I had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing Sameer Iyengar, a UC Davis alumni and current second-year dental student at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry. Sameer gave us some remarkable insights into his own experiences as a former pre-dental here at UC Davis and current dental student at UCLA. As a D2, his schedule is busier with more labs and advanced coursework since second year coursework acts as a bridge connecting the lecture-heavy courses from D1 and clinic-intense coursework of D3 year. Q: Introduce yourself! A: “Hello, my name is Sameer Iyengar, and I graduated from UC Davis in 2019. I’m with the Class of 2024 at UCLA. I’d say I’m more on the laid-back side, and my hobbies include reading, running, and playing video games very poorly.” Q: Why dentistry? A: “I chose dentistry because I had very positive interactions with my own dentist dating back all the way to when I was a child. My dentist treated my whole family, and it was really impactful on me to see how she was able to provide care for my younger [sibling] and me along with my grandparents. My father and grandfather both had accidents that resulted in moderate dental trauma, and my dentist was able to resolve their issues and bring their smiles back to them. I always leaned toward biology and science in high school, so I went into college as a pre-dental student.” Q: What were your stats in college and/or graduate school? A: “My stats weren’t the best, [but] I had an upward trend for the last two years at UC Davis. GPA: 3.5 DAT: 25 I really studied hard for the DAT using [only] DAT Bootcamp.” Q: What extracurriculars were you involved in at UC Davis/outside of UC Davis? A: “I volunteered at Yolo Dental Clinic and at West Sacramento Pediatric Dentistry. I was a member of the Pre-Dental Society and participated in pre-dental events like Impressions Day at UCSF and CDA Cares.” Q: Why did you choose UCLA? A: “I chose UCLA because I really liked their rigorous didactic program and speciality-oriented classes. Many of the students at UCLA go on to specialize and this attracted me to the program because of the depth in which I could learn about specialization. In addition, I liked UCLA because it was an in-state school. No matter what, I think tuition is the biggest factor in choosing a dental school, because most programs across the country are extremely competent in making you the best dentist you can be.” Q: “What is the professor-student interaction like at UCLA? A: “It’s good. Many of the faculty stay ridiculously long hours just to help the students out. However, they are extremely busy and need to navigate between helping in clinic and the pre-clinical courses. Some faculty, as always, are more positive and receptive to interaction than others, but the school does a good job of choosing encouraging and supportive course chairs that will guide you along your journey.” Q: What do you think made you stand out from the other dental school applicants? A: “I believe I did very well on my interview and conducted myself in a professional but not too uptight manner. In particular I’d like to advise that if you know your strengths, really play into them. Many questions revolve around your own strengths and weaknesses and it’s always beneficial to wear your strengths on your sleeve. The other aspects were my relatively decent DAT score and my personal statement. I meticulously crafted my personal statement into stating exactly what I wanted it to state, and I think this is important to keep in mind. The personal statement is a narrative of who you are, and it’s best to find the connecting threads that join the pivotal moments of your life. Finding that thread will make your statement have an impact on the reader, and this is how you can get your foot in the door for the application process.” Q: Do you have any tips for pre-dental students? A: “I highly, highly recommend doing any and all shadowing and even finding work as a dental assistant if possible. Much of what is done in the preclinical courses at dental school is very foreign unless you have ample experience in the dental clinic already, and having the experience and hearing tips and tricks from the dentist you are shadowing will give you a leg up when starting these preclinical courses. Also, it enriches your application and shows that you have a genuine interest in the field.” Q: What are you currently learning as a D2 student? A: “Right now we’re learning about oral pathology, removable partial dentures, and endodontics. Endo lab is easily the most difficult but exciting class I’ve taken thus far, and I really am stoked to learn and practice more!” Q: How do you manage to juggle school work and social life? A: “The nice thing is, as generic as this sounds, your classmates are going through the same thing you are. As such, you’ll have similar down time, similar crunch time, etc. To get to the point, I juggle school work and social life by spending time with [other] dental students, and as such, a lot of school work does become [a part of my] social life, by virtue of getting to know one another and bonding over troublesome projects. I also make sure to call my parents and family and play games with my friends from back home whenever I can. My friend likes to say this a lot, but dental school is as hard as you make it. You will have time to do the things that are important to you.” Q: Are you planning on specializing? If so, what and why? A: “I would like to specialize. I’m interested in both perio and endo because I think they’re really cool, for lack of a better term. I like how precise and meticulous the procedures are and how technically challenging they can be. However, this is proving to be a bit of pain as I take endo lab now, haha. Dental school will make you into a competent general practitioner, so don’t feel worried about needing to specialize.” Q: Got any dental jokes? A: “No, sadly. Dental students are severely unfunny and overall lack a sense of humor. …the tooth hurts, doesn’t it?” Huge thanks to Sameer for doing this interview! When asked to participate, he was more than happy to provide pre-dental students with tips and guidance. Hopefully, his valuable advice and experience will further motivate and inspire every pre-dental student here at UC Davis to pursue their dreams in dentistry! Feel free to reach out to Sameer through email at [email protected], Instagram @sameeriyengar, or add him on Discord with the username: s a i #0824! Author: Amy Law
2nd year Biological Sciences Major
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