So my two cents is ECs are an opportunity to stand out by NOT being formulaic.
Like, if you are applying saying you have an interest in Biology or a pre-dental track, obviously you want to take advanced Bio classes and do well, possibly advanced Math, Chemistry, and/or Physics and do well, as well as a generally rigorous college prep schedule and do well. You also want to develop some teacher relationships that can become strong recommendations, and get a good ACT or SAT score if possible.
So that’s the more formulaic part.
Then with ECs, you can stand out by NOT doing what all the other kids with good academic records are doing to try to impress colleges. And necessarily, what that means depends on you, what you are interested in, what you like, and so on.
But one tip is to get outside the box of prep schools and people applying to college and see what, say, adults in your community are doing. Like, I am sure there are some sort of local environmental groups in your community. If that is really a passion of yours, maybe see if they have any volunteer opportunities.
I’d also say with an interest in dentistry, ideally you would spend some time in a dental office of some sort. Maybe you can shadow, say.
But that is just two suggestions based on what little I know about you. Definitely do not get trapped into thinking ECs have to be academic in nature or particularly related to your current academic interests. Indeed, I think sometimes people forget that dentists, and many other such people, are professionals, and professionals are expected to have a pretty broad range of both education and skills beyond just the technical knowledge they need.
So, like, if business is actually a passion of yours, no problem, because dentists are often small business owners or business partners. But I would strongly urge you to explore that interest outside of just kid stuff like competitions and clubs for kids. Like, get an actual job! See from the inside what it is like to operate a for-profit business, dealing with customers, suppliers, staff, and so on. [Edit: Even if you can’t get paid due to visa status, you might be able to do a volunteer job.]
But dentists also just spend a lot of time chatting with patients, making them feel comfortable, and helping them open up about possibly health-related issues. So really anything that involves you interacting with others in an interesting way is a good experience for a future dentist.
Indeed, for people who really don’t have any great ideas about what to do for ECs, I like to suggest they do something like look at their local community center or library, and see what activities are being organized. Getting involved in anything like that is again going to be a great experience because you will likely meet some interesting people and really develop your personal skills. So, like, you might join a book club, and none of the other members will be school kids. That would be fantastic, because practicing interacting comfortably and conversationally with people not like you is a great thing for a future dentist.
OK, so that is a lot, but I hope my point is clear. Don’t get trapped into thinking you need to do what all the other competitive kids are doing–that is self-defeating thinking. Figure out whatever it is that you really like doing, and then look broadly outside of the narrow box all those kids are staying inside. And that might actually help you stand out.
