Dental Lab Technician

[DentalNucleicAcid]

I got an offer from a small dental lab that I applied to a month ago to work as a technician there part time. Basically working with the impressions/molds and stuff that are received from the dentist's office, I'm not really familiar with the terminology yet. I'm applying to dental schools next cycle (summer 2017) and I just wanted to get your guys' opinion on how "good" this would look on my application. My current situation is that I did well on my DAT (23 AA/24TS) but both my sgpa and ogpa are lacking a bit (~3.1/3.2), as well as my EC's (barely have any). I still have all of this year to bring up my gpa a little and to work on my EC's. Do you think that dental schools give preference to dental related EC's vs. non-dental related EC's? It seems like a stupid question but I've heard many times that schools just want to see that you've put your time into something outside of academics, so I don't want to be doing this thinking that it's a huge bonus to my app when it really isn't. That being said, since this is technically a "job" and not a volunteer activity, does that mean I can't count it toward the 100 volunteer hour consensus that most people agree on? The reason I'm asking is because this is obviously something that would be taking away from my study time, so I just want to make sure that it's well worth it.

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[ncide]

It's good for your application and will really help you in dental anatomy courses as well as your carving and waxing skills. Classmates of mine that were dental technicians seriously breeze through that material. I was an orthodontic assistant before applying, so I felt very comfortable with dental anatomy, but man, those guys that were dental techs just fly through waxing and carving and have amazing results. You have more time to work on other classes when you're done with that lab work so it's really helpful.

I'd keep volunteer work and your job separate, so continue to find volunteer work on the side. Also, really push this year to get strong grades. Grades are very important and some of my friends it took multiple cycles to get in with GPAs similar to yours. So if you find that you cannot balance the two, then set aside the work and focus solely on your grades. They are the most important now that you have a very strong DAT score (amazing job by the way, congrats). You can continue taking upper level science courses even after you have completed your degree to get that GPA up!

 

[Polkadotfan]

I think any job helps and you'll get exposed to dentistry so win-win as long as you can keep up with school.
Also volunteering doesn't have to be 100 hours I would think...do what you like and be consistent about it. People get so hung up over "Dental" volunteering but I think that takes away from volunteering itself.

 

[WaveRace]

I would look at this less as "how can this help my application" and more "this is an amazing and unique opportunity that will help me in the long run". More important would be getting up your GPA, if possible. That and do some other volunteer work. Just my suggestions.

Best of luck with your admissions cycle. Stellar DAT!

 

[DentalNucleicAcid]

It's good for your application and will really help you in dental anatomy courses as well as your carving and waxing skills. Classmates of mine that were dental technicians seriously breeze through that material. I was an orthodontic assistant before applying, so I felt very comfortable with dental anatomy, but man, those guys that were dental techs just fly through waxing and carving and have amazing results. You have more time to work on other classes when you're done with that lab work so it's really helpful.

I'd keep volunteer work and your job separate, so continue to find volunteer work on the side. Also, really push this year to get strong grades. Grades are very important and some of my friends it took multiple cycles to get in with GPAs similar to yours. So if you find that you cannot balance the two, then set aside the work and focus solely on your grades. They are the most important now that you have a very strong DAT score (amazing job by the way, congrats). You can continue taking upper level science courses even after you have completed your degree to get that GPA up!

Awesome, that's good to hear. And yeah that's what my parents were telling me about the balancing situation. The pressure is on now this year because it's my last year before applying so I have to tie up all of my loose ends. Thanks!

I think any job helps and you'll get exposed to dentistry so win-win as long as you can keep up with school.
Also volunteering doesn't have to be 100 hours I would think...do what you like and be consistent about it. People get so hung up over "Dental" volunteering but I think that takes away from volunteering itself.

Yeah I figured it doesn't matter. I'm in the process of finding an activity that I can say that I was consistent with for some time, at least this 1 year that I have left.

I would look at this less as "how can this help my application" and more "this is an amazing and unique opportunity that will help me in the long run". More important would be getting up your GPA, if possible. That and do some other volunteer work. Just my suggestions.

Best of luck with your admissions cycle. Stellar DAT!

True, but adcomms force us to play this game of beefing up our resumes to get in lol and thanks, I will

 

[Proximally Challenged]

Dental School will be orders of magnitude easier for you being a tech.....half of our time is taken up practicing hour after hour for practicals....projects you will be able to do in 15 or 30 minutes.

Your DAT scores are off the charts high (remember SDN is not the real world....for your average dental school 21/21 and above is considered to be an excellent score). This means that they will know you are smart enough for Dental School. Your job will be to create a story that convinces the admissions faculty that you have the work ethic to succeed despite a 3.1 GPA.

I think you will definitely get in multiple schools as long as you are a decent interviewer. But make sure to "play their game" and get all of the EC and shadowing stuff done....don't give them any extra reasons to not accept you.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Bro, you got this! I was in an almost identical situation gradewise and went all out for a year. I believe in you ^__^. You should do this job; it sounds like great experience and it should help you out