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ridge

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Hi Guys:
I have some doubts REGARDING work experience.Now a days,every university is asking for a U.S.dental experience EITHER AS A DENTAL ASSISTANT OR VOLUNTEER.Is this the major criteria for admissions besides part 1 score?if some candiate has got 88-90 percentile in part 1 but lacks work experience in U.S then what are the chances of his/her acceptance in U.S.dental schools.i am getting a hard time to find even a volunteer or observship experience at my place.What should I do?
Please give ur views and help in solving my problem..

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ridge said:
Hi Guys:
I have some doubts REGARDING work experience.Now a days,every university is asking for a U.S.dental experience EITHER AS A DENTAL ASSISTANT OR VOLUNTEER.Is this the major criteria for admissions besides part 1 score?if some candiate has got 88-90 percentile in part 1 but lacks work experience in U.S then what are the chances of his/her acceptance in U.S.dental schools.i am getting a hard time to find even a volunteer or observship experience at my place.What should I do?
Please give ur views and help in solving my problem..


hi everyone,

I saw these types of questions many time on SDN. Ok, here are the answers for all that questions

1] Do you have to have work experience in USA while applyin FOR Advance Standin Program

YES.....100% SURE, YES....I am sayin this based on my application experience....whatever the universities say...when they look at your application, they look for waht r you doin in USA.
I know answer to this question leads to a big debate, as many students get in without havin USA exprnc, I would say they are the lucky people.

2] What all the places you can go for ....if you hard time even in findin volunteer position

First thing.....look for community dental clinics...they always need for volunteer.
if you do not have Community dental Clinics in your area.....go to university hospital or any government hospital or any veteran[military] hospital, Take your degree certificate with you and talk directly with Chief of the dental clinic over there. Tell your situation, and explain why you want to volunteer or shadow.

Lot of students applyin for ist year of dental school volunteer or shadow at these places, as it is a requirement for ist year students to have particular no. of hours of volunteership or shadow.

3] what you can do if you dont find a job in dental field , but you have to take care of your family or need to pay for bills

I would say just look for students applyin in ist year of dental schools in USA.
I THINK NONE OF THEM WORK IN DENTAL FIELD. They work for just 9-10$/hr and wherever they get the job they work. In this country people respect for every job, even someone clean toilets.

Ok, When we come to Advance Standn Program, We already have dental degree in our hand , so they want us to do something in dental field. This shows our interest , enthusiasm and zeal to learn more.

Back to my question, if you dont find job in dental field, you can do some job in other profession, but at least you have to volunteer at the same time in dental field.

4] If I volunteer or if I do dental job, are they weigh same ?

What I think .......based on my exprernce 90% ...yes.Schools look for , do you do something in dental field or not.

5] why I have to volunteer or Do dental job?
when you send your application, they want to know more about you. So when you volunteer or do job, the person who is supervising you , will write a letter of recommendation, which explains what good and bad qualities you have and how you proceed in new environment of community.

6] What r the other things you can participate?
you could participate in research, or join MPH

7] If I do a job in other profession and just do volunteer , then how am I gonna to present MYSELF in the interview.

First of all do not lie......even they know its hard sometime to find dental job...Explain your situation to them..why you r doin this....and always stand on the statement whtever you writen in your personal statement.


I am sayin this based on my experience. They are not written in any school website or other place. I am sorry if any of my information is wrong OR MISLEAD SOMEONE. I dont want to scare those who r not workin or volunteer but just giving my opinion. I am posting this because When I faced these q's there was no one to answer.


Wish u good luck to all
 
hi dentisthoney,
thank you for spending your time and sharing with us your experience. i would agree the dental experience in US is highly valuable. but for most people as the first generation of immigrant, it is a really hard thing to do, considering so many things with higher priority than finding a volunteer job, such as keeping a stable job to earn enough pay check, keeping the legal status, blah, blah... anyway, just want to let you know I have two classmates who were admitted to UPenn and Columbia last year without any dental experience in US. of course, the sample size is small, but at least, gives hope to people who are struggling to get in the advanced placement program
 
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I would like to differ on this. I was asked about any clinical exp. in US, and i dont have any. In the reply i asked if this makes any difference, but they said no because many people work here as DAs and dont do any clincal work themselves. So if you have good score and grades, you should just be able to show that you were doing something after the degree... not sitting at home, thts it. However, its good if you can find a job.
Good luck
 
Thanks everyone for their inputs.
i appreciate it a lot.
 
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