What should I do for my gap year?

[Zbtb7]

I'm planning on taking a gap year after graduating from college to experience the real world and improve on my people/clinical skills. Could you please assess my choices?

I don't think that I need to take more classes or do a biomedical masters. I'm a biochemistry major with a 3.9+ cum+sci gpa and I've a 23AA on the DAT with no section below 21. However, I'm a commuter student and I haven't been too involved on campus beyond being an active member of a few clubs I'm interested in. I've 100+ hours of volunteering in a hospital and 100+ hours of shadowing two GPs and a periodontist. I believe weaknesses in my application are the following

-no volunteering in a free/low-income dental clinic (does hospital patient interaction count as clinical experience; is it an OK substitute?)
-no non-health related community service
-sparse leadership experience

I think a possible option for me is to get a science-related job (i.e. research tech or associate) and do volunteering and try to get leadership experience on the side. Another option I'm thinking about is doing a year-long volunteering stint like Americorps VISTA.

Money is not an issue for me and I would like to pursue the experience that would make me a better person (probably Americorps) and make me more competitive for dental school (don't know which). I already have a publication. Would dental schools prefer that I focus my gap year on research, a clinical-orientated job (would likely be more related to medicine though), or public service?

Thank you for your help.

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[321931]

You will get in. 3.9+, 24+DAT is a shoe in for Dental School.

Regarding your year off, do whatever you like. You will learn the clinical skills in the four years you are in Dental School, and throughout those four years, you will meet so many different people (patients, type A students, super gunners, super slackers, normal people, hard workers, anal retentive kiddos, partiers, smokers, drinkers, club goers, coffee lovers, elitists, disadvantaged backgrounds, minorities, immigrants, and foreign students) that you will definitely learn your "people" skills if you have an open mind and try to understand them by the time Dental School ends.

 

[paullaff]

As far as I can see, the only thing I am not sure about based on what you told us is the # of hours you actually shadowed a dentist for. Although you volunteered in a hospital and shadowed GPs......they are not dentists! If you have a significant number of hours with the periodontist that is good. But you need to make sure you address this prior to even considering Americorps, research etc. Every school will want to know the number of hrs you have shadowed an actual dentist. On avg currently you need about 150.

 

[321931]

As far as I can see, the only thing I am not sure about based on what you told us is the # of hours you actually shadowed a dentist for. Although you volunteered in a hospital and shadowed GPs......they are not dentists! If you have a significant number of hours with the periodontist that is good. But you need to make sure you address this prior to even considering Americorps, research etc. Every school will want to know the number of hrs you have shadowed an actual dentist. On avg currently you need about 150.

Oh I misread, if those GP's=General Dentists...then good to go. If you haven't done any shadowing with normal Dentists, other then your Periodontist, I would look into shadowing some more. Get about 100 Hours under your belt and you'll be good to go.

Other then that you are awesome.

 

[Zbtb7]

I have ~65 hours with 2 general dentists (same firm) and ~50 hours with the periodontist. I still have over a year until I apply so these numbers will be larger.

 

[Zbtb7]

Thank you for the suggestions Rainee and paullaff!

By the way, I'm definitely going to be doing a gap year. Could others please assess whether or not doing a year of public service with an organization like Americorps is the best choice for me given my deficiencies (no non-medical community service+few leadership experiences)? Have an predents/dental students done similar public service stints and would like to share their experiences?

If not, could you please suggest an alternative I should pursue to better my candidacy for dental school?

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Thank you for the suggestions Rainee and paullaff!

By the way, I'm definitely going to be doing a gap year. Could you please assess whether or not doing a year of public service with an organization like Americorps is the best choice for me given my deficiencies (no non-medical community service+few leadership experiences)? Have an predents/dental students done similar public service stints and would like to share?

If not, could you please suggest an alternative I should pursue to better my candidacy for dental school?

Like that guy in the other thread who is studying abroad... you better look into Americorps and find out if they let you take 1-3 days off for each of your interviews.

 

[Zbtb7]

Thanks for the heads up.

I browsed the premed threads and the consensus is that for the State/National program you just have to fulfill your hours. For VISTA you can use vacation days. I think I'll have enough days off for interviews.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

I browsed the premed threads and the consensus is that for the State/National program you just have to fulfill your hours. For VISTA you can use vacation days.

Well, hopefully it works out for you. I chose the easier way and just worked full time as a dental assistant Mon-Thurs so I just scheduled most of my interviews on Friday without much conflict

 

[Zbtb7]

Hey JOoa0ky,

Did you have to take a course and get your certification before becoming a dental assistant? Do you think the experience will help you in dental school (i.e. manual dexterity)?

and... WOW you have a ton of interviews. Could you reply or PM me on your extracurriculars (any not listed on your predents account)?

Luck luck on your application cycle!

 

[HoustonDAT]

OP,

With a 3.9 GPA and 24AA, you basically have your choice on dental schools. Do what YOU want to do during your gap year, not what you THINK dental schools want you to do. Dental schools won't penalize you if you decided to take a year long vacation around the world. You could spin that into a positive by wanting to engage in different cultures. The options for your gap year are endless. You are in a great spot. You don't even HAVE to gain more dental experience. You have your entire life ahead of you to do dentistry. Go do something fun.

 

[Trilby]

Wow that's an incredible gpa and DAT scores. 24AA is like the top 1 percentile isn't it?

I don't mean to hijack this thread or anything, but I'm kind of on the same boat but with worse stats. Let's say you're not quite as stellar an applicant and you have like a 3.8 cum/sci gpa and a 22-23AA or worse. Like Zbtb7 (pokemon fan?), you have pretty common extracurriculars with only shadowing and medical volunteering.

If you're not a stats god, what would the best gap year job be for a predent?

 

[amanda9717]

If you're not a stats god, what would the best gap year job be for a predent?

I'm working as a full-time research assistant and have loved it so far. I do agree that you should do something that you enjoy though! My gap year seriously has not come up in a single interview yet..

 

[shiftypoptart]

Do what my dad told me over and over to do and get either a job at a dental technician lab or just shadow one. This first quarter thats all we are doing in toothmorph lab. We have to wax teeth and I am awful at it because I've never done it in my life. I decided to just chill my year off getting my dose of video games and anime so I wouldnt do it in dental school but I really regret not going to the lab to practice my hand waxing skills. So if you got the time to go to a lab I suggest you do it!

 

[Yachi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU

 

[dantemac]

VISTA or City Year or any of those one year commitments are good and all, but it is probably NOT what the dental schools will look at most. No one has asked me about my gap year yet. They will focus on your undergrad accomplishments, shadowing and what you know about dentistry, and why you want to go to their school.

So, I'd suggest doing whatever you want. If you want to find a job and shadow/volunteer, it would probably serve you just as well as one of those programs.