Course Advice Needed (Dentistry)

[ilinnichi]

Hello everyone (not sure if I'm posting this on the right forum)!

I'm in a little bit of a dilemma, and I'm not sure if it's too late to change my mind or risky as first round offers have been released. I thought my pathway solution was set in stone but then to my realisation, I am still very unsure and I am thus seeking for external help/advice. My end goal in life is to become a dentist, and I don't mind it happening a little later in life.

At first, I was very sure with pursuing the Bachelor of Oral Health at the University of Melbourne (I was accepted in first round offers) over pursuing the Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science due to job security upon graduation, the smaller cohort and a number of other reasons. The plan was to finish the Bachelor of Oral Health, hopefully get a job, complete the prerequsite studies in second year anatomy, physiology and biochemistry (ANAT20006, PHYS20008 and BCMB20002) through Community Access Programs (CAP) within the 10 years upon graduating my undergraduate degree and completing the GAMSAT exam in hopes of gaining placement (out of the ~91 accepted) in postgraduate Doctor of Dental Surgery at Unimelb. I am not sure if this is a viable process though? Side note: I understand that there might be a quota that stands for certain single unit subjects like anatomy and that there is an option to complete these subjects at a second year level at other institutions. Also another question is: can I complete a single unit subject at a "second year level" without having completed it on a "first year level"?

I am on the fence about doing Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science because of the risk of not pursuing the dental field upon graduation--due to the application process--as easily as having done the Bachelor of Oral Health. But, with fair reasoning, I will happily change my preferences around for second round offers. I understand that being accepted into the DDS program is highly competitive but I am just not sure if I'll be happy spending 7+ years (accounting for not making placement upon completing the Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science) just to be in the dental field.

On another post I read that the GAMSAT contained the following:
- Verbal Reasoning (Think GAT questions on speed)
- Written Response (2 Essays in 1 hour based on a series of quotes)
- Reasoning in Physical and Biological Science (A 3 hour juggernaut of chemistry, physics and biology reasoning/logic questions)

I am not trying to say that my year 12 experience will be the same, but I did very average for the maths and humanities section on the GAT and could barely even pull through for the UMAT exam, as in, I refunded my application for the UMAT exam. If I don't do Science/Biomedical Science wouldn't that also put me at a disadvantage in terms of the content I should know for the GAMSAT exam?

Any advice or clarity would be greatly appreciated. And just a reminder, I don't mind pursuing dentistry later in life

Thank you!

[AngelWings]

I felt like this would gain more traction and better advice in the University of Melbourne board, so I've put it there for you.

At first, I was very sure with pursuing the Bachelor of Oral Health at the University of Melbourne (I was accepted in first round offers) over pursuing the Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science due to job security upon graduation, the smaller cohort and a number of other reasons. The plan was to finish the Bachelor of Oral Health, hopefully get a job, complete the prerequsite studies in second year anatomy, physiology and biochemistry (ANAT20006, PHYS20008 and BCMB20002) through Community Access Programs (CAP) within the 10 years upon graduating my undergraduate degree and completing the GAMSAT exam in hopes of gaining placement (out of the ~91 accepted) in postgraduate Doctor of Dental Surgery at Unimelb. I am not sure if this is a viable process though? Side note: I understand that there might be a quota that stands for certain single unit subjects like anatomy and that there is an option to complete these subjects at a second year level at other institutions. Also another question is: can I complete a single unit subject at a "second year level" without having completed it on a "first year level"?

I'm not too sure about this. I'll leave this for anybody who knows. If no one knows, I'd go make a few calls to the university itself.

I am on the fence about doing Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science because of the risk of not pursuing the dental field upon graduation--due to the application process--as easily as having done the Bachelor of Oral Health. But, with fair reasoning, I will happily change my preferences around for second round offers. I understand that being accepted into the DDS program is highly competitive but I am just not sure if I'll be happy spending 7+ years (accounting for not making placement upon completing the Bachelor of Science/Biomedical Science) just to be in the dental field.

You can accept the offer and enrol for the BOral Health you got and then switch preferences so the BSci or BBiomed is Preference #1, which should give you a little bit of extra time (probably 2-ish weeks) to decide.

If you then decide to do the BOral Health, easy peasy - just decline the new offer, if you receive one.
If you then decide to do the BBiomed or BSci later, accept the offer and enrol for the new degree, unenrol from the BOral Health.

If you realise that either path isn't exactly for you afterwards, you can try transferring later on.


EDIT: Some grammar and minor errors in here fixed.