How did you decide?

[Kneecoal]

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i'm having a harder time getting started with this personal statement than i thought.

i've known i wanted to be a dentist since i was a kid, but it was more of a gut feeling than a rational one, obviously, since what did i know about life when i was 9.

i worked as a lab assistant in an ortho office for 2.5 years in hs. i didn't do so well grades-wise the first 2 years of college, did an internship/shadowing in ortho for a semester soph year (my main interest is in ortho, i know, i know, don't count on it)... but haven't done anything since because i got discouraged about said grades (though they've gotten much better). i've never shadowed a gp, though i plan to this summer - but i'm also applying this summer - thus i won't be able to incorporate that into my ps. so now that i'm looking into writing this personal statement telling them why i want to be a dentist, i'm having trouble pulling pulling shadowing experience, and i don't think telling them "because i just know" is gonna fly.

did you have a similar predicament? if so, how did you decide on what to write about? what else did you draw from for your ps?

 

[yuppers]

Just try to think of all the experiences that are connected to dentistry. Then pick the ones that are the most unique and can be seen as positives.
I working on finishing mine right now, but I always find something that can be fixed or reworded to save characters... its tough but "you can do it" as that weird guy from waterboy would say 😉.

 

[Vicviper]

Yuppers is right, think about one moment during your shadowing/internship that just really inspired you, some patient that you saw able to smile again, some kid happy with how their teeth are so much better looking than they used to be, something like that. Just try to focus on one event, and then start off with that anecdote as being the first quarter of your paper, and then go on talking about yourself and the path you've taken to come to this point. Good luck!

 

[enfuego]

Yeah, I'm the same way, but opposite. My choice on dentistry is purely rational. I didn't have a moment where I fell in love with dentistry. It's not something I wanted to do as a kid, and I didn't have a lot of work done on me to make me appreciate the field.

I just didn't know what I wanted to do, so I started researching different fields and careers, talking to a lot of people. Dentistry seemed like a good choice - combined a lot of my interests, helps people, good lifestyle. So then I focused on learning more about dentistry by talking to other pre-dental students, and I just decided that that's what I wanted to do.

That hardly makes for an inspiring personal statement.

I'm sure you could talk about how you always had an interest in dentistry when you were young and how it grew when you got older and learned more about the impact you can make through the profession or whatever. There has to be things that still appeal to you now as an adult that makes dentistry an attractive career choice. It's not JUST your gut feeling, right? You've been involved in dentistry a lot, so I'm sure there's a story in there about your dentist or about some patient you could write about.

 

[Kneecoal]

thanks guys, for the responses so far, i will definitely consider. any other ideas out there?

 

[hellonurse]

If it helps at all, everything you wrote in your first post is great. Just take one great shadowing/volunteering/working experience and relate that to why you love dentistry. The hardest part is relating that "gut" feeling to rational reasoning. If it helps, I am applying this cycle and I've written my PS maybe 10 times lol. It does not come easily to everyone and it is a struggle. But the struggle is what can make it worthwhile.

On the other hand, some people are just great writers..they don't count.

 

[doc toothache]

i've known i wanted to be a dentist since i was a kid, but it was more of a gut feeling than a rational one, obviously, since what did i know about life when i was 9.

i worked as a lab assistant in an ortho office for 2.5 years in hs. i didn't do so well grades-wise the first 2 years of college, did an internship/shadowing in ortho for a semester soph year (my main interest is in ortho, i know, i know, don't count on it)... but haven't done anything since because i got discouraged about said grades (though they've gotten much better). i've never shadowed a gp, though i plan to this summer - but i'm also applying this summer - thus i won't be able to incorporate that into my ps. so now that i'm looking into writing this personal statement telling them why i want to be a dentist, i'm having trouble pulling pulling shadowing experience, and i don't think telling them "because i just know" is gonna fly.

did you have a similar predicament? if so, how did you decide on what to write about? what else did you draw from for your ps?

Why not shadow a gp before you write your ps. Who knows you might even find that you don't care too much about the blood and gore and decide you would rather skip ds altogether and go straight for ortho.

 

[burnzee06]

Our pre-professional advisor strongly recommends against saying, "I have wanted to be a dentist since I was 9 and blah blah blah my brother got braces/I got a cavity filled" etc. She's on the committee so she knows what she is talking about. Her point was that you aren't trying to sell the kid version of yourself and thus need be able to present a personal statement that highlights what you've done as an adult.

 

[Kneecoal]

Why not shadow a gp before you write your ps. Who knows you might even find that you don't care too much about the blood and gore and decide you would rather skip ds altogether and go straight for ortho.

what do you mean skip ds and go straight for ortho?? is that even possible??

 

[Kneecoal]

Our pre-professional advisor strongly recommends against saying, "I have wanted to be a dentist since I was 9 and blah blah blah my brother got braces/I got a cavity filled" etc. She's on the committee so she knows what she is talking about. Her point was that you aren't trying to sell the kid version of yourself and thus need be able to present a personal statement that highlights what you've done as an adult.

i know. that's the problem i'm pointing out, and i'm looking for some way around it.

 

[burnzee06]

i know. that's the problem i'm pointing out, and i'm looking for some way around it.

Ohhh I see. I was in a very similar position- I never really had an "aha!" moment or any kind of interesting story. My personal statement is more of an explanation of the multiple minor experiences that lead me to pursue dentistry.

 

[bigstix808]

here's what ya do...

...sit in front of you computer with a note pad. start writing down key words/ideas/life experiences/etc that you would like to incorp into your PS. now, once you have those ideas, start typing. don't worry about organization, grammer, or length. just get those ideas down. write a story, write a declaration, just write something! THEN you can go back and start figuring out what the theme of your PS should be. chances are, you KNOW what to write, but with nothing in front you right now, you are trying to rationlize it way too much. don't fight it, just get something down and let it flow from there.