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AADSAS Application Advice Dental School Portfolio Tips

ADEA AADSAS Unofficial Blank Application with Character Limit Fields

aadsas_logoHey everybody!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Life has been very hectic trying to get everything together to apply for dental school. Any free time I have had has been going towards my research.

I have been working on a file for the past few days to help pre-dental students prepare for the AADSAS application. The document has fields as well as descriptions of every section of the application. On the areas of the application with a character limits, I have incorporated a character limit fields to help applicants know where the limit is and hopefully write better and more concise descriptions.

I would recommend any pre-dental student at ANY stage to download this file and begin to fill it out. It is a great way to help you keep track of your achievements, work experience, volunteer hours, etc. I wish I had a document like this to fill out over the past four years. Regardless if you use it or not, PLEASE make sure to keep good records of  volunteer services including hours and dates!

Download the ADEA AADSAS Unofficial Blank Application with Character Limit Fields (v1.0) HERE!

I would also recommend using this wonderful Unofficial AADSAS GPA Calculator I found. Ortho88 on StudentDoctor.net made it a few years back. Ortho88 is a pre-dental student at UC Berkley and a member of the UC Berkeley Pre-Dental Society. For those on the quarter system, please use the unit conversion box in the top right corner to convert quarter system units to semester system equivalent units.

AADSAS Unofficial GPA Calculator

I am nearing my DAT testing date and will most likely remain fairly inactive until mid July. If you have any questions please submit them through the Ask Elias page!

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

NOW AVAILABLE: ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools 2013, for Students Entering in Fall 2014

ADEA2013GuideUPDATE 3/24/2014:

The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools 2014, for Students Entering in Fall 2015 is now available!

 

UPDATE 07/09/2013:

The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools 2013, for Students Entering in Fall 2014 (online access version) is now available as an eBook for a small fee of $10 dollars! This year, the ADEA has decided that the ebook WILL include the COMPLETE dental school profiles previously exclusive to the $45 physical copy. Because of this major change (making both versions identical) we now recommend purchasing the eBook over the physical copy at a fraction of the price! Please note that ordering an eBook may still take several days to process!

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Are you planning on applying to dental school in June 2014?

Every year the ADEA publishes an Official Guide to Dental Schools filled with comprehensive information on every dental school. This information can be used to help you decide which dental schools you are interested in applying to and all the requirements needed to be a competitive applicant. The following two quotes sum up the book and its importance:

The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools is the premier guide to dental education available today. It is an invaluable resource for anyone planning to apply to dental school or exploring a dental education.”

-Lori Provost, Past President,National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, and Director, Health Professions Office, Muhlenberg College

Published annually by the American Dental Education Association for more than 40 years, this handy guide provides authoritative information on every accredited dental school in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada. Prospective applicants gain general information about each school’s entrance requirements (GPA, Dental Admissions Test scores, and predental education), application and selection processes, dental curriculum, special programs and services, costs, and financial aid. Quick look-up tables offer cumulative comparisons of individual dental schools’ number of applications, total students interviewed and accepted, summary of admission requirements, and origin of out-of-state students. The first few chapters cover opportunities in dentistry, the application process, financial aid details, and lists of useful dental organizations and references. … This informative, low-cost guide is an ideal reference book for most libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended.”

-CHOICE Current Reviews for Academic Libraries,October 2009, Vol. 47 No. 2

 

Beyond statistics, the book also covers:

 

The 2013 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools costs $35 (+S&H) dollars. You can purchase online through the ADEA store. Alternatively, you can find the book elsewhere or some of its content in other forms.

  • Ordering through Amazon will save you the $10 dollar shipping fee that the ADEA charges.
  • Starting last year, an ebook version of the text has also been provided at a subsidized cost ($10 dollars). However, please note that profiles of individual dental schools are exclusively available in the printed book. The ebook will be available starting in April 2013.
  • The studentdoctor.net dental forums always compile the information found in the book into easy to use excel documents. Please note this is an unofficial replication and may have errors.
  • Ask your pre-dental club (e.g. Pre-Dental Society) to borrow their copy. If they don’t have one, recommend buying one for their members.

 

I highly recommend every pre-dental student expecting to apply in June 2013 to look through this book at least once! Please buy it if you can! It will be the cheapest investment for your future as a dentist. Like always, if you have any questions, ask away!

ISBN 978-0-9887106-0-3

 

Categories
Advice High School Tips

So you want to be a dentist? – High School Edition #1

Over the years I have met many high schoolers who aspire to become a dentist. They ask me “I want to be a dentist. What should I do?” Parents also ask this question looking to give their child the best opportunity to become a dentist. For this reason, the series is dedicated to giving high schoolers every secret to succeed in high school, getting into college, and making college an easy experience. Over the next few publications I will go through every tip and trick that I wish I knew throughout this process.

The following excerpt is an experience I had in high school.

As a pre-dental student, my dream of becoming a dentist started in high school. During high school I was asked numerous times why I wanted to become a dentist. During this time, I didn’t have much to say that would defend my “dream”.  Because of this, people often brushed off my poorly developed answer and categorized me with every other high schooler with similar dreams of becoming a doctor/lawyer.

It took me a while to realize that my answer was a poor attempt at defending my career of choice. I was very fortunate to attend a unique opportunity touring the UoP School of Dentistry campus. This tour included areas that tour groups don’t usually see like the gross anatomy lab and the multi-million dollar surgical rooms. During this trip, a dental student from Stanford asked me why I wanted to be a dentist. Immaturely,  I corrected him and told him that I actually wanted to be a prosthodontist. He unnecessarily apologized and asked me, “why do you want to be a prosthodontist?”
I told him that it seemed like it would be something that would be fun. That was it;  the entirety of my answer. The puzzled look on the dental student’s face as he seemed dumbfounded by my answer. He changed the subject and shortly after doing so, the realization of how idiotic I sound began to sink in. This moment of my life is something I will never forget; one that is deeply engraved in my brain. This moment was the first time I asked myself if I EVEN KNEW why I wanted to become a dentist.
Up until now, this story has stayed close to my heart because I am horrifyingly embarrassed of it. However, it is time to share it because there is much good that can be learned from it. I learned that while it is good to dream about the future it is important to also account for everything in between. Before anybody should be concerned about specializing in dentistry they should be well on their way to dental school or in dental school.

The point of the story above is to get you motivated to start early in exploring the field of dentistry. Ask your dentist if you could shadow his office for a day since you are interested in becoming a dentist. I can guarantee you, that the dentist would love your company! Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The first time I saw the back of a dental office, I asked the Dr. Paul Binon where his office ships instruments to to get cleaned and how long does it take the instruments to get it back. He chuckled, walked me to the sterilization room, and showed me the whole process. One day of shadowing will be enough to know if you are interested enough in dentistry to ask to visit another day. The sooner you do this the better! This will allow you to better structure your future plans.

Some high schools offer specialized programs like the Regional Occupation Program (ROP) in California for people interested in technology, medicine, dentistry, carpentry, business, etc. These programs are typically designed for those who are planning on working immediately after high school, however the dental assisting program is a great benefit to pre-dental students. Arrange a meeting with your counselor and tell them that you are considering becoming a dentist and have shadowed in an office. They will enlighten you on any programs they have to offer or a plan to help you as best as possible. These programs are often HEAVILY subsidized for high school students. The entire program cost me around $300 dollars which is absurdly cheap for all the experience I gained on top of the certifications I received like the legal right to take x-rays. You can find a list of programs in California by visiting the California Department of Education.

As always, if you have any questions, visit the Ask Elias page! The next few posts cover tips/tricks that I have never seen published so be on the lookout!

Have a great day!

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

Introducing the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page

graduating-toothHello everybody! I have finally finished putting together a list of frequently asked questions that I get on this website! You can see this new list by clicking the “FAQs” link at the top of any page on the website. As time goes on, I plan to add new questions and answers as well as refine old answers based on new information I learn.

I will be applying this upcoming cycle in hopes of getting into one of my dream schools (UCSF or UCLA). Congratulations to all my friends who have been accepted in dental school over the past few week! It is exciting watching my network of friends spread across so many schools!

In the process of applying, I expect to learn a lot more tips and recommendations as I go through this process of getting all my requirements ready. Currently, I am working on ironing out letters of recommendation. In the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about letters of recommendation and I plan to write an amendment article to All You Need to Know about Letters of Recommendations based on my personal experiences. I hope to have this article published by the end of February so that the information would still be relevant to those who are gathering letters of recommendation for the next AADSAS application opening on June 1st.

I still plan to begin a new segment geared towards high school students! There are many things I wish I could have told myself in high school that would put me in a better position now for dental school. If you know anybody who is still in high school and even just CONSIDERING a future in dentistry, please share this website with them and have them contact me on the Ask Elias page if they have any specific questions.

As of now, back to studying. Midterms are coming up quick! Keep fighting towards your dreams!

Categories
Advice Dental Assistant Dental School Tips

U.S. News Rates Dentist as the #1 Best Profession of 2013

You guys are in the right place! Dentistry was crowned as the best job of the year by U.S. News. The list is based on the Labor Department’s predictions of the occupations with the highest hiring demand from now until 2020; selections take into account employment growth as well as median salary, estimated stress level, and work-life balance.

U.S. News has put together a wonderful resource analyzing dentistry’s future. This page includes in-depth salary analysis, a summary of what is needed to succeed as a dentist, as well as, advice from dentists.

As the article mentioned, it is ideal to begin working towards dental school starting in high school. This is one of the reasons why the next few articles will be directed towards high school students who are interested in dentistry.

Happy Holidays! Dental Holidays