how to specialize

[kevinacko]

---

Members don't see this ad.

hey guys
i'm going to penn next year and i'm considering specializing when i'm done. from what i know, you need a good gpa, board scores, class rank, extracurriculars, and lor's. anything i'm missing from this list? i've heard research and a residency/work experience help. i'm not sure if i want to specialize, but i want to keep my options open.
thanks

 

[Zurich5]

kevinacko,
I think getting to know the right people is a great idea if you want to specialize. It's unfortunate but sometimes it's not what you know but who you know.

 

[River13]

Some luck always helps...

 

[NC2PA]

Kevinacko,

I actually spoke with Dr. Raymond Fonseca last week. He's Penn's former dean and now head of oral surgery. Pretty much summarized, he stated that the ONLY thing i should be doing my first two years is getting the highest grades possible and then getting the highest step I board scores possible.

After that, we have plenty of opportunity to build our resume. You can do research, TA courses, develop your own interests through student organizations, externships, etc. and don't forget we have a community service requirement. So just through your normal course of work at penn, you'll develop into a very strong applicant.

And meanwhile, in between studying, the faculty is always welcoming to letting students come in and observe different specialties.

His philosophy must work because Penn has regularly had great match rates. I don't know all the match totals for this year, but we had 14 for ortho. i'll update as i find out more.

So, i guess we just take it one step at a time. 🙂