Will this hurt my application?

[virtualmaster999]

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Hi everyone,

Could I have some feedback on this? I made a similar post a couple weeks ago, and just wanted to touch back on this, as I am finalizing my app.

So I switched from pre med to dentistry last summer, and unfortunately, my pre med experiences/ activities are more than my dental ones. I still have ones that are neither, but because of my late transition, I have more pre med ones:

Pre med: -shadowing neurosurgeon (70)
-shadowing internist (50)
- volunteering in ambulatory/ pre surgery (I mean, I guess this could be just to get experience in a health (150) field)
-AMSA
-AED

Dentistry:
-Shadowing in general dentistry for 120 hours
-Predental association

I mean, I already put this info down on my info for my committee letter, and I dont wanna "lie" on my app (like have it appear on my committee letter, and then have it not come up on my app)

I also dont wanna make it seem like I like medicine more than dentistry (I just recently made the transition, so it's not like I had as much time to do more things)

But I also dont wanna make it look like I didnt do anything for those first two years.

What's best? Should I include it all, some, or none? my advisor says it's up to me, and says that as long as I can explain my reasoning for the transition when the time comes, whether in secondaries or interviews, I should be good.

Suggestions? Please help me out, I dont wanna lower my chances of getting in.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[PocketRocket]

I made the switch in January this year. For me it was different though because I wasn't really shadowing any doctors and never had an unrelenting urge to become a physician. I was doing it because I knew I enjoyed health-care and because becoming a doctor was all that my parents ever wanted from me. So I figured I couldn't go wrong with medschool. I feel so lucky that I discovered Dentistry because immediately I felt like my life flipped upside down. Studying for the DAT was exciting to me. When I shadow my dentist time flew by because I was enjoying myself enormously. I am using my personal statement to express my excitement and drive for this profession. I don't think the fact that you were pre-med initially matters. If you truly love dentistry I think the admin people will notice

 

[Incis0r]

I made the switch in January this year. For me it was different though because I wasn't really shadowing any doctors and never had an unrelenting urge to become a physician. I was doing it because I knew I enjoyed health-care and because becoming a doctor was all that my parents ever wanted from me. So I figured I couldn't go wrong with medschool. I feel so lucky that I discovered Dentistry because immediately I felt like my life flipped upside down. Studying for the DAT was exciting to me. When I shadow my dentist time flew by because I was enjoying myself enormously. I am using my personal statement to express my excitement and drive for this profession. I don't think the fact that you were pre-med initially matters. If you truly love dentistry I think the admin people will notice

Well said.

 

[derbear]

I don't know...most people on SDN wanted to be dentists when they emerged from their mother's womb.

But in all seriousness, it won't matter. Just try to focus on highlighting 'why dentistry' and maybe explain your transition from medicine.

 

[virtualmaster999]

Oh most definitely! I agree that the important thing is being able to express WHY you transition! I did this in my PS, and I will definitely make it a focal point when preparing for interviews. You guys think I should just list it all then?

And thank you all for the advice!

 

[PocketRocket]

Ok so regarding talking about the switch in your personal statement,,,,, I was told by a respected individual that discussing reasons for switching to dentistry might come across a little disparaging of the medical profession depending on the person who is reading your personal statement. What do you guys think?

 

[Incis0r]

Ok so regarding talking about the switch in your personal statement,,,,, I was told by a respected individual that discussing reasons for switching to dentistry might come across a little disparaging of the medical profession depending on the person who is reading your personal statement. What do you guys think?

My vote would be for emphasizing dentistry throughout the personal statement; if the school wants to know why you switched, they will ask in the interview. But I would reserve the personal statement for explaining my passion for dentistry and what brought me to the profession. That way, you run no risk of offending anyone and you demonstrate that you've done your research.

 

[virtualmaster999]

My vote would be for emphasizing dentistry throughout the personal statement; if the school wants to know why you switched, they will ask in the interview. But I would reserve the personal statement for explaining my passion for dentistry and what brought me to the profession. That way, you run no risk of offending anyone and you demonstrate that you've done your research.

Yeah in my PS I made sure not to bash the medical field, but instead say why it wasnt for me.

 

[Weakfart]

I made the switch in January this year. For me it was different though because I wasn't really shadowing any doctors and never had an unrelenting urge to become a physician. I was doing it because I knew I enjoyed health-care and because becoming a doctor was all that my parents ever wanted from me. So I figured I couldn't go wrong with medschool. I feel so lucky that I discovered Dentistry because immediately I felt like my life flipped upside down. Studying for the DAT was exciting to me. When I shadow my dentist time flew by because I was enjoying myself enormously. I am using my personal statement to express my excitement and drive for this profession. I don't think the fact that you were pre-med initially matters. If you truly love dentistry I think the admin people will notice

Hah are you me?? I dreaded the idea of going to med school and wasn't having that great of a time shadowing physicians. Then dentistry came around and it was like a breathe of fresh air and I got a second wind in sophomore year.

 

[PocketRocket]

Hah are you me?? I dreaded the idea of going to med school and wasn't having that great of a time shadowing physicians. Then dentistry came around and it was like a breathe of fresh air and I got a second wind in sophomore year.

You're lucky you figured it out, before you graduated