Work with Caraline
Write a Powerful Personal Statement
Starting at $412.255h+ of coaching
Save up to $20.40
Nail Your Dental School Interviews
Starting at $247.353h+ of coaching
Save up to $12.75
Boost Your Dental School Applications
Starting at $166.602h+ of coaching
Save up to $10.20
About
I help pre-dental students build thoughtful, cohesive applications that clearly communicate who they are and why dentistry is the right path for them. I am especially interested in working with nontraditional applicants and students whose experiences may not fit a perfectly linear pre-dental path. As a current dental student with an MPH and a background spanning research, public health, teaching, and community service, I understand how difficult it can be to connect varied experiences into one compelling narrative. When we work together, I focus on understanding your individual background first, then helping you identify the strongest themes in your story and communicate them effectively across your personal statement, supplemental essays, interviews, and overall application strategy. My coaching style is collaborative and direct. I will give you specific feedback and challenge you to strengthen your application while making sure the final product still sounds like you.
Caraline’s Dental School Qualifications
As a current first year dental student at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine with a Master of Public Health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, I understand firsthand what it takes to build a strong and authentic dental school application. I recently navigated the admissions process, so I understand both the strategy behind a competitive application and the stress that comes with presenting years of experiences in a way that feels cohesive and genuinely reflects who you are. My background in teaching and mentorship has included years of tutoring, serving as a chemistry teaching assistant, and working as a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Student Ambassador. These experiences taught me how to identify an individual's strengths and help them communicate with confidence. I bring extensive experience in research, public health, community service, and dentistry, which allows me to work with applicants from a wide range of backgrounds. My goal as a coach is not to turn your application into what you think an admissions committee wants to hear but to help you identify the experiences and qualities that make you distinctive, develop a compelling narrative, and communicate that story effectively throughout your personal statement, supplemental essays, and interviews.
Caraline can help with:
AADSAS Application Edit
Application Strategy
Experiences
Letters of Evaluation
Personal Statement
School Selection
Why do I coach?
I have always gravitated toward teaching and mentorship. Before dental school, I spent years tutoring students in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, teaching chemistry at Columbia, and helping students navigate academic challenges that initially felt overwhelming. What I enjoyed most was not simply explaining the material but helping someone recognize their own strengths and become more confident in their ability to tackle difficult concepts. Going through the dental school admissions process showed me how valuable that same kind of guidance can be when applying to professional school. Strong applicants often have incredible experiences but struggle to determine what matters most, how those experiences connect, or how to communicate their story in a way that stands out. My goal is for applicants to leave the process with an application that is strategic and polished, but more importantly, one that genuinely reflects the person behind it.
Work Experience
Chemistry tutor
Columbia University in the City of New York
July 2025 - August 2025
• Worked with students one on one and in groups during the Columbia University Summer Bridge Program as a chemistry tutor for 10 hours/week. • Led discussions on theory, worked through practice problems, taught study skills, completed progress reports, and attended weekly staff meetings.
Teaching Assistant
Columbia University in the City of New York
January 2025 - April 2025
• Assisted with finalizing the syllabus and organized course material, including uploading 4-5 reading files a week, 2 lecture slide decks, and publishing course material for student view. • Fielded 3-7 student questions each week through email, compiled readings and lecture slides for students, communicated with guest speakers to set up lectures, and met with guest speakers and escorted them to and from the lecture hall.
Research Assistant
University of Cape Town
September 2024 - Present
• Performed data cleaning on 2,000 datapoints and data analysis with R scripts I created. • Wrote the manuscript for publication. • Presented data and the results of my analysis to the research team at weekly group meetings. • Developed a poster presentation of my results to be presented at the 2025 Southern African HIV Clinicians Society Conference. Literature Reviews, Statistical Data Analysis and +5 skills
Research Assistant
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
September 2024 - Present
• Analyzed fibrinogen, thrombin, and genipin hydrogel formulations and 3D printed PCL patches loaded with two small molecule drugs under Dr. Chang H. Lee to promote endogenous stem cell recruitment and enhanced cartilage repair in rats. • Cultured bovine chondrocytes and performed GAG and collagen assays to determine if chondrocytes cultured in hydrogels differentiate into cartilage tissue over time and performed qPCR, DNA isolation, and RNA isolation analyses to determine gene expression related to chondrogenesis. 3D Printing, Fluorescence Microscopy and +11 skills
Research Assistant
University of Cape Town
June 2024 - August 2024
• Created a REDCap survey tool to guide data collection, R scripts for analysis, and captured 400 patient datapoints from government hospital databases to perform a retrospective epidemiological analysis on meningitis outcomes under Dr. Graeme Meintjes and Dr. Kyla Murphy at the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa. • Compiled necessary documents and completed IRB submission for the human subjects research project through Columbia University IRB. • Shadowed 6+ clinical research physicians in TB and TB-Meningitis regimen trials, HIV injectable Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis trials, and HIV cardiovascular trials in 4 government hospitals and clinics that serve the residents of the Cape Flats informal settlements. Data Analysis, Survey Design and +5 skills
Chemistry and Physics Teacher
Self-Employed
October 2020 - Present
• Tutor for general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and calculus for undergraduate students at Columbia University and Drexel University. Organic Chemistry, Mathematics and +2 skills
Education
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
Doctor of Dental Surgery
2026 - 2030
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Master of Public Health - MPH, Population and Family Health with an Advanced Certificate in Global Health
2023 - 2025
Grade: 3.98 Activities and societies: Student Ambassador, Health & Human Rights Advocacy Teaching Assistant, Dental Clinic Volunteer, Disability Notetaker, Dental and Craniofacial Research Assistant, CIDRI-Africa Research Assistant, General Chemistry Laboratory Teaching Assistant, CUIMC Food Pantry Volunteer, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics Tutor REDCap, Survey Design and +3 skills
Caraline was also personally admitted to
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
NYU College of Dentistry
University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Write a Powerful Personal Statement
Starting at $412.255h+ of coaching
Save up to $20.40
Nail Your Dental School Interviews
Starting at $247.353h+ of coaching
Save up to $12.75
Boost Your Dental School Applications
Starting at $166.602h+ of coaching
Save up to $10.20
Final Dental School Application Review
Starting at $247.353h+ of coaching
Save up to $12.75