Extracirricular Activities For Undergrads

[Lunasly]

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Hello everyone,

I am currently an under-grad with absolutely no community service under my belt. I want to eventually attend dental school in Canada or possibly in the U.S. I thought that I would maybe take the first semester easy as I overcome the challenges of transitioning from highschool to university. I then plan to work, shadow, volunteer, etc. Just by doing some reading, I found out a lot of the common activities that under-grads wanting to attend medical school do are research, volunteer at a hospital/clinic, shadow, and participate in international medical missions. I was just wondering is this pretty much the same idea for dentists? Would I still be doing research? Would it be advisable to volunteer at my local hospital/clinic or is there a better place which is better suited for me? Should I participate in an international medical mission?

Any advice or links to websites are greatly appreciated,
Thanks.

 

[nunnya]

One of the main reasons why you see these activities on a lot of people's lists is because it helps you get a better understanding of what you actually want to do. I started doing research even though I was already set on dental school because I didn't want to rule out the option of possibly integrating the two if I really enjoyed it. Although participating in medical missions and volunteering at hospitals is good, you need to find your own way to gain exposure to other fields or disciplines within dentistry to find out what you are passionate about. Obviously there you have to shadow, but the reasoning behind it is so that you can get a feel for the profession. In short, do things you that you love and will give you a broad spectrum of experiences, but to start off just join a pre dental society and see where that takes you.

 

[Lunasly]

Thank you for the quick reply! I am not to fond of doing research, so should I not do it because I could better spend my time participating in something I enjoy? I am thinking I want to shadow a dentist, volunteer at my local fire department, raise money for cancer, volunteer overseas in Africa (The reason being is because I participate in Ramadan where we don't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset so that we can endure the lifestyle of less fortunate people. I have always felt really passionate about helping people who simply can't live a happy life because of poverty). So in the end what you are trying to say is that everything can count as an EC, but what really matters is that I do something that I will enjoy the most. Also, if I can make it dental releated, I can gain some experience as well as be able to talk about something I enjoy during interviews.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Lunasly]

I apologize to everyone I hope you do not mind me bumping my thread.

 

[mag7ical]

Research is very important for dent schools. Also, it would be better to stick to a few activities & gain leadership positions in them than doing a lot with sparse involvement.

Hope that helps. Gluck!

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Research is very important for dent schools. Also, it would be better to stick to a few activities & gain leadership positions in them than doing a lot with sparse involvement.

Hope that helps. Gluck!

While schools like research, by far it is not important. It does look good to have it, but so many people get in every year without any experience in research. As far as extracirricular activities go, leadership is always good. Any type of community service looks good. But most of all, find something you are passionate about to volunteer in or be a part of. If you are asked about your activites, you want to be able to show them you enjoyed what you do - no matter how trivial those activities are. The interviewers have done this for years, so they will be able to tell when you are dong this for the check marks on the application and when you have done them becuase you really care.

Having activites that are a little odd help during the interviews as well. I was the reptile caretaker at my college. As part of my community service activities, I listed that I would go to elementary schools in the region and educate children about various snakes. I usually would take 8 to 10 different varietiesof snakes with me. this came up in a couple interviews and always semed to amaze the interviewers that someone could be passionate about something like.

You can always try to do the things that everyone else is doing just because they think it is the proper thing to do, or you can do what you feel best fits your interests. You need to enjoy what you are doing.

 

[JEW UNIT]

This is a great thread...Thanx OP for initiating a thread of an important part of the application process...Not to hi-jack the thread (I'm really sorry)...But what do you recommend a person to do if he works 30+ hours a week (yes me)? lol When I'm not at schools, I'm at work (not related to denistry) 🙁...I didn't want to start a new thread for the same issues.

 

[mag7ical]

This is a great thread...Thanx OP for initiating a thread of an important part of the application process...Not to hi-jack the thread (I'm really sorry)...But what do you recommend a person to do if he works 30+ hours a week (yes me)? lol When I'm not at schools, I'm at work (not related to dentistry) 🙁...I didn't want to start a new thread for the same issues.

I'm in Habitat for Humanity but I don't attend every single meeting. I just sign up for volunteering once or twice a month. You should find such activities that aren't so demanding on your time.

Also, if you want research, you can take independent research classes. So you'll get course credit for it, without wasting spare time.

 

[emags118]

i had the same problem with work i worked 30+ hours a week and couldnt afford to cut the hours down..... so i applied to as many dental assisting jobs in my area hoping someone would take a chance on me and someone did.... most beneficial experience of my life really helped me realize that i wanted to be a dentist.