Sample Essay for AADSAS Application
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
Aside from the applicant's personal
qualifications as reflected in the grade point aver-
age, DAT scores, recommendations, and interview
rating, the most important factor in
determining admission to dental school is the
number of people making up the pool of
applicants from which the entering class is
selected. Therefore this consideration will be
discussed first and then the personal attributes
next.
Applicant Pool
In 2000 there were 7,772 applicants for
admission to dental schools in the United States.
Of these, approximately 4,327 were admitted to
the freshman class, giving about a 1.7:1
applicant/acceptance ratio. Each of the
applicants filed an average of 6 applications to
secure a place.
The number of dental school applicants has
tended to follow a pattern of cycles.
During the post-World War II period
(1945–57) there was an abundance of applicants.
My interest in dentistry is the result of the
inspiration of two people: my maternal grandfather and
my family dentist. My late grandfather lived in
our home and thus was personally aware of my abil-
ity, already as a child, to assemble kits and,
more generally, to fix things around the house. He
grad-
uated from the New York School of Mechanical
Dentistry in 1941, and understandably channeled my
interest toward the dental
profession.
When I entered college, I enrolled as a
pre-dentistry major. Nevertheless, I wanted to be certain
that
dentistry was the profession to which I wanted
to devote my life. My family dentist allowed me to
watch him at work. He patiently explained to me
the basic problem of each patient and how he went
about treating it. Each patient required a
different type of therapy and the variety of cases
thor-
oughly fascinated me.
My reason for preferring dentistry above any
other health profession is that the former allows me
more eye contact and friendliness between
doctor and patient. A good dentist must be concerned
with more than just the patient's oral health;
he must consider the patient's physical appearance,
comfort, and ability to properly maneuver his
teeth. The teenager's teeth must be straightened for
esthetic reasons. The older patient must be
fitted with dentures that will serve him well in both
speech and mastication. And the young child
whose permanent teeth are now appearing must be
observed, to prevent the development of speech
impediments, as a result of abnormal tooth
growth.
The first year of college represented, for me,
an induction period in my academic growth. Since I
entered college on early admission at the age
of 16, I have gotten progressively better adjusted to
the work load. This change is reflected in my
gradually improving index. The transition from only
three years of high school (which I finished
with a 94 average) to the more intense pressure and
heavier workload, on the college level,
explains my unimpressive performance in my freshman
year.
This is despite the fact that I was as
conscientious then as I am now and as I have always
been.
Besides understating my scholastic potential,
my college transcript cannot reflect my interest in a
highly specialized area of chemistry. During
the Spring Semester of 2002, I presented a seminar on
catenanes and knots (i.e., cyclic molecules
that are mechanically linked or interlocked), which
have
been shown to be the basis of certain viral
infections and cancers. I am currently investigating
the
possible role of catenanes in oral
pathology.
As a result of my consistently improving
academic performance, I was named to the Dean's list
with
high honor at my college. In an effort to gain
experience toward my intended profession, I worked at
a local dental hospital in New York, during the
2001–2002 academic year. The preceding year, I
worked as a volunteer dental assistant at a
dental clinic affiliated with a New York dental school.
I
am currently volunteering at another local
dental clinic, while completing my undergraduate stud-
ies. My extensive dental exposure and academic
work has provided me with both the motivation
and background to successfully complete a
program of dental studies and develop into a compe-
tent and empathic practitioner.
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