please help me friends....

[krishna]

dear all...
I am new to sdn and felt great seeing all the threads.
I scored....89%NB-1.270 toefl,3.2 gpa.
I know my stats are average compared to the student who got accepted with 94 s....
I am from India and the only dentist among friends I know here.
I want ur suggestion whether to retake part-1 or take part-2 or join a clinic for observation to improve my resume


I totally relie on ur suggestions and please post here or pm me or mail me at [email protected].
I don`t know whether I can post in a seperate thread like this or not but thought this is the only way I can reach u all.
thank you friends and waiting for ur suggestions....

krishna.

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[gsmm]

i think you are ok..you proceed to 2nd part and also any work experience will help

good luck

 

[Meggs]

Why your doubts? Have you been rejected by any school?
btw, 89 is very good, why retake it?
Volunteer experience is a very good idea, take it from me!!

 

[krishna]

Thanks a bunch gsmm and meggs...
I took my boards in dec-2003 and didn`t apply to any school yet.
I am planning to do so after I see ur suggestions.

thank u and thanks a lot.

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

Hey Krishna..

U have pretty good scores, you can do what most ppl do after part 1... apply, and while u wait for your interview calls (which will definitely come your way with a score of 89) u can take up volunteer work, so u have something concrete to say when the interviewer asks u what u have been doing with your time after part 1 (unlike me, who just sat and watched all the soaps on TV and regretted it later). You can also prepare for part 2, if your work timing permits. This way, u have a wider choice of schools to apply to.

Btw, welcome to SDN!

 

[mamadent]

i think 89 is a very good score.i suggest u apply to schools and i am pretty sure u wud be accepted.

 

[ram7378]

hi krishna
i think you have good scores and there is no need to retake part 1. just go ahead and apply for schools and yes, work experience really counts a lot.so, in the mean time you can carry on with your volunteer work.that's a very good idea.

 

[sck]

Like everybody says, these are good scores definitely.. i would suggest that if u volunteer, volunteer in a university/govt. organization which can fetch u a completion certificate and this will really matter more than any 'private volunteering at dentist's office" stuff.. many schools, universities and organizations have volunteer offices, u can apply to those and start volunteering few hrs every day.

 

[krishna]

Thank u.... totally_tasha,mamdent,ram7378,sck.

I`ve taken appointment with a private dentist to ask for voluntry observation after seeing ur posts and let me see what happens next.

Can u please suggest me where all I should apply(schools).
NYU is very expensive and I don`t think I can list it.Iv`e cosigners but it will be a biiiiig loan for NYU.So please suggest me where else I can have a chance.

Thank u and thanks a bunch.

 

[toothlord]

Originally posted by meggs
Why your doubts? Have you been rejected by any school?
btw, 89 is very good, why retake it?
Volunteer experience is a very good idea, take it from me!!

meggs do you think if i do an abservation or a volounterr work that would really count as a work experience in the us??and what type of volounterr work,i mean observation in a private clinic or it must be a university?i will be gratefull if you can clarify the subject down here,or any one of you guys.

 

[HONEST DENTIST]

hi all,
are u guys very positive that work experience count a lot(especially in US) to get an admission to a school.then, what happens to people with student visas?(probably they can do observation, right?).
honest

 

[sck]

Honestly,
Observation at a dentist's office doesn't carry much weightage, that's my experience so far. Volunteer work in a hospital/university/govt organization ie any public organization can help.

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by toothlord
meggs do you think if i do an abservation or a volounterr work that would really count as a work experience in the us??and what type of volounterr work,i mean observation in a private clinic or it must be a university?i will be gratefull if you can clarify the subject down here,or any one of you guys.

I can't tell you exactly whether one replaces the other, becuase I have both and my interviewers kept acknowleding BOTH experiences. So which of them got me in?, I don't know.

To be brutally honest (as I always am) I personally don't think volunteering in a private office makes any sense at all. I mean, if you're going to go with the old cliche "I want to help the needy", you might as well prove it, volunteering in health community centers, hospitals, shelters or maybe a private offices in the ghetto somewhere. You know, places where they need you.

For liability reasons some places won't let you actually volunteer as an assistant, but just observe or doing shores around the office that don't require actually touching the patient or access to private patients charts. Do you get it?

Since I'm Hispanic, in the US I observed in a health community center in a poor neighborhood where mostly Hispanics and poor Black and Whites live. There my cultural and language skills came in handy.

Like Tasha said, try to get out there and do something within the dental field. My interviewers keep pointing that they liked that I never lost touch with the dental field, unlike some people who just come to the US, don't have a work permit, so they never put on a pair of gloves again.

Maybe is becuase I'm not the soap opera type of girl, but for God's sake, I rather be out there translating patient symptoms for free, than beign a "couch potato" getting my butt bigger than what already is!

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

[/B][/QUOTE]
Maybe is becuase I'm not the soap opera type of girl, but for God's sake, I rather be out there translating patient symptoms for free, than beign a "couch potato" getting my butt bigger than what already is! [/B][/QUOTE]

Wish I met u before I got hooked on all those soaps Meggs!

I did do volunteer work.. but as a teacher at a school for children with special needs, becos its my moms school and she needed the help.. but that was for only a few hours per week, and did not hold quite the same standing as being in a dental setting, at the interviews. I would have scored much more points with the interviewers if i volunteered at a community service dental clinic, like Meggs did, helping those who need help the most, at the same time making use of the dental skills I have.

Tasha

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by ToTaLLy_TaSha
I did do volunteer work.. but as a teacher at a school for children with special needs, becos its my moms school and she needed the help.. but that was for only a few hours per week,

I did that too, but while in high school in CA. I teached inmigrant Hispanics kids, Spanish, so that they could then learn English. But I wasn't smart enough at that time as to get a certificate, so I've got no proof of it. *stupid me*.

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

Originally posted by meggs
I did that too, but while in high school in CA. I teached inmigrant Hispanics kids, Spanish, so that they could then learn English. But I wasn't smart enough at that time as to get a certificate, so I've got no proof of it. *stupid me*.

Stupid me dint get a certificate either it just slipped my moms mind But luckily they didnt ask for proof at the interview, and they believed me (i think).

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by ToTaLLy_TaSha
Stupid me dint get a certificate either it just slipped my moms mind But luckily they didnt ask for proof at the interview, and they believed me (i think).

They didn't??? Since I didn't have proof of it I didn't even brought it up to the conversation. So now I'm twice stupid!!!

 

[sck]

The interview panels usually never asks for certificates or proofs of that sort, they trust your integrity.. I have not even come accross them asking for original documents to verify them with those in our applications. and when it comes to volunteering, research, awards and distinctions, they dont want to see proofs.. they r smart enough to figure out if we r bluffing!

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

Originally posted by sck
The interview panels usually never asks for certificates or proofs of that sort, they trust your integrity.. I have not even come accross them asking for original documents to verify them with those in our applications. and when it comes to volunteering, research, awards and distinctions, they dont want to see proofs.. they r smart enough to figure out if we r bluffing!

In UPenn, they go through all your original college certificates.. but they don't check work experience.. like they say: they have in-built B.S. monitors to know when ur lying. Lying is the worst thing u can do at an interview.. if they figure it out, and they will, there's no hope. -----> I think Im polluting this thread with my babbling.

Meggs, you're part of the UoP family, gurl!! Even if they didn't know what you did in high school, they still loved you. So, no worries.

 

[krishna]

Hey meggs,sck and tasha....
Do u have any idea whether one need a EAD or green card to do the volunteering work at the local communities or Universities???
I asked u because I don`t have one..... and a private dentist allowed me to come for observation.
Do u guys think that this will be waste and not really usefull in my interveiws????
waiting for ur replys......

krishna.

 

[sck]

i did volunteer at a private dentist's and in my opinion, i wasted my time.. U dont need an EAD, Green card to volunteer in public organizations/hospitals.. I dont have one and i am still volunteering.

 

[shreyas]

hi krishna

i think tht if u have nothing better to do at this stage . u might as well go for it but it wud be better if u cud look for some organization which really needs help, rather than this in a dental clinic. i worked for a long time in a dental clinic. here i am with nothing in hand at this moment.think abt it.
since u jsut gave u r part 1 & if u r invited for a n interview i dontt hink any body wud be expecting tht from u right away. so join something which wud really benefit u.take some time.
all the best

 

[toothlord]

Originally posted by meggs
I can't tell you exactly whether one replaces the other, becuase I have both and my interviewers kept acknowleding BOTH experiences. So which of them got me in?, I don't know.

To be brutally honest (as I always am) I personally don't think volunteering in a private office makes any sense at all. I mean, if you're going to go with the old cliche "I want to help the needy", you might as well prove it, volunteering in health community centers, hospitals, shelters or maybe a private offices in the ghetto somewhere. You know, places where they need you.

For liability reasons some places won't let you actually volunteer as an assistant, but just observe or doing shores around the office that don't require actually touching the patient or access to private patients charts. Do you get it?

Since I'm Hispanic, in the US I observed in a health community center in a poor neighborhood where mostly Hispanics and poor Black and Whites live. There my cultural and language skills came in handy.

Like Tasha said, try to get out there and do something within the dental field. My interviewers keep pointing that they liked that I never lost touch with the dental field, unlike some people who just come to the US, don't have a work permit, so they never put on a pair of gloves again.

Maybe is becuase I'm not the soap opera type of girl, but for God's sake, I rather be out there translating patient symptoms for free, than beign a "couch potato" getting my butt bigger than what already is!

thank you so much..

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

Originally posted by krishna
Hey meggs,sck and tasha....
Do u have any idea whether one need a EAD or green card to do the volunteering work at the local communities or Universities???
I asked u because I don`t have one..... and a private dentist allowed me to come for observation.
Do u guys think that this will be waste and not really usefull in my interveiws????
waiting for ur replys......

krishna.

Hi krishna..

As far as I know, you don't need any of those things to volunteer.. A friend of mine volunteers at UPenn and she's just on a B1/B2.

A lot of the students who interviewed with me volunteered at private clinics, and many of them say it was a waste of time. If you can, try and look up a community service clinic.. it will work better for you at many levels: you will see a greater number of cases, you will be giving back to the community and it will impress your interviewers.

Tasha

 

[Meggs]

In response to a few PMs I've gotten, I want to say something:

At my interview there were Indian people with scores as low as mine, 84 and 85, who had been interviewed and accepted somewhere else (but still went to the interview to try their luck). So, I know many Indians here feel that with anything below a 90, they won't get in anywhere. Well...... that's just not the way it works.

What did those people had in their favor? I don't know. Experience, great practical hability, great TOEFL or GPA, a great essay, great personality, great interview, great LORs, great ranking? I don't know. All I know is that they were there with me and had been somewhere else as well.

So to anyone with anything below an 85, yes re-take it (don't take my chances, I had a horrible time doing it, beleive me).Not for anything some schools use 85 as their cutoff. But if you're above 85 and the rest of your resume and stats looks VERY good, then go ahead and apply and try your luck.

For some reason people forget to mention about the applicaton essay. I would think that's the only way schools can learn about your personality, previous to your interview.

So, if you're in California, Florida, Texas, etc. or any of those states full of needy inmigrants, get out there and do something.

I hope this clears the mind of those who PMed me asking about this. I'll be glad to help anyone in the public forum.....
Good luck.

 

[organic]

I think that the minimal score is just a gate for schools to determine their pool of candidates. Once you are in the pool, it is a matter of overall performance that matters. If you do well over all, the good scores are just complimentary.

packaging yourself is the most important

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by organic
packaging yourself is the most important

Finally we agree on something.

I guess regardless of how expensive is a diamond ring, they way you wrap it as a present, do matters!. The wrapping matters!!!

 

[krishna]

Hey meggs ,
thats really a good example.Thank u.

Thank you organic and sck.

 

[shreyas]

hi krishna

regarding the pm u sent me i think many people have this notion tht part 2 is always extra credit to be added, but i really dont think so, it is never an extra credit but it certainly an asset bec u can apply to some more additional no of univ.
if u have the time take it up or else give something else a try& part 2 is more easier to give if u r in school already

 

[ToTaLLy_TaSha]

Originally posted by shreyas
hi krishna

regarding the pm u sent me i think many people have this notion tht part 2 is always extra credit to be added, but i really dont think so

I completely agree.. I had asked an admissions officer at one of the universities I was interviewed at whether Part 2 would have upped my chances, she said that was absolutely not the case.. those schools which only ask for part 1, ONLY look at part 1.. they totally disregard part 2 marks, in order to keep the process fair.

 

[krishna]

Hi shreyas and tasha,
Thats so nice of u and thank u.