Overview of dental school pre-requisites

I decided I should provide an overview of the pre-dental program at Portland State University (PSU). OHSU school of dentistry is located in Portland Oregon and the dental school shares campus space with Portland State.

Breakdown:

Six lab sciences are required by OHSU, PSU allows two lab sciences a term.  five of the lab sciences are a full year. It will take almost three years to attend all the lab science classes needed.  I have most of the other classes required or recommended as pre-requisites for the pre-requisites.  I would be attending as a post-bacc student.


Here are some screenshots from my un-official transcripts, I figure I better put it all out there if anyone wants to donate money to me.

As you can see, I have a lot of credits.  My GPA is not perfect  but the dental prerequisites will help increase my GPA, and the acceptance also depends on DAT score , letters of recommendation, experience and interview.  OHSU is a really good school and competitive so I will also apply to other schools, some have less stringent requirements.

I have volunteer experience with Medical Teams Northwest, mobile dental van.  I have been volunteering with them on and off for ten years.  I have also been a dental assistant for ten years.  Experience is important to dental schools because they want to know that you are aware of what the career entails.

Information about undergrad tuition at PSU

I will answer any questions regarding my education.  Several people have told me that it is difficult to message me on this blog so you can email me at paige@candycaper.com  Thanks again!

Help me accomplish my dream!!!

            I have been putting-off this post for a while, figuring out how to spare my humility and explain why I need to be a dentist.  If you have known me most of my life, you know that I want to be a dentist.  Last Spring, I found out that I would not have enough financial aid* to complete my dental school prerequisites.  I decided to complete a general studies degree so that I would have a bachelor's degree as a consolation prize.  I have spent most of my life doing things ass-backwards and learning the hard way.  It took me most of my adult life to realize that I can accomplish anything I want to if I freaking work hard at it.  But money, oh money, always has to get in the way.  I decided that I would just pursue grad school since I finished undergrad and the only solution would be grad school financial aid.  Let me say, that is not a good reason to go to school.  Also, since I graduated with a general studies degree, I would still have to take some prerequisites for grad school.  I had two plans for what to do if I lost my undergrad financial aid:

1.) Get a job on campus.  Almost immediately I got an interview with the dental office on campus.  Unfortunately during the interview, it became apparent that I would not be a good candidate for the position.

2.) Work part-time and pay for classes, slowly but surely I'll get there.  Well, I tried that Spring term and there is no way I could take chemistry and work.  I need all the time I can get to study.  Also, personal financial reasons intervened and that became impossible.

         So, I decided to take the few credits I needed to graduate and I would graduate, work as much as I could and try to figure out what to do instead.  Have you ever tried to pursue something when all you want to do is what you cannot do?  It doesn't work.  I have spent most of my time post-graduation trying to figure out what-the heck to do with my life.  Amid the barrage of questions from well-meaning friends and co-workers I feel like I am just spinning in circles with no end.
For the past 4 months I have been researching grad programs on-line, talking to co-workers and friends trying to come up with something that makes sense.  Nothing makes sense to me but dentistry. Let me tell you, I love my job.  I have days where I am sitting next to the dentist suctioning away thinking to myself "Damn I'm lucky I have a job I love."  I love interacting with patients, helping them feel better, giving them advice and educating them on dental hygiene.  You know what I would love more?  To be able to call them my patients, and see what I have done for them by looking in their mouths and knowing I accomplished this! ME!  I made that amazing crown, I helped this patient save their teeth, I gave them a good quality of life! ME!!!!!!  I have wanted this my whole life and not only do I love dentistry I really love school and learning.  So, after an awesome assistant I work with said "You know what? This is your dream and so many people know that and they want to support you, you should start a "Go fund Me."  I first reacted with trepidation because I HATE asking for money.  I loathe asking for money.  There are people who are trying to save lives and homes with Go Fund Me, what makes me so deserving?  Well, I thought to myself, why the heck not?  I promised myself I would try anything to accomplish this goal.  So I will.  If you want to donate to a good cause I think you have found it.  I need to raise about 20,000.00 for tuition to Portland State, misc. school fees, and supplies.  Please help me out if you can an I promise to write more blogs.  I will also give you free dental work;)
   If anyone would like to see the cost breakdown, please let me know.  Thanks a million!!!!  Or 20,000...

*Federal financial aid-grants, student loans, etc. Is rewarded with a max, meaning after a certain amount of credits and a lump sum--> in my case 67,000.00 you are no longer qualified to receive undergraduate financial aid.  If you are not eligible for financial aid - you are also not eligible for Scholarships.  Therefore you're screwed.

Age is just a number yo!

* Warning! this post is extra sassy*

*Listening to “My favorite game,” by the Cardigans

I was in my chemistry class today and most of the people who sit in my area are in their mid-twenties.  All of a sudden they became really obsessed with my instructor’s age.  He looks like he’s in his mid-forties.  They started throwing out numbers, doing calculations based on his education and eventually they realized he was 43.  I did not figure out why they needed to know so badly.  Perhaps it is because he is really accomplished for his age; he’s an avid cyclist and a PhD in chemistry and if he didn’t have sun damage he would probably look like he was in his twenties.  But I think they were wondering because they are constantly comparing their personal timelines and goals with each other.   I wish more than anything that they would trust me when I say that age is just a number and we can accomplish anything at any age – yeah, that means I believe that a 90-year-old can jump out of a plane.  Why not?  These particular students are pre-med, which means that they have a natural compulsive personality fraught with goals, parent’s expectations, and their personal measures of success.

I have finally realized at my wise old age of 37, that success is measured by how satisfied you are with your life.  I work with a lot of parents and they are constantly lamenting about how their young 20 something’s don’t have direction and they aren’t doing anything with their lives – one such parent decided that her son’s walking the PCT and going to Brazil on a whim were not worthy life experiences and he has no direction.  Maybe it is because she feels that having a good job and a family are a measure of success? Or maybe she is jealous that she didn’t do that “psst. So and so, you can still do it.” I personally, would be proud of my child if they were on personal journeys of self-exploration and traveling to other cultures.  The last thing I would want for them is to be settled-down, with a partner and a job at 23.  One woman in my chemistry class last term was talking about her goal to be a physician’s assistant rather than a Dr. because she is married, 27, and ready to start a family.  I know that does not seem un-reasonable but she said it like she was almost fifty. Wait – what?  Why?  Why can’t she have kids when she’s done? 

I know my measure of success is not the same as everyone else’s but I am so glad that I have mostly avoided the typical societal definition of “success.”  When people tell me their kids are working odd jobs, traveling, and basically trying to figure out their place in life, I always ask “Are they happy and self-sufficient?” and when they say “yes,” I say, “Then you should be proud.”  Why can’t that be enough? In this over-populated world full-of competition and shattered dreams what is wrong with surviving and living the way you want to live?  NOTHING!!!!  Yes, I am a pre-dental student and I am also 37, when people ask me when I will be done my first response is “I have no idea,” and my second response is “I’m not in a hurry, I’ve waited this long.”

Things people say that make me bristle:

-       Aren’t you a little old to be in college?
-       When will you have kids?
-       Does your husband want kids?
-       How does your husband feel about you going to college?” (BTW the answer is “I don’t give a f***!”)
-       You could have kids while you’re in dental school (why? so I can be more stressed-out? Because my self-worth is reliant on procreation?)
-       How will you pay for dental school? (Gee, I have no idea, I guess I’ll have to tap into my inheritance)
-       You’re going to be in your mid-forties when you graduate (and your point is…….? I’m going to be in my mid-forties regardless)
-       I could never go to school at your age
-       Dental school is really hard!  (It is?  I had no idea)
-       Are women dentists?
-       Why don’t you go to medical school? (Oh yes because the whole body is so much better than the mouth - I actually find this question flattering and insulting.  Some people say it realizing that dental school and medical school are comparable in difficulty, some people say it because they think dentists are stupid people that can’t get into med school)
-       Why don’t you go to Nursing school? (crickets…)
-       When will you be done?  (I don’t know I don’t have a crystal ball)
-       Why don’t you be a Geologist? (just joking- but it’s similar to other suggestions that have nothing to do with dentistry)
-       My all-time favorite that happened the other day; a patient asked to see my hands and afterward he exclaimed that I should pick another profession (I have ginormous man hands)
-       And any comment or un-solicited advice from people that assume my career goals are up for discussion. I do realize for the most part, people are looking out for me and have good intentions but they need to evaluate their own lives, because after-all they are just projecting.

Listening to “Walking with a ghost,” by Tegan and Sara

Quotes to live by:

-       As Walter Bagehot said;“The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
 
-       Elbert Hubbard once said, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
 
-       “Your dreams and your actions define you.  Don’t let others define you with what they tell you to do and not to.”
-       There are no rules in life so why limit yourself to what everybody else is doing?
 
-       “You will inspire other to follow their own dreams, even if they know nothing about you.”  This quote is so true!  I have had so many people tell me that my experience has made them want to go back to school.
 
-       I stole these quotes from this dude’s blog http://www.globotreks.com/features/19-reasons-ignore-everybody-follow-your-dreams/

Listening to "What beats within," by Jenny Owen Youngs 

* I like to listen to music when I write, so I thought I would share some of the tunes with you.

Plan B

            I am feeling discouraged about school since I don’t know what my financial aid status is.  I feel like life is always a plan B.  I don’t have a good plan B.  My plan B is to get a job on campus and get a percentage off of tuition, the only problem is I would get paid half as much as I do as a dental assistant and I would have to work full-time.  I could work as a dental assistant and take one class and I would be in the same situation.  Ideally I would work at the dental office on campus, where I did my internship.  Then I could work part-time, get a discount and do what I have been doing for almost ten years.  Unfortunately they are not hiring and they sound overstaffed. Part of my dilemma is the reduction in pay and also changing jobs.  I really like working in a clinical environment.  I am used to people being disgruntled and in pain.  How would I deal with nice people who feel good, for half as much money?  I just don’t know how I could do it.  Now I understand why dental assistants work for 40 years.  I always thought that was crazy but you get used to a certain culture and you don’t want to leave it.  Would that be considered xenophobia?  Maybe not.  I am xenophobic of office environments.  They are boring and they don’t smell like toothpaste and misc. dental materials.

            I am not as adaptable as I used to be.  I am becoming more set in my ways, as I get older.  I think that is one of the main problems with making a huge life change at an older age.  Plus I am a little more jaded than I was at 18. I’ve been watching that show “Below Deck,” and I wonder why I didn’t work on a yacht when I was younger?  I really regret not traveling in my twenties and getting to know myself more.  I know I can still do that but I like being home now.  I don’t enjoy travel as much, airplanes scare me and when you’re 5’10” they’re almost too small.  I have no desire to go on a cruise because I feel like I would feel trapped and I would be in constant fear of food poisoning.  I also feel that people who enjoy cruises are probably drinking most of the time and I don’t drink.  In my twenties, however, I would have been on board (get it?) with anything.  I used to go to parties and not know how or when I would go home.  Now that just sounds ridiculous to me.  I can’t sleep anywhere but a comfortable bed.  Camping lost it’s luster too.  Even in a comfortable bed in a tent.  I might be able to sleep in a trailer but probably not.  Nothing is more disappointing than having your trepidations confirmed.  People will say, “When you get there you will enjoy it,” “just try it, you’ll end up loving it, etc.”  Ummm no.  I won’t.  I have learned that the awkward, uncomfortable, get -me -the -hell out of here way enough times to know what works for me now and what doesn’t.  Did I surround myself with optimists all this time?  How come no one warned me about this?  The sad thing is, even if they did, I wouldn’t have listened. 

After all of my rambling the point is, life get’s more confusing and the more you know the more discouraging it can be.  I do not have an “anything’s possible,” mentality anymore and I now know that I have to have a plan B, C, D, etc… to get by. 

Back to school.....again....

        Day one of full-time dental prerequisite schedule.  I am taking general biology, chemistry and Trigonometry.  I feel like I should have read ahead in math this Summer to prepare myself for ANGLES!!  Whaaa????  My math teacher reads out of the text-book, so that's riveting.  He also wears a retainer and makes a slight hiss when he talks.  Distracting.
        I want to commit to my classes but I am in financial aid limbo and not sure if this school year will really happen.  Oh yeah.  Did I mention that?  I knew it was coming.  I have 272 credits and the max for undergrad is 270. That's what happens when you change your major in Senior status.  I really don't know what I will do if I do not get financial aid.  I had these grandiose visions of working and going to school but I am getting older and more tired.  I am naturally a sedentary person (there are legitimate health reasons other than lazy) so it is hard for me to do both.  I know that sounds lame but it's true. One thing I have learned as I have gotten older is that I can't change everything.  I'm all for pursuing your dreams and stuff but I need to be realistic about my stamina. I could try to get a job on campus, but the only one I qualify for is full-time.  Not going to work.  So, hopefully I'll get financial aid and I won't have to worry about working and school.  I've done that too many times and I'm a little tired and over it.  So there.  Even my Dr. said I'll need to get more energy if I want to commit to so much school.  She knows me well.
   Anyway, if I sound a little non-plussed it is because I am recovering from my first full day of school this term and I still have a ton of homework to do.  I am tired. I am looking forward to my science classes.  Chemistry especially.  PSU is so accommodating to their students.  They have a website where they set up lecture notes, assignments, etc.  My biology teacher even included different study techniques. Wowee!  I feel spoiled.  I know that will go away soon.  Wish me luck!
 

Losing a mentor

     

RIP

 People who know me well, know that I went to school at Southern Oregon University for theatre, when I was only 18.  I say only 18, because now that seems so young.  I wasn't prepared for the adventure ahead of me and honestly I wasn't super-passionate about theatre but one of the reasons I went was because I loved being immersed in the culture.  To this day I have a soft spot for thespians, and I have so many fond memories that are fading with time.  I just found out that the theatre world lost a wonderful man, Jim Giancarlo.  

Jim was one of my first instructors fall term 1995.  He taught "Movement for the Actor." The class focused on how to use your body to project your character.  Acting is similar to dance, in that it involves choreography and when you are playing a character, you have a different choreography then you would as yourself.  Unfortunately, I was so uncomfortable with my body at 18 that the class made me miserable.  I was also extremely hot-tempered and stubborn.  Jim would try to work with me, and looking back I realize that he really wanted me to learn what he loved.  I wouldn't doubt if I wasn't one of his most challenging students.

A few years later I decided to take his musical theatre history class. Ever since I did "Pirates of Penzance," in middle school I loved musical theatre.  I shared Jim's enthusiasm for musical theatre and because of the class, I started to look up to him and respect him in a way I hadn't before.  I could have been maturing a little bit, but I really think his passion for theatre was infectious and I was finally understood who he was.
            I am so sad for all the people in his life, including myself, who were touched and inspired by his teaching.  He was a wonderful man and he is so lucky to have known so many people and spent his life having so many adventures.  Losing an old mentor, from my previous life has made me realize how much time has gone by and how different my life is today.  I will always remember my theatre days and keep them close to my heart.  It also tickles me that his musical company was called "Trenchmouth* Musical Productions."

*Trenchmouth is a common term for ANUG, which is a gum disease commonly found in soldiers during war.

        

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Previously I mentioned a simultaneous groan when I brought up math.  I actually really enjoy math, not to sound arrogant, but it is one of the few classes that I have taken that challenges me.  I have always taken classes that are easier for me, and I was starting to get really bored and uninspired.  I love that math makes me swear like a sailor when I cant figure an equation out, and a genius when I can.  Math is a very emotional subject. I do not have to worry about punctuation or grammar, although I get really annoyed when I do not answer a question with the exact answer and I get points taken off.  Damn you parenthesis!  

Going back to school as an adult -adult, like a real grown-up, has made such a difference to me.  Although, I have more important issues on my mind (taxes, work, my pet's, bills, etc.) I'm not worrying about a certain boy in the row next to me or what I need to tell my best -friend after class- "eek!  He looked at me!" I did not have time for algebra back then, as you can see I had more important things on my mind.  

Now I find school to be an escape and knowledge is really empowering.  I finally understand why I need to know algebra in the real world, because we use it all of the time.  Do you want to know when your friend's train will arrive in Portland when it left Seattle an hour ago? - Algebra.  How much was the couch before it was 60% off? - Algebra. If a recipe calls for 5% white-wine vinegar how much do you need? -Algebra.  You get the idea.  It's not just the straightforward equations that we do on a daily basis that is derived from algebra. Algebra has helped me think a little bit differently about certain situations, because there is more than one option.  One of my favorite quotes is:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." That is not always possible in algebra. Right now I am learning about the inverse of a function and you have to get a different result to be able to inverse - no other option. 

Through this process of math my instructors have given us some websites that are helpful to learning. I will share those with you:

Khan academy: this website is all about algebra, by some dude that really like algebra.  There are visual, tutorials where he actually writes the information for you.  This is great for visual learners.

wolframalpha: not just for math.  You can type anything in the search engine and they will look it up for you.  It helped a lot with a word problem I had about Mars and Pluto.

You can also Google a math equation and there are a lot of nerds - I mean, nice people who will show you how to solve the equation.  One problem I have had with that is that you will discover different ways to solve a problem and it may get confusing.

I hope that information is helpful.  I plan on posting what study materials and school supplies have helped me through my math journey!  Stay tuned. 

I love to foil, I find it therapeutic