What do you think applicants??

[nodoubt]

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Guys as I sit here reflecting on angle for my personal statement (because it will be not only good but GGGRRREEEAAT) I'm wondering how much do they weigh the overall person if the GPA isn't good. Sure there are a million threads to this question but I want MY fellow aspiring dentist to comment on MINE. You guys are always so helpful and will give the gut wrenching truth. Here are a few stats:

-3 sport college athlete (yes, I was tired..team captain as well for two sports)
-Research experience
-I've had an internship every summer..wait except for one summer
in undergrad and graduate school (graduating in dec yay!)
-Military (current reservist)
-Of course dental shadowing experience
-Volunteer experience..yeah, yeah, I'm a sorority gal.
-LOW GPA (not even in the 3's) however, I'm going to ACE THE DAT!!! this spring bay-baye!!

Guys let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions I am very open. THANK YOU ALL!!

P.S. I'm applying for Fall 2010

 

[Ghettob1aster]

IMO, the big problem with listing too many extracurriculars is that you can come off as a robot, incapable of being a real person, or as someone who jumped through all of the hoops to look good on paper (without care for what you were doing). A lot of people actually fall into either of these two categories, which is where you can get ahead of them on the statement.

Only discuss a few things that you care most about. You only have so much room, and there is no way all of those were equally meaningful to you.

I feel like the statement is more of an opportunity for them to get to know you than a chance for you to list accomplishments. If you list accomplishments, you just give them reason after reason that you are the same as every other applicant. If you tell them about what you enjoy, then they are seeing how you could bring diversity to the class.

To sum it up: why dentistry is meant for you, what your personal motivations are, what you ENJOY doing, why you are capable, why you would bring diversity to the class, etc.

Again, this is all opinion, but I've formed it from what I've seen at the interviews.

 

[NJDental]

hey you sound just like me!! ive got lots of the "extra" stuff but my GPA is pretty low......i was going to apply this year but i decided to wait so i can ACE THE DAT as well!!! my stats are:

-gpa: 2.9 (i rounded to 3 and HOPEFULLY it will go up by this spring)
-dat: taking in june or july
-applying: for fall 2010
-im a sorority gal too!!
-lots and lots of community service
-im the treasurer and student government rep for pre-dental society and i co-founded it...
-i work 2 jobs equaling a full-time job (one is at a dental office)

i seriously plan on doing really well on the DAT ive already begun studying and ive taken 2 practice tests....ive always just felt confident in myself because i know this is what i want for sure and i can't let a low GPA stop me from applying...as far as how they REALLY factor in all the extras im not sure, but i think most dental schools do want well-rounded people, not just the 4.0 peeps....

oh and i hear DAT is more importan than GPA now!! woo hoo!!

 

[NJDental]

IMO, the big problem with listing too many extracurriculars is that you can come off as a robot, incapable of being a real person, or as someone who jumped through all of the hoops to look good on paper (without care for what you were doing). A lot of people actually fall into either of these two categories, which is where you can get ahead of them on the statement.

Only discuss a few things that you care most about. You only have so much room, and there is no way all of those were equally meaningful to you.

I feel like the statement is more of an opportunity for them to get to know you than a chance for you to list accomplishments. If you list accomplishments, you just give them reason after reason that you are the same as every other applicant. If you tell them about what you enjoy, then they are seeing how you could bring diversity to the class.

To sum it up: why dentistry is meant for you, what your personal motivations are, what you ENJOY doing, why you are capable, why you would bring diversity to the class, etc.

Again, this is all opinion, but I've formed it from what I've seen at the interviews.

i second this.......in your personal statement i would only mention a few (1 or 2) things that mean a lot to you and how it relates to you wanting to be dentist and yadda yadda......i didnt even talk about any of my communty service in my personal statement lol

 

[swlu2]

Yup I agree too. Your activities sound great (how in the world did u do all that?), but u just need to relate them to specifically why you're applying to dental school. A PS might be a good way to highlight your good traits (through your extracurriculars), but more importantly talk about how they actually apply to your decision for dental school/how they could make you a better future dentist.

 

[chund]

Also, you want to make sure that you address what the section asks for. When you get into AADSAS and the schools that you apply for website. Look for certain points they are wanting you to convey and make sure you touch on a couple of those with personal expereinces ect.

 

[nodoubt]

IMO, the big problem with listing too many extracurriculars is that you can come off as a robot, incapable of being a real person, or as someone who jumped through all of the hoops to look good on paper (without care for what you were doing). A lot of people actually fall into either of these two categories, which is where you can get ahead of them on the statement.

Only discuss a few things that you care most about. You only have so much room, and there is no way all of those were equally meaningful to you.

I feel like the statement is more of an opportunity for them to get to know you than a chance for you to list accomplishments. If you list accomplishments, you just give them reason after reason that you are the same as every other applicant. If you tell them about what you enjoy, then they are seeing how you could bring diversity to the class.

To sum it up: why dentistry is meant for you, what your personal motivations are, what you ENJOY doing, why you are capable, why you would bring diversity to the class, etc.

Again, this is all opinion, but I've formed it from what I've seen at the interviews.

Hum, ok, very interesting. To many activities makes you look incapable of being a real person when you are constantly interacting and juggling with them? I didn't list my accomplishments to say, I'm putting them all in my essay. That list was just to tell a snippet about me and what I should focus on when writing the essay. Thanks a lot for your insight!

 

[shoombol tallah]

Acing the DAT is a lot harder than you may think especially if you dont have a strong foundation in the basic sciences ( I'm basing that on your undergrad GPA). If I were you I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatched and approach the DAT with a sense of urgency. If you become complacent then odds are you probably wont Ace it and by that I mean 21+. Good luck 👍

 

[TeamGuo]

Acing the DAT is a lot harder than you may think especially if you dont have a strong foundation in the basic sciences ( I'm basing that on your undergrad GPA). If I were you I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatched and approach the DAT with a sense of urgency. If you become complacent then odds are you probably wont Ace it and by that I mean 21+. Good luck 👍

I second that. Ace it first before making any predictions.

 

[Ghettob1aster]

Hum, ok, very interesting. To many activities makes you look incapable of being a real person when you are constantly interacting and juggling with them?

My cousin has extracurriculars out the **s, but no one can stand him outside of an organized setting. They need to make a cohesive class and personalities like that don't help.

I'm not saying everyone with 20 extracurriculars is like that (that's far from the truth), but if I were reading a statement with a vibe such as his, signals would go off.

I didn't list my accomplishments to say, I'm putting them all in my essay. That list was just to tell a snippet about me and what I should focus on when writing the essay. Thanks a lot for your insight!

It was nothing against your list, but I figured you would get a response saying something like "yeah go ahead and throw all of that in there it'll be great." I don't think that would work as well.

Some people treat it as "Everyone else was doing x, y, and z, so I did x, y, and z. Can I be in your class?" I just think that's a bad way to approach it.

 

[student2121]

Everyone seems to forget that the AADSAS application has shadowing hours, volunteer experience, working with your hands and more in it. I believe reiterating the same attributes in your PS isn't necessary. The Adcoms are more looking for your motivation for the profession and how it relates to you as a person. In other words, the PS is a quick non-interview way to get to know you and if you decide to boast about your incredible ability for fine motor skills, you may risk coming off as being arrogant.