Volunteer

If I could give just one piece of advice to someone starting out as a dietetics student it would be this: volunteer as soon and as much as possible.

One of my biggest regrets from being an undergraduate dietetics student is not starting volunteering as soon as I decided on my major. Volunteer work, or work experience if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in the field, is a key component of an internship application that is looked at by programs. In Pennsylvania in 2009, 7 of 15 internship programs ranked volunteer experience as one of their top five criteria when evaluating applicants, and in California 14 of 27 programs valued it in their top five as well. Other internships in both states value volunteer experience as well, though not as highly("Applicant Guide to," 2009).

Volunteer work is a great way to display your dedication to the field of dietetics, and when filling out your application form is something you will be asked to list and describe (Dietetic Educators of Practitioners, 2004). Additionally, volunteer work is a great topic to write about in your application letter/personal statement, and can lead to meeting people who you may want to ask to write you letters of recommendation.

More than just experience in the field, volunteering is valued highly by many internship programs, and may help make your application process go smoother, easing the pain of writing an application letter or finding someone to write a letter of recommendation.

Source(s): Applicant Guide to Supervised Practice. (2009)., Dietetic Educators of Practitioners (2004). Dietetic internship program application form. Retrieved from http://www.depdpg.org/index_580.cfm