shadow hours at time of application

[Toothfairy08]

For those of you who don't have dental internships/jobs (in which case your numbers would be extraordinarily high), how many observation hours did you have at the time you sent in your AADSAS? My first-choice school says they require 30, but I know this seems low--what would be competitive? Thanks!

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[toothfairy85]

I had completed my observation hours prior to application. I had 95 hours over a year's time with two general dentists. If you have time to complete more than 30, then it only helps. I think what they are saying is that they want a minimum of 30 to get interviewed/accepted. The more you have, the more competitive you should be. I would do at least 30 with a general dentist and then any hours after that could be with specialists.

 

[SugarNaCl]

I had about 80 hours over 6 months. They just want to see you have had exposure to the field.

 

[Zanderale6]

I had about 150 hrs. at the time of application. With your stats, though, I don't think you need to be worrying too much about reaching a high quota. You're already pretty competitive.

 

[mmasurf]

i had done 15 hrs but since i knew it will take 3 months to process my application i wrote i had done 70 so in that time they were processing my application i did those 70 and since they took really forever to process i had done 105 and during interviews no one asked me anything so i guess 70 on an application is good enough.

 

[hgfdsa]

I had only about 5 hrs when i completed my AADSAS in August. Over the course of the fall I got up to about 45 hours, and was very sure to mention it in my interviews. I had/have an otherwise strong application, so I think my lack of shadowing hurt me only slightly... I was quickly rejected from 2 schools but had no problem getting plenty of interviews/being accepted at other places. However, i did get really drilled at one interview about it (i got in, but i had to do a lot of explaining).

From my experience i would say it varies by school how they view it. But it was clearly a hole in my application, and you want things to go as smoothly as possible, so i would say do whatever you can to patch up any holes before completing the AADSAS.

 

[siba]

Hey! I just have a question about how you really count the hours? I know nobody is going to lie, but how do you approve to dental schools the number of hours of shadowing and volunteering?

 

[koochooloo]

Hey! I just have a question about how you really count the hours? I know nobody is going to lie, but how do you approve to dental schools the number of hours of shadowing and volunteering?

you don't prove it to them, they trust you...but on your AADSAS app when you list your extracurriculars there is a place to put in how many hours you did each activity weekly and the total hours...and then for volunteering/shadowing they want you to just say the total hours you've done that activity under its description

 

[siba]

you don't prove it to them, they trust you...but on your AADSAS app when you list your extracurriculars there is a place to put in how many hours you did each activity weekly and the total hours...and then for volunteering/shadowing they want you to just say the total hours you've done that activity under its description

Thx! So which dental school are you attending? What was your time frame when you applied?

 

[koochooloo]

Thx! So which dental school are you attending? What was your time frame when you applied?

no prob! im going to vcu..submitted my app may 23 (1 week after it opened), so it was sent out to dental schools in the first mailings, which was june 30..any more questions let me know

 

[djeffreyt]

you don't prove it to them, they trust you...but on your AADSAS app when you list your extracurriculars there is a place to put in how many hours you did each activity weekly and the total hours...and then for volunteering/shadowing they want you to just say the total hours you've done that activity under its description

There is one school...Tufts, that asks you to prove it. They will ask for a letter from a general dentist confirming that you did 30 hours of observation or shadowing at their office. There could be others, but Tufts was the only one out of the 9 I applied to that required it.

 

[koochooloo]

There is one school...Tufts, that asks you to prove it. They will ask for a letter from a general dentist confirming that you did 30 hours of observation or shadowing at their office. There could be others, but Tufts was the only one out of the 9 I applied to that required it.

o yea my bad..none of my schools required it but some do

 

[Manyak222]

I had none when i turned my app in. I started shadowing right after i turned it in, and completed almost 70 in the following few months. Competitiveness depends on the school, as some would rather see you volunteer or chair assist, rather than simply shadow.

 

[sejin8642]

Is working as dental assistant counted as shadowing?

 

[Zanderale6]

Is working as dental assistant counted as shadowing?

I would assume that dental assisting is held in much higher regard than shadowing. You're actually taking part in a procedure, rather than just watching it take place.

 

[151AND8TH]

I would assume that dental assisting is held in much higher regard than shadowing. You're actually taking part in a procedure, rather than just watching it take place.

I dont know if I am going to be able to get up to 50 DENTAL hrs by june (My app dead line) but I have been a volunteer with ped and geriatric dept at a local hospital for over a year now. I just started with my DENTAL shadowing and the dentist is going to let me do small choirs around the office very soon. would my lack of dental hrs be suppressed by my volunteering?

 

[PChemGrad]

I had around 100 hours shadowing a dentist, oral surgeon, and assisting, and around 175 hours volunteering in a OR. I did all of this back in High School, and I got accepted.

 

[Zanderale6]

I dont know if I am going to be able to get up to 50 DENTAL hrs by june (My app dead line) but I have been a volunteer with ped and geriatric dept at a local hospital for over a year now. I just started with my DENTAL shadowing and the dentist is going to let me do small choirs around the office very soon. would my lack of dental hrs be suppressed by my volunteering?

Are you worried that your chores at the dental office are going to detract from your shadowing hours total? If so, you can simply combine the two on your AADSAS application. Simply mention that you shadowed / volunteered for a dentist for X hours. There's no need to explain whether the majority of this time was spent volunteering or shadowing. (This suggestion will make more sense once you see how the AADSAS application is laid out.)

If, on the other hand, you're worried that your volunterring position at the local hospital will detract from your shadowing hours, you probably want to prioritize. Sure ... it would be great to continue volunteering at the local hospital (and I'm not saying that you shouldn't). Keep in mind, however, that Dental Admissions Committees will likely be looking for candidates that have had a decent amount of time in the dental office as well.

Others will probably argue with me, but that's the way I see it. Best of luck, in any event ...

 

[siba]

Thx, Koochooloo! A general question: What's the difference b/w internship and volunteer? On the application, do they ask for hours of shadowing, observing, interning, or volunteering seperately?

One more thing, if you only volunteer/shadow dentists for some hours, will they be able to know you that well to write you a recommendation letter?

 

[koochooloo]

Thx, Koochooloo! A general question: What's the difference b/w internship and volunteer? On the application, do they ask for hours of shadowing, observing, interning, or volunteering seperately?

One more thing, if you only volunteer/shadow dentists for some hours, will they be able to know you that well to write you a recommendation letter?

1st off i recommend opening an aadsas account this cycle (use a fake name, but it doesn't really matter) just so you can see how the app is set up..print out all the sections and start filling it out on paper..that helped me a lot...2nd, it all depends on the dentist if they'd be willing to write you a rec...some are really excited to have you there and will write you a really good one cuz they really want to help...others will be busy...it doesn't hurt to ask...i think i asked early on..like would you be willing to write me one eventually? and they said yes..then when it came time, it wasn't a surprise....hope that helps

 

[siba]

1st off i recommend opening an aadsas account this cycle (use a fake name, but it doesn't really matter) just so you can see how the app is set up..print out all the sections and start filling it out on paper..that helped me a lot...2nd, it all depends on the dentist if they'd be willing to write you a rec...some are really excited to have you there and will write you a really good one cuz they really want to help...others will be busy...it doesn't hurt to ask...i think i asked early on..like would you be willing to write me one eventually? and they said yes..then when it came time, it wasn't a surprise....hope that helps

Great ideas! Thanks man!