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Gateway to Dentistry
Started by prepaboy
I am out-of-state (NY) and took part in the program. The majority of students are in-staters, but it didn't seem that the administrators necessarily wanted this to be an only in-state thing. What I mean by this is that there was a majority of in-staters mostly because it is more convenient for in-staters, and in-staters are most likely to be looking to gain an admissions advantage by doing the program. On that note, this program gives you a HUGE advantage for admission. You are in constant contact with the most influential people on the admissions board!
You, and any other pre-dents or potential pre-dents who read this should ABSOLUTELY apply for this program if it is feasible to attend. It sealed the deal on my decision to commit to pre-dental and I am so glad I took part in it. They have two sessions: winter and summer. The summer program is about twice as competitive statistically as the winter session (30% of applicants accepted in winter vs. about 15% in summer), so if you're super worried about your stats, you should look into the winter session. But feel free to apply to both!
This program was really great. To put things into perspective, the program fee that they charge does not even come close to the amount of money spent on your behalf for your experience. Lots of hands-on experience within the different specialties, (mostly) great lectures from different specialists, interaction with current dental students, etc. Absolutely fantastic!
APPLY! And when you're there tell Maritza I want to marry her.
http://dentalschool.umdnj.edu/gateway.htm
I'm doing this program right now. We have 30 people in our "class" and most are from NJ. We have a handful from NY, 2 friends from Minnesota, and 1 from CT. I'd say that probably 20 of us are absolutely set on dentistry and the rest are on the fence. We asked Maritza (an angel, a doll, the sweetest and most wonderful human being I have ever met) what they look for in an applicant and she gave us a roundabout answer. All we could get from her was that your transcript and LOR are key - the rest she wouldn't go into. She also wouldn't tell us how many people applied, but one of the speakers said it was close to 7% acceptance. Your applications are actually reviewed by the UMDNJ admissions committee, which is a definite plus when it comes time to apply to the school. Be warned, though; Dr. Chaviano told us that in the past Gateway students who didn't exhibit good behavior during the program were denied admission to NJDS outright.
APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU'LL GO TO UMDNJ. You might end up loving it here, and even if you don't you'll come out with some great experience under your belt. How many other applicants can say that they've performed a simulated root canal?
APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU'LL GO TO UMDNJ. You might end up loving it here, and even if you don't you'll come out with some great experience under your belt. How many other applicants can say that they've performed a simulated root canal?
