PreHealth Spotlight: Wesley Son

Class year: 2018
Major: Biology

The important thing is to fill your application and resume with things that paint a picture of who you truly are, not who you are trying to be.

Vitals

• Invited to interview at ten schools; accepted at four so far, two with merit scholarships
• Organic Chemistry supplemental instructor as a junior and senior
• Biochemistry 420 teaching assistant
• Organic Chemistry consultant for DAT Bootcamp
• Worked at Chipotle Mexican Grill for three years
• Member of UMass biology research trip to Bladen Nature Reserve in Belize
• Shadowed Dr. Stephen Recupero and Dr. Theresa Bain

I have spent the better part of my life wondering how I can follow my father’s footsteps and live to minister to those in need. Before I even arrived at UMass in August 2014, I knew I wanted to be a dentist. One of the first things I did was subscribe to the Pre-Med/Pre-Health Advising email list and read the success stories of medical and dental school applicants from UMass. I realized these students all had one thing in common: success did not come to them immediately; they worked endlessly at UMass and sometimes beyond to achieve their goals of medical or dental school. Their success stories inspired me to write my own.

Many people on campus know me as “Wes the Orgo SI” or “Wes the Biochem TA.” Despite my success and recognition at UMass, this was not always the case. My freshman year was a major adjustment period for me. I had all the freedom in the world, and there were no teachers to remind me of deadlines or extra credit to buffer low exam grades. I thought taking all AP/IB courses in high school was enough for me to succeed at my “safety college”; I was sadly mistaken.

After some less than satisfactory grades during my first semester, I knew I had to make some serious changes to my discipline and work ethic or dental school would no longer be an option. I started attending all the SI sessions for my biology and chemistry courses. I was scared to death during my first day of organic chemistry class; I had heard horror stories of students crying after exams and how exam averages were in the 50s to 60s and did not get curved. With a little elbow grease, many long nights, and excellent Organic Chemistry supplemental instructors in Kristof Vajda, Ryan Desrochers, and Abdul Basabrain, I got As in both courses.

Having excelled in organic chemistry, I found I was able to help my peers understand the most complex topics in organic chemistry. I knew helping my peers learn was something I was not only good at but passionate about as well. I applied to be a supplemental instructor for Organic Chemistry and was the SI for Chemistry 261 for both my junior and senior year. By leading sessions attended by hundreds of students in packed auditoriums, I learned to become more social and how to speak in front of large crowds. I also learned how to engage with peers coming from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, an important skill for anyone working in the health professions field. I took my passion for teaching and helping others a step further by becoming a Biochemistry TA and leading exam reviews for my students. It is this commitment to serving others that affirmed my commitment to minister to people in need through dentistry. My grades, DAT score, and extracurricular activities only got me so far; it is my work as an Organic Chemistry SI and Biochemistry TA that set me apart from others and allowed me to stand out to admissions committees.

Many people assume that you must work in a lab and get your name on your PI’s paper to have any shot at standing out. I signed up to be a research assistant in a lab and after the first day, I knew it was not for me. Nonetheless, I gave it another shot by doing my own five-day field study in Belize during spring break with fifteen of my peers. Research is not for everyone. If research is your thing, do it. If not, there is no point in doing it for the sake of your medical/dental school application. The important thing is to fill your application and resume with things that paint a picture of who you truly are, not who you are trying to be. Find out what makes you unique as an applicant and capitalize on it.

School

Do your best in all your courses. A good place to start is by attending the SI sessions for your science courses; students who attend SI sessions get higher grades than those who do not. The SI leaders are students who got an A in the class and will reinforce the material and concepts so that you can possibly do the same. The science knowledge you learn from SI sessions and class is indispensable and will only show up again on the DAT and MCAT, and eventually in medical/dental school classes.

It is important to complete the prerequisite courses for medical/dental school, but one thing I regret not doing at UMass is taking more interesting classes. I am fascinated by Greco-Roman culture and I should have dedicated some time to studying classics. I wish I had also taken a sculpting or art class, since dentistry is very hands-on and requires fine motor skills.

Letters of Recommendation

Early on, get to know your professors and ask them for help. Participate in class and ask questions. Professors usually remember those who took the effort to raise their hand or see them during office hours. They can be a good witness to your academic achievements and, more important, who you are as a person. Do not get a letter from a professor who leads a 300-person lecture just because you got an A in the class; get people who know you and can be strong advocates for you to write you letters.

The DAT

I wanted to take the DAT only once. By getting advice from upperclassmen as well as creating a study plan and sticking to it for two months, one try was all I needed to get a high score. I recommend taking it after your sophomore year, provided you have taken all the prerequisite courses. Again, by taking in as much knowledge as you can from class and SI sessions, you can minimize the amount of review you need for the DAT and focus more attention on your weaknesses for the exam. I used a bevy of resources, including but not limited to DAT Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, Chad’s Videos, and Feralis Notes.

The Application Process

Be sure to see a pre-health advisor—Cathy Eden, Faith Nussbaum, or Dr. Webley—at least once a year. Make sure your goals are realistic—this is why it is important to always talk to your advisors. I met with Cathy Eden several times as a freshman, sophomore, and junior to discuss my academic history and interest in dentistry before applying. She was key in helping me prepare my application for dental school.

Apply early—with a strong application. All dental schools use rolling admissions; they do not evaluate your candidacy until all your application materials, transcripts, DAT score, etc. are in. If your DAT score is not up to par, retake it, even if it means waiting for the next cycle. If you do not put your best foot forward, it does not matter how early you got your application in.

After talking to people already in dental school, I took my DAT the summer after sophomore year and got my application completed in early June during the year I applied. Before fall semester of my senior year had started, I had already been invited to seven interviews and had attended two of them. It is important to prepare far in advance when applying for dental school or any other post-graduate program.

Published January 2018