Volunteer work in PS?

[fayevalentine]

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Hi all,

How much volunteer work should one discuss in their personal statement? Should I only touch upon the dental volunteer experiences I have had, or would it be appropriate to discuss other experiences as well? Should I limit this to a super brief sentence or two? I know many people have said you shouldn't include "helping others" as a reason to be a dentist, but I truly do love to help others and I believe my volunteer work proves this. Any ideas? Thank you as always!

 

[JLT223]

Only discuss it briefly as it pertains to something you've learned as a result of your volunteer work or an "aha" moment that made you want to pursue dentistry. Please don't include "helping others" in your PS. I'm sure you can think of other ways to convey the same message 🙂

 

[iAwesomE]

...

I know many people have said you shouldn't include "helping others" as a reason to be a dentist, but I truly do love to help others and I believe my volunteer work proves this. Any ideas? Thank you as always!

You don't help others. They don't need help! You are serving others, serving your community.

 

[Ollivander]

You don't help others. They don't need help! You are serving others, serving your community.

Depends. I'd argue those who volunteer in places like Central America, South America, and places in Africa are doing a lot more helping than serving given that the people in those places actually need urgent help and care. It's not one's duty to serve in those situations, but moreover volunteer to help and provide assistance to those seeking urgent care who may not be able to receive it otherwise. I can see it being seen both ways.


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[Ollivander]

Hi all,

How much volunteer work should one discuss in their personal statement? Should I only touch upon the dental volunteer experiences I have had, or would it be appropriate to discuss other experiences as well? Should I limit this to a super brief sentence or two? I know many people have said you shouldn't include "helping others" as a reason to be a dentist, but I truly do love to help others and I believe my volunteer work proves this. Any ideas? Thank you as always!

Unless you've got major staple volunteer activities or you're going to really tie it to why you want to become a dentist, I wouldn't. Those that are applying with 100-300 volunteer hours probably shouldn't. If you're heavily involved in volunteerism and are even applying to places like ASDOH, MOSDOH, or Western I'd say consider integrating it. With that said I plan on making it a focal point of my personal statement, although I have a large number of hours accumulated. I hope that helps!


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[iAwesomE]

Depends. I'd argue those who volunteer in places like Central America, South America, and places in Africa are doing a lot more helping than serving given that the people in those places actually need urgent help and care. It's not one's duty to serve in those situations, but moreover volunteer to help and provide assistance to those seeking urgent care who may not be able to receive it otherwise. I can see it being seen both ways.


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That certainly true. But then again, my comment was aiming at "do not use helping others as a reason for dentistry". All of us predental students have, or should have the integrity to help others no questions asked. What we need is the integrity to serve others because schools know we are not spending 4 years of our life to obtain that license just to go and volunteer majority of the time in those places you mentioned.

 

[Ollivander]

That certainly true. But then again, my comment was aiming at "do not use helping others as a reason for dentistry". All of us predental students have, or should have the integrity to help others no questions asked. What we need is the integrity to serve others because schools know we are not spending 4 years of our life to obtain that license just to go and volunteer majority of the time in those places you mentioned.

Spot on. I agree with you on not using the generic "helping others" as a reason. Apologies for misinterpreting your original post.


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[fayevalentine]

Thank you for you responses, guys. I appreciate it. I love volunteering and it is something that draws me to the dental profession (*serving* less fortunate areas 🙂). I'll try not to focus on it too much in my PS though. Thanks again!