No shadowing at time of application?

[BobLoblawDDS]

I have a friend who is looking to submit in the next day or two, but as of yet she hasn't completed any shadowing. But she WILL be starting next week and will continue to shadow over the course of August, and she says she expects to be able to do around 50-75 hours by then; her dentist has also agreed to write a letter stating how many hours she has done, presumably in a few weeks to a month.

Is this going to affect her chances, and is she going to be able to add in shadowing experience afterward?

I'm rather curious as well as I may be adding in extra volunteer items after I e-submit.

I also don't have my LOEs completely lined up yet; I can submit these while I wait for my GPA to be verified and such, right?

Thanks!

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[UCLAzy]

might be difficult to answer the 'why dentistry' question if she's got no dentistry experience =\

 

[tayloreve]

might be difficult to answer the 'why dentistry' question if she's got no dentistry experience =\

👍 I was going to say the same thing. lol. How does she know she even likes it if she's never shadowed a dentist?.... 😕

 

[doc toothache]

To the question of why dentistry, she can just claim that was the random page she selected from the yellow pages.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

I have a friend who is looking to submit in the next day or two, but as of yet she hasn't completed any shadowing. But she WILL be starting next week and will continue to shadow over the course of August, and she says she expects to be able to do around 50-75 hours by then; her dentist has also agreed to write a letter stating how many hours she has done, presumably in a few weeks to a month.

Is this going to affect her chances, and is she going to be able to add in shadowing experience afterward?

I'm rather curious as well as I may be adding in extra volunteer items after I e-submit.

I also don't have my LOEs completely lined up yet; I can submit these while I wait for my GPA to be verified and such, right?

Thanks!

You can't "add" anything to your app once you e-submit. You can only update a handful of things like classes you plan on taking. If she plans on shadowing, she should put it in the app right now. And you should as well. But you better be sure that you do it because they might bring it up at the interview.

And yes, you can submit your letters while you wait for your GPA is being verified. But you better do it soon. Time is ticking.....

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

Thanks for the responses guys. I suppose she'll just have to indicate that she plans on completing shadowing and hope for the best. I understand she may have to face the question in interviews, but does she at least stand a chance of being granted one in the first place?

The difference is that no shadowing experience is required for application to Canadian schools. Students pursuing dental school here play a pure numbers game. I was interviewed at two last year and at that time I had no shadowing experience (I only did my shadowing this summer) and none of my other extracurricular or volunteer experiences contributed to my application. Also interviews are standardized (by the CDA) and are hypothetical situation/behavioural based (ie. they ask you questions like "You are working in a clinic and accidentally hit a patient with the arm of a dental lamp. What do you do?" which you're expected to talk for 5-10 minutes on), and "Why dentistry?" is only asked as a supplemental question that doesn't contribute to your interview score. It's an entirely different process and a lot of Canadian applicants don't anticipate the alternative requirements that American schools dictate. Here it's all about whether you have a 3.85 or a 3.9 and how conscientious and well-spoken you are with situational questions.

 

[doc toothache]

It's an entirely different process and a lot of Canadian applicants don't anticipate the alternative requirements that American schools dictate. Here it's all about whether you have a 3.85 or a 3.9 and how conscientious and well-spoken you are with situational questions.

Yep. Why bother with the relevant information.

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

Yep. Why bother with the relevant information.

It's a common mistake. American schools are seen as a fallback for most.

There are other ways in which the American system disqualifies Canadians: most Canadian science students have a much more concentrated first year (pure bio, chem, phys, math) and never take Psychology, Sociology, sometimes English, and often don't take Microbio or Anatomy in higher years either (but Physiology and sometimes Immunology are usually taken instead).

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

My friend has decided that she's going to wait 2-3 weeks to submit her application so she can at least put a continuing shadowing commitment on her app.

I hope this doesn't affect her chances too much! She has high stats, but it is getting down to the wire... presumably her app will be complete by late Sept/early Oct.

 

[MAdental]

No matter how high of a stat she has got, shadowing hours are mandatory for some school (40-100+ hours) ! Add that to applying that late ? Some ppl get lucky and do land interviews with high stat when applying in october...but not everybody is lucky.

Ps. if she has got a 3.9, going to US will be a waste of money, no matter how good or prestigious the school might be. Why would she wana pay 100-150K extra when she can go to canadian schools ?

 

[slm266]

lol some intelligent people really have no common sense

 

[joe200]

No matter how high of a stat she has got, shadowing hours are mandatory for some school (40-100+ hours) ! Add that to applying that late ? Some ppl get lucky and do land interviews with high stat when applying in october...but not everybody is lucky.

Ps. if she has got a 3.9, going to US will be a waste of money, no matter how good or prestigious the school might be. Why would she wana pay 100-150K extra when she can go to canadian schools ?

Practice in america and make big bucks.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

Practice in america and make big bucks.

Not quite true. Not every dentist in America is rolling in money and driving around in Lambos. Most actually live a pretty normal life in the suburbs.