistry.
I dont want to disillusion you but the odds are against you unfortunately. I dont know what a levels you have but maybe go for medicine and then specialise in maxfax later? With medicine there are more places, they dont seem to concerned about resits and the ucat expectation is lower.
By the way ive got into vet med via clearing so i can still do dentistry just not on humans 🙂 i wasnt expecting to be doing that in clearing but silver linings and all that.
i wish you all the best for the future.
Reply 4
I'm sorry to hear your exams didn't go well. It feels terrible when you're aiming for something and then you don't get it especially when you've tried so hard.
Can't comment on studying abroad but maybe you'd like being a dental technician? Read the other day that they're in decline and that's a role needed. Higher demand one day, and maybe it'll pay more if that's important to you. Graduate entry dentistry doesn't actually seem impossible. If you get the grades and the required degree then nothing is stopping you. There are transfer schemes at some universities into Dentistry which might be good if you can do that.
I think you might be feeling down because of your A-Levels. Who wouldn't? I bet it was tougher this year. Whatever you might be thinking, you're probably not the least successful to get through the application process. There are a lot of people who can't get the work experience or unable to figure out the UCAT. I hope you know that you're capable of getting a 2:1, there are no absolutes that mean you can't do it at all just experiences to learn from and you shouldn't let anyone decide that for you. Plus, university is different to A-Levels in many ways.
Can't comment on studying abroad but maybe you'd like being a dental technician? Read the other day that they're in decline and that's a role needed. Higher demand one day, and maybe it'll pay more if that's important to you. Graduate entry dentistry doesn't actually seem impossible. If you get the grades and the required degree then nothing is stopping you. There are transfer schemes at some universities into Dentistry which might be good if you can do that.
I think you might be feeling down because of your A-Levels. Who wouldn't? I bet it was tougher this year. Whatever you might be thinking, you're probably not the least successful to get through the application process. There are a lot of people who can't get the work experience or unable to figure out the UCAT. I hope you know that you're capable of getting a 2:1, there are no absolutes that mean you can't do it at all just experiences to learn from and you shouldn't let anyone decide that for you. Plus, university is different to A-Levels in many ways.
Reply 5
Original post
by hi hello 123it is cheaper abroad than in the uk. however i wouldn't recommend as I have met a lot of doctors as well as dentist who dod the degree abroad and didn't get the job in the uk. It is because Uk hospitals prefer people who have studied here and also you have to write an exam and stuff which I heard is really hard .
Not all dental schools abroad require you to take that exam!
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