How much emphasis is put on.......

[laugh]

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How much emphasis is put on..... EC's, volunteer work, dental work experience, research experience, etc..? I know it depends on the school but does anyone feel they were accepted because of these "experiences/volunteer oppurtunities"? Any students feel these "experiences" helped mask their mediocre DAT/GPA? Any stories......?

 

[TheWiredNerv]

These experiences definitely got me many acceptances and scholarships without a shadow of a doubt. Maybe more so than my GPA or DAT. They tell you what kind of a person you are while grades/DAT only tell them your scholastic talent.

 

[Regmata]

IMO and that of the admissions director at my school, they are not as important as GPA or DAT. Now, most applicants who are competitive will have comparable GPAs and DATs and at that point, the EC's can help to set you apart from other applicants.


Nerv...pretty sure it was those stats that got you accepted, not ECs

 

[phraud]

I say ECs and volunteer work is worth like a 47, and maybe a 52 for research and dental experience.

...I don't really know what all that means, but if you give a number value to things, it tends to sound legit.

Oh, this is on a scale of 7 to a chicken egg... chicken egg being most important, of course.

(Sorry for the dumb post. I'm on muscle relaxers for my back pain and, well, I think it's kicked in)

 

[nwdmd]

I wouldn't count on ECAs "masking" a low DAT/GPA. It is my impression that with thousands of applications for each school, a certain stats checkpoint must be cleared before your ECAs are even considered.

That being said, I would aim to try many ECAs, and stick with ones that you enjoy, not just dental related.. College seems like the best time to expand your comfort zone.

 

[ummjoey]

in my mind this is kinda of what i thought it was like.

GPA = 30-40%
DAT = 30-40%
Personal Statement = 5-10%
Extracurricular = 5-10%
Volunteering = 5-10%
Work/Research/Awards = 5-10%

i dunno.......maybe someone else can comment?

 

[Frederico Albin]

You have to remember that when the admissions committe look at your application they are looking at what kind of person you are. Thats why they have interviews.
Like thewirednerv said, your GPA/DAT just tells them what kind of student you are. You can be very intelligent students and have a bad day and end up getting a low score on the DAT.
In the other hand, your extra curricular activities shows how devoted you are to the profession, and shows what kind of choices you made in order to get some exposure to the field.
I think that the ECs part of the application is becoming bigger every year, with students doing research and most of them working as dental assistants before entering dental school. I have seem some applicants with abore the average GPA and DAT scores and not get accepted... once I asked them about their ECs... they told me that they shadowed for this amount of time. It seemed like that they only did enough to get into dental school.

So my advice is to have as much ECs as you can. Simple and clear
Good luck
Fred 😛

 

[blankguy]

in my mind this is kinda of what i thought it was like.

GPA = 30-40%
DAT = 30-40%
Personal Statement = 5-10%
Extracurricular = 5-10%
Volunteering = 5-10%
Work/Research/Awards = 5-10%

i dunno.......maybe someone else can comment?

Kind of hard to quantify the criterion like that. You could have strong GPA and DAT score but so so personal statement and not get looked at. All that can be said is the GPA and DAT are the most important factors.

 

[laugh]

True, of course your GPA and DAT are the most important. But Im sure a well rounded person has an advantage. Thanks for your comments.

 

[Lurchdubious]

True, of course your GPA and DAT are the most important. But Im sure a well rounded person has an advantage. Thanks for your comments.

"well-rounded" is a good phrase to think of here. as has already been said, your EC's are what set you apart from everyone else with the same grades & scores as you.