Everybody here plans on taking the Dental Admission Test plans to enter a good dental school. The thing is that, as you may know by now, to get into your preferred school, you need more than just a good score on the DAT. You will also need a great persona statement letter. This is why we’re bringing to your attention a great dental school personal statement example.
You can think of a personal statement letter as a very short, one-sided, resume on what your biggest accomplishments are. This personal statement is fundamental for schools, as it tells them what kind of a person you are and why you want to enrol with them. We’re sure you can appreciate a great dental school personal statement example just for you.
Below we’ll be breaking down the actual example in different paragraphs. We will also address the most important points and you should transmit with your personal statement. Without further ado let’s dive right into the actual example. Remember that this is just a dental school personal statement example, you’re free to change the format if you want.
“My natural curiosity for the way things work often got me in trouble as a child. Many remotes, toys, and even house phones became victims of my destructive tinkering. To keep my mind and more importantly, my hands occupied. My parents involved me in various community service projects through the church we attended weekly. In time I stopped taking things apart and started using my hands for more constructive purposes. From delivering hot meals to the elderly, to building and repairing homes for low-income families in the Appalachian Mountains. My hands have become the cornerstone of my efforts to help others. My involvement in MOUNT, a service and leadership-based scholar program at the University of Toledo, has provided me the avenue through which I have been able to continue my community involvement in college.
The first time I even considered dentistry as a career was during a weeklong service experience in Guachochi, Mexico. There I first assisted my father as he provided dental care in the rural mountain villages. Coming from people that rarely ever saw medical professionals of any kind, the wide smiles, and tears of joy that thanked us not only changed my understanding of dentistry. But more importantly, my understanding of serving others through the use of my hands. I began to see the dental profession as less of occupation and more as a life commitment to serve the community. It was in those remote mountains of Mexico that I decided I wanted to change the lives of people through dentistry. “
“Following graduation from high school I began working in both private insurance and Medicaid practices to broaden my scope of the dental Field. While my experiences in Mexico made me keenly aware of the underserved populations globally. The hours I spent at the Medicaid office shadowing Dr. Michael Richards, highlighted the underserved in my own community. In addition to a lack of access, the population I began working with was also underserved through a lack of health education. In most cases, the people I encountered at the Medicaid office were either already in pain. Or suffering from serious dental disease that could have been avoided had they known about the many preventable measures available to them. I soon realized how critical it was to take the time to personally explain to each patient the importance of regular check-ups, proper hygiene techniques, and how oral health affects overall health.
In addition to learning the unique business model of a Medicaid office. I also learned how to treat and speak to patients in a manner sensitive to a variety of cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Dr. Richard’s interaction with patients, as well as his commitment to care and education. Continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for me as I pursue a career in dentistry.”
“Entering college, my work in the community and love of dentistry continued to flourish, however. The unfamiliar structure of college exposed a need to develop new study habits and time management skills. Although I did not perform poorly in my freshman year, it wasn’t until the middle of my sophomore year that I realized in order to achieve my goal of becoming a dentist I would need to excel. Starting with a regular sleep schedule and daily review after class. I began to hone the habits that I believed would be necessary for success in dental school.
"The following spring yielded better grades, affirming my improvement. In addition, I elected to attend the Summer Medicaid and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at Case Western Reserve University. This served as the academic enrichment I needed as I focused on effective study habits. My time management and study skills were tested and proven successful by the 3.72 GPA of my science-intensive junior year. I am confident that with these acquired skills I will be successful in dental school.
By becoming a dentist, I can continue to use my hands for service and literally bring smiles to the faces of the people I encounter daily. My dream is to one day open my own Medicaid office where I can treat and educate the community in which I live. In addition, I hope to become a model of encouragement to other underrepresented minority students pursuing dentistry in the same manner that my father, Dr. Richards, and others were to me. “
Remember that this is just a dental school personal statement example. You should, and must, change this letter in any way that you see fit. Names and places are not to be taken literally. Ideally, what you have to imitate here is the format of the letter and the overall message.
You should also be as honest as possible in your personal statement, you won’t be helping yourself faking motivation. I hope you make great use of this dental school personal statement example. Let’s move on to breaking down the most important points presented in the letter.
As you may see from reading our dental school personal statement example, there are several major points to consider. We can break them down by order of importance in the following.
Now let’s take a look at the major four points that will need to consider for your own personal statement.
Every single person that reads your statement will first and foremost evaluate your grammar. If there are any obvious errors that stand out like spelling, punctuation usage or formatting, this could be a problem for you. One or two mistakes are easy to pass, but a large number not so much. Your grammar reflects how much effort you’re willing to place on your application to dental school. At the very least that’s what the admission committee will think.
Take the time to fix simple and common errors, you can also make someone else read the personal statement to see if there are any other mistakes. Luckily fixing grammar errors and mistakes are much simpler than fixing your resume. Covering this you will have much less to worry about. In the event that you do have someone else read your statement, you should ask for their input on your message.
The next factor the admission committee takes into consideration is the organization of your statement. You have to make sure that every idea you input has its proper place, otherwise, the flow of your statement might not be so good. This is very important for the committee since they will be evaluating part of your logical and cohesion skills. If you’re capable of proving a great flow for your personal statement, then they will be much more inclined towards accepting you.
You must always follow a logical timeline, referencing life experiences that have led you to where you are. Since your personal statement is your own, you will have to figure out how to do this yourself. The good news is that you can take full advantage of our dental school personal statement example above. Using it you can see how the train of thoughts works and follows a straight line. Be sure to make every comment where it would be the most suited, and pay extra attention to the thesis statement. The thesis statement must have a place at the beginning of your personal statement, as an example of one we would recommend the following.
“After having gone on a dental mission trip to Mexico and working in various dental clinics. I have learned that dentistry will allow me to combine my manual dexterity with my desire to treat the underprivileged while constantly being challenged to improve myself professionally and as a person.”
The thesis statement is used to give readers a general idea of what kind of person the applicant is.
Have you ever got tired of listening to someone when that person beats around the bush a lot? This is exactly why clarity in your personal statement is very important. You must be precise and clear when it comes to what you’re trying to say and get across to your readers. If you mention a trip to a different place, then make sure that the admission committee knows why that trip was important for your future in dentistry.
The admission committee can be very discouraged to finish reading a personal statement if the idea of it is not clear. Take our dental school personal statement example as a basis to follow in terms of clarity. Remember that every single applicant is there to get into dental school. So don’t be shy, be precise and clear when transmitting your ideas and why you want to get into dental school.
People reading a letter or some other piece of information will create a mental image of what they read. This is what we mean with perception. Perception is critical for your chances of getting into dental school. Your personal statement must portray you as a person that deserves and wants to get into dental school. Whenever you’re concerned about this particular point you can ask yourself the following questions.
These questions are all fundamental to create a good perception of yourself in the minds of the admission committee. Take extra care to use the proper words and the right language, the way you write can also say a lot about you.
All in all, perception can vary drastically depending on the person reading the personal statement. The best thing to do is to be yourself and ask yourself the questions above to see if your statement is accurately representing who you are and who, or rather what, you want to be.
As always DAT Prep can serve as a good source of preparation for the Dental Admission Test. Yet once that part is done you must concern yourself with what comes next, your future as a dental school student, hence this article. Remember that the DAT is just one step in a longer process, once you get into dental school, you’ll see for yourself.
When you think about how to write a good personal statement just think about our dental school personal statement example. It will make your work a lot easier. Analyze the parts that we didn’t mention and make sure to write a great personal statement that really reflects who you are, why you should be in dental school and what kind of dental professional you’re going to become once you graduate from dental school.
