Daniel R. Greenberg
Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine
Founder of The Pre-Dental Consultants
This e-book is written for pre-dental students who are looking to gain a competitive advantage for dental school admission
Through this book, you will learn from my pre-dental journey and how I achieved admission into 6 top dental schools
Congratulations, by downloading this e-book you have taken the necessary first step on your journey to becoming a dentist! Many dental schools have a <4% admissions rate, and as many as 96% of applicants may not be offered admission to that dental school. Similarly, <4% of dental school applicants will read through this e-book in its entirety. Prove me wrong.
This book is designed to give pre-dental students the blue-print and secret to predictable dental school admission. Yes, I said predictable. Each and every student has the potential to be a top dental school applicant but lack guidance in demonstrating their abilities on their AADSAS application and to dental school admission committees.
With the right plan and the strategies discussed in this book, any student can turn around their pre-dental career.
Key takeaways from this book:
I, along with every dentist and dental student, have been in your shoes struggling through the pre-dental process and understand the stress that is involved. Know that you are not alone and you do have support. Let this book be the spark for the changes you need to make to start absolutely crushing the pre-dental process!
Daniel R Greenberg
Daniel R Greenberg
Dan Greenberg is a fourth year dental student and DDS candidate at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine on Long Island, New York.
He graduated SUNY Binghamton in three years with a B.S. in Accounting on the pre-dental track with a 4.0 GPA, summa cum laude. During his fourth year, Dan enrolled in a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program in which he graduated at the top of his class.
While a pre-dental student himself, Dan applied to 10 dental schools, obtained 9 interviews invitations, accepted 7 interview invitations and successfully gained admission into 6 schools.
Before founding The Pre-Dental Consultants, Dan tutored students in Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry and the DAT and mentored students for 4 years on dental school admission.
Dan understands the commitment it takes to pursue a career in dentistry and is passionate about helping students navigate the complexities of applying to dental school so they too can achieve their dreams.
This book gives an in-depth overview of everything you need to succeed as a pre-dental student. However, sometimes it takes more personalized advising to see the types of results you want. The Pre-Dental Consultants Ultimate Advising Program is one of the only pre-dental mentorship program that helps you through every step of the pre-dental process. This includes acing your classes, excelling on the DAT with our all-inclusive 12-week DAT Program, and crushing the application process. We have dental student coaches from many dental schools to guide you through the entire pre-dental process. If you want to be a part of a collaborative pre-dental community and get LIFETIME advising, click the link below to learn more.
CHAPTER 1
Simplifying What It Takes To Be A Competitive Applicant
CHAPTER 2
Outlined In This Chapter Are The Harsh Realities That Pre-Dental Students Face
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What my Pre-Health Advisor told me:
He said that I needed to be a science major to get into dental school because many schools want to see students who excel in the science classes. He was wrong and I knew it. I spoke with students who went down a similar path as me to get into dental school so I ignored what my pre-health advisor had to say.
Fast forward to my junior year...
After avoiding to check-in with my pre-health advisor for over a year, I was ready to apply to dental school. Almost all of my pre-requisite classes were done, I crushed the DAT and I obtained all the experiences that would set me apart. This meeting was strictly to request a letter of recommendation (committee letter) for my application and to reveal my top choice school, which happened to be Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine (the school in which I currently attend). As a necessary part of the meeting, we reviewed my transcript. "You're good to go", he said, not mentioning anything about my choice of major.
Perfect! I am ready to apply to dental school, right? Wrong.
He failed me and set me back. He did not know that Stony Brook required Biochemistry prior to applying and obtaining an interview. How did I know this? I reached out to the admissions officer at Stony Brook and inquired about a new policy written on their site. My pre-health advisor misled me due to his lack of knowledge - I was told that Biochemistry was a course you can take upon matriculation, but did not need to apply to dental school.
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Why am I telling you this story?
I do not want the same thing to happen you you...
Most pre-health advisors are not current with their knowledge on dental school admissions. They do not have access to the information that is necessary to be a competitive applicant. They help every other pre-health profession in addition to pre-dental students. How helpful could they possibly be?
It turns out that many pre-dental students end up conquering the pre-dental process alone, without any help from worthy advisors. And if students do rely on their pre-health advisors, they are often misled.
I founded my company, The Pre-Dental Consultants, on the idea that every pre-dental student should have access to current dental students who have recently completed the Pre-Dental process and successfully achieved admission into dental school. You can be guided in the right direction by students who have successfully done it themselves. Actually, many of the coaches in our program have been under my mentorship, while others have coached students privately for years prior to joining my team.
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The easiest thing to do is ignore responsibilities. The most successful applicants that I have seen are constantly bettering themselves and their pre-dental journey. They are proactive.
What are these top applicants doing?
They are shadowing multiple doctors and specialities, studying hard for their pre-req classes (not dropping classes), planning the time they will dedicate to studying for the DAT, active members of the University Pre-Dental Society, and constantly creating relationships with potential letter writers.
Be proactive and create your own opportunities. Nothing is ever easy.
CHAPTER 3
It's Possible To Get A 4.0 As A Pre-Dental Student and You Can Still Have A Social Life While Doing It! I'll Show You How This is Possible In this Chapter.
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Active studying requires increased brain power and can become tiring to do for long periods of time. It is much easier to just passively look at information and pray that it is being absorbed by some sort of magical osmosis. Unfortunately, for 99.9% of people this is unrealistic. You need to actively test yourself in order to truly commit information to memory. While this is much more burdensome and mentally taxing, it really does work! Actively testing yourself is like training for a marathon. The first time you try to run a mile, it is extremely difficult, you fatigue quickly, and you have no desire to attempt it again. However, each time you go for a run, it gets progressively easier and easier. The human ability to adapt after repetition is truly amazing. Studying is no different.
Try testing yourself throughout your studying. You can do this through various methods, including practice questions or flashcards. Something I personally like to do is write or type as much information I know about a topic without looking at any notes. In doing so, I quickly learn what information I could not recall and must then study. A few hours later, I try typing out what I can recall. It’s all about identifying what you do and don’t know and working on it.
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While procrastinating and studying last minute may feel the most productive, this strategy is not going to give you the best long-term results. This is especially true if you are trying to learn material so that you can remember it for major standardized exams, including the DAT. Try learning your coursework today as if you were to be quizzed on it tomorrow. I like to review each of my lectures the same day, if not the day after, in order to begin solidifying the information early-on. I’ll usually attempt to get through the material at least three times. Not only does this reduce stress during the days before big exams, but I have found that studying topics properly the first time allows me to recall them in detail later on.
I also recommend adding spaced repetition techniques, such as through the use of ANKI, to your studies. ANKI is a spaced repetition flashcard platform that will show flashcards right at the time you are most likely to forget them. For example, if you get a flashcard correct today, ANKI will show that same card to you tomorrow. However, if you get it correct tomorrow, ANKI will not show the card for 3 days. If you get it correct then, it’ll be a week before you see it again, 2 weeks, then a month, and so on. This style of learning will allow you to commit material to long term memory.
Studies show that one of the most effective ways to increase comprehension is to try to teach the material to others. By attempting to explain a topic, you are forcing yourself to dive deeper into the material. Teaching is also a great assessment of what you do or do not know yourself. This technique is a great strategy for your 3rd pass through the material. I personally prefer to work with one or two friends/classmates, in which we alternate in explaining concepts.
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However, if you do not have anyone to work with at the time, do not worry! There is nothing wrong with talking out loud to yourself. I have definitely been there. Another idea is to make an audio recording and teach the material with the idea that someone else is going to use your recordings to learn. No matter how you decide to go about it, teaching is one of the most powerful study tools and I recommend trying to incorporate it into your study routine.
The art of studying is one that takes practice to improve just like anything else. Even today, I am constantly trying out different techniques to better my study habits. However, if you commit to applying some of the concepts we discussed, you will see improvements. While I truly believe anyone can get great grades, even a 4.0 GPA, one must first master their own study habits.
CHAPTER 4
Good grades are important but they are definitely not everything.
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Quick Story:
I had a student that had a 26 DAT and a 3.89GPA - the same student I described earlier in this book. As a Neuroscience major, he was challenged obviously and obtaining that high of a GPA was not easy (he was clearly smart). As predicted, this student got an interview to almost every school he applied to (~12 schools). However, at each interview he was asked why he wanted to be a dentist.
That was the BIG question.
He was a Neuroscience major, clearly a smart student with his grades. However, he could not answer the question of, "why dentistry?". This student ended up only getting into three of the twelve schools he interviewed at because he could not communicate his reasoning for going into dentistry. The common rebuttal he received was, "you seem like a smart student but why aren't you going to medical school - you are a neuroscience major with outstanding grades."
Key Takeaway: From both perspectives, grades are not everything. I have seen students with below average grades get accepted into schools and I have seen students with exceptional grades get rejected from schools.
Why is applying early so important?
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The reason is that all dental schools operate on a rolling basis for interview selection. This means that the earlier you apply, the more open spots each dental school will have to offer an interview.
Your next question may be, "Why is it important to get an interview early?"
It's important because students should strive for something called 'Pre-December Interviews'.
What exactly are 'Pre-December Interviews'?
'Pre-December Interviews' are exactly what it sounds like - it is interviews that occur before December 1st. These interviews are only possible to obtain if you apply on the early-side. Obtaining this interview is important because you will be considered for the "first wave" of acceptances, which occurs on December 1st. Any student that interviews before December 1st will be considered for the first spots available in the new dental class. It is important to apply early to get these Pre-December interviews because it has the "trickle-down" effect: the earlier you apply, the earlier you can get invited for an interview, the higher probability of getting accepted into dental school since you are in the first wave of applicants where there are 100% of open seats in the class.
On the other hand, the longer you wait to apply to school, the longer it'll take to get an interview, which is likely after December 1st, and thus, the less spots will be available in the class when you are considered for admission (since a large amount of spots in the class were given out on December 1st already).
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Thus, it is crucial to send in your application on the first day the cycle opens (or within the first couple of weeks), if possible. Proper steps need to be put in place beforehand to ensure early submission with adequate attention to the writing process, instead of merely rushing through. Every year, students with good scores apply later in the application cycle, such as in September or October. Consequently, they do not have a chance of getting an interview because most of the slots have already been filled by the time their application is processed. While there are exceptions to this rule, in general these types of mistakes should be avoided by pre-dental students when applying.
One of the most important parts of the application is having the ability to tell “your story.” While this is not easy to do, it can really make or break your application. I see many common mistakes when reading personal statements, such as trying to sell yourself to the admission committees, coming off as cocky, and not letting the reader get an understanding of who you are as a person. When writing a personal statement, you should be true to who you are. You should explain what has led you to pursue a career in dentistry, NOT try to make a case for why you are the next best dentist to walk the Earth.
For more information on how to properly write a personal statement, refer to the next chapter.
CHAPTER 5
How you differentiate yourself from other applicants with similar grades and experiences.
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At the very least, you should ensure that the personal statement is not the part of your application that is going to hurt you. You can do this by making sure you avoid what I like to call “the major 8 red flags.” Unfortunately, I see these red flags far too often in student essays.
These include:
Now let's get into each one in a little more detail.
1. Writing any form of “I like science, I want to help people and I like working with my hands” as your motivation to become a dentist.
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The first red flag is writing any form of “I like science, want to help people and I like working with my hands” as your motivation to become a dentist. Seriously, you would not believe how many times this comes up and it is so cliché! A lot of people will try to make it fancy and say, “I integrated my love for science with my passion for human connection and hand-eye coordination, so I decided I wanted to be a dentist.”
That is just not going to cut it.
The readers of these essays on the admissions committee see this time and time again. It is not unique and is very much forced. Think about it for a second: Is that truly the reason that you wanted to be a dentist? You should be thinking a little deeper and try to get into what really fueled that desire. Reflect on what you learned along that journey that really solidified that you want to go down this long and difficult path.
2. Comparing yourself to other applicants and trying to argue why you would be better
You definitely want to avoid this second red flag, comparing yourself to other applicants and trying to argue why you would be better. You do not need to compare yourself to other applicants when writing the personal statement. Actually, let me take it one step further. You SHOULD NOT do this on your personal statement! The personal statement is a way to show who you are as a person, as well as why you want to be a dentist. It is not to sell yourself as if you're in a competition with other potential applicants.
3. Stating something about your life that isn’t true
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I wish I didn't have to elaborate on the statement, but unfortunately I do. There is no room for embellishing or making up something on your application. This is extremely unprofessional and will have severe consequences if you are caught. It could potentially ruin all the hard work that you've put in to get to where you are. You do not have to lie to get into dental school. You just need to work hard, be yourself, and have the right systems in place (which is why you’re reading this book).
4. Talking badly about another healthcare professional
I kept this broad on purpose. I actually see this situation a decent amount of times with student essays, where they discuss a bad experience they had while shadowing a dentist or other healthcare professions. They talk about how that fueled their desire to be a dentist so that, “no other patients would have to experience that type of treatment that [they] experienced.” One reason I would avoid this topic in a personal statement, is that you don't want to sound critical or as if you're “trashing” a dentist or someone else in the healthcare field. In addition, you do not know who the person interviewing you knows - maybe that dentist is a close friend. You want to keep your personal statement positive at all times - try to avoid the negative.
Speaking negatively about another dentist or doctor is not going to look good in the personal statement, even though it might be a true story. I'm positive there are many more stories you can discuss, rather than talking about one bad experience you had as being the reason that you want to now be a dentist. While you can mention it and it may come up in interviews, I would be very careful with how you talk about the experience.
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Also, let's be honest: It wasn't your bad experience that truly made you want to become a dentist. Maybe that was a reason that you're factoring into the equation, but it simply doesn’t make sense that you are deciding to devote your entire career path to dentistry, a long hard career with a high burnout rate, because you had a “bad” experience? The goal of the personal statement is to demonstrate that you understand what you're getting yourself into, as well as your passion in helping patients and embarking on a journey to learn the skills to do.
5. Stating that you know you have the skills that will make you a great dentist
This might be the most frequent piece of advice I give pre-dental students on their personal statements. Most students try to sell themselves to the admissions committee and state the different skills that they think they have that are going to make them a great dentist. Some students emphasize their hand skills, intelligence and qualities. The admissions committee does not want to read all the amazing adjectives that you guys come up with to describe yourself. Saying you are hardworking is not enough. Tell me a story of a time when you were hardworking, so that I can independently come to the conclusion. Saying that you have a lot of empathy is not enough. Show me a time when you were empathetic towards a patient, so that I can independently conclude what your character traits are.
Your goal is to use stories to paint a picture of who YOU are, not to explicitly state it. This is because when you do the latter it doesn’t come off as genuine or personalized. It could truly be anyone writing that essay. The admissions committee wants to know specifics about you as a student and who you are as a person. The only way to do that is from stories about you. Therefore, the more anecdotes you have in your personal statement, the better.
6. Saying that you know what it is like to be a dentist or the roles of the dentist
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I can't tell you the number of students who write, “the role of a dentist is to….” You might have a good idea of what a dentist does, but I would avoid assuming that you know what all the responsibilities entail. A common template I see students use involves stating different roles and then why they would fit into those roles. Again, this is not the goal of the personal statement. Just try to show who you are as a person!! Let the admissions committee come to conclusion themselves of whether you’d be a good candidate for their school. Focus on showing why you're unique, and before you say “but Dan I'm not unique”, you should know that you are. No person is the same as anyone else. So you being you is your uniqueness. Now you just have to let that shine through your writing. Again, this is not easy to do and if you feel that you are struggling with it, you may want to check out my advising program in more detail (http://theprehealthconsultants.com/dental). We help with just that!
7. Long explanations of extracurriculars
There is a place for this in your application already. Please do not make your personal statement sound like an enhanced resume.
8. Any statement that sounds negative, unappreciative, condescending, elitist, or superficial
I'm just going to hope that no further explanation is needed for this last red flag.
CHAPTER 6
This may be one of the most important tests of your life - take it seriously. .
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Three categories you may fall into:
1. You have not started studying to take the DAT or you recently started studying so you are not well-versed in the many resources
2. You took the DAT once and did not do well - now you are looking for a miracle
3. You took the DAT and you successfully got a score that is competitive for Dental School.
All right guys, hope you’re ready because I'm going to really change it up in regards to how you are thinking about studying for the DAT. Especially if you haven't heard me talk on this topic before, there's a lot of bad information out there regarding the DAT and how to prepare for it. I'm about to do a complete 180 with what you should be doing and discuss a tactic that has worked for many top dental students to prepare for their boards. This had also worked for many DAT students who previously took the exam and did not score well. One of my students recently went from 17AA/16TS to a 26AA/30TS using this new method alone!
Unfortunately, a lot of students end up having to retake the DAT because they initially prepare for it the wrong way. My hope is that in utilizing this book, you do not make these same mistakes. I know you will absolutely knock it out of the park by using this new approach.
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I'm going to walk you through what I see is the most common way students study for the DAT. I will also discuss why this approach can result in you wasting tons of time and not give you the type of score improvement that you are looking for. To be honest, I would even say I used some variation of this approach to study for the DAT. If I could go back in time, I would completely change what I was doing to study entirely based on the new method. This new method is how I and many top dental students study for their board exams. But first, let's talk about how a typical student will prepare for the DAT.
The following scenario is based on a student having a test date in January.
The Summer Semester of DAT Studying: The Old Method
I see this nearly every time. A student will say, “Oh, I'm going to get ahead of my DAT studying over the summer.” You then spend all summer reading almost all of the textbooks from one of the major test prep companies. You spend the entire summer reading and highlighting the textbooks and rewriting what you read to the point that your hand cramps up. By the end of the summer, you stop studying for a little bit as you are getting situated with the new semester. Guess what happens when you stop studying, considering you weren’t using active strategies to begin with? Three weeks later you pretty much forget every single thing that you've studied over the summer and at most can say you are now a little bit familiar with the material.
I'd rather you just enjoy the summer at that point, hit the beach (if one's near by), and not even worry about the DAT if that's how you're going to use your time. Think about it. How many times do you read something and then remember it a week later? It's very hard to do that to begin with and reading this dense DAT material straight through cannot be more ineffective.
The Fall Semester of DAT Studying: The Old Method
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Now it's the end of the summer. You're about to start taking one of the major prep in-person courses or online prep courses. Guess what? You're first mode of action is to see how much you know from studying all summer, so you take a diagnostic test. After an entire summer of reading all the textbooks, you still have an absolutely atrocious score on the diagnostic, around 15AA to 16AA. That is where you start to panic. I know what you're all thinking, “I need a 21 at least, that's what Dan just told me. What am I going to do to see the score improvement?”
My first piece of advice is not to worry about what your diagnostic says. I've seen every type of score improvement you could possibly imagine. What usually happens next is that you take one of the major test prep programs, spending a lot of time and money again reading through textbooks and watching long drawn-out lectures. You then obviously see a score improvement because you've now spent the next couple of months actually studying for the DAT. However, this score is usually not where your goal is.
I would never promise that you are going to reach your ideal score.
You should be skeptical of anyone who does. However, your true goal should be maximizing your studying, so that you are performing at your personal best. If you can do that, then you should walk away proud no matter what your score is. The problem I often see is that most students never get to that optimal score because they've never utilized the appropriate study strategies that can get them there. While they see some score improvement from their diagnostic, it is not what their highest score could be.
I'm not saying that these major prep courses are bad by any means or that you could not get a good score by using them. All I'm saying is a lot of time is wasted that could be used for more effective study strategies.
So what are the strategies? Well I'm glad you asked. Let's get into them right now.
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Doing questions is an active studying strategy that requires you to truly test your knowledge, as well as your ability to integrate such knowledge with the passages. This is how you will be tested on the DAT and, therefore, is what you should be doing from the very beginning. Unfortunately, most students only start doing practice questions in the last month or two. This is generally where they see the biggest score improvements, but sometimes it is too close to the end. This is why I have all my students start doing practice questions from the very beginning of their DAT prep.
When utilizing this new method, students must make a mental switch as to the purpose of practice questions. The majority of students see questions as a way to test where they are currently at by focusing too much attention on the score following each block of questions. This is not the purpose of practice questions. Until the very end of your prep, this is not even the purpose of practice exams. The goal of practice questions is to actively force you to apply your knowledge, assess where your weaknesses are, and allow you to learn by thoroughly reviewing the material.
Let's be honest, who here has ever got a test question wrong and was able to remember that specific question or answer for the next year if not more? I know that I have. Students are a lot better at remembering information when we get that information wrong through testing, rather than just reading that information in a textbook.
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While practice questions are a great way to learn concepts, as more and more time passes you will slowly forget any material you learned. A concept that describes this process of forgetting is known as the ”ebbinghaus forgetting curve” (see below). This curve essentially says that right after someone tells you something, you remember 100% of that information. However, 20 minutes later, you will only remember 60% of that information. An hour later, you will likely remember less than 50%. If you go an entire day without looking back at the material, you will only remember 30% of the information. If you wait an entire week without revisiting the material, you will only remember 20% of what you were first taught. This is why I keep saying that reading textbooks in a sequential order is such a waste of time!
How can we thwart this curve?
We actually talked about this briefly in Chapter 3 “How to Achieve a 4.0 GPA", where we discuss the use of ANKI flashcards. When I was a pre-dental student, I had never heard of ANKI and all the amazing tools it had to offer. It was only once I got to dental school that I noticed how many students were using this method. I have since seen this technique start to leak into pre-dental study habits for the DAT, but I would say it's not as universal.
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An issue that I see both amongst dental students and pre-dental students alike is that they don't properly use the application. This book is not going to cover all the details of how to use ANKI, although that is covered more in my Ultimate Pre-Dental Advising Program. However, we will talk about some of the basics to get you started.
First off, learning how to use ANKI flashcards is a skill just like anything else in life. While it takes some time to get used to, once you master the technology it can truly enhance your studying beyond imagine. The reality is that a lot of students struggle with memorization. There is a lot of focus still placed on memorizing information in both school and on standardized exams. However, in properly using ANKI, you will be able to memorize just about anything you want.
The key is to be consistent.
For students who are just starting out, I suggest making 10 to 20 new cards a day and always making sure to finish all your reviews. I prefer to put the settings to show review cards first and then new cards. By doing so, I know I am at the very least doing all my reviews each day. To do this, go to preferences and select “show new cards after reviews.”
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It is also important to set your reviews to “9999.” This will ensure you are seeing all the review cards that are actually due that day. As you get farther into your DAT prep, you may be reviewing 300-400 cards a day. The problem is that the ANKI default settings only have you review 100 cards per day. This means you may be missing 200-300 cards that you should be reviewing, resulting in a backup of cards needed to be reviewed. Without spaced repetition, you will forget those cards when they eventually get shown to you. This is why setting the default to Max reviews is so important. You can do this by going to deck settings, then click reviews and set to 9999.
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ANKI takes all the guesswork out of how frequently you need to review a flash card because it's algorithm is based on showing you a card when you are most likely to forget it. Additionally, if you do forget a card, it will bring you back to the beginning of the cycle and show you the card more frequently. Ultimately, if you are honest with yourself on whether or not you get the flashcard answer correct, you will never forget a piece of information that you have learned.
The mistake I see a lot of students make is that they will say they got a flashcard correct, even if they didn't really know the answer. This occurs because they felt that they kind of knew the answer or that they let their own ego get in the way and didn't want to bring the card back to the beginning. I implore you to avoid this mistake. I promise nobody is watching when you are doing ANKI and the only person you are lying to is yourself.
Now the magic really starts to happen when you combine your practice questions with good ANKI flashcards and consistency. My 12 week DAT program within my Ultimate Advising Program utilizes DAT Bootcamp for its practice questions, since as I have said earlier, it is imperative to do practice questions from the very beginning of your studies. My program comes with its own PAT crash course and subject specific courses to ace Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, Biology, and more. In addition, we even have our own DAT coach that has group sessions weekly.
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Regardless if you sign up for an outside prep program or my program, my goal in writing this book is to give you an outline to succeed even as a self-studying student.
CHAPTER 7
How to get that dental school acceptance!
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Here are the top ways to succeed in the interview:
1. Be yourself - the interviewer wants to get to know you and see if you would be a good fit for the program. At the same time, you want to interview the program to see if its a good fit for you.
2. Know your answer to "why dentistry" cold - I can almost guarantee that you will have this question on your interview. Know the answer to it and be able to communicate your feelings towards why you are going into the profession. In my program, we have developed a series of videos that cover the various aspects of the interview to prepare you answers to these questions. There is a systematic response to this question, but it is too much to cover in this short book. If you were interested in mock interviews or interview prep, visit my program website and schedule a free consultation.
3. Less dentistry talk, the better - connect with your interviewer on a level that does not have to do with dentistry. Areas of connection include hobbies, places of travel, food, sports, etc. The best interviews are those that do not cover dentistry.
4. Be confident but not cocky - no one likes a "know-it-all". Be humble, ask questions and be "teachable".
5. Act Professional - Last but certainly not least, you are going into a profession that requires you to act in a professional manner. Dress to impress, maintain eye contact, and work on your firm handshake.
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As I have said before, the interview is one of the most important parts of getting accepted into dental school. However, many students seem to brush off this aspect. If you are looking for help with interviews or getting into dental school, feel free to schedule a free strategy call with either myself or a member of my team on my website.
CHAPTER 8
This chapter explains the options after you graduate from college if you did not finish the prerequistes or need to bolster your science GPA.
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The other purpose is for students who have done very poorly in their undergraduate classes or who did not graduate with all their pre-dental requirements. By doing well at a formal post-bac program, you will have a second opportunity to show admission committees that you are capable of excelling in the challenging science courses.
Another option is to do a DIY post-bacc program. Essentially what this is is enrolling usually at your local university just in the science courses that you need to complete your pre-dental prerequisites. This can be done at a four-year institution. Usually you would enroll as a “non-degree seeking student. One of the benefits of this is that it tends to be cheaper and more flexible if you are working a full or part-time job.
The last option to show improvement in your ability to excel in science classes and finish prerequisites is to enroll in a regular masters or a Special Masters Program (SMP). An SMP is a program that would give you a master's degree which is geared towards preparing you for professional school, such as dental school, by having you take upper level sciences. Many times these SMPs have students take many of the same classes a first year dental student would take such as anatomy and physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and more. If you can do well in these classes it will put admissions committees mind at ease knowing you can most likely do well in their dental school classes as well.
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Regardless of whether you chose to do a formal post-bacc program, a DIY, or a masters, the key is that you have made an effort to improve your study strategies before starting . You must be ready to take on the challenging coursework and crush it. The worst thing you can do is start a post-bacc program and not see any great improvement. Hopefully, you have read some of the strategies we talked about in this book before starting a post-bac program. If you want more personalized advising and advanced strategies, be sure to check out The Ultimate Pre-Dental Advising Program.
CHAPTER 9
Here are the most common questions I get asked as a Pre-Dental Advisor.
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At this point, you should have all the tools you need to get started in crushing your pre-dental journey. Even if you had a discouraging advisor in the past, no one has the right to tell you whether or not you are going to succeed. However, if you want to get a dental school acceptance, you must also take it upon yourself to put in the work.
In this chapter, I'm going to finish off by answering some of the most common questions that I get as a pre-dental advisor and mentor.
1. When should I start seriously gaining dental experience?
You should be starting to rack-up dental experiences as soon as you realize that you want to be a dentist. The sooner that you start, the better off you'll be. I'll take this one step further: it is never too early to start on your track to be a dentist. The most successful students that I mentor spend time working on themselves and gaining the most amount of experiences. Obviously grades are important and its required for admission to dental school, but what really sets you apart are your experiences.
Let's get one thing straight: it is not the amount of time (quantity) that makes you stand out, it is actually the quality of the experience that matters. Many schools require a minimum amount of shadowing hours for admission, however having more hours does correlate with a greater chance of admission. I would rather 100 hours of quality shadowing experiences than 500 hours of compensated dental work, where you are filing charts. Get it?
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2. When should I take the DAT?
The DAT should be taken after you finish all your pre-req Biology, Chemistry and Organic Chemistry classes. This can be during the time that you apply or a year before you apply. I am more of a fan of taking the DAT prior to applying to dental school because then you have an opportunity to retake the exam without being pressed for time (i.e. applications). Most students will finish their pre-req Bio, Chem and Orgo by the end of their sophomore year, so taking the DAT the summer after your sophomore year is ideal. However, every student is different and you must know yourself!
I'll quickly touch on biochemistry, since many students are confused as to if it will help on the DAT. Biochemistry DOES help on the DAT, but it is not completely necessary. For instance, if you are waiting to take the DAT just because you want to take biochemistry prior, I'd suggest taking the DAT without biochemistry. It is important to outline the time needed to study for the DAT, so compromising ideal circumstances to take the DAT just because you are waiting to take biochemistry is not a good idea.
3. I'm an older (25-35 years old) non-traditional student, am I too old to go to dental school?
You are most certainly not too old!! Everyone has their own path to dental school and you should definitely not let age stop you. There are students every year who begin dental school in their 30s. Some begin even in their 40s. If becoming a dentist is your dream, then don’t let anyone or anything stop you, including your age. As someone who likely has had another career before going to dental school, you can bring a unique perspective that will not only be valuable as an applicant but as a future dentist.
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4. I am a dental assistant / hygienist, am I guaranteed to get into dental school?
No one is guaranteed a spot in a dental school, even a student with a 4.0 GPA and a 30 DAT score. Dental schools do like students who have experiences in the dental field but many students have these same experiences. I have always said that working in a dental office as an assistant or hygienist does NOT differentiate you. What differentiates you is the way you frame yourself in the application. Being a dental assistant or hygienist prior to dental school will help you as a student but it certainly will not guarantee you a spot in a dental school class.
5. When should I submit my AADSAS application?
You want to submit your application not soon after it opens (typically in June). This is because of what I have mentioned earlier in this e-book - dental schools employ rolling interview invites. The sooner you submit, the sooner you get an interview and the sooner you can be admitted to dental school (you will be in the first wave of acceptances on Dec. 1).
6. What do I get access to if I join your pre-dental advising program?
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You get access to our website, which has our 5 pre-dental courses. We have 7 dental students which are available for 1:1 sessions via zoom, phone and text. In addition, we have our own tutors, for the DAT and individual pre-req courses (Orgo, Chemistry and Biology). We have built a pre-dental community with over 100 pre-dental students to support you each step of the way. We help with every step of the pre-dental journey, including setting up your timeline, gaining the right experiences, defining your "persona", DAT prep, personal statements, supplemental questions, AADSAS application, interviewing, school selection, etc. We help you until you successfully gain admission into dental school, so we do not drop you as a student ever!
If you want more personalized advising and advanced strategies, be sure to check out The Ultimate Pre-Dental Advising Program.
CHAPTER 10
My goal for this book was to help students who don't always have the best advising. There are many great advisors out there but some that may need a better understanding of what their role is. I hope this section can do just that and end on a positive note.
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To all the amazing pre-dental advisors out there, I first want to say thank you. It is not an easy task to talk to stressed out pre-dental students every day. However, please understand that all students are different and must be treated as such. Some students need their expectations managed, while others are too hard on themselves and need help seeing the light. Some students respond well to directness, while others don't. Regardless of who the student is, including their background, gender, race, or identity, your job is to advise each student to the best of your ability and never discourage them from achieving their dream. It's okay to tell a student that what they're currently doing is not working for them, but it is not okay to tell them it will never work.
I was fortunate to have pretty good pre-dental advising from other students who served as mentors. I did not have the support I would have liked from my pre-health advisors that were supplied by my university. I can't tell you the number of students who I've had to talk to after speaking with a pre-dental advisor, who either gave them poor advice or told them to simply quit. This was my main motivation for starting The Pre-Dental Consultants Ultimate Advising Program. I am proud to serve as a mentor to a community of pre-dental students who are collaborative, encourage each other, and do not fit the stereotypical mold of a cutthroat pre-dental student.
I also know that not every student has this luxury. So to those of you out there who feel alone during this process, know you can always reach out to me and know that there are other students out there as well willing to help.
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I hope that reading this book can be the first step to showing you how to succeed as a pre-dental student. I also want you to know that no matter where you are currently, even if it seems like there's no way to turn it around, there is. You can always better yourself, it just takes effort and the right strategies. You can use this book as the starting point of your new pre-dental career. Start using the study strategies that we talked about, make sure you're taking the appropriate steps during the application cycle, and never give up.
No one ever said it was going to be easy to become a dentist, but I know you can do it. So with that said, best of luck on your journey as a pre-dent and if you ever need anything you can reach me at dan.tphc@gmail.com or schedule a call.
I look forward to working with you in the future.
Best,
Dan Greenberg
Founder of The Pre-Dental Consultants
