Shadowing/Volunteering

[hs2013]

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So I am a freshman and have 0 volunteering and shadowing hours. I feel like I need to start soon or time will fly by and I'll be trying to cram in hours and that won't be good. There is a free dental clinic I can go to for volunteering/shadowing but that's all I can think of. I could probably start shadowing at a real dental clinic in the summer as well. But for actual volunteering I am stuck. How many volunteering hours should I aim for? How many places should I volunteer at.

As far as extra curriculars go let's say I have the following when I apply, would that be good enough?
I volunteer/shadow at a free dental clinic for over 200 hours
Shadowing maybe a couple of dentists for a total of like 50 hours
Find 1 or 2 places where I can volunteer consistently over the course of the next few years

Would that be good enough for shadowing and volunteering hours if you combine that with a good GPA/DAT score?

 

[Glimmer1991]

I'd aim for 100 shadowing hours.

Yes, helping at the dental clinic + having 1 or 2 places where you volunteer consistently for the next few years would be fantastic and certainly good enough. It's quality over quantity. 🙂

Since you're smart and starting early, I'd want at least 500 volunteering hours on my application by the time I applied. That way, you won't have to worry about that part of your application holding you back. You'll be able to draw on those instances HUGELY for secondary applications and interviews. Plus, 500 hours won't be very hard to get if you are just consistent and do a little bit of volunteering over time. You have two and a half years. It won't be bad at all!

If you can swing a job, such as tutoring at your school, that also looks good! Much like volunteering, even if you just work 5-10 hours a week throughout the rest of undergrad, those hours will rack up. The little bit of extra cash won't hurt, either... it can pay for gas, at least.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2013-shadowing-requirements-recommendations.995828/

 

[Superkule]

I'd aim for 40-60 job shadow hours as some schools expect around 40 hours. My #1 doesn't have any sort of requirements regarding hours so I'm probably just going to do 30 at most (it gets pretty old past 10 hours imo-only so much you can do just standing there a sanitary distance away).
If you have that much extra time I'd definitely spread it out between different things. Research is a huge thing to some schools and I think it's an area where not a lot of dental admits have covered and also it practically guarantees a unique topic you can discuss at interviews. On top of that I'd do some side tutoring and maybe diversify some volunteer hours. Don't forget about at least joining some clubs and hitting up a few meetings to have some extracurriculars to list.

 

[amfassz]

I'd aim for 40-60 job shadow hours as some schools expect around 40 hours. My #1 doesn't have any sort of requirements regarding hours so I'm probably just going to do 30 at most (it gets pretty old past 10 hours imo-only so much you can do just standing there a sanitary distance away).
If you have that much extra time I'd definitely spread it out between different things. Research is a huge thing to some schools and I think it's an area where not a lot of dental admits have covered and also it practically guarantees a unique topic you can discuss at interviews. On top of that I'd do some side tutoring and maybe diversify some volunteer hours. Don't forget about at least joining some clubs and hitting up a few meetings to have some extracurriculars to list.

Sense of entitlement much? There's no guarantee you get into your first choice, 30 hours is considered minimal for most schools so you SHOULD do more regardless of how you feel about it.

 

[hs2013]

What do you guys think about me starting my own volunteer organization? Any ideas?

 

[Blake1e]

What do you guys think about me starting my own volunteer organization? Any ideas?

I personally wouldnt waste my time on it, youd be better off spending your time studying to get a killer GPA.

The first and main thing all schools look for in an applicant is their numbers (GPA and DAT), your numbers are the most important thing when applying.

Shadowing 100+hrs and doing research is all youll need to make your EC look great and stick out in a good way from all the other applicants.

 

[hs2013]

I personally wouldnt waste my time on it, youd be better off spending your time studying to get a killer GPA.

The first and main thing all schools look for in an applicant is their numbers (GPA and DAT), your numbers are the most important thing when applying.

Shadowing 100+hrs and doing research is all youll need to make your EC look great and stick out in a good way from all the other applicants.

Yea you are probably right.

For me, I think GPA will be fine as well as DAT scores, I have 30 credits so far and a 3.8 GPA and am going into second semester freshman year, I should be able to raise that to about a 3.85 this semester. I just want to make sure I don't leave any weaknesses on my application and get a good amount of shadowing and volunteering hours. I am also part of my schools pre-dent club.

 

[Blake1e]

Yea you are probably right.

For me, I think GPA will be fine as well as DAT scores, I have 30 credits so far and a 3.8 GPA and am going into second semester freshman year, I should be able to raise that to about a 3.85 this semester. I just want to make sure I don't leave any weaknesses on my application and get a good amount of shadowing and volunteering hours. I am also part of my schools pre-dent club.

Youre off to great start but dont forget as you progress to more advanced courses more time will be needed to study so you might not want to take on too much superfluous EC. If you shadow, research, and go to pre-dent club then you dont have to worry about having any weaknesses in this part of your app.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I won't normally come out and blatantly say that someone is giving bad advice, but I'm going to make an exception here. hs2013, do NOT just completely ~30ish hours of shadowing. Look at the spreadsheet that doc toothache posted--there are quite a few schools that literally require 100. There is no reason to shut lots of doors for such a simple part of your application. Sure, shadowing 100 hours may not be all that useful to you past the first 30 or so, but it's a necessary (and easy!) hoop to jump through. If you just shadow literally 4 hours a week, it will take you 25 weeks. This seems like a long time, but with a weekly commitment of 4 hours, it isn't bad. You also have lots of time left before you apply to get this done. Plus, it will allow you to develop a good, long-standing relationship with the dentist--this translates into a good recommendation letter. Also, I've heard that it looks good to have your hours spaced out, as it shows "commitment" because you aren't just trying to cram everything in at once.

🙂

 

[Superkule]

Sense of entitlement much? There's no guarantee you get into your first choice, 30 hours is considered minimal for most schools so you SHOULD do more regardless of how you feel about it.

Whelp first post on SDN is off to a hostile start!

I am enrolled into a pre-admission program with my top choice. So maybe I did accidentally come off as entitled, I don't know, just trying to explain my situation.
But my take home point was: if you have all that extra time-diversify it. If you want to apply to schools that require 100 hours-I'd do 100 just to be good and then make myself unique. Research eats up a lot of time (primary reason why I'm never going to log 100 shadowing hours when I don't have to) but opens a lot of doors and impresses a lot of people.
I apologize if I gave the wrong impression; I have looked at Doc Toothache's sheet a few months ago and I thought there were just a few schools (like 5) that required 100 hours.

 

[techyguy]

Sure, shadowing 100 hours may not be all that useful to you past the first 30 or so, but it's a necessary (and easy!) hoop to jump through.

Just to help the OP, or anyone above, I shadowed a prosthodontist, and even after 127 hours of shadowing, everything I saw there was new. After 110+, I shadowed a rural dentist who had a ton of new things to say about his clientele, what procedures he'll do, and how he runs his practice; we talked for an hour and a half. I shadowed a periodontist and an oral surgeon who both had slightly different procedures for implants. That's not to even mention the different procedures I got to see with those two - gum graft, sinus lift, placing an orthodontic bracket/chain, some laser procedure, etc. - that's just the difference in one procedure. Plus, if you get really bored, go shadow a pediatric dentist, it's guaranteed to brighten your day...or at least alter your mood.

 

[blcopp]

Shadowing at a free dental clinic is the way to go. Definitely spend some time there. That is generally where you will see the "bad" side of dentistry and the admissions people know that. You will also gain experiences there that you can talk about in your interview.

 

[BYU4you]

In my opinion shadowing one day for lets say 8 hours start to finish is much greater than 2 hours a week over a month. If you had 40 hours of 5 full days I feel it would benefit you a lot more than spreading it out. It's hard to find that kind of time, but it's more important the quality if shadowing than quantity. By doing all day to can really get a feel of everything from working with staff at the start to finishing up and everything in between. The shadowing isn't so you can show you know how to waste time standing around and watching but so that you can see yourself doing this for a living. Not just the procedures but the business aspects as well as working with staff.

 

[techyguy]

^ I left my Mondays open one semester, and filled most of those with shadowing time. I highly recommend it.

 

[hs2013]

Yea lot's of great advice here. I think I may shadow that 100 hours just to be safe. I'll probably try to find some places to volunteer as well and hopefully stick with those long term.

 

[techyguy]

Most states have MOM clinics to volunteer at. They're not shadowing events, but they're critical if you want to see the true need for oral health professionals. Several states should have them coming up in the next few months. My school's pre-dental club sends out notifications and sign ups for the ones in our state (and may look at neighboring states this year).

 

[smile matters]

What if you did a lot of shadowing in high school? Can you put that in your resume/ application? Also, how would they know if you actually did the hours you mentioned, do we have to have some sort of proof?

 

[blenise]

What if you did a lot of shadowing in high school? Can you put that in your resume/ application? Also, how would they know if you actually did the hours you mentioned, do we have to have some sort of proof?

Dude, I've seen you copy and paste this exact same comment in 4 different threads now. And every single time, everyone has told you that your high school experiences have no bearing on dental school. Start getting some current shadowing hours or else your application will appear very weak.


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[rassulwest]

Dude, I've seen you copy and paste this exact same comment in 4 different threads now. And every single time, everyone has told you that your high school experiences have no bearing on dental school. Start getting some current shadowing hours or else your application will appear very weak.


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i understand not depending on highschool experience for recent exposure but what if that highscool experience was significant step in the person decision to pursue dentistry where should they mention it? maybe the personal statement? I personally had two events that reinforced my decision to pursue dentistry in my senior year of highschool. had some good shadowing since but only served to reinforced what already was instilled in me during my senior year of highschool.