Freshman Year
Evaluate yourself: This is the year that you want to sit down
and determine your goals and objectives. You want to be able to answer the questions:
Why do I want to become a dentist?
Does the lifestyle of a dentist parallel with my goals for my personal life?
If money was not a factor, would I still consider dentistry
as my career choice?
Do I have skills that would demonstrate manual dexterity?
Do I want to be a dentist because I heard medical school was too hard?
Prepare yourself: After you've decided that dentistry is the
career choice for you, research the prerequisites for the application process. Also strongly consider taking
suggested courses by dental schools. Also take courses that will enhance manual dexterity if possible, such as
pottery class or piano.
Involve yourself: It is imperative that you involve
yourself with on-campus activities. There is a reason why these are appealing on you application. Activity participation
indicates well-roundedness, interpersonal skills, and a desire to learn. Join MAPPS (this is a pre-health club. You
do not have to be pre-med to join.), the chemistry club, and beta kappa chi. Also, sense there is no well-established pre-dental
club, look into joining national organizations such as ASDA, ADA, and ADEA. Also, work for the Digest, run for senate, become
an RA. Play a sport, volunteer, start your OWN predental club! Dental schools want to know if you are
sure about your wanting to be a dentist. Some schools such as Baylor recquire a letter of reccomendation
from a dentist that you have shadowed, so start shadowing.
Educate yourself: Learn about summer programs
(pre-dental and research) that you can do as a freshman. Also learn about the ones you want to do every
summer thereafter. Its good to review the pre-reqs for summer programs you know you are interested in, so you can
make sure you take the necesssary coursework, or meet the GPA criteria. Also, buy a book to help prepare
you for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). It is very important to get an idea about how questions are asked,
as well as what kind of questions are asked. You have to study well, because dentistry is a growing profession. Many
people are realizing how rewarding a career in dentistry can be, and are willing to study hard to get there. Make
sure you take the DAT seriously.
JuniorYear:
This is application year: Continue to do your research
on schools you are interested in. Peek at the general application,AADSAS (see link below) or the application to texas
schools (med dental, and vet), which is TMDSAS, to see what kind of questions that you should prepare yourself to
answer. When dental school representatives come to Southern, see what they have to say. These opportunities are
valuable: you can learn more about the school, ask questions about admissions and other aspects that are of interest, and
open the doors to networking. Keep in mind that LSU, the only dental school in Louisiana has a seperate application.
You have request an application packet from the school.
Prepare to get that application READY!! Hopefully
you have attended summer programs, or volunteered at a dentist's office. These experiences allow you to effectively choose
a "theme" for your personal statement. You should also have considered a date to take the DAT.
SAVE yourself! It may be a good idea to save your refund
check or work study check if you get them. When you get ready to fly out on those interviews,
buy business attire(if needed), or even MOVE when dental school begins and buy furniture, it is good to have
extra money. Dental school, like medical school, recquires that you pay a portion of your tuition (a deposit) when
you are accepted to "hold your spot". You also need money to take care of yourself, because loan checks may not arrive at
the school when you do!
