Do extracurriculars done in high school count?

[CORNELL PreDent]

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Is it true that dental school applicants should not include extracurricular, volunteer and work experience done in high school on their applications? I've read on Kaplan's pre-dental planning website that these activities should not be listed.

I mean I think that I should include that I've done 1000+ hours of community service at hospitals and a daycare center, as well as my research experience at a non-profit environmental organization. What is your opinion?

 

[tamkhan]

I listed my high school community service projects. Was even asked about them during my interviews.

 

[Streetwolf]

I would normally say no but if it's anything medical/dental then go for it.

However if all you did at the hospital was bring food to patients or something, I would not list that.

 

[phantasmagoriun]

I was a Girl Scout for 13 years and put that on my app. If YOU think it should be on there then go for it...

 

[qwerty86]

i put my science fair wins on there

 

[phantasmagoriun]

i put my science fair wins on there

Haha awesome. Did you ever do S.I.T. ?

 

[KinKs]

I would say no - in my interview i started talking about everything - the interview cut me off early and said tell me about University

 

[sts9]

I thought aadsas specifies to only talk about stuff that happens while in college but I could be wrong. I didn't put anything from high school, but then again I don't think they would be impressed with 'diablo 2'.

 

[Saddleshoes]

Nobody cares about your high school stuff unless it was "World Class" high school stuff.

 

[dmonee6]

I put stuff from high school on my app and was asked about it. I went to a pre-medicine magnet program for high school. Also was involved in an organization called health occupations students of america where i won medals in national competitions in the category of dental terminology. I say go for it if it is relevant

 

[hrndawg]

I put my highschool e.c. on my app, and included them in my personal statement. I think if they show your character, theyre important. Also, its much better in my opinon to make sure you fill up as much as possible on your aadsas, then leave things blank-so if they give you 10 spots for e.c. then fill em up with whatever you got

 

[qwerty86]

Haha awesome. Did you ever do S.I.T. ?

SIT as in School for international training?

 

[phantasmagoriun]

SIT as in School for international training?

Science, Inventions, and Technology. It's a pretty famous science fair. Heh...nevermind 😛

 

[Regmata]

High school activities would show a long history of being active and possibly altruism.

 

[CORNELL PreDent]

So would it be a good idea to put my volunteering and research experience in high school on my application?

 

[NJDental]

I would say yeah - im writing mine now and I listed stuff I did in high school - but mostly because the volunteer work that Ive done went back about 8-10 years ago so I basically had to say that - and some other high school things were honor societies and I was a leader in the clubs so yeah -why not, it can't hurt in my opinion!🙂

 

[Cymbidium]

I would say no. Didn't you do enough things in college to list? Listing high school stuff simply says "I didn't really do anything in college, so I'm reaching to put stuff on my application". I review resumes and hire people for my firm and everytime we see something from someone's highschool or pre-college days we're trained to question their motives, even if they thought it would be an asset to their resume.

If you were truely interested in volunteering and community service you would have continued that interest in college and would have been able to list your college experiences in those fields on AADSAS.

 

[Regmata]

If the trend continued through college, it shows a long standing commitment to the field and community service...two aspects of an applicant that schools seek.

 

[toothfairy85]

I did not put any high school activities down on my application, and then I was caught by surprise when I was asked about something from high school. All I can figure is my health professions advisory committee put something down about it. If the application says not to, then I wouldn't... but if it is important enough, you can always mention it in your personal statement.