Dental School Coach Analyzes AQZ's Personal Statement

Here's the Personal Statement that I analyzed

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Adrenaline began rushing through my veins as I prepared to return my opponent's serve. All of a sudden, the tennis ball zoomed across the court, blistering deep into my forehand wing. Eyes on the ball, I rapidly shuffled over to the right as the energy stored in my calf muscles channeled into my arms. In a split second, I whipped my racquet through the air, smacking the ball right on the sweet spot. The ball soared over the net to the other side, landing only to briefly graze the baseline. Triumphant, I flashed a smile as the ball smoked past my opponent and slammed soundly into the fence.

Simply put, the return of a tennis serve is one of my greatest fascinations. Contrary to the belief of an unsuspecting passerby, my pleasure does not purely come from hitting a winning shot. Rather, it is from the technical execution of the shot that I draw a sense of inexplicable satisfaction. From the footwork to the follow-through, each technique is a complex art that needs to be perfected in order for the shot to be carried out flawlessly. It is the unseen reason behind why some shots end in failure while other shots become sensations. Hence, I have come to value the underlying process rather than the final achievement itself.

Similarly, dentistry is an avocation focused upon the process, not the goal. I first developed an affinity towards dentistry due to its hands-on nature. One summer day, I witnessed my mother undergo a root canal treatment. Surprisingly, each root canal filing that the endodontist performed evoked the same inexplicable satisfaction that I would gain from tennis. To my mother, it was just a root canal procedure, but in my eyes, I was observing an artist in the process of creating an oral masterpiece. Furthermore, each step's purpose and technical complexity blew me away as I saw the amount of detail that needed to be addressed in order to alleviate my mother's pain. As these thoughts began to connect, I became struck by a newfound desire to pursue the art of dentistry.

Before long, my interest in dentistry grew to become my passion as I began shadowing Dr. ***, a hospital dentist who specialized in treating medically compromised patients. One of her patients was a student who had lost half of his teeth in a car accident. It was hard not to sense the gravity of his situation as he came into the clinic sullen with despair. During the next six months, however, I saw how Dr. *** established a rapport with the student to gain his trust throughout the ordeal. Each step of the healing process, I gained a greater admiration for how much faith he would place in Dr. ****'s capabilities as she provided him with hope through affirming his recovery. By the end of his final appointment, I was overjoyed to see the student finally smiling with his new set of teeth. His happiness deeply convicted me to serve patients with challenging disadvantages as I reflected upon how rewarding it was to see his misery transformed into exuberance.

After observing Dr. ****'s interaction with the student, I applied what I had learned through mentoring other students as a Kaplan DAT instructor. Just as patients want to have faith in their dentist's restorative abilities, students also want to be assured that their teacher can help them defeat their exams. Thus, as I prepared for each class more thoroughly than the one before, I saw my students become more confident in my teaching capability and, as a result, in their own test-taking abilities. In addition, just as a dentist intimately treats his patients, I began interacting and following up with my students outside of the classroom setting. Above being a teacher, I became their friend as my desire to see them succeed ignited their own motivation and eventual success. Through the process of building trust and friendship with my students, I gained a deeper, more personal understanding of the power of empathy.

As I continue to pursue dentistry, I have come to realize that behind each achievement lies an untold story. To the student, his high score is the result of his steadfast confidence and persistence over the weeks. To the patient, his jubilant smile is a tribute to the amount of trust and care that the dentist has provided over the months. And similarly, to me, I hope that my strong desire to pursue dentistry is a testament to the amount of exposure and preparation that I have experienced over the years as I look forward to dental school, a new chapter in my story.