How useful is getting an RDA license during your undergrad?

[heppismiles]

I'm a pre-dental student (incoming sophomore) and my dad is also dentist. He keeps urging me to receive an RDA license in my state which requires work experience of 15 months, a ton of certifications (radiation safety, coronal polishing, infection control, etc.), and a sit-down exam. He claims this will increase my chances of getting accepted into dental school but it seems like a very big time commitment... I feel like I can use that time to do more volunteer work or study for the DAT instead. Do you think it's worth trying for?

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[Bigjt1420]

No, why would you try to be an RDA when you want to be a Dentist? How are your grades? Is he saying this because he doesn't think you can get in somewhere?

Just get good grades, do well on the DAT, do some work experience, volunteer, etc. Make sure your app is well-rounded. Don't waste your time on a career you don't want to do.

 

[Chief's Pineapple]

Agreed. A whole lot of effort for very little gains. Not much bang for your buck. And if you're getting it just for the sake of getting it, and not going to use it all, I doubt it'll help your application at all. I'm sure a significant amount of dentists were not DA's/RDA's before getting into dental school.

 

[doc toothache]

It would not be exactly an exceptional feat considering the fact that we have college students/ college graduates competing with high school graduates/ non grads.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a pre-dental student (incoming sophomore) and my dad is also dentist. He keeps urging me to receive an RDA license in my state which requires work experience of 15 months, a ton of certifications (radiation safety, coronal polishing, infection control, etc.), and a sit-down exam. He claims this will increase my chances of getting accepted into dental school but it seems like a very big time commitment... I feel like I can use that time to do more volunteer work or study for the DAT instead. Do you think it's worth trying for?

Do it if you want to do it. It is not required for admission.