Student Union
- By Hitender Rao
Half the Battle of US Dental School Is Getting In
A career in dental surgery in the United States is lucrative, but intense competition to get into American schools makes it a hard slog for international students, especially mothers.
The number of students competing for slots in dental schools is higher than the number of seats, says Indian Navneet Dhillon, who earned her bachelor's degree in dental surgery from an Indian school in 2001 before studying and graduating with a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Southern California in 2008.
When Dhillon applied, there were 4,200 enrolees to American dental school selected from 7,200 applicants. In 2016, 12,000 students applied to U.S. dental schools; 6,100 were accepted. Of those, only 4 percent came from outside the U.S., according to the American Dental Education Association.
Every school seeks a diverse mix of students, making admission more challenging, according to Dhillon. More than half of the applicants in dental schools were Indians when she applied, putting them in competition with each other.
Dhillon initially came to North America from Punjab to study in Canada. However, seats were limited and the number of international students was high. The exams she took to be admitted in Canada turned out to be good practice for her exams to apply to U.S. dental schools, where she was accepted.
But once in school in California, she had to juggle her studies with family: Her husband and 2-year-old daughter remained in Canada. She traveled back and forth to see them.
"But it was kind of hard traveling back and forth every four weeks to see my family, so we decided to move them to U.S.," she said. Her husband, Rupinder — who had Canadian citizenship — could visit her for up to six months a year. The absences were shorter.
While Rupinder stayed home to take care of their daughter, Dhillon "slogged at the school till midnight."
The hard work paid off. After her graduation, she got a job in the U.S. on an H1B visa through her employer. She applied to become a permanent resident, and got it. Dr. Dhillon now practices in Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.
Pushpinder Kaur, who runs her own dental clinic in New Jersey, has a similar story. Kaur also first studied dental surgery at an Indian institution before graduating from New York University in 2002.
"Since my husband, Navdeep, was [financially] established in the U.S., I could completely focus on my studies. His support meant a lot," Kaur said. However, since the couple had a one-month-old daughter, it was tough managing studies and taking care of the child. "It was difficult, but I could continue studying due to family support."
Both Dhillon and Kaur say studying in the U.S. brought them focus and maturity they didn't have in India.
"There is just no comparison. When we go to school in India, we are like 18, 19, and not very mature," Dhillon said. "We were not very focused. And we had the support of our parents, financially and psychologically."
But more independent in the U.S., "one attains maturity levels very quickly. One knows one has to get good grades and the graduate degree. One acquires in depth knowledge," Dhillon said.
Kaur say going to an American school gave her practice she wouldn't have gotten in India.
"When I was studying dental science in India, I only knew the theoretical part," Kaur said. "But I learned the procedures here. In fact, I gained lot of knowledge."
Dhillon agrees, and says a U.S. school gave her an edge.
"In the U.S., one learns every skill in the school," she said. "Thus, one gets better when one practices."
Dhillon offers advice for aspiring students.
"Be patient. Don't get demoralized if you don't make it to an American school in the first attempt," she said. "You will probably get it in next attempt."
Added Kaur: "Be focused and study practice tests for the board exams."
After taking exams and waiting for the results, take a position in dentistry, Dhillon said.
"It could be as a dental assistant, in a dental lab, or taking up continuous education courses. This will help you build your resume," she advised. "One can even volunteer for free dental clinics. If one does not have a work permit, then one can work as an observer.''
Kaur says that Indian students have a distinct advantage compared to other international students: their native English language skills.
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Lily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in.
The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat seeking re-election. The group, which is not affiliated with the Tester campaign, offered from $400 to $2,400 to athletes willing to produce video endorsements.
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There are examples of political activism by college athletes: A Texas Tech kicker revealed his support for former President Donald Trump on a shirt under his uniform at a game last week and a handful of Nebraska athletes a few days ago teamed up in a campaign ad against an abortion measure on the Tuesday's ballot.
Still, such steps are considered rare.
"It can be viewed as risky and there may be people telling them just don't even take that chance because they haven't made it yet," said Lauren Walsh, who started a sports branding agency 15 years ago. She said there is often too much to lose for themselves, their handlers and in some cases, their families.
"And these individuals still have to figure out what they're going to do with the rest of their lives, even those that do end up getting drafted," she added.
College coaches are not always as reticent. Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has used social media to make it clear he does not support Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in next week's presidential election. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy once caused a stir with a star player for wearing a shirt promoting a far-right news outlet.
Blake Lawrence, co-founder of the NIL platform Opendorse, noted that this is the first presidential election in the NIL era, which began in July 2021. He said athletes are flocking to opportunities to help increase voter turnout in the 18-to-24 age demographic, adding that one of his company's partners has had 86 athletes post social media messages encouraging turnout through the first half of the week.
He said athletes are shying away from endorsing specific candidates or causes that are considered partisan.
"Student-athletes are, for the most part, still developing their confidence in endorsing any type of product or service," he said. "So if they are hesitant to put their weight behind supporting a local restaurant or an e-commerce product, then they are certainly going to be hesitant to use their social channels in a political way."
Giving athletes a voice
Many college athletes have opted to focus on drumming up turnout in a non-partisan manner or simply using their platforms to take stands that are not directly political in nature. Some of those efforts can be found in battleground states.
A progressive group called NextGen America said it had signed players in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia to encourage voting among young people. Another organization, The Team, said it prepped 27 college athletes in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan to lead volunteer voter participation opportunities for students. The organization also said it got more than 625 coaches to sign a nonpartisan pledge to get their athletes registered to vote.
The Team's executive director is Joe Kennedy, a former coach who coordinated championship visits and other sporting events at the White House during President Barack Obama's administration. In early October, it hosted a Zoom event during which panelists such as NCAA President Charlie Baker and WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Natasha Cloud gave college athletes advice about using their platforms on campus.
In its early days, The Team seized upon momentum from the record turnout seen in the 2020 election. The NCAA that year said Division I athletes could have Election Day off from practice and play to vote. Lisa Kay Solomon, founder of the All Vote No Play campaign, said even if the athletes don't immediately take stands on controversial issues, it's important for them to learn how.
"It is a lot to ask our young people to feel capable and confident on skills they've never had a chance to practice," Solomon said. "We have to model what it means to practice taking risks, practice standing up for yourself, practice pausing to think about what are the values that you care about — not what social media is feeding into your brain, but what do you care about and how do you express that? And how do you do it in a way that honors the kind of future that you want to be a part of?"
Shut up and play?
Two years ago, Tennessee-Martin quarterback Dresser Winn said he would support a candidate in a local district attorney general race in what experts said was very likely the first political NIL deal by a college athlete.
There have been very few since.
The public criticism and fallout for athletes who speak out on politics or social issue can be sharp. Kaepernick, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn't played in an NFL game since January 2017, not long after he began kneeling during the national anthem at games.
Meskers, the Montana sprinter, said political endorsements through NIL deals could create problems for athletes and their schools.
"I just think that NIL is going to run into a lot of trouble and a lot of struggles if they continue to let athletes do political endorsements," she said. "I just think it's messy. But I stand by NIL as a whole. I think it's really hard as a student athlete to create a financial income and support yourself."
Walsh said it's easier for wealthy and veteran stars like James and Ogwumike to take stands. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, started More Than a Vote — an organization with a mission to "educate, energize and protect Black voters" — in 2020. He has passed the leadership to Ogwumike, who just finished her 13th year in the WNBA and also is the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association. More than a Vote is focused on women's rights and reproductive freedom this year.
"They have very established brands," Walsh said. "They know who they are and they know what their political stance is. They know that they have a really strong following that -- there's always going to be haters, but they're also always going to have that strong following of people who listen to everything that they have to say."
Andra Gillespie, an associate professor at Emory University who teaches African American politics, also said it is rare that a college athlete would make a significant impact with a political stand simply because they tend to have a more regional platform than national. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem are better at increasing turnout than championing candidates.
"They are certainly very beneficial in helping to drive up turnout among their fans," Gillespie said. "The data is less conclusive about whether or not they're persuasive – are they the ones who are going to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate?"
Athletes as influencers
Still, campaigns know young voters are critical this election cycle, and athletes offer an effective and familiar voice to reach them.
Political and social topics are not often broached, but this week six Nebraska athletes — five softball players and a volleyball player — appeared in an ad paid for by the group Protect Women and Children involving two initiatives about abortion laws on Tuesday's ballot.
The female athletes backed Initiative 434, which would amend the state constitution to prohibit abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions. Star softball player Jordy Bahl said on social media that the athletes were not paid.
A University of Montana spokesperson said two athletes initially agreed to take part in the NIL deal backing Tester. The school said one withdrew and the other declined to be interviewed.
For Meskers, deciding against the offer boiled down to Tester twice voting against proposals to bar federal funds from going to schools that allow transgender athletes to play women's sports, a prominent GOP campaign topic. Tester's campaign said the proposals were amendments to government spending packages, and he didn't want to play a role in derailing them as government shutdowns loomed.
"As a former public school teacher and school board member, Jon Tester believes these decisions should be made at the local level," a Tester spokesperson said. "He has never voted to allow men to compete against women."
Meskers said she believes using influence as college athletes is good and she is in favor of NIL. She just doesn't think the two should mix specifically for supporting candidates.
"I think especially as student athletes, we do have such a big voice and we do have a platform to use," she said. "So I think if you're encouraging people to do their civic duties and get up and go (vote), I think that's a great thing."
