College Admissions Essay: The Path Ahead

The Path Ahead Students often become paralyzed when faced with the overwhelming question, “what do you want to do for the rest of your life?”. Ever since I was a little boy I have been thinking about what I am going to do when I grow up. I wanted to be a cowboy or an astronaut for a major part of my childhood, but as a matured as a person, those aspirations vanished and I was left clueless. Now, millions of emotions and questions flood my mind when thinking about my future. There is no escaping it; I have to make decisions that will shape the rest of my life. Amazingly enough, I have already narrowed it down to two career paths: dentistry and business. Even though going into business has some great attributes, I believe that dentistry suits my needs and wants better. With that being said, the major downfall to the dentistry route is the stress that I …show more content…
How could you not look at money and say it is not a factor? I could provide for my future family with little money, but I want what is best for them. If I pick a job that offers a high income, I could set up my children to have a successful life. Dentistry has a median salary of 146,340 dollars (“Dentist: Salary”). That is a good chunk of money. Owning my own practice, which I plan on doing, pays even better(“Dentist: Salary”). In business, however, the median starting salary is only 55,600 dollars (“Class of 2014”). In terms of income, dentistry would provide me immediate financial stability. The only downfall financially would be paying for 4 more years of an expensive graduate dental program. On average, a dental student graduates with 247,227 dollars of debt (“Federal Student Loans”). That is a lot of debt, but I already have my first four years paid for through my generous grandmother. If I am smart with my money, I can handle the amount of debt that I will accumulate if I go to dental