PreHealth Spotlight: Kumar Guntaka

Class year: 2018
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

My experience working as a Resident Assistant for three years in Kennedy Hall really helped prepare me for dental school.

Vitals

• First year student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine
• RA in Kennedy Hall
• Member of Rotello Chemistry Lab
• Camp Counselor for Muscular Distrophy Association Summer Camp

I was born and raised in a tiny village in India, where my family had little money and no access to healthcare or dental care. Specifically, for dental care. I grew up witnessing people around me - who also had limited access to healthcare - embarrassed to smile because they were ashamed of their crooked teeth. I quickly learned the impact oral hygiene had on overall human health, both physical and psychological. When I moved to the US at age ten, I was surprised to find a similar epidemic existing overseas. The fact is that over one hundred million Americans are living without dental coverage, and the population is continuing to grow. This reality ignited my dream to become a dentist and advocate for and implement affordable, accessible dental care. Committed to dentistry, I declared my pre-dental track entering college and got involved in yearly dental outreach along with shadowing numerous renowned dentists in my community. The more involved I got in dentistry, the more my passion grew, and I knew this was the career I was meant to pursue.

While at UMass, I participated in a variety of extra-curricular activities that prepared me well for dental school including serving as a Resident Assistant, participating in social and philanthropy events as a brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon, conducting independent research as a member of the Rotello Organic Chemistry Lab, working as a facility operations employee at the Recreation Center, and giving back to my local community through community service.

My experience working as a Resident Assistant for three years in Kennedy Hall really helped prepare me for dental school. As an RA, it was my main priority to foster a safe and inclusive community within my hall alongside my staff. For starters, being an RA taught me to improve my time management skills and learn how to balance my work-life schedule. These skills have been extremely valuable to me in dental school as I am assigned a week’s worth of work at a time and must pace myself and commit to a good schedule in order to stay on track of my work. Being a live-in mentor during undergrad also taught me valuable lessons of accountability and communication, in addition to how important team building and diversity are. Finally, practicing all of these skills in handling more serious issues and crises in the residential halls prepared me well for the fast-pace, acute world of medicine.

I chose Biochemistry & Molecular Biology entering UMass because I really enjoyed both Biology and Chemistry in high school. During my junior year, I declared a Psychology double major after taking Psych 100 and loving the course. I do feel my BMB & Psych double-major was a good fit for me as a pre-dental student. I really enjoyed how the BMB major let me apply my knowledge through hands-on, laboratory research and further challenged my studies through upper level Biochemistry courses. All of my Psychology classes were also really fascinating and allowed me to have a more well rounded science background. A lot of what I learned as a BMB and Psych student directly showed up on my DAT and in dental school as well. My only regret in terms of classes in undergrad is not taking more “out-of-the-box” classes as almost all of my coursework was in the sciences. Overall though, I do feel my undergraduate classes prepared me well, but be wary that graduate level coursework moves at a MUCH faster pace than undergrad. I would say we cover about one semester’s worth of undergraduate work in a week or less.

I had the fortunate opportunity to shadow three renowned dentists in the Amherst area. Shadowing was very valuable to me as I was able to witness all sides of dentistry including the behind the scenes work. I really enjoyed how interactive and challenging my shadowing experiences were, as my dentists really wanted me to make the most of my time and constantly quizzed me on what I was being taught. One thing that surprised me is how important the first dental visit is with a new patient, and how holistic dentistry really is. The best dentists are not just professional and skillful, but equally as personable. My dentists really took the time to ask how the patients were doing, and actually remembered details of their personal lives from visit to visit to really build great, long-term relationships. Simple, friendly conversation can really go a long way in brightening a patient’s day, especially if s/he may dread dental visits. Also, I learned how important it is to always take advantage of educational opportunities with patients. For example, don’t just tell the patient they need to brush better or floss more but explain why and the impact it has so they have a better understanding of their overall oral systemic health.

As an undergraduate, I participated in two main research experiences. One as an on-campus Research Assistant in the Rotello Organic Chemistry Lab and the other was as an off-campus Research Assistant during the summer before my junior year at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Working in wet-lab research on real-world projects, taught me the value of working independently and balancing that with teamwork, discipline, patience, and curiosity. It was inspiring being surrounded by top scientists and physicians and knowing my work was contributing to literature and the creation of novel disease treatments. My experiences also left me wanting to continue research while at dental school, so I aimed to apply to programs that valued research as part of the curriculum.

The application cycle overall went pretty smoothly as all the programs I applied to utilized the ADEA “common app”. My biggest pieces of advice are to do your research on the programs you are choosing and be realistic and strategic in where you apply. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with applications and fees but also, make the most of all the opportunities you have. Stay on top of all your deadlines and give yourself ample time to edit and re-edit your writing. Ask your peers and advisors to give you feedback, especially on your personal statement. Also, ask friends to mock interview you to help you prepare. The way I planned out my application process, I took my DATs end of July and was able to assess my score and decide my programs by early August. I finalized my personal statement and worked on supplemental questions August - September and completed all my applications before October. I started hearing back from some programs right away while others took a few months. The following few months were all interviews and ultimately hearing back final decisions.

Preparing for the DAT exam was definitely one of the most stressful times, but also one of the most rewarding. I devoted May - July after my junior year to studying for the DATs full-time (typically noon - 10 PM weekdays and all day weekends) while part-time shadowing a local dentist on weekday mornings. While it was incredibly exhausting at times, I forced myself to stay on a strict schedule. Along with content review, I made sure to consistently do practice problems to test my knowledge and track my progress. I was honest with my scoring and always timed myself on practice exams as well to simulate the real exam feeling. I mainly utilized DAT Bootcamp (I highly recommend following the schedule they provide) and DAT Destroyer study materials. I spent the first two months focusing purely on content and practice problems and spent the third month doing more practice and many full-length tests.

The interviews were definitely stressful and anxiety filled at first, but I learned to really enjoy the experiences. Depending on the school, the interviews can be one on one or with more than one interviewer. The interviewers are typically faculty, administrators, alumni physicians, and/or current students. Before any interview, do sufficient research on the specific program (know both why the program is a good fit for you and why you are a good fit for the program), run through mock interview questions with peers (there are a ton of potential dental school interview questions you can find online), know your application, and then just be confident and stay true to yourself. Don't be afraid to ask any questions you have about the school! Have a running list of questions prepared before your interview so you can engage the interviewer and get to know the program better. Remember that every interview you go to, you are interviewing the school as much as they are interviewing you. Each dental program is unique, and it’s crucial to understand which program fits you and your needs best.

I interviewed at 8 schools. This of course was not easy as students are responsible for their own travel expenses and accommodations along with potentially having to miss school, so keep that in mind. While I did not walk out of every interview feeling great, I definitely learned from each experience and gained confidence along the way. The interviews are really not meant to be anything scary, and the schools want you to be relaxed and be your true self.

Stay self-disciplined and self-motivated! Both getting into dental/medical school and succeeding there requires self accountability and sacrifice. Especially once you begin graduate school, you will be responsible for making your own studying schedule and staying on top of your work.

Know your application deadlines and make sure to give yourself more than enough time for everything from finishing your prerequisites, taking the DAT’s, writing your applications, and compiling recommendation letters (give your recommenders at least 2 - 3 months!). If possible, take your DAT exam early. Of course, set enough time aside to study, and be realistic with spacing out your review, but don’t delay the exam. Set a date, book the actual test, and stick to it. Applications for dental school open around late spring and are rolling for the next few months, but ideally, you want to get your applications done sooner rather than later. Give yourself enough time to digest your DAT score and evaluate which programs you are on target for. In the meantime, also having working drafts of your personal statement reviewed by others!

Don’t burn yourself out! As important as it is to study hard, taking proper rest and having fun during your undergraduate years are so important. Also, know that every student is unique and so your journey to dental/medical school does not have to match anyone else’s. Set your own goals and create a schedule that works for you.

Pick the brain of current dental/medical students and get their perspectives. If possible, try and talk to a variety of students attending different programs as every dental school student has a very different “day in the life” depending on where they go. Do your research and supplement it with advice from current students to find the right program for you.

There are many reasons I ultimately choose to attend Harvard School of Dental Medicine, but one of the most important factors was because of how integrative the dental curriculum is with the medical school curriculum. I knew my education as a dental school student would be very well rounded in all fields of medicine which I really liked. I knew at Harvard I could also focus on really learning and not getting too stressed about grades as HSDM runs on a true pass-fail system with a unique “flipped-classroom” curriculum that promotes student-centered, self-motivated learning. HSDM also stood out as an elite institution leading in groundbreaking discovery, advanced curriculum and resources, and community outreach - all really important factors to what I was looking for in a dental program. Further, HSDM is one of the few dental schools dedicated to both basic science and clinical research, with the long-term goal of discovering the cause and cure for diseases of bone and craniofacial soft tissues. Also of course, given that HSDM is located in the heart of Longwood Medical Area in Boston, the dental school is surrounded by some of the nation’s best hospitals and physicians that I would have the chance to connect and network with. I am currently doing my clinical hours at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the experience is invaluable. Overall, the first few months have certainly been highly stressful at times with a very fast-pace, rigorous curriculum, but I love the program, the friends I have made, and the opportunities I have had to get involved in dental outreach and student government. HSDM is a really good fit for what I was looking for in a dental program, and I am really excited for what the next few years will bring!

Published November 2018