Questions from a pre-dental newbie! Please help.

[JEW UNIT]

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Hey everybody. I just have a few questions. I'm interested in Dentistry and I don't know where to start.

First off, some schools need a LOR from a Dentist and there are no dentist office in my area that are hiring. How am I suppose to get exposure to the field? Is not getting exposure to the field going to put me at a disadvantage? How can I get exposure to the field without earning a job offering at a dental office? I think having experience will give me an incite on what the job will include and it will give me an idea if it's even the correct job for me or not.


I'm applying for this cycle and I didn't take my DAT's yet...What areas should I focus on? What does the test cover?

What are my chances (if any getting into this year)? I'm planning to take the DATs in Sept/Oct so I don't have those scores yet. I've taken 80+ hours in community college and my overall GPA is 3.5 sGPA is 3.6 (I know it's a little on the low side but I used to screw around when I was younger and I've been working hard to increase it to this point). I have all the pre-reqs except the full year of physics, which I'm taking this year. I'm worked at a pharmacy for about a year and half (so I have some experience the in medical scene). Not much volunteering (since I got to work and school full time...I know that's no excuse since most people are on the same boat as me if not worse but I just don't seem to have the time), but I have acquired about 40 hours of community service at a local hospital by assisting the elderly and making sure they take their medications when they are supposed to...Am I screwed for this application cycle? I think I'm screwed for this years application cycle.

I'm only applying to Midwestern and A.T. STILL university since they are the only school that accepts community college credits (I'm transferring the university next year to obtain my BS in Biology if I don't get accepted...I do have an associates degree in Science though)

Finally, where can I get information about internships? The more exposure I get the better.

Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanx in advance 🙂.

 

[Blarelli]

You are kinda late to the game for this cycle if you haven't even registered for the DAT yet, but if you really want to pursue it this cycle register for the test soon, and buy the kaplan DAT book to get a basic idea of what range of material is covered. In the mean time start filling out your application, getting LOR's, and calling offices to find somewhere to shadow.

 

[JEW UNIT]

You are kinda late to the game for this cycle if you haven't even registered for the DAT yet, but if you really want to pursue it this cycle register for the test soon, and buy the kaplan DAT book to get a basic idea of what range of material is covered. In the mean time start filling out your application, getting LOR's, and calling offices to find somewhere to shadow.

Well...I'm going to register for a Sept. 13 test...The hardest part is getting shadowing experience...How do I explain to the dentist in charge to get me a recommendation...When during my shadowing would be a good time to explain to them my situation?

 

[slm266]

Hey everybody. I just have a few questions. I'm interested in Dentistry and I don't know where to start.

First off, some schools need a LOR from a Dentist and there are no dentist office in my area that are hiring. How am I suppose to get exposure to the field? Is not getting exposure to the field going to put me at a disadvantage? How can I get exposure to the field without earning a job offering at a dental office? I think having experience will give me an incite on what the job will include and it will give me an idea if it's even the correct job for me or not.


I'm applying for this cycle and I didn't take my DAT's yet...What areas should I focus on? What does the test cover?

How have you been on SDN for a year with almost 300 posts without picking up this info? Did you just switch from pre-med?

Hit up the DAT forum to get info on it, and spend some time reading the sticky threads for basic info.

EDIT: I see from your previous posts that you just switched from pre-pharmacy (did you even decline an acceptance?) due to money.

 

[JEW UNIT]

How have you been on SDN for a year with almost 300 posts without picking up this info? Did you just switch from pre-med?

Hit up the DAT forum to get info on it, and spend some time reading the sticky threads for basic info.

thanx for the tip....I'm switching from pre-pharm. And to be fair...Almost half of my posts were in one thread and I come to this site on and off so I don't know much lol

 

[slm266]

Sorry, didnt mean to flame there so much. At least you're not a dreaded pre-med boat jumper.

Do a forum search on shadowing (its not a paid position that you get hired to), and you don't really need an internship. Shadowing is sufficient, although some eventually come to assist (see other thread on this). There are threads on how to ask a dentist to allow you to shadow (start with your own dentist).

 

[JEW UNIT]

Thanx for the information and help...I might wait a year and get my BS in Biology since I realized my stats are alittle subpar amd will give me enough time to get priorities sraight (and not half assed like it is now)...I think it will be the wises choice right now. Thanx for all the help and suggestions. It really gave me a great starting point =)