Need Advice

[HSorathia92]

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My AADSAS app got sent out in the 3rd batch so I'm starting to get a bunch of secondary app's from schools. I applied pretty broadly with hopes of getting in at least 1 school and matriculating in 2013. I tried to do research on which schools are out of state friendly but a few days after paying AADSAS I found out I wasted some money. Apparently ASDOH heavily emphasizes volunteer and shadowing hours and I don't have a crazy amount. I did a lot of shadowing and volunteering in high school when I figured out I wanted to pursue dentistry but nothing before college counts. I figured since I already knew my goal was to be a dentist that getting good grades in college would be the key and I could do a little extracurricular activity on the side just to fluff up my application (very stupid of me, I know). I'm looking at the secondary app for ASDOH and it has 2 sections related to volunteering and shadowing. I'm wondering if it would even be worth it for me to pay the 70$ application fee, write 3 more essays, and submit an application when I have little to enter into the Clinical, Volunteer and Community Service section? My gpa and AA/TS/PAT are 3.7 and 21/21/20 so I think I'm on par with other applicants academically, but my extracurriculars aren't outstanding. What would you guys do in my situation?

 

[jeffity]

For ASDOH, they want special people. People get in with little or no hours. But when you consider what they're about, hours are usually how you show that you walk the walk and aren't all talk. It's unfortunate to learn these things after you applied, but you're not alone. People see OOS and GPA/DAT stats and just apply there. If you feel like you're going to leave most of the secondary experiences blank and struggle with the essays, you might consider skipping it. Your stats are fine and will serve you better at the rest of the schools. ASDOH doesn't care if they're high, they just have to meet the minimums.

 

[diene]

I keep hearing this about ASDOH. Is there a place where they list their volunteer requirements? Also, what kind of questions did they ask on the secondary?

 

[jeffity]

They don't explicitly list those requirements. You'll hear an average number of hours here and there (including from school officials), but there's no requirement or cut-off. All over the site you can see they're big on community and public health. The curriculum includes a component of volunteering and also requires additional coursework to complete a certificate in public health (option of the full masters). Their fourth-year rotations are all in community health centers around the country. Selection shows preference to those who have "demonstrated community service through volunteerism or service-oriented employment experience". They also have the hometown applicant process. That's basically a guaranteed interview when a CHC director sends a letter directly to them vouching for you. The acceptance rate for those applicants is really high. It's easy for an applicant to say they're interested in these things or that they want to help people or whatever. But it's more believable to them if you've worked or volunteered in these settings and shown a continuous commitment to such things. So you'll find that many students have worked or volunteered in public health clinics or have history of volunteering or other "community-mindlessness".

But this number of hours stuff isn't all that's to it. They really have something they look for in candidates. They're a school that I feel looks at the entire applicant. That's why these numbers are just an average. Some have thousands, some may have none. People get caught up in just the hours thing a lot. Based on their philosophies and what they look for in applicants, those average hours are more of a natural product of those they choose, rather than an unspoken requirement they all met.

As for the secondary, it's not too involved. But if you don't have much volunteering in general or experience in dental settings, you'll feel inadequate because you're leaving a lot blank. Just do the best you can with it. You never know what they might like in you. They're a tricky one to figure out.