Beefing up an application.

[They_Call_Me_OD]

Hey guys, I’m planning on applying this upcoming cycle. Other than shadowing the different types of dentists, what else can I do? I want to do all the volunteering, community service, and extracurricular activities. I really don’t know how or where to start. I just wish someone could just give me a list of everything I could do! I want to beef up my application, and I really just feel crippled because idk where to go. I live in SF. Can anyone point me in a direction? Does anyone know any dental clinics I can volunteer at? Anything.

 

[giannis]

How are your GPA and DAT scores?
Tell us more about you so we can guide you

 

[Kenshin_Med]

If you really want to beef it up I would throw some medium rare ribeye on it. Try to get involved into things you enjoy when it comes to volunteering. Commitment is better than variety. For school I would recommend joining the Student Government Club. Mentorship is a wonderful experience if you have the opportunity to get involved. You’ll learn a lot about who you are. There’s no really set list we can give you so everyone here will just give some recommendations.

 

[macsak]

Hey guys, I’m planning on applying this upcoming cycle. Other than shadowing the different types of dentists, what else can I do? I want to do all the volunteering, community service, and extracurricular activities. I really don’t know how or where to start. I just wish someone could just give me a list of everything I could do! I want to beef up my application, and I really just feel crippled because idk where to go. I live in SF. Can anyone point me in a direction? Does anyone know any dental clinics I can volunteer at? Anything.

do what interests you
find your own path
research these forums
there's a tab at the top of all pages on this site that says "articles" click on that and read some more
there's an application to dental school guide on this site that is quite extensive too

 

[ToothJockey]

If you're applying this cycle, then there isn't a ton you can do in terms of community service. Dental schools like seeing long term commitment, not cramming some hours in at the last minute just for the sake of it. But I suppose some volunteering is better than none

 

[They_Call_Me_OD]

If you're applying this cycle, then there isn't a ton you can do in terms of community service. Dental schools like seeing long term commitment, not cramming some hours in at the last minute just for the sake of it. But I suppose some volunteering is better than none

I’ve volunteered/shadowed at a dental office for So many years that I lost count. I just need other things to do.

 

[deleted936472]

I’ve volunteered/shadowed at a dental office for So many years that I lost count. I just need other things to do.

I wouldn’t considering shadowing to be volunteer work (or anything done in a dental office for that matter, unless it’s a community health center or some dental nonprofit organization), sure you’re not getting paid but I would not consider it to be volunteer work. If I remember correctly when you fill out your AADSAS application you’ll be able to list your EC activities as either dental related/shadowing, volunteer work, or paid/compensated work (something along these lines). So shadowing is not the same as volunteering, volunteering at a hospital, food bank or other nonprofit organization would be things you could put down as volunteer work. In my experience schools like to see that you haven given back to your community, a lot of secondary and primary essay prompts ask about this kind of stuff.

Edit: This was already said earlier, but schools like to see commitment. So it’s a good idea to volunteer at a place for a long time (volunteering at a couple of places is even better). You also don’t necessarily need to volunteer at a dental clinical, although that would probably look really good. I volunteered at a bunch of different places, none of which had anything to do with dentistry. So don’t worry so much about where you’re volunteering (try food banks, homeless shelters, hospitals, blood banks, you can also tutor students that need help but can’t afford a traditional tutor).

 

[ToothJockey]

To piggyback on what apl said, I don’t think volunteering in a private dental office can be considered as “community service”

San Fran has a bunch of free or low cost community dental clinics Im sure, just google “Free dental clinics near me” and then email them if you can come volunteer as a pre-dental student. It worked for me

 

[They_Call_Me_OD]

I wouldn’t considering shadowing to be volunteer work (or anything done in a dental office for that matter, unless it’s a community health center or some dental nonprofit organization), sure you’re not getting paid but I would not consider it to be volunteer work. If I remember correctly when you fill out your AADSAS application you’ll be able to list your EC activities as either dental related/shadowing, volunteer work, or paid/compensated work (something along these lines). So shadowing is not the same as volunteering, volunteering at a hospital, food bank or other nonprofit organization would be things you could put down as volunteer work. In my experience schools like to see that you haven given back to your community, a lot of secondary and primary essay prompts ask about this kind of stuff.

Edit: This was already said earlier, but schools like to see commitment. So it’s a good idea to volunteer at a place for a long time (volunteering at a couple of places is even better). You also don’t necessarily need to volunteer at a dental clinical, although that would probably look really good. I volunteered at a bunch of different places, none of which had anything to do with dentistry. So don’t worry so much about where you’re volunteering (try food banks, homeless shelters, hospitals, blood banks, you can also tutor students that need help but can’t afford a traditional tutor).

Thanks. What I’m getting from this thread is it’s kind of too late to even do that. Even 3-4 months of community service doesn’t show commitment?
And what is an example of Academic enrichment? How do I find something like that to cover that area?
Would community service count as EC?
Would volunteering at a religious place count as EC?

 

[ToothJockey]

3-4 months won't show commitment, but if your only "volunteering" so far is at a private dental office, you should definitely do some community service even if only for 3-4 months. Some is better than none.

Plus don't quote me on this, but I think you can keep updating your application even after you send it in, so you can keep volunteering for 6-7+ months and update your app as you go. That's what I plan on doing for my ongoing volunteering.