Extracurricular Activities for Predental Students
While dental schools want their applicants to have clinical experiences, the successful applicant also has out-of-class time productive in non-clinical ways. Therefore, an applicant’s non-clinical extracurricular activities are an important part of their application record. Lack of a significant and productive extracurricular record is a real negative in dental school applications.
UMW predental students should engage in extracurricular activities. Activities that demonstrate a desire and commitment to helping others (community service), leadership, and a desire to excel outside the classroom, are particularly important.
Community Service
Community service is an important type of extracurricular activity. Dental schools prefer students who are compassionate and have a genuine desire to help others. This desire must be clearly demonstrated in one’s active involvement in community service volunteer activities.
The following links detail some locations for extracurricular opportunities for UMW students.
- The UMW COAR (Community Outreach and Resources) offers many volunteer opportunities to UMW premedical and predental students. Their website contains a noce list of local agencies that provide excellent volunteer opportunities to students.
- The Rappahannock United Way. administers many programs. Currently there are more than 100 charitable organizations registered on the United Way Volunteer Website. The organizations meet a wide variety of community needs from health care to homelessness, environmental causes, animal agencies and sports and recreation.
- Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity
Leadership
Leadership is also a quality admired by dental schools. Students are encouraged to seek out active leadership positions in student government or other student or community organizations.
Other activities to think about:
- Varsity sports
- Club activities
- Military service
Be Selective
No one can do everything, and no is expected to do everything. So, you should find at least two activities or organizations that you will really enjoy and that reflect who you are – activities to which you commit yourself in the long-term and are very active in the long-term. It is better to get heavily involved in a few extracurricular activities rather than join lots of different clubs and organizations and do very little with any of them.