Shadowing/Volunteer

[duckyofrubber]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'll be applying to dental schools this summer. However, I'm very much lacking in shadowing hours-- I have approximately 30 hours. I could squeeze in a few more, but I'll be applying very soon and will most likely have ~50 hours total. I have an alright amount of volunteering hours (~150) and lots of research experience (not sure that's relevant), and I have about a 3.8 science GPA (regular GPA is around the same), and DAT is 20+. How badly will this affect me? I'm nervous because most of the posts on here seem to be around 200+ shadowing hours.

 

[Soleus715]

some schools recommend ~100 hours.. so you might be lacking there.

is it really impossible to squeeze in ~70 hours before you apply? I shadowed 40 hours a week last year... if you can find a dentist who will let you shadow from opening to closing every day for two weeks, you'll have more than enough hours.

 

[duckyofrubber]

Unfortunately I have work during the week, and there are no dentists in the area that is open during the weekend. But I think I will postpone my application for a couple weeks once I finish working (temp job) to amp up my hours then-- is that a good idea? I see that there's already a ton of applicants already in though, so that makes me worried that I won't have mine in on time.

 

[Soleus715]

take a look at this post by Glimmer1991: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-first-batch-hullabaloo.1065887/

As long as you apply decently early, you'll be fine. and I completely understand work getting in the way.. I had to work a lot and saved up so I could focus on shadowing.

 

[ajj70]

100 hours is pretty much the accepted amount of shadowing. Even if a school doesn't require that much, it still looks good on your application. Are there any clinics in your area that open early in the morning or are open later in the evening that you could get hours in after or before work? I would get at least 50 hours in before you apply.