Gardner-Webb Alumna Chelsea Sexton Shares How Rejection Led to Acceptance

Dental School Student Gives Advice on Preparing for Graduate School; Benefits of Gap Year

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—As she neared graduation from Gardner-Webb University in May 2023, Chelsea Sexton received the news that nobody wants to hear: she was turned down by the dental school she aspired to attend. A chemistry major whose dream of becoming a dentist began as a child, Sexton was crushed.

She returned to Gardner-Webb recently to share her story with students in the Department of Natural Sciences and give practical advice about preparing for graduate school. Her presentation was co-sponsored by the GWU Pre-Health Society.

After the rejection, Sexton didn’t give up. She had worked toward a career in dentistry by job shadowing dentists in her hometown, accumulating around 500 hours when she started at Gardner-Webb. She decided to apply to High Point University (HPU) Workman School of Dental Medicine. The school has a different admission process, and Sexton was accepted. A native of Virginia, she is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry.

The denial from one school turned out to be a blessing. Sexton appreciates the HPU faculty, who care for their students like her GWU professors. She also likes how the program is organized. “We have an integrated curriculum, so we’re learning system by system,” she continued. “We’ve done cardiovascular. We’ve done respiratory, and we’re getting ready to start renal. Learning system by system and being able to integrate that with our clinical knowledge—all at the same time—I think really helps you tie things together to make things easier to understand.”

Sexton’s passion for dentistry grew from the amount of time she spent in dental offices as a child. Before she was in the third grade, she had five teeth extracted and was in braces, which she wore until seventh-grade. Despite the surgeries and procedures, she loved going to the dentist.

“I was super excited to get my teeth cleaned,” she reflected. “That all stems from the care that I received from the doctors that I had, and I just wanted to be able to do that for other people.”

Besides her experience as a patient, Sexton had several role models: her best friend’s dad was an orthodontist, her aunt was a dentist, and her uncle was the only oral surgeon in the area. “It was like the world was at my fingertips, in terms of demonstrating, and that led to the experience I was able to gain before I went to dental school,” she shared.

After starting at Gardner-Webb, she decided to major in chemistry, which is non-traditional for dental school. “I loved chemistry, and I tutored and was a TA,” she related. “My first year was also COVID. We got sent home in the spring (2020), and I was like, what am I going to do with all my time?”

The dentist that she had shadowed in high school needed an assistant, so she asked her to come and work with her. “Her name is Carole Roberts, and she’s an alumna of Gardner-Webb, so it’s really cool how we were connected,” Sexton expressed. (Read a previous story about Sexton’s experience, here.)

Coming back to Gardner-Webb the next fall, Sexton immersed herself in campus and community activities and admitted that she should have managed her time better between academic and extracurricular commitments. “I was highly involved in a lot of things, like Young Life at Crest High School, and a TA for some anatomy classes and some chemistry classes,” she noted. “I was a tutor and I tried to get as many tutoring hours as I could. I was also in Sigma Zeta, Pre-Health Society, and I was an Honors student. So, I spent a lot of time doing a lot of things, and sometimes I was a little spread thin. Sometimes, I didn’t put the work into my classes that I should have.”

Sexton said if she could go back again, she would work harder to gain the balance between studying and enjoying the college experience. Her rejection from the first dental school was based on her DAT (Dental Admission Test) scores. Sexton shared with the students that she didn’t spend enough time practicing for the test. She suggested they take the DAT the summer before their senior year at Gardner-Webb. “You’re supposed to be studying eight hours a day for the test,” she stated. “I recommend using Boot Camp.”

In August 2023, she interviewed with HPU and was accepted in September 2023. She started the program in August 2024. Sexton said the interview process was easier because Dr. Ben Brooks, GWU professor of chemistry, helped her know what to expect. “Dr. Brooks offers mock interviews and I think that helped a lot,” she affirmed. “So, I think you should definitely take advantage of that.”

Sexton also talked about taking a gap year and doing volunteer work to continue preparing for graduate school. She served with Moms of Mercy, an organization that offers free dental clinics for people in need. She traveled to Glacier National Park in Montana and came back home and worked at a free dental clinic and then at the Lynchburg Dental Center. “It was a growth opportunity for me because I was able to see procedures that I had never seen before and not only see them, but perform them with the doctor,” she said. “It was huge for me to learn under one of the best doctors in our area before I even went to dental school.”

She observed, “I didn’t realize how valuable that gap year was for me—how much I learned; I was able to make money and save money to help offset the cost of living right now. I had a little bit more experience, and I think that experience is priceless. I see students now that didn’t have any experience or very minimal, and they definitely struggle a lot more than those of us who had a lot of experience. I would say a gap year is not the end of the world and try to get the most experience that you can.”

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.