Take Advantage of the Summer and Improve Your Dental Resume
Welcome to Tech! Find us at FASET and learn more about us!
Explore other clubs to start building your extracurriculars portfolio.
Research which major you are most interested in. Yes, you can be an engineering or business major and still apply to dental school. Yes, some schools do take into consideration the rigor of your engineering courses.
Continue to shadow and volunteer. Make sure that you keep a log of all your hours, experiences, and contact info.
Start seriously thinking of where you intend to apply. Have a list of 6 or so schools and look at their pre-reqs. You don’t want to be in a situation where you can’t apply to a school because you didn’t/don’t have time to take a pre-req. By knowing what the schools want, you have 2 yrs and a summer semester to try to cram any last minute classes.
Prepare and maybe even take the DAT. People usually take the DAT during this summer, winter break, or next spring. There’s a lot of resources on the T2 folder.
Start thinking who can potentially write your LoRs.
Start shadowing different dentists. DCG requires roughly 300 shadowing hours so it's good to start getting some hours in now, instead of cramming them next summer.
Get some volunteer hours under your belt. It doesn’t have to be dental related. The Atlanta Humane Society is up the street along with Atlanta Food Bank.
It’s probably too early to create a confirmed list of schools, BUT start window shopping. Start with your state school and pick 2 others that peak your interest. Some schools have specific requirements, so it's best to plan ahead.
UNC requires Anatomy AND Physiology, both with lab
UNC requires a letter from your major if you are not science related.
Loma Linda requires a letter from a religious leader.
Some schools also require microbiology or 2 years of biology instead of just 1.
Look at your four year course schedule. Are you still on track? Do you have space for the extra pre-reqs? When are certain classes available? (Anatomy is only offered in the Fall and Physiology in the Spring)
YOU MADE IT!
Take the DAT if you haven’t already.
Shadow if you need the hours.
Volunteer if you need the hours.
Gather your transcripts, send them all.
Fill out your app and send them.
Request for your LoRs early so you can fix any issues.