General Questions

[Qazzz]

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Hello everyone,

I am a first year UBC science student and I just finished my first semester in UBC. Dentistry is one of the few careers I am interested in pursuing (more specifically I want to become an orthodontist) and I just had some general questions that are all over the place in regards to the field and getting accepted into it. I am really sorry for the wall of text, I don't know anyone in the field and so I am kind of unsure where I can get the answers to my questions. Thanks in advance. (I have seen some answers to some of these questions around here but I am hoping for some different perspectives that don't repeat the whole follow your passions info.)

1. Which Major Should I choose?

I've seen many answers to this question and they always come down to doing what you enjoy. Unfortunately, I can't really say I enjoy certain courses over others. For example, I feel the exact same way about biology, that I feel about Chemistry, that I feel about Math. So in order to decide my major I was hoping for some suggestions of majors that will allow me to have a competitive GPA without having to pour all my time into them. For example: I've heard that you can achieve a similar GPA in microbiology and immunology while putting in less time than lets say Biochemistry. So I was just looking for some suggestions about which major I should chose while keeping in mind that i would prefer something that doesn't take up all my time and that I might find useful while taking the DAT.

2. Requirements for American Universities?

While I am not really worried about my grades, I know for a fact that Canadian universities can be very competitive when it comes to Dentistry. Because of this I really want to be able to have American Universities as sort of my plan B in case I am not able to meet the high standards of Canadian universities. Because of this I was wondering if the course requirements for let's says UBC's dentistry program would be the same as other universities in America? When I am applying to several universities I really don't want to be surprised at the last second that I didn't complete certain required courses in other universities and so I was hoping to get some information about this topic in general and how I could possibly avoid this issue.

3. Extracurriculars/ What are interviews?

From my basic understanding so far, I know that your DAT and GPA are considered first and if they are good enough you will be asked to come to an interview. My question is super general in regards to this because I honestly have no knowledge about this topic. What exactly is an interview and what can I as a first year undergrad student do to prepare myself for success in regards to this certain criteria of Dental school? I understand that this is a very general and slightly stupid question so if you can point me to an informative/accurate resource that relates to this topic then please do so because I need all the help I can get.

Again thanks for your time.

 

[ajj70]

Hello everyone,

I am a first year UBC science student and I just finished my first semester in UBC. Dentistry is one of the few careers I am interested in pursuing (more specifically I want to become an orthodontist) and I just had some general questions that are all over the place in regards to the field and getting accepted into it. I am really sorry for the wall of text, I don't know anyone in the field and so I am kind of unsure where I can get the answers to my questions. Thanks in advance. (I have seen some answers to some of these questions around here but I am hoping for some different perspectives that don't repeat the whole follow your passions info.)

1. Which Major Should I choose?

I've seen many answers to this question and they always come down to doing what you enjoy. Unfortunately, I can't really say I enjoy certain courses over others. For example, I feel the exact same way about biology, that I feel about Chemistry, that I feel about Math. So in order to decide my major I was hoping for some suggestions of majors that will allow me to have a competitive GPA without having to pour all my time into them. For example: I've heard that you can achieve a similar GPA in microbiology and immunology while putting in less time than lets say Biochemistry. So I was just looking for some suggestions about which major I should chose while keeping in mind that i would prefer something that doesn't take up all my time and that I might find useful while taking the DAT.

2. Requirements for American Universities?

While I am not really worried about my grades, I know for a fact that Canadian universities can be very competitive when it comes to Dentistry. Because of this I really want to be able to have American Universities as sort of my plan B in case I am not able to meet the high standards of Canadian universities. Because of this I was wondering if the course requirements for let's says UBC's dentistry program would be the same as other universities in America? When I am applying to several universities I really don't want to be surprised at the last second that I didn't complete certain required courses in other universities and so I was hoping to get some information about this topic in general and how I could possibly avoid this issue.

3. Extracurriculars/ What are interviews?

From my basic understanding so far, I know that your DAT and GPA are considered first and if they are good enough you will be asked to come to an interview. My question is super general in regards to this because I honestly have no knowledge about this topic. What exactly is an interview and what can I as a first year undergrad student do to prepare myself for success in regards to this certain criteria of Dental school? I understand that this is a very general and slightly stupid question so if you can point me to an informative/accurate resource that relates to this topic then please do so because I need all the help I can get.

Again thanks for your time.

1. Major doesn't matter. Most people major in bio or chem because you need the classes anyway. Some schools don't allow you to take upper level classes outside of your major so consider that. Bio, Chem, Math, whatever are all going to work.

2. The requirements for American Universities are high as well, considering it's a lot harder to get an A in a US school as seen in other posts. When your school gives you an A for 80% vs an A for 94% the average GPA for acceptance into a US school is harder to achieve.

3. Dental schools in the US use Holistic Review, meaning that it's not just about your GPA/DAT, they also consider your letters of recommendation and your personal statement which are submitted with your application, along with your extracurriculars. There are plenty of people with top GPA's and DAT's that get rejected from several or all schools and some that have below average scores that get accepted to multiple schools. Schools are looking for well rounded candidates that they think are the best fit for their program. What that fit is, no one can really say but most schools want to see 100 hours of shadowing, 100+ hours of volunteer work, leadership positions either on campus or in your community and some extracurricular activities generally not dental related. An interview is just that, you travel to the dental school and have an interview with one or more people and they ask you questions. Usually you get some kind of a tour and maybe get to see the dental labs, etc. The best thing you can do to prepare is study hard, get good grades, get involved on campus, find several dentists to shadow, but at least 60 hours from a general dentist.

 

[bwc]

1. You should major in something you are passionate about enough to study in depth, not because you think adcoms will find it impressive. As alluded, many applicants major in biology because of the substantial overlap in major requirements and prerequisites, but you are by no means obligated to major in biology. If you are interested in a major like art history, then go ahead.

2. The requirements that tend to be required at every school are 2 semesters of biology, 2 semesters of inorganic chemistry, 2 semesters of organic chemistry, 2 semesters of physics. Each individual school may have extra requirements like 2 semesters of English, 1 semester of biochemistry, 1 semester of microbiology, etc.

3. You should definitely have extracurriculars that are meant to show interest in dentistry (e.g., shadowing, volunteering), but also ones that you enjoy yourself regardless of how relevant they are to dentistry. They want to see that you are doing something because it means something to you, not because you are just hoping to check boxes off of a checklist. You should aim for being able to demonstrate commitment to a few activities rather than having as many to list as possible. The point is, you should be able to explain in detail what you got out of a certain activity. An interview means that they are interested in you because of how you presented yourself on paper. At that point, they have deemed you academically competent and are just trying to verify your interest in dentistry as well as whether or not you will fit into their program.

 

[Qazzz]

Thank you very much for the input.

 

[doc toothache]

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2015-guide-to-dental-school-admission.942453/