Ideas for this summer?

[David1991]

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Hey guys, I'm a sophomore in college now and am looking for something that would look good to dental schools this summer.

Last summer I did ~40 hours at a Princeton hospital internship and worked as a waiter. I also did about 15 hours of shadowing at my dentists office. I'm not sure what I'll be doing for work this summer, maybe the same thing. But as far as stuff for dental school, is there anything that would look particularly good?

Honestly, I don't have an interest in doing anything other than for the purpose of looking good to dental schools. I'm not that interested in research except that related to exercise (by the way does anyone know if research in a health/exercise field still looks good?) and volunteering/interning/shadowing is basically just to help out with apps. I would go back to intern/volunteer at princeton but I would imagine that another some of the exact same thing would look redundant and not be too much more helpful. Am I right?

I'm not really lazy, I'll do what it takes, I just don't want to 😀 but really if anyone has ideas I'd like to hear them

Thanks a lot,
David

 

[two thirty]

Rack up some shadowing/volunteering hours.

Take a upper level bio(I'll be taking biochem to make junior year a lot more pleasant.)

If you want to be super productive, study for your DAT and take it to get that out of the way.

Mainly though, pencil in some time for fun and enjoy your summer.

 

[David1991]

Rack up some shadowing/volunteering hours.

Take a upper level bio(I'll be taking biochem to make junior year a lot more pleasant.)

If you want to be super productive, study for your DAT and take it to get that out of the way.

Mainly though, pencil in some time for fun and enjoy your summer.

You don't think that would be redundant?

Studying for the DAT would probably be beneficial for me but wouldn't make me look any better to dental schools as far as what I'm doing with my time over the summer.

 

[Undecided94]

I agree with two thirty. If you study for the DAT & do something else (class, volunteer) you'll be more prepared and accomplish something else in the mean while. I would rather take all that time to sudy and get a good score than try to make myself look busy.

 

[David1991]

I agree with two thirty. If you study for the DAT & do something else (class, volunteer) you'll be more prepared and accomplish something else in the mean while. I would rather take all that time to sudy and get a good score than try to make myself look busy.

You don't think it would look better to be doing more? Maybe I'm wrong but I thought most pre-meds/dents were doing a lot of interning volunteering? I remember reading this book "How to get into med school by someone who's done it" (or close to that) and the amount of volunteer hours was really high.

I wish I could take a class to make my junior year easier but I'd have to pay for it myself which would cost ~$2000 at my school 🙁

Does anyone know how good research looks? I hear a lot of people say its really not necessary but others say it looks really good.

 

[illinois2th]

If you can find a dental lab to volunteer in, it would be something different from what you have already done, and a great thing to have on application because you get to see a lot of what you will be doing your first two years in dental school. And then you would still have time to prepare for the DAT.

 

[dentalpath]

Research does look really good. But I dont know how much you would get out of it if you did it for only 2 months. Check with your bio proffs at school who knows it could turn into a part-time job (yay money!) once school starts...this happened to me and I ended up doing research for a year and a half and getting a paper published out of it. Looks awesome on apps and def catches the eyes of the admissions committee.

 

[David1991]

Hm, I don't think I've even heard of a dental lab mentioned before. I probably should look into doing some research, I talked to one of the members of the "medical careers advisory committee" at my school and she said if I'm not interested in research theres not much point in doing it but I definitely get conflicting responses about this.

 

[Vaiyoretto]

I say do more shadowing.

and yes, research looks good.
Actually, I heard some schools look for some type of research experience.

 

[David1991]

I say do more shadowing.

and yes, research looks good.
Actually, I heard some schools look for some type of research experience.

I'll probably do at least some more shadowing. Maybe I should see if I can shadow an orthodontist or just some other dentist though. Honestly when "shadowing" all I've done is stand there and talk to patients.

Any kind of research look better in particular?

 

[Dusk]

I'll probably do at least some more shadowing. Maybe I should see if I can shadow an orthodontist or just some other dentist though. Honestly when "shadowing" all I've done is stand there and talk to patients.

Any kind of research look better in particular?

Do something you're genuinely passionate about and interested in.
Don't focus on what "looks" best.

 

[RSlex]

Do something you're genuinely passionate about and interested in.
Don't focus on what "looks" best.

Exactly. You want to make sure you are always happy and enjoying what you pursue.

 

[namiie]

Do something you're genuinely passionate about and interested in.
Don't focus on what "looks" best.

👍👍👍 If you do what you enjoy, chances are you can keep it up for longer, and THAT will "look good" compared to a bunch of varied but transient activities here and there. And why would more shadowing look redundant? It shows you're interested in the profession, and you're committed to learning more about what it has to offer, etc.

Regarding research....yes, it looks good, but can also be a double-edged sword. If you do research when you don't really want to, you won't get much out of it, and you risk 1) being miserable when that time could be spent being more productive and 2) being in an uncomfortable situation should an interviewer ask you about your research and you don't know how to answer. I've seen that happen to a few friends. Research is nice but not necessary.

 

[7 Iron]

Be mindful that anything you put on your application is fair game for an interviewer to question you on. If you participated in an activity just because it might "look good" but you really had no interest in it, chances are the interviewer will pick up on that and it will make you look bad. I think it's better to stick with a couple of activities that you truly enjoy. Your interest in those activities will really come out in your interview and that could seal the deal for your admission. After all, dental schools are looking for diversity more so than just people who will conform to the standards.

That said, you should continue shadowing--15 hrs is good as a sophomore but not really enough to put on your application. Try to amass between 50 and 100 hours by the time you apply. Go look at different specialists too.

Also, as previous posters have said, research experience does look good, especially if you stick with it for over a year. Research is a process that takes some time, so if you can only do a few months you won't get much out of it. It sounds like you are interested in the health/exercise fields. That counts too! That would be good to include on your app, I think.

 

[redchesus]

Some shadowing is required by most schools, some schools require 100 hours! If you could get a volunteering position at a dental clinic then it knocks out two birds with one stone... 'cause obviously you're observing while helping.

Research does look good but I don't think it's as important for dental school as medical school. I got accepted at a research-heavy school with very minimal research experience (no published paper, was just a paid lab tech who performed protocols for PhDs and post docs). Like others said, commitment is important for research. It's more likely that the PI will put you on more advanced projects the longer you work there.

 

[aphorth88]

never waste your summers is an advice i've been told by many people, including the dentist i shadowed.

there was only once summer that i did one summer class. but every summer, i did a program: smdep at ucla 2007, mdpp at uconn 2009 and a summer study abroad program in cambodia 2010.

for your future summers, definitely apply to summer programs during winter break!

 

[David1991]

I'm definitely interested in Health & Exercise, but would research on exercise really look good to admissions? I guess if I got to help publish a paper. Can even non-biology majors help be part of bio studies/research? (it seems like emails are sent to those in the major)

I have about 30 hours of shadowing total with one dentist, so I guess I'll try to get another 20+ this summer, maybe with another guy/specialist?

As for only doing what interests me, well if that were the case I wouldn't be shadowing, volunteering or interning 😀 I mean not that I really dislike all of that but I'm not really into them either. Usually I'm just standing around with a couple of entertaining conversations thrown in there.

 

[Maygyver]

I disagree about studying for the DAT over summer. That is such a waste of time. You aren't having fun, nor are you doing anything for your application that you couldn't do while taking classes. Do something that you want to do. Shadowing is always something pretty easy to arrange, and it isn't a long-term engagement. And before doc toothache says it, you shouldn't expect to do much when you shadow. They are helping you by letting you observe, so don't be surprised when you don't get to do anything.

 

[Daniel Turner]

My idea for the summer is to Visit My uncle he lives in Dubai. He often comes to visit us in our place so know I think that I should go to him before he comes here, ahh! waiting for summer to come soon so I can relax a little bit.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hey guys, I'm a sophomore in college now and am looking for something that would look good to dental schools this summer.

Last summer I did ~40 hours at a Princeton hospital internship and worked as a waiter. I also did about 15 hours of shadowing at my dentists office. I'm not sure what I'll be doing for work this summer, maybe the same thing. But as far as stuff for dental school, is there anything that would look particularly good?

Honestly, I don't have an interest in doing anything other than for the purpose of looking good to dental schools. I'm not that interested in research except that related to exercise (by the way does anyone know if research in a health/exercise field still looks good?) and volunteering/interning/shadowing is basically just to help out with apps. I would go back to intern/volunteer at princeton but I would imagine that another some of the exact same thing would look redundant and not be too much more helpful. Am I right?

I'm not really lazy, I'll do what it takes, I just don't want to 😀 but really if anyone has ideas I'd like to hear them

Thanks a lot,
David

Wrong... actually, it shows that during you free time (i.e summer break), you like to go out and help out the community. It shows maturity and sincerity (if it were only true )

 

[David1991]

Wrong... actually, it shows that during you free time (i.e summer break), you like to go out and help out the community. It shows maturity and sincerity (if it were only true )

lol

Thanks for your input

 

[two thirty]

I disagree about studying for the DAT over summer. That is such a waste of time. You aren't having fun, nor are you doing anything for your application that you couldn't do while taking classes. Do something that you want to do. Shadowing is always something pretty easy to arrange, and it isn't a long-term engagement. And before doc toothache says it, you shouldn't expect to do much when you shadow. They are helping you by letting you observe, so don't be surprised when you don't get to do anything.

When I mentioned it, I was saying if he was super productive, he could study for and take it. It would make junior year a lot less stressful if he got a good run in.

Not actually practical though, but this guy seems dedicated.

 

[David1991]

When I mentioned it, I was saying if he was super productive, he could study for and take it. It would make junior year a lot less stressful if he got a good run in.

Not actually practical though, but this guy seems dedicated.

lol thanks, I am really dedicated (although I'd say that's a characteristic of most real pre-meds/dents by necessity), but I feel like self-studying this early (~1 year in advance) would just end with me forgetting most of it by test time anyway. I get MCAT questions of the day sent to my email and it amuses me sometimes how much of the little details I've forgotten.