So here's the deal: I'm applying to dschools this summer and the only things I think I am lacking are ECs and volunteer. I plan to volunteer once this semester ends so I'll hopefully have around 50 hours by the time I apply. I was told that I should volunteer at a dental clinic, as this would "look good" for admission. The problem is, I've had a lot of exposure to the dental field (~350 hours of interning, ~350 hours as a dental assistant, 15-20 hours shadowing). Of course I don't expect spending this summer at a dental clinic to hinder me in any way, but would it look a bit weird that most of my application is focused so heavily on dentistry? Obviously I know this isn't an awful thing, but I'm worried about admissions not thinking that I'm well-rounded enough. Should I find a non-dental place to volunteer?
In need of volunteer hours - where would be best?
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At this point, volunteer anywhere you can since time is running out.
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Volunteer for something you're passionate about, it will be more fulfilling and will probably show through. You'll have something else to talk about in addition to dentistry. I volunteered at an animal shelter and loved it.
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Since you will be making a short-term committment to the organization looking for a lot of hours, I would contact a local non-profit that you are passionate about and ask them if you can assist them with a special upcoming project that they might need some help on. This would give you in-depth volunteer experience and the organization would know that you are not really interested in volunteering long-term, you just want to help them on a special project. For example, the local hospital may need help organizing a health fair, or you could volunteer for one week at a sleep-away summer camp for disadvantaged children, or you could organize a dental supply drive for your local food pantry or homeless shelter, or you could contact your local Boys and Girls Club and see if they need a helping hand with an upcoming event, I'm sure that if you are an organized, personable person this could turn into a really good volunteer experience.
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I really like @ToothbrushBuddy's idea for the here and now. It will help you get in a decent chunk of hours and also have one beefy experience to add to your app.
For the slightly longer term, though, I'd still try to find a place where you can volunteer just a few hours a week, every week. Though you might not have many hours from this activity to add to your application, you will still be able to talk about it in your interviews, and many schools will definitely want to know about your volunteering experiences. It will look odd if you only have one thing--and I'd be surprised if a few schools don't raise their eyebrows at the fact that you have so few volunteer hours, so be prepared for that--but at least this will make it a bit better.
For the slightly longer term, though, I'd still try to find a place where you can volunteer just a few hours a week, every week. Though you might not have many hours from this activity to add to your application, you will still be able to talk about it in your interviews, and many schools will definitely want to know about your volunteering experiences. It will look odd if you only have one thing--and I'd be surprised if a few schools don't raise their eyebrows at the fact that you have so few volunteer hours, so be prepared for that--but at least this will make it a bit better.
I have been periodically doing volunteer throughout undergrad, so it's not like I don't have any hours at all. I definitely don't think I have enough though and I do agree that it would raise a red flag that I don't have anything long term.
I like ToothbrushBuddy's idea as well. I think that's what I will do until I send
my app in and then perhaps continue it through the fall semester or find a different volunteer opportunity. Thanks for the advice guys!
Just to clarify, what is the recommended estimate of volunteer hours to have for the average school?
I like ToothbrushBuddy's idea as well. I think that's what I will do until I send
my app in and then perhaps continue it through the fall semester or find a different volunteer opportunity. Thanks for the advice guys!
Just to clarify, what is the recommended estimate of volunteer hours to have for the average school?
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Oh! From your original post, I thought you were saying that including this endeavor, you would only have 50 hours.
I would say that 100 is the bare minimum for many schools. There are some schools that are more focused on DAT/GPA, but many want to see that you are involved with your community and various volunteer programs. Had I applied with any less than 200 volunteer hours, I would have been worried. Maybe I am off base with that number, but it isn't hard to do that much over 3 (or 4) years of undergrad.
100 hours...yikes! As of now I have about 50 hours. If I really rack my brain I can probably come up with around 60.
How do we input volunteer hours into aadsas? I assume we put the events in one by one? The problem is, I haven't been keeping track of my volunteering throughout undergrad (not sure of exact dates) so I would hate to enter incorrect info and have schools check on this and see that it's wrong! The most accurate I could get the dates down to is indicating which semester it was, which I don't think would be good enough for them.
Also, my plan is to spend the next few weeks after the semester focusing on the DAT and sending in my app the day I take the exam, which leaves me limited time to volunteer. Would I be able to go back and add volunteer hours after I've submitted my app and I've had a few weeks to devote to volunteering?
How do we input volunteer hours into aadsas? I assume we put the events in one by one? The problem is, I haven't been keeping track of my volunteering throughout undergrad (not sure of exact dates) so I would hate to enter incorrect info and have schools check on this and see that it's wrong! The most accurate I could get the dates down to is indicating which semester it was, which I don't think would be good enough for them.
Also, my plan is to spend the next few weeks after the semester focusing on the DAT and sending in my app the day I take the exam, which leaves me limited time to volunteer. Would I be able to go back and add volunteer hours after I've submitted my app and I've had a few weeks to devote to volunteering?
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I am going to be really blunt here. I don't want to come across as harsh, but I am going to just try to lay it out so you know what the most competitive applications tend to look like (at least from what I've seen). Of course, people all have different life circumstances that may cause them to be extremely successful even if they don't fit this "mold," so please keep that in mind. 🙂
I think the honest truth is that if you search around and SDN and learn about the applications of folks who had the greatest success, they all probably had 300+ volunteering hours (along with multiple other activities). The trick is that it can't be all done at once. If you chip away at this over time, it isn't hard.
Furthermore, schools generally like to see longstanding commitments--not just 5 hours at this event, 3 hours at this event, etc. It is more so about the quality of what you do, not necessarily the quantity. IMO, volunteering with just a single program for 3 hours a week throughout all of undergrad is worth much more than fifteen piecemeal events here and there.
I didn't include any "tiny" activities on my application (ie. less than 15 hours). I just thought it clearly seemed like "fluff."
Volunteering hours are totally run-of-the-mill when it comes to applications. As competitive as things are nowadays, they are pretty much just an understood necessity.
This isn't to say that a person can't be competitive without many volunteering hours. They just won't be as competitive as they otherwise could be with them.
I would really try to continue with what you are doing. You can find the time. And, like I said--having a decent number of volunteering hours is an understood requirement nowadays.
I am fairly certain that even with the other things on my application, I wouldn't have been as successful this cycle without my volunteering activities. ECU, among other schools, really puts an emphasis on community involvement and giving back.
From the anecdotal evidence I have gained on this site, the schools that care the least about volunteer experiences tend to be private schools (private equals big $$$$$$). Most state schools seem to definitely care (state schools equal not so big $$$$$$).
P.S. You cannot go back and add volunteer hours after you have applied. However, if you have something considerable to add to your application, many schools will let you add an "addendum" of sorts if you just shoot them an e-mail with an application update. I did this for the schools I applied to, but only with things that really made a difference.
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I knew not having much volunteer would be a hindrance, there's nothing I can do now to change the past! I'll try to get about 100 hours by July when I apply (and leave out club volunteer events on the app, I suppose). Luckily for me, I'll only be applying to 3 state schools at most, the rest will be private schools since they are more OOS friendly.
Another quick question...could the interning I've done be considered volunteer? I basically spent a summer working in an private office as an unpaid dental assistant. I would much rather put this under the volunteer category instead of the dental experience category, if possible.
Another quick question...could the interning I've done be considered volunteer? I basically spent a summer working in an private office as an unpaid dental assistant. I would much rather put this under the volunteer category instead of the dental experience category, if possible.
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I don't see why that wouldn't be considered volunteering as you literally volunteered your time to be a DA. Isn't that what most volunteers do in dental clinics anyway?
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With that club, did you do a bunch of different "little" volunteering activities?
Maybe you could include it in a format like this (totally making this up):
Title: College Pre-Dental Club Volunteering
Hours: 50 hours, Freshman-Junior Year (I think the app makes you include an "average number of hours a week," so I'd just put 1 a week... that question doesn't really apply to all situations and is definitely annoying)
Desciption: Volunteered along with pre-dental club at various activities, such as Give Kids a Smile Day, Healthy Smiles Fundraiser, etc.
I would definitely include the unpaid DA work as volunteering. They will be able to tell it *actually* fits in both categories, and you've got enough shadowing hours elsewhere. 🙂
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Don't freak out too much about not having a ton of volunteer hours. I was kind of in a similar position, I was worried about it because everything in my application was great besides volunteer hours. I did a lot during my last semester/summer, got about 100 and I was fine. Just make sure you have other things to compensate for that weak area.
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I try to reassure my GF that her lack of volunteer hours will be ok, but then I read these threads and get a little worried. Her number 1 is Baylor since it's close to my job and our families, but she will only have around 50, maybe 100hrs if she really pushes it this summer (applying as soon as DAT is finished, early July). Most of the volunteering has been through predental society and/or honor societies. I guess we'll just have to find out!
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There are many facets to an application. Volunteering is only one of them. 🙂
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That's what I've been saying. We attended a TMDSAS presentation recently and they really harped on the app being looked at holistically.
This type of stuff is so refreshing to hear, especially around app time. I think a lot of people that post on this site are the ones that really have their stuff together (in terms of DAT scores, shadowing/volunteer hours, research, curing cancer, rebuilding Rome, etc.) and it gets intimidating. There are tons of people that get into dental school that aren't 100% perfectly well-rounded, and it's easy to lose sight of that when the majority of what you see on SDN is DAT scores of 28 and 1000000 hours of volunteer.
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Yeah, there are only two things that I feel are everything they're cracked up to be when it comes to competition: professional sports, and the profession of fine arts. In those fields you're either in the top 0.5% or you're looking for a job in another field. That said, dschool is no cakewalk...
Oral Cancer Foundation . org
Many dental schools / dental offices host oral cancer walks every year... Get involved in it! you can be apart of the planning for the event! It's a great event, good way to learn more about your profession and the importance of oral cancer screenings! Check out the website, and see how you can help out with one near you! Or you can create one yourself! the OCF helps out a lot with the logistics/planning.
Many dental schools / dental offices host oral cancer walks every year... Get involved in it! you can be apart of the planning for the event! It's a great event, good way to learn more about your profession and the importance of oral cancer screenings! Check out the website, and see how you can help out with one near you! Or you can create one yourself! the OCF helps out a lot with the logistics/planning.
