shadowing and volunteer hours?

[hopefuldentist1]

so how many hours of shadowing and volunteering seem like a good match? i know some schools require a ton while others don't, but what is typically a "safe" amount of shadowing and volunteer hours?

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[Ollivander]

My goal is 150 hours of dental shadowing and 500 hours of volunteering.

However I'm only at 116 hours of dental shadowing and a little over 400 hours of volunteering and it looks like that'll be what I have when I submit my application.

Honestly the only two schools you need more than 100-110 hours of dental shadowing is for VCU and they require 150 hours. The only school you need more than 400 hours of volunteering is ASDOH and they want at least over 400 hours but preferably 500+ with a lot of "unique" volunteer experiences. If you're not applying to either of those two schools then 100 shadowing/400 volunteer should be the standard IMO. With that said, I think volunteer hours are more important than shadowing hours. Some dentists I shadowed I didn't learn a single thing while I was there.

 

[Pearl E. White]

My base goal is to have 100 shadowing and 200 volunteer. I think that would be the bare minimum. Then, add more! Volunteer/shadowing should be something enjoyable anyway! Aim for as many hours as possible.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-shadowing-requirements-recommendations.1069934/

 

[CraigHack]

My goal is 150 hours of dental shadowing and 500 hours of volunteering.

However I'm only at 116 hours of dental shadowing and a little over 400 hours of volunteering and it looks like that'll be what I have when I submit my application.

Honestly the only two schools you need more than 100-110 hours of dental shadowing is for VCU and they require 150 hours. The only school you need more than 400 hours of volunteering is ASDOH and they want at least over 400 hours but preferably 500+ with a lot of "unique" volunteer experiences. If you're not applying to either of those two schools then 100 shadowing/400 volunteer should be the standard IMO. With that said, I think volunteer hours are more important than shadowing hours. Some dentists I shadowed I didn't learn a single thing while I was there.

Disclaimer: I'm a clueless pre-dent like most of us here.

VCU actually "highly recommends" a minimum of 150 shadowing hours. I visited the school in April and spoke to someone in admissions. Their spin on it was that it is something the school does take seriously, and while less than that benchmark won't disqualify you as an applicant, it will weaken your application. I believe searching VCU acceptance threads will yield examples of students well short of the 150 hour mark still being offered admission.

As for OP's question: many threads have been starting on this topic. The common answer I see is 100 hours of shadowing. My personal opinion would be that 50 hours is sufficient for many schools, with notable exceptions I've come across as being VCU (150 rec), UConn (75 req), and GRU (200 rec). There are other schools that recommend/require more hours, so the 2015 ADEA guide would help you there.