How much shadowing

Started by Fakesmile
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Fakesmile

Fakesmile

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Someone said that a month of shadowing is not enough, while somebody else said it's enough. How many hours of dental shadowing is really enough? (I know it's not just quantity but also quality, but yeah)
 
I'd guess the average applicant has about 50+ hrs. There are plenty of ppl who have a few hundren, even 1000+. There are threads about this. I think you'll be safe with over 50.
 
Someone posted a thread with the numbers required or recommended by schools. I believe 100 is the most that is recommended, so shoot for 100+ if you want to be safe.
 
Is that really the case, about minimums for schools? Just take a look at Predents and you'll find people getting accepted to schools that have 100+ hour minimums with only about 50, and they're not really any better than average candidates. How is shadowing actually taken into account?
 
There are a lot of misinformation out there. Who knows what the adcoms are thinking, so be safe and get 100+ hours.
 
BlueQuasar said:
Is that really the case, about minimums for schools? Just take a look at Predents and you'll find people getting accepted to schools that have 100+ hour minimums with only about 50, and they're not really any better than average candidates. How is shadowing actually taken into account?
Click to expand...

Yea I only have ~20 hours and got an interview at Indiana where you need 40 hours. Shadowing is overrated, if it were up to me I only would have done about 10 hours worth since dentists basically do the same thing everyday. Kids who have 1000+ hours of shadowing are wasting their time if they aren't making any money off of it, what can you possibly see in that 1000th hour that you haven't seen already.
 
This is a hot topic lately. Here's how I believe shadowing is taken into account:

Adcom Member 1 "Has he/she shadowed?"
Adcom Member 2 "Yes"
End of discussion

They want to know you've looked at the profession enough to commit.
 
sorry but what's shadowing? Is it when you help out a dentist by volunteering. excuse me for my noobyness
 
What if I have lots of experience working at a dental office (a few years)
and my GPA is 3.26 and science is 3.42. and I got an 18 on the DAT?

AA 18
Bio 19
Chm 20
Ochm 17
TS 18
RC 18
QR 18
 
Kutchy said:
What if I have lots of experience working at a dental office (a few years)
and my GPA is 3.26 and science is 3.42. and I got an 18 on the DAT?

AA 18
Bio 19
Chm 20
Ochm 17
TS 18
RC 18
QR 18
Click to expand...

Don't worry, you will get interviews and some acceptance letters. Good luck 👍
 
Kutchy said:
What if I have lots of experience working at a dental office (a few years)
and my GPA is 3.26 and science is 3.42. and I got an 18 on the DAT?

AA 18
Bio 19
Chm 20
Ochm 17
TS 18
RC 18
QR 18
Click to expand...

You mean the "lots of experience working at a dental office" will make you a more attractive applicant even with lackluster dat and o-gpa?
 
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