PPAC develops competitive applicants for health professional schools.

Whether you are applying to medical, dental, or other healthcare schools, PPAC works hard to provide opportunities to best prepare SHU students for a successful application process. On Tuesday, the Pre-Dental Counseling Center is co-sponsoring a craft and crochet workshop hosted by the Pre-Dental Society and Hooked on Crocheting.

A pre-dental society and a crochet club might seem like an odd combination of student organizations collaborating on one event. However, there is a very large intersection between crocheting and dentistry: both require incredible manual dexterity. Dentists must be extremely precise with their hands to perform delicate procedures without endangering their patients. Manual dexterity is such an integral part of dentistry that the Dental Admission Test (DAT)—the exam all dental school applicants must take—has a section that assesses a student’s level of dexterity. It is also common in interviews to be asked about how the candidate developed their manual dexterity. All of this being said, manual dexterity is an important skill that all pre-dental students should begin to develop as soon as possible.

This event was a great opportunity for dental students to begin developing this skill. Students learned about the importance of manual dexterity in dentistry and various practices and hobbies (such as crochet) they can pick up that will begin to improve their dexterity. In addition, this event allowed students to network with other dental students and assess whether a career in dentistry is a good fit for them and to their liking.

For all of our pre-health students planning to apply this upcoming application cycle, we hosted Part 2 of the Personal Statement Workshop with Professor Karen Gewirtz and Professor Daniel Nichols. Students came together to learn the dos and don’ts, what content to include, and how to format a good personal statement. They also had the opportunity to edit and receive direct feedback. Personal statements are an important part of the application process for all pre-professional pathways. The personal statement is the applicant’s way of presenting to the selection committee who they are as a person beyond all the academic statistics. In such competitive fields as pre-health, an outstanding and memorable personal statement can be the deciding factor in whether a student is invited to an interview. This event was a great opportunity for all students to start or continue to refine their personal statements so they can stand out better in the application pool.

It is also important that our students have mentors and a network! Along with Alpha Epsilon Delta (Pre-Health Honor Society) and the Latin American Medical Student Association at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, we hosted an ongoing Medical Student Panel for our students on Monday, February 27, 2023.

Our mission is to advise students throughout their pre-professional journey. Through events like these and other development workshops, we can help students explore professional careers, develop competitive candidates and provide guidance in the application process.

Are you a Pre-Health student? Consider joining the Pre-Professional Counseling Center mailing list to receive the latest news, upcoming events and opportunities. You can also find us on ENGAGE and COMPASS to schedule your 1:1 consultation.

Join the Pre-Dental Society HERE!