What Can We Do For You?
In a period of about 10 years the average net income of U.S dentists approximately doubled to more than $205,960 for general practitioners and over $353,280 for specialists in 2007. Around that same time the number of applicants also doubled to 13,025 applicants to dental school versus 4,918 enrollees in 2008.
This competitive environment for entrance into dental school has resulted in many dental schools employing a minimum threshold for G.P.A. and Dental Admission Test (DAT) scores for entrance, after which admission decisions are based heavily on more subjective items including, but not limited to, one’s AADSAS® or TMDAS® application, personal statement, extracurricular activities, interview, and letters of reference. For this reason, Dental Admission Strategies® has been able to take students whose scores meet the threshold and help them get accepted to multiple dental schools, some with scholarships.
Dental Admission Strategies® is an ethical business that will not write your essays nor provide any confidential information obtained from dental schools, nor request any personal favors for admission. Instead, you will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a former Assistant Director of Dental Admissions, thereby gaining insight into what admissions committees’ value, how they predict the success of future dentists, and how they distinguish one qualified candidate from another when deciding who to admit versus reject.
We are often asked by prospective clients how we can provide strategies for gaining admission to dental school, without compromising the academic selection process. While this question is difficult to answer without disclosing our strategies themselves, it is best answered by studying one of the many resources that we offer our clients in MiniDentSchool which is now provided to all clients of Dental Admission Strategies® at gratis.
Dental Admission Strategies® offers five categories of service:
1. Undergraduate Advising Program
Dental admission committees look at the applicants’ progress during the four years of undergraduate education, in addition to any post-baccalaureate or advanced degree work. While Dental Admission Strategies® can give an advantage to applicants at any stage of the admissions process, the best time to begin working with us is probably yesterday.
Many pre-dental students are falsely led to believe that that their health professions advisor will give them only good advice and that they will have the answers to all of their questions about admission to dental school. Alex has formerly served as both a health professions advisor at a major university and later as an Assistant Director of Dental Admissions at a prestigious dental school. Unfortunately, we have seen that oftentimes advice from health professions advisors albeit given with the absolute best of intentions, sometimes misses the mark and other times is counter to the beliefs and characteristics that the admissions committee look for in applicants. The reason is two-fold: First health professions advisors are trained to give general advice that applies to the majority of pre-health profession students, and oftentimes good advice for a medical school applicant can be detrimental to a dental school applicant. Secondly, the state of dental school admissions is continually evolving and it is a full time job to stay current on just one field; thus health profession advisors trying to stay current on the application trends in the fields of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, chiropractic medicine, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, physician assistant, audiology, and public health often fall short.
Dental Admission Strategies® Undergraduate Advising program is designed for applicants that are more than one year away from applying to dental school, and are currently enrolled as full or part-time students (including non-traditional students). The goals of the program include:
- Clarifying the student’s aspirations for dental school and/or helping them decide if dental school is the right career choice for them.
- Identifying the student’s passions and developing a plan to nurture them into tangible assets during the dental admissions process.
- Discuss the choice of one’s major, minor, and/or focus of their advanced degree.
- Evaluating the student’s extracurricular activities and helping the student identify themes in their background.
- Exploring options to prepare for the perceptual ability and reading comprehension portion of the DAT. Dental admission committees often give these two sections the greatest weight, yet these same two sections are often cited by pre-dental students as the most difficult to prepare for in the short-term.
- Discuss test preparation methods/courses and when to take the DAT, to ensure early application during the rolling admissions cycle.
- Discuss the selection of courses that are most highly regarded by dental admission committees and serve to best prepare applicants for the DAT and dental school.
- Provide strategies to students to allow them to have the highest G.P.A. possible and avoid many of the pitfalls associated with the prerequisites for dental school.
- Explore the details of the AADSAS® or TMDAS® application to provide insight into what dental admission committees will be looking for in successful applicants and the traps that many rejected applicants fall into.
- Evaluate the need to address deficiencies or enhance a student’s academic record through additional coursework or formal masters of post-baccalaureate programs, some of which guarantee entrance into dental school upon successful completion.
- Begin developing a foundation for the student’s personal statement and application entries, by actual application materials form a variety of schools.
- Provide a thorough and objective explanation of the student’s record from the perspective of dental school admission committees.
- Discuss personal circumstances that have affected academic performance and how to remedy these issues.
- Provide strategies to prevent students from being “weeded out” and methods to avoid or appease difficult professors and teaching assistants, by understanding their mindset.
- Provide motivation to pre-dental students by discussing with them ways to overcome roadblocks and grasp the “big picture.”
- Discuss who should write letters of reference and how to obtain letters that will set the applicant apart for their competition.
- Conduct mock interview so that the student overcomes any nervousness and becomes confident in their ability to speak about themselves and their motivations for pursing dentistry.
- Discuss supplemental academic enrichment programs (often paid) that take place over the summer and how to gain admission.
- Identify ways to build a strategic relationship with the dental school of one’s choice, so that your application is immediately recognized and given preferential treatment.
- Discuss whether pre-requisites should be taken during the traditional academic year or over the summer to ensure timely completion for admission, based on the student’s withdrawal from a course or plan to study abroad, etc.
- Identify potential mentors and discuss how to develop a lasting relationship with them that you can leverage during the dental admissions process.
- Discuss strategies to obtain relevant clinical and research experience that will allow the applicant to differentiate themselves form others.
- Discuss preemptive tactics regarding in-state classification to ensure that one has the greatest chance for admission, while securing in-state tuition.
- Chart a path for admission to dental school that is as unique as the applicant, complete with mile markers, performance reviews, and meetings until the student’s application is submitted.
- Navigate the admissions process to ensure that all materials presented to the dental admissions committee are of the highest caliber and submitted on or before the opening of the AADSAS® or TMDAS® application (typically early June).
Each comprehensive program is finely tailored for the student’s individual needs. Please contact us for more information.
2. Admissions Consulting
More than one 4.0 pre-dental student has been baffled when classmates with lower grades were more successful in gaining admission to dental school. Don’t let this happen to you – instead reach out and get the edge you need from Dental Admission Strategies®. We value every application and know it is unique, which is why we will work with you one-on-one, to ensure you get the greatest return on your investment.
3. Essay Editing
The dental school admission’s process involves a tremendous amount of writing. Dental school admission committees read hundreds of essays each year – how will you ensure that yours will be remembered when it comes time for the decision to admit or reject?
Our former Director of Dental Admissions has read thousands of dental school personal statements and secondary admission essays. With dental school admission being so incredibly competitive, it is critical that your essay not only be well written and memorable, but also leave the reader wanting more so that they will feel compelled to invite you for an interview. We will work one-on-one with you to allow your unique voice to be heard and promoted in an articulate and intelligent fashion. Unfortunately, one of the most common pitfalls of dental school applicants is to write heartfelt essays that they think are original – but in reality, are cliché and sound disingenuous. Unlike other editing services that simply provide general comments or steal the author’s voice, at Dental Admission Strategies® we will work with you to ensure that you provide the admissions committee a compelling story on why you deserve admission to dental school, and not the other qualified applicants that are vying for the same seat.
4. Application Analysis & Optimization
We know that the written portion of your AADSAS® or TMDAS® application must be exceptional. Unfortunately there is a common misconception among applicants that the written portion of the application is somehow less important than the personal statement. The truth of the matter is that when deciding whether to admit or reject an applicant, there is often more time spent evaluating the experiences section of the application than the personal statement. Thousands of applications are scrutinized, but we know how to frame your experiences in an impressive manner, while not exceeding the character counts enforced by the AADSAS® or TMDAS® application. Ensure that your experiences are given the credit they deserve and do not fall victim to poor writing.
5. Interview Preparation
The dental school interview is the final hurdle in gaining admission to dental school. To ensure that you clear this hurdle with your best foot forward, Dental Admission Strategies® conducts one-on-one interviews and personalized coaching with a former Assistant Director of Dental Admissions. After reviewing and interviewing hundreds of dental school applicants and evaluating credentials and determining strengths and weaknesses, we know exactly what questions admissions committees are likely to ask and how to provide the best responses in an articulate manner that does not seem over-coached.
Dental Admission Strategies® interview preparation also provides advice on appropriate interview dress, body posture, and etiquette. I will tell you what to expect on interview day, the best time, both in process and on the day, to interview and what to do if your interviewer is difficult and does not allow you an opportunity to present your strengths. Most importantly, we can provide you with personalized feedback after your mock interview and will work one-on-one with you to develop a post-interview strategy, including how to write a memorable thank you letter and compelling letter of intent. |
