Times have changed. It used to be that children of Sindhi parents would take over their family business continuing the legacy for future generations. Now we the first and second generation of Sindhi youth find ourselves faced with many options from business management, opera, accounting, stand-up comedy, medicine, manicurist and of course, the most exclusive, dentistry.

In this article I will outline how to position yourself to gain admission into dental school. If you adhere to these simple steps, not only will you get into dental school and become a cool dentist, the editor of this magazine may even consider replacing me with you (although that would not take much).

Consider admission into dental school as a battle between you, the other applicants and the schools admission committee. Any successful battle must have an entry and exit strategy. I will approach this topic in the same manner. We will divide our strategy into 3 sections: Academic approach, Personality building and interview skills.

The battle of Academia
In order to apply to dental school one has to have a college degree, so get into college preferably a good one. While in college between the frat parties and bhangra competitions it is important that you find time to study. Ask friends, dentists and professors which is the best dental school in the country that you intend to attend and visit their website. This school will now be the benchmark against which you position yourself. Complete their courses and excel at them.
When applying to dental school it is not always necessary to complete a science degree, so long as you fulfill the admission requirements feel free to pursue other interests. These elective courses will help raise your grade point average and will allow you open your mind to other aspects of life. Academically, admissions committees are concerned not only with how well you did in basic sciences but what differentiates you from the other 1200 applicants who have completed the exact same courses as you did. Do not be afraid to be different, in fact differentiation is what will get their attention. In a room full of little black dresses it’s the girl in the red one who gets noticed (hopefully it’s because she looks hot)…

By Amit Ganglani