2nd year Pre-Dent. Will this make me 'unique'?

[Moelite]

Hey everybody,

I'm a 19 yo 2nd year bio/Pre-dental student. My G.P.A is like a 3.6. Almost done with my pre-reqs. However over the summer I luckily got a job as a dental assistant. I am really so lucky I applied to a large number of clinics, 3 phones calls, 2 interviews, 1 job. I had no experience and got lucky with this job. I also got X-Ray Certified. I can't describe how much I love working there. The plus is I'm the only guy. My dentist and I have a such a good relationship now, she treats me like a brother. Anyway over the summer I worked full-time since April/May and have over 600+ hours of experience. I get paid pretty decent too.

My question is: Am I wasting my time or will having 1500+ hours of dental assisting experience set me apart from other candidates? Basically is what I'm doing "unique" from the average admitted applicant? It's basically my partime job while in school.

Additional notes:
She didn't really train me, this job is ****ing hard man. I pretty much had to figure out what to do on the spot. Physically and mentally its straining. We tried training two others but one got fired and the other quit (one who got fired was a dentist from another country trying to become dentist in US!). I managed to stick along. I have learned so ****ing much and can help with anything such as fillings, root canals, extractions, x-rays (endo too), crowns/bridges, braces, implants, pretty much anything at a General Dentist Office. I was even receptionist for awhile when we didn't have one so I learned a crap load about how the insurance system works. I have even assisted an Oral Surgeon for several patients that comes to our clinic sometimes if we have pts for him (I may try to become a Surgical Assistant in a year). I even do stuff like make/remove temporaries, impressions, etc...

Thanks guys, this is my first post here so let me know if I do anything wrong.

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[xatlasb]

Hey everybody,

I'm a 19 yo 2nd year bio/Pre-dental student. My G.P.A is like a 3.6. Almost done with my pre-reqs. However over the summer I luckily got a job as a dental assistant. I am really so lucky I applied to a large number of clinics, 3 phones calls, 2 interviews, 1 job. I had no experience and got lucky with this job. I also got X-Ray Certified. I can't describe how much I love working there. The plus is I'm the only guy. My dentist and I have a such a good relationship now, she treats me like a brother. Anyway over the summer I worked full-time since April/May and have over 600+ hours of experience. I get paid pretty decent too.

My question is: Am I wasting my time or will having 1500+ hours of dental assisting experience set me apart from other candidates? Basically is what I'm doing "unique" from the average admitted applicant? It's basically my partime job while in school.

Additional notes:
She didn't really train me, this job is ******* hard man. I pretty much had to figure out what to do on the spot. Physically and mentally its straining. We tried training two others but one got fired and the other quit (one who got fired was a dentist from another country trying to become dentist in US!). I managed to stick along. I have learned so ******* much and can help with anything such as fillings, root canals, extractions, x-rays (endo too), crowns/bridges, braces, implants, pretty much anything at a General Dentist Office. I was even receptionist for awhile when we didn't have one so I learned a crap load about how the insurance system works. I have even assisted an Oral Surgeon for several patients that comes to our clinic sometimes if we have pts for him (I may try to become a Surgical Assistant in a year). I even do stuff like make/remove temporaries, impressions, etc...

Thanks guys, this is my first post here so let me know if I do anything wrong.

You are definitely not wasting your time with this position and it seems like a great job to have since it gives you exposure to the dental field from several different aspects all while getting paid. I don't know if this will set you apart from all other candidates, as there are many (non-traditional) dental school candidates who work as a full-time dental assistant before applying as well as traditional dental school candidates who work at dental offices during their time at undergrad. The best thing for you to do is to stay focused on your classes and study hard for the DAT and maintain this position as well. It sounds like you will get an excellent letter of recommendation from this dentist and will be able to have lots of knowledge to talk about during any interviews you may have. But don't assume that you are going to get into dental school solely on this job, your academics should come first as your top priority.

 

[BigCountry]

I guarantee you that all you interviewers commend you for doing that job.

 

[sgv]

It looks good! But maybe try stretching out to community service, research, organized hobbies, and you'll great! Be unique because you got a lot of things going on while still doing well in school. Doing well in school is what's going to get you in! Dental assisting is still just a job even if it is in the dental field. Almost anybody can have this job so I don't think you're going to be droppin' too many jaws. Few people get to work on a research project and get published. Few people get voted officers in clubs. Few people get 3.9 GPAs and 23 AA. You're probably golden on that recommendation letter from that dentist.

 

[Moelite]

your academics should come first as your top priority.

Absolutely correct. I will work harder in school (a lot more motivated after being a DA) and get my G.P.A as high as I can. I also managed to snag a complete DAT package from a friend for a couple hundred bucks, (dat destroyer, princeton, other books)

 

[lwen5]

It looks good! But maybe try stretching out to community service, research, organized hobbies, and you'll great! Be unique because you got a lot of things going on while still doing well in school. Doing well in school is what's going to get you in! Dental assisting is still just a job even if it is in the dental field. Almost anybody can have this job so I don't think you're going to be droppin' too many jaws. Few people get to work on a research project and get published. Few people get voted officers in clubs. Few people get 3.9 GPAs and 23 AA. You're probably golden on that recommendation letter from that dentist.

+1

Also bring up your GPA and really really study for DAT. That is most important.