Do ECs have to be dental related?

All my ECs were non-dental related. ECs are away to show that you care about your community, whether it be dental vs non-dental related is irrelevant (IMO)

Matter of fact, the only dental related thing I did was shadowing 2 GP dentists.

 

I was nontraditional yes.... but it makes no difference.

There is nothing wrong with you being ex pre-med (with pre-med ECs) and now you wanting dentistry. Adcoms aren't brainless, they understand that the typical 20 year old undergrad will go through mind-changes. As matter of fact, your pre-med ECs maybe helped you understand why you really don't like medicine and now ur focused more on oral health.

ECs aren't supposed to be about dentistry.... theyr supposed to showcase how much you care about your community.

 

I'm confused. Here in Canada there's no real usage of the terminology "pre-med" or "pre-dent." You major in whatever you want, take the requisite courses and tests and apply to whatever you want. How do schools or the ADEA know that you're "pre-med" or "pre-dent"? Is that an actual program in schools in the states? Or is it just obvious from the volunteering that you've done (ie. a hospital vs. a dental clinic)?

Because I volunteered a hospital because it was just something that I felt was productive; a lot of people do it here, regardless of whether or not they plan on going to med school. I did a lot of different, weird things. I was exec on a variety of clubs; health, environmental, music, dental. Worked in a psych lab (and I understand that psychology is not considered a "science" in the States for some reason)... never volunteered at a dental clinic (since there are no free dental clinics here in Canada).

Does this put me at a disadvantage or something? It's just not the same over here. I double-majored in Biochemistry and Human Biology. There's nothing really to indicate that I wanted to pursue dentistry from the get-go...

 

Its like that here in U.S too.... pre-med / pre-dent / pre-pharmacy / pre-whatever are not real majors.... they are just social identifiers, probably invented by boys to impress the girls

I think there are some undergrad universities that offer the "fast track pre-med program/system"... where you take a bunch of upper level bio courses and graduate with a B.S degree in some biology major... but yeh, pre-med = not a major.

 

Extracurricular time is time with which to do whatever you feel like. Your hospital volunteering is great; it shows you are engaged outside of the classroom and you want to give back to your community (whether it's the campus community, local or regional). Not everyone likes campus clubs/school groups, and certainly not everyone participates in some sort of officer/exec position (there wouldn't be nearly enough positions for it). Chill!

And thanks for the clarification on pre-med/pre-dent. I figured it couldn't be a program because it would semantically lock you into a particular career path which I doubt would feel very good.

I'm in the same boat as you, Zbtb7, the only "pre-dent" activities I've done is been an exec on my Predental Society (only for my senior year and this upcoming gap year) and a bit of shadowing (30-50 hours). I think you'll be okay; a high GPA and DAT likely impress far more than a few dozen extra hours of volunteering at a dental clinic. A few hours versus several years of achievement? Admissions committess will understand which one required more diligence. Plus, you can't lie about your GPA/DAT, while I'm sure the amount of hours people put into things are either overestimated or inflated. Don't sweat it!

 

I know a lot of pre-meds and pre-dents that volunteered with animals, the elderly, psychiatric care places, non-profits...basically anywhere else other than a dental clinic. Pick something that fits your interests and slot off a little time per week for it. It will reflect great on your application!

 

Approx 5000 pre-dents get into dental schools each year. Most of them are youngsters in their early 20s.... what leadership positions do think most (or any) of them have? Most likely, none

Don't kid yourself, this is mostly a numbers game (GPA & DAT)