u/Careless_Pick_947

Hey everybody, about a month ago I had interviewed for a place hiring for a dental assistant. I passed the phone and in-person interview, then they took me in for a working interview. I had told them that I am still in school (first year in university) and I’m currently finishing up my finals so if hired I would be able to work after this date (I gave them the date). They said no problem. My working interview was supposed to be for 2 hours, 9-11 a.m., they ended up keeping me till 9-12:30. The working interview went great, I did sterilization, prep and break rooms, and help with taking x-rays. After the interview the office manager asked if I could come in the next day. I told her it’s not possible since I have a final, I’m available to come in later that week though. She said perfect just email me whenever you want to come in for some practice and get familiar with the setup, sterilization, etc. At that time, it was like I got hired cuz she kept asking my start date and she kept telling me where I will be mostly working, so I thought that I would be getting paid for the amount of time I was there my first check. Long story short, after my finals were done, I had asked if I could come in 4 days before my start date to familiarize myself (mind you this was 4 days after my working interview). She emailed me 2 days later saying "We hoped to hear from you last weekend regarding your available days available before your start date. We have decided to go with another candidate. I wish you the best of luck in your career." ???????? I was furious. MIND YOU. I applied directly on their website and they aren’t very popular. The job posting wasn’t even on Indeed, LinkedIn, Handshake or ANYTHING. So maybe the posting on their website was just old cuz I’ve been researching them for months and the job posting was there ever since they opened their office (7 years ago). Idk what should I do now??? I emailed her back saying this and she just left my on read "Thank you for letting me know. I did want to mention that I am still a student and was in the middle of final exams, which is why I was unable to come in before May 6th. I assumed my email this weekend showed my continued interest in the position." Was I wrong? Did I misread the entire situation? Please give advice since this was my first working interview and I am pre-dental so I don’t want to mess up on any other interview.

to anyone who went or currently goes to nyu dental (or literally any dental school), how are you affording it?

hi friends! i wanted some advice on how to pass chem 211 and biol 246 in the fall. im currently a predent sophmore and i usually suck at science classes. i need to get an A in both classes or else im cooked and might drop becoming a dentist. please help. im taking chem with Jessica Callus and microbio with Malda Kocahe.

For those of you who have gotten into NYU Dental or are currently attending NYU Dental, what were your stats/extracurriculars? How do you like NYU Dental? It’s currently my top choice for dental school, but my stats kinda suck. I’m an upcoming sophomore with a 3.54 GPA. I did so badly in anatomy that it tanked my GPA (got a C+). I have 45 shadowing hours, 45 community service hours, and 40 volunteer hours working with first-gen high school students attend college. Please, I need advice. I’m actually spiraling.

Also, ik its currently aadsas season, so good luck everybody!!!

Hi everyone, I'm a current sophomore on the pre-dental track and could really use some advice from other pre-dents and dental school applicants.

One thing I've been struggling with is getting a dental assistant job. I'm DANB-certified, have around 50 shadowing hours so far, and I've been applying to DA positions, but I'm not getting much traction. It's honestly a little frustrating because I thought the certification and shadowing would help more.

Right now, I work as a pharmacy technician, which I feel is still valuable healthcare experience. It's helped me become familiar with medications and prescriptions that dentists commonly prescribe, such as amoxicillin and chlorhexidine, along with learning about patient interactions, insurance, and medication management. Even with that experience, I'm still having trouble landing a DA position.

I'm also thinking ahead about strengthening my dental school application. My GPA is currently a 3.54, and anatomy hurt my science GPA quite a bit. I'm majoring in Public Health at an R1 university, and I'm considering either taking a gap year or adding a Biology minor to help boost my science GPA and take more upper-level science courses.

My main questions are:

• Should I keep pursuing a dental assistant job, or would it be better to focus on accumulating more shadowing hours while continuing to work as a pharmacy tech?
• How important is DA experience compared to extensive shadowing?
• For those of you who got accepted without DA experience, what did your clinical exposure look like?
• Is undergraduate research worth pursuing for dental school admissions? Since I'm at an R1 university, I feel like I should take advantage of the opportunities available, but I'm not sure how much admissions committees value research compared to clinical experience.

I've heard of plenty of applicants who never worked as dental assistants and instead accumulated hundreds of shadowing hours, so I'm not sure what the best use of my time is at this point.

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences and what you would do in my situation. And to everyone who is currently applying and working on AADSAS, good luck, and I hope you get into all the schools you want and get tons of scholarships!!!! Thanks!

hi everyone! i'm currently looking into dental schools to apply to so i can complete the pre reqs before applying (cuz each school has different). pls help me solidify a list. i'm from dc and i'm open to school literally anywhere as long as i become a dentist lol. i also don't have the best stats so if any of you have gotten into these schools pls lmk ur dat and other stats! i appreciate any advice!!!

https://preview.redd.it/zk8vvk67bm0h1.png?width=2120&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f9e728fa6ac3611bc0de88e00a3ae80b703c430

hey everyone! long post but I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been in a similar spot.

I'm a freshman public health major at the largest R1 university in Virginia with my sights set on dental school (dream schools are USC Herman Ostrow, VCU, and Pacific). This year was genuinely one of the hardest transitions of my life, and my science grades took a hit because of it.

One thing worth mentioning, I came in with a lot of credits from high school (AP/dual enrollment), so I'm actually considered a sophomore by credits, even though this is technically my first year. So I was thrown into higher-level coursework earlier than most freshmen, which made this year even more of an adjustment.

Here's where I stand grade-wise:

- Anatomy 1: B-

- Anatomy 2: C+

- Stats:B- (currently finishing)

- All other major/core/gen-ed courses (public health):As and A+s

Despite the rough science grades, I've made the Dean's List both semesters (3.5+ GPA), so I know I'm capable, anatomy and stats just really got me this year. How do I make up for these grades and show dental schools I can handle the science rigor?

What I have going for me:

- Dean's List both semesters freshman year

- Sophomore standing by credits

- Radiology certification through DANB

- ~48 hours of shadowing (40 pediatric, 8 general) — actively trying to get more

- Planning to get involved in research (love that I'm at an R1 for this)

- Considering a gap year to really strengthen my application

A frustrating side note: I've been applying to dental assisting jobs with my DANB radiology cert, but haven't been able to land anything yet, only have shadowing experience and no paid DA experience. Some of the offices I've reached out to have been really rude and inconsiderate about it, honestly. Any tips on breaking into that would also be super appreciated.

My questions:

1. Study tips for anatomy-style courses? i clearly need a better strategy for heavy memorization + application-based material. What worked for you?

2. How can I make up for my bad grades? Should I retake anatomy? Is an upward trend enough (my gpa went down .2 from the fall sem..), or do dental schools expect retakes for anything below a B?

3. Should I pick up a biology minor to demonstrate I can handle the science coursework and potentially boost my science GPA?

4. Would Biostatistics be a smarter move than just retaking stats to show quantitative ability?

5. For those who got into schools like Ostrow, VCU, or Pacific with a rough start, what made the difference in your application?

6. Any advice on landing a DA job with a DANB cert but only shadowing hours and no paid experience?

I know I'm only a freshman and have time to turn this around, but I want to be strategic from the start. Any advice is appreciated! 🙏