Volunteers and Research question

[joonkimdds]

Hi, as you can see from my signature, I got no volunteer hours and Research experience.

I volunteered when i was in high school, but i belive they don't count that.
I applied at library and hospital but they are not calling me back and i m having difficult time having a chance of doing some volunteer hours.
is there any easy way of doing some volunteer work?
I tutor students on many different subjects for free and I wonder if it counts too.
otherwise, where do you guys go to volunteer? is it just me or does everyone have trouble finding volunteer work?

and what really is this research experience? i believe it's not research paper you write in english class or science class, or is it?
some people say they come from schools with professors who do a lot of research and students just follow them for some reason. Do i have to come from such schools that specifically do some research? or where and how can i get this chance of doing research?

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[Notoriousjae]

Hi, as you can see from my signature, I got no volunteer hours and Research experience.

I volunteered when i was in high school, but i belive they don't count that.
I applied at library and hospital but they are not calling me back and i m having difficult time having a chance of doing some volunteer hours.
is there any easy way of doing some volunteer work?
I tutor students on many different subjects for free and I wonder if it counts too.
otherwise, where do you guys go to volunteer? is it just me or does everyone have trouble finding volunteer work?

and what really is this research experience? i believe it's not research paper you write in english class or science class, or is it?
some people say they come from schools with professors who do a lot of research and students just follow them for some reason. Do i have to come from such schools that specifically do some research? or where and how can i get this chance of doing research?

Go to your local hospital and talk to the director of the volunteering program saying you would like to do some volunteer work. Sign up, go to orientation and start volunteering
For dental shadowing try your college career center. They will most likely be in a position to set you up with a local dentist around your university depending on whether or not they have dental shadowing programs.
For research experience, talk to your upper level science professors and tell them that you would like to get some research experience working in a lab. They will most probably be able to set you up.

 

[joonkimdds]

Thanks.
By the way, do u know approximately how many hours of volunteer and shadowing experiences are required? if minimum is 50 hours, does 60 hours give u a higher chance of acceptance?

 

[tinman831]

Thanks.
By the way, do u know approximately how many hours of volunteer and shadowing experiences are required? if minimum is 50 hours, does 60 hours give u a higher chance of acceptance?

Volunteer/research experience is not "required." But the general rule of thumb is, the more you do, the better your chances are.

 

[Notoriousjae]

Thanks.
By the way, do u know approximately how many hours of volunteer and shadowing experiences are required? if minimum is 50 hours, does 60 hours give u a higher chance of acceptance?

For my dental shadowing program, minimum required hours were 20 to be completed within one semester. Of course You arent just going to do the minimum amount. In my opinion around 60-80 hours of both volunteering and shadowing are enough but having more couldnt hurt.

 

[joonkimdds]

For my dental shadowing program, minimum required hours were 20 to be completed within one semester. Of course You arent just going to do the minimum amount. In my opinion around 60-80 hours of both volunteering and shadowing are enough but having more couldnt hurt.

dental shadowing program? do i have to take that kind of program? can't i just go to any dentist office and do the shadowing? or do i need any specific approval from shadowing program?

 

[Notoriousjae]

dental shadowing program? do i have to take that kind of program? can't i just go to any dentist office and do the shadowing? or do i need any specific approval from shadowing program?

If you do a shadowing program through your school, they find a dentist for you to shadow, of course you could always just go find a dentist on your own but thats more work.

 

[celeron_266]

first post here.....hello everyone

i am going to apply to a canadian dental school for september 2007....i just wonder if volunteer experiences are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY in order to get admitted....i am in the combined honours: chemistry and biochemistry program and i have a good overall GPA (85.x%..which corresponds to a GPA of slighly above 4)...and i am determined to do well in the upcoming DAT...unfortunately i havent had any dental volunteer experience yet (i tried finding my family dentist but she seems not want to let me hang around her clinic)...however i have 16 months of full-time research experience in two different labs...one industrial and one academic...but they are both not dentistry-related....

thanks!

 

[tinman831]

first post here.....hello everyone

i am going to apply to a canadian dental school for september 2007....i just wonder if volunteer experiences are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY in order to get admitted....i am in the combined honours: chemistry and biochemistry program and i have a good overall GPA (85.x%..which corresponds to a GPA of slighly above 4)...and i am determined to do well in the upcoming DAT...unfortunately i havent had any dental volunteer experience yet (i tried finding my family dentist but she seems not want to let me hang around her clinic)...however i have 16 months of full-time research experience in two different labs...one industrial and one academic...but they are both not dentistry-related....

thanks!

Volunteering isn't absolutely necessary. They're just nice to have on your application. Full time research is VERY nice, even better if you are published. They just want to see that you have a life outside of the classroom. Now shadowing is also something that you really need to do. Try finding another dentist if your family dentist won't let you shadow her.

 

[celeron_266]

Volunteering isn't absolutely necessary. They're just nice to have on your application. Full time research is VERY nice, even better if you are published. They just want to see that you have a life outside of the classroom. Now shadowing is also something that you really need to do. Try finding another dentist if your family dentist won't let you shadow her.

its good to hear that full time research is nice...this makes me to think that entering the internship program (i have to skip one year of school for this) actually worths something...

i probably will have at least one paper published (with me being the principal investigator) in the upcoming year (i am at the final stage of the project now....just need to do replicates and confirm the results)...and fortunately i will get 1-2 more (again...i will be the principal investigator with those ones) as i complete my honour thesis

hmm...maybe i will go find the dental clinic that is right next to my house to see if i can shadow there....

 

[pmantz]

If you do a shadowing program through your school, they find a dentist for you to shadow, of course you could always just go find a dentist on your own but thats more work.

I just went to my dentist and asked to shadow him, he was enthusiastic and really nice. This approach is way easier then picking up a phone book and making calls, assuming you do have a dentist.

 

[djeffreyt]

Joon,

MOST schools don't have shadowing programs per say, but may have a type of class called "special study." It's usually a class that you take for a unit and you work with a counselor in the department you are taking the class from to set up what the class will entail. You could then create a class where what you do is shadow and intern at a dentist's office.

However, the easiest way to do things is directly.

Shadowing: Go and ask some local dentists (call ahead) if they would let you come into their office and shadow them. Most are very nice, a few might say no, but don't let a no from one dentist stop you from asking another.

Volunteering: First, you don't HAVE TO volunteer at the hospital. There are plenty of ways to volunteer...try calling the red cross and helping at blood drives, try asking a busy dental office if you can volunteer for a few hours every week just doing simple things around the office (filing, cleaning up, sterilizing, mounting x-rays, etc.) You can volunteer in an after school program as a tutor, you can volunteer at a day care (they always need help). There are a lot of options besides the hospital.

Finally, the tutoring thing you mentioned COULD be volunteering but it kinda depends. If you volunteer regularly as a tutor, then yes, but if you are talking about a person in class asked if you would help tutor them on a subject right before a test, and you only did that a couple times, I wouldn't count that. That's more like a friend asking another friend for help. Its like saying when my friend called me from the bar last week cause he was too drunk to drive, I "volunteered my time" to pick him up. It's a bit of stretching the truth. But if your tutoring is like: Every thursday from 10-12, I offer free tutoring on Chemistry to anyone who comes to me in the library...that might count as actual volunteering.