working during undergrad?

Started by Allaboutteeth5
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I had several jobs during undergrad, and the adcoms really respected that and asked me about what I learned during all of those jobs. They also acknowledged good time management because if how many hours I had put in.
 
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You just do what you gotta do. If you don't need the extra income, do something more academic like research. Your ECs honestly doesn't matter if your grades go down the drain...
 
I disagree with that. Would you rather be a 4.0 student with nothing else going for them or an average student (3.5) with tons of ECs and experience.
 
Allaboutteeth5 said:
I disagree with that. Would you rather be a 4.0 student with nothing else going for them or an average student (3.5) with tons of ECs and experience.
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3.5 is by no means "down the drain" as it is a respectable GPA. 3.5-3.6 is around the average of matriculating students at most dental schools. I don't think Jaesango's referring to 4.0 vs 3.5 when he says "down the drain." That reference is more likely referring to a GPA of 3.5-4.0 vs a GPA of 3.0 or lower. The moral is: don't sacrifice good grades for a long list of EC's.

I think you bring up a valid point. My health professions advisor maintains that a person with a 3.5 and great extracurricular involvement/experience will be more successful than a person with a 4.0 and barely any extracurricular involvement/experience.

For some people getting a 4.0 and also being highly involved in activities/experiences does not have to be mutually exclusive. For most of people, however, it's a matter of getting a good balance between the two.
 
stomatology said:
3.5 is by no means "down the drain" as it is a respectable GPA. 3.5-3.6 is around the average of matriculating students at most dental schools. I don't think Jaesango's referring to 4.0 vs 3.5 when he says "down the drain." That reference is more likely referring to a GPA of 3.5-4.0 vs a GPA of 3.0 or lower. The moral is: don't sacrifice good grades for a long list of EC's.

I think you bring up a valid point. My health professions advisor maintains that a person with a 3.5 and great extracurricular involvement/experience will be more successful than a person with a 4.0 and barely any extracurricular involvement/experience.

For some people getting a 4.0 and also being highly involved in activities/experiences does not have to be mutually exclusive. For most of people, however, it's a matter of getting a good balance between the two.
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I've talked to a lot of advisers throughout my pre-dental experience and all of them had told me something along those lines. What I've taken from it is that dental schools don't want you to seem robotic and getting a 4.0 and having no other ECs may come off this way. A person in that situation is too focused on ONE aspect of becoming a dental school candidate and not the whole picture of what they're looking for.
 
Allaboutteeth5 said:
I disagree with that. Would you rather be a 4.0 student with nothing else going for them or an average student (3.5) with tons of ECs and experience.
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As the pumpkin man put it. Yes, I am talking about a low 3 or sub 3 gpa. A 3.5 would be better than a 4.0 but only if there is a significant amount more ECs associated with that grade. Having one or two additional 'involvements' in a club will not account for a gpa that is lower by 0.5. Dental school's main priority, among other things, is to make sure you can handle and pass their curriculum. Doesn't matter if you are the most compassionate person in the world. Adcoms will take a person who has a 4.0 gpa and is just in it for the money over someone who is undoubtedly passionate about becoming a dentist any day...provided the 4.0 person isn't an idiot and can at least lie through his/her teeth.
 
I never understand when some students only limit themselves to either having great EC's and a subpart GPA or vice versa. Why are you guys settling for mediocrity? It is not impossible for a person to have a great GPA and great EC's.

That's the type of person dental schools are looking for. They want someone well rounded.
 
ktran17 said:
I never understand when some students only limit themselves to either having great EC's and a subpart GPA or vice versa. Why are you guys settling for mediocrity? It is not impossible for a person to have a great GPA and great EC's.

That's the type of person dental schools are looking for. They want someone well rounded.
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ktran, I don't think anyone intentionally limits him/herself. I think that some young people are less likely to know how to strike a balance with things and will get carried away doing one thing or another during college. Some people party too much, some people spend too much time on EC's, some people spend too much time studying, etc.
 
Full time student + full time job means you should be able to handle anything. I think employment was one of the most important parts of my app.
 
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Went through four different paying jobs during undergrad.

Idk what admissions think but I believe in the value of working while continuing your education. Taught me effective time management, learning to deal with problems (if you screw up at work, there's no such thing as extra credit or bad grade.), talking to various people. Etc

So far so good. Every month I'm flying out for interview.
 
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