Working to pay for school

[Kingfish23]

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Throughout my undergrad I had to work 25+ hours a week at times to pay for my tuition and books. Do adcoms take this into consideration when looking at EC's/volunteering/community service?

I have about 100 hours of volunteering at my high school's band program, assisting students throughout the years, and plenty of shadowing hours to go along with it.

 

[845302]

Yes, work experience is taken into account. It will show that you know how a work environment works and the money will benefit you greatly 😉

I would also recommend doing volunteering in a medical field if you can. Hospital, humane society, etc.

-Fyz

 

[greentiger1]

Throughout my undergrad I had to work 25+ hours a week at times to pay for my tuition and books. Do adcoms take this into consideration when looking at EC's/volunteering/community service?

I have about 100 hours of volunteering at my high school's band program, assisting students throughout the years, and plenty of shadowing hours to go along with it.

I think that having work experience helps you stand out. There's an entire section in your dental school application to list your work experience. At th same time, you certainly want to make sure that you have shadowing and volunteering experience in the dental field and show that you have familiarity with the field.

I believe that your work experience demonstrates maturity and discipline so you can utilize that to your advantage in your personal statement, interviews, etc. The work experience is a big plus.

 

[Kingfish23]

I think that having work experience helps you stand out. There's an entire section in your dental school application to list your work experience. At th same time, you certainly want to make sure that you have shadowing and volunteering experience in the dental field and show that you have familiarity with the field.

I believe that your work experience demonstrates maturity and discipline so you can utilize that to your advantage in your personal statement, interviews, etc. The work experience is a big plus.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I have been working at Olive Garden as a waiter for 4 years now, and I truly believe I have learned valuable people and communication skills that will aid me in this process. I also think that working at the same establishment for a number of years will show my dedication when it comes to my work ethic.

 

[Kouneko]

Yes, work experience is taken into account. It will show that you know how a work environment works and the money will benefit you greatly 😉

I would also recommend doing volunteering in a medical field if you can. Hospital, humane society, etc.

-Fyz

Would volunteer for the Red Cross be good as well?

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Just to shed some light on this subject, you should include every job opportunity on your application. Especially when you come from a disadvantaged background and/or you had multiple jobs to support yourself and/or your family. This will not only show that you are diligent, but also well-rounded as an individual. Most job opportunities will help you with interpersonal skills that will prove to be essential as a dentist.

I was one of the early founders of a Red Cross Club in my campus and we grew exponentially over the past 3 years. We were recently awarded the best campus club in our region. The American Red Cross will be a huge asset in both your application and interview conversation. If you need more advice or information pertaining extra-curriculars, feel free to private message me.

 

[845302]

Would volunteer for the Red Cross be good as well?

Yes! Any type of volunteering looks great on an application. 🙂

-Fyz

 

[Kingfish23]

Work experience is very important, although it never outweighs GPA/DAT.

Some food for thought: work experience is an excellent personal statement topic, as long as you can tie it closely to dentistry. It definitely got my foot through the door to some unlikely interviews that I assumed was highly improbable (e.g. schools that only accept 10% OOS, etc.)

I have a 4.0 in Barry's Biomedical Sciences master program through 22 credits, 21AA DAT. Extremely strong upward trend in undergrad, particularly in my upper division science electives. Is that a decent combination with work experience ?