AMA: Soon to be D1 at UCLA

[rishi3]

These forums helped me immensely with everything from DAT prep and LOR's to choosing where to apply for dental school. I've picked up a lot over the past few years and helped out a lot of predentals in my dental society. Thought I may as well share my experiences before they get hazy during dental school.
Got a competitive DAT and GPA along with research, volunteering, working as a dental assistant, and now working as a dental lab tech.
Any questions about DAT, LOR's, AADSAS, choosing dental schools, volunteer/research, etc are welcome

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[Bigjt1420]

These forums helped me immensely with everything from DAT prep and LOR's to choosing where to apply for dental school. I've picked up a lot over the past few years and helped out a lot of predentals in my dental society. Thought I may as well share my experiences before they get hazy during dental school.
Got a competitive DAT and GPA along with research, volunteering, working as a dental assistant, and now working as a dental lab tech.
Any questions about DAT, LOR's, AADSAS, choosing dental schools, volunteer/research, etc are welcome

Doing an AMA BEFORE you're even in Dental school is.... interesting hahahaha. But I'm glad this forum has helped you and congrats on getting into UCLA!

 

[rishi3]

Doing an AMA BEFORE you're even in Dental school is.... interesting hahahaha. But I'm glad this forum has helped you and congrats on getting into UCLA!

Thanks! I have had a lot of people ask me questions about applying and prereqs and everything else related to the process before dental school, so I thought this pre dental forum would be where most questions from predents would be asked.

 

[artist2022]

Where else were you accepted and why UCLA over the others?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How did you adjust to getting experiences during the pandemic?

 

[zkassem]

How early would you recommend asking professors and dentists for LORs?

 

[rishi3]

Where else were you accepted and why UCLA over the others?

I was also accepted to WesternU and Temple, as well as a waitlist for UNE.

For me, cost was the biggest factor and I wanted to primarily base my decision on this unless the cost was within 40k of each other for total COA. That ruled out WesternU, but I also knew Temple has a stronger focus on clinical stuff (more cases of everything, chance for implants/molar endo).

Why I chose UCLA over Temple are:
-Closer to home
-Cheaper by about 50k for total COA
-Pass/No-pass (not only more relaxed, but also seems to bring the class closer and make everyone more collaborative)
-Whatever clinical edge Temple students may have would probably even out within a year or two of graduating
-Philidelphia has gotten more dangerous in recent years compared to the affluentish area around UCLA. Looking for housing around Temple was kind of a turnoff.

 

[rishi3]

How did you adjust to getting experiences during the pandemic?

I was a new dental assistant right when the pandemic hit, so I was able to see a lot of stuff up close and personal. However, I did find it difficult to find places to volunteer or shadow. I got around this by trying to network with whoever I could, such as asking any dentists I knew if there were other dentists/specialists I could shadow. I would try this first for shadowing experience, like asking the dentist you see regularly if they or anyone they know could let you shadow.

With regard to everything else (research, volunteering, etc), I found that you have to be comfortable with failing before you finally succeed. For my one research position that I got, I emailed 60 PI's before that. Start early and don't let any rejections get to you, because you only need one person to say yes to you.

 

[rishi3]

How early would you recommend asking professors and dentists for LORs?

As I am sure everyone else on this forum knows, your letter of rec falls pretty low on a dentist/professor/PI's to do list, even if they love you to death. They are naturally so busy and it is important to let them know ahead of time.

For example, I told all my writers that I needed the letters by January (even though I was applying in June). I would ask for the letters in the fall (Septemberish) and give them a few months to get it done with a reminder email every month. The reason I gave myself so much leeway is because sometimes the professor knows they will never see you again and may just ignore your emails, or whatever else reason for that letter falling through. The extra time also gives me about 6 months to find another letter writer if need be (thank god I did not need it though).
Being in that kind of situation personally scares me and can be the sole reason you need to skip the cycle, so I would recommend everyone try and have their letters sorted 6 months beforehand.

 

[starlight111]

What was your stats?

 

[rishi3]

What was your stats?

GPA: 3.7 oGPA and sGPA (went from a 3.4 fresh/soph to a 3.9 junior/senior years, so uptrend)
DAT: 22AA 23TS 30PAT
Shadowing: 170 hours
Working as a dental assistant for 1.5 years w/ X-ray license (about 1400 hours)
Research: 350 hours
Volunteering: 150 hours
Part of Predental society at my university (definitely do this, many schools asked about it)
Eagle Scout

 

[mangonade]

How did you find your dental assisting job and did you need to take certification classes?

 

[rishi3]

How did you find your dental assisting job and did you need to take certification classes?

I am in California, and did not need to take any certification courses. After a few months, I did get my x-ray license which allowed me to work more with patients. I would get this (about 200 to 400 bucks) before applying to dental offices to be an assistant.
I got my job assisting by cold calling offices and saying I was really interested in dentistry and how I would be willing to do anything paid to get my foot into the door. Calling them out of the blue will often impress them because it is different, and they know you have a genuine interest in their office. I used indeed a lot, not to apply, but to see which offices were looking for an assistant. I would then cold call them since I knew there was a need and the only issue was my lack of experience. From there, it was just emphasizing how I was coachable and a fast learner.

 

[Pre-orofacial]

These forums helped me immensely with everything from DAT prep and LOR's to choosing where to apply for dental school. I've picked up a lot over the past few years and helped out a lot of predentals in my dental society. Thought I may as well share my experiences before they get hazy during dental school.
Got a competitive DAT and GPA along with research, volunteering, working as a dental assistant, and now working as a dental lab tech.
Any questions about DAT, LOR's, AADSAS, choosing dental schools, volunteer/research, etc are welcome

Hi.... I applied for orofacial pain preceptorship program at UCLA and got the interview invitation. Can you please share the interview experience or tips for interview?
Thank you in advance.

 

[rishi3]

Hi.... I applied for orofacial pain preceptorship program at UCLA and got the interview invitation. Can you please share the interview experience or tips for interview?
Thank you in advance.

Interview day was great and there were TONS of opportunities to ask questions and clarify anything you needed. My interview consisted of two separate 1 on 1's. Questions were medium difficulty, but easy to mess up if you have not practiced/ don't have anecdotes ready. Overall friendly and conversational. Then we were left in the meeting with just dental students and any staff/professors left the meeting. Able to talk to them about the dynamic/culture there.

 

[Pre-orofacial]

Thank you so much for your response.