Supporting Students

As a health professions advisor, you are constantly working to keep up to date with all the changes in the application processes and developments in all the fields for which you advise students. Sometimes it can be difficult to balance your advising appointments in addition to all of the paperwork and letters of evaluation you have to write.

It is important to remember that you, as the prehealth advisor, are an integral part of a student’s process of applying to dental school. Hopefully this section will help ease the burden of advising predental students by providing information you need to guide them through the dental school application process.

Recommendations:

• Develop a self-assessment to help your students determine if their chosen profession is the right fit for them.
  
  
• Encourage your students to develop a plan of study and take an active role in planning their courses. 
  
  
• Organize on-campus admissions visits, online admissions recruiting seminars and visits to dental schools in the area.
  
  
• Present or organize workshops on the application process, how to write personal statements and your school’s process for letters of evaluation.
  
  
• Become familiar with the requirements of dentistry and the career options available within it. 
  
  
• Familiarize yourself with the dental schools in your area and form relationships with admissions officers. This will help you better advise your students as to what schools might best fit their needs and what type of students different schools are looking for.
  
  
• Be aware of shadowing, volunteer and enrichment program opportunities in your area to recommend to students.
  
  
• Advise and mentor the prehealth or predental club at your school.