Starting to shadow junior year

[kejs]

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I did about 30 hours of shadowing the summer before my junior year but I mainly shadowed the student dental school clinics at my university and I only observed a real dentist for one day. I am now starting to shadow on a regular basis at a private practice.

Do you guys think this will make my application look weak considering I am shadowing rather late as I do intend on applying this next cycle?

 

[DentalJedi]

I did about 30 hours of shadowing the summer before my junior year but I mainly shadowed the student dental school clinics at my university and I only observed a real dentist for one day. I am now starting to shadow on a regular basis at a private practice.

Do you guys think this will make my application look weak considering I am shadowing rather late as I do intend on applying this next cycle?

No. I didn't shadow until about 4 months before I applied, and I've done OK.

 

[kejs]

No. I didn't shadow until about 4 months before I applied, and I've done OK.

Wow. Did the adcoms question this at all? I always thought they wanted applicants to have a lot of shadowing hours before deciding on applying.

 

[dentalWorks]

I did about 30 hours of shadowing the summer before my junior year but I mainly shadowed the student dental school clinics at my university and I only observed a real dentist for one day. I am now starting to shadow on a regular basis at a private practice.

Do you guys think this will make my application look weak considering I am shadowing rather late as I do intend on applying this next cycle?

Not at all.... if anything, your ahead of the competition, at least now you know what dental students do in the clinic

 

[happy0121]

Not at all.... if anything, your ahead of the competition, at least now you know what dental students do in the clinic

I agree, youre not late at all if not ahead of most. The more shadowing, the merrier but I wouldnt sacrifice shadowing for a bad grade in a class. Manage yourself properly and prioritize the right things. keep it up!

 

[DentalJedi]

Wow. Did the adcoms question this at all? I always thought they wanted applicants to have a lot of shadowing hours before deciding on applying.

Surprisingly no they didn't. Only one school even brought it up.

 

[kejs]

Thanks for the input everyone! Makes me feel a lot better knowing that!