|
Announcements Pertaining to DI
Application and How to get info about internships from the current Applicant Guide to Supervised Practice Experience Each year the dietetic educators group asks all DI directors to provide info about their program so it can be printed in a comparison guide. The Nutrition Dept. buys one or more copies each year to make available to PSU students. One is in my outer office S-120 Henderson South. For the Sept. 30 assignment I just want to be sure that you are aware of the resource "Applicant Guide...." So.... I handed out sheets from last year's guide with 2 DIs (altho I really don't care if you use them or not) and the instruction to use them plus your choice of a 3rd DI. Just read about any 3 DIs that you could consider attending in the guide and send me info about them that you find interesting. I have no set format or info that I want.....only to be sure that YOU are aware of the value of this resource. How to request information about internships from internship directors The DEP educators' listserv recently had this question posted: Do internship directors prefer that prospective applicants request information by email, by US mail ("snail mail") or by phone call? The consensus was FIRST check to see if there is a web page with information. If you still have questions or need more information after careful study of the web site (or if no web site exists) and if an email address is given in the Directory of Dietetic Programs (on the web or the paper copy), email requests are usually preferable. A letter requesting information sent by US mail is OK, but most directors do not want you to phone your request. Here are a few direct quotes on the subject: "Email works much better for us. In fact we would also prefer to send them the electronic materials if we were sure they could open the attachments." Hint: when you request information by email, invite them to try to send it by email attachment first. "Our preference is first our website and then e-mail. Our e-mail goes into a department address that will automatically respond and refer them to the website for information and the application." "Email requests are also preferred at CSU Northridge. I like to encourage students to use technology and be protective of the earth's limited resources. At the same time, you might want to remind students that email correspondence is also a reflection of one's communication abilities. We have a Dept. web site and our catalog is on-line so prospective students/interns can obtain considerable info if they choose to do their research first." "I prefer requests by e-mail. It is much easier to respond to and easier for the students. Also, as we are a distance education program, it lets me know that the student has some knowledge of the technology s/he will need to use. I send them back a note with our web site address, as all our materials are available there." Just to prove that each site/director is different, here's an opposing view: "I really don't mind snail mail or phone requests. I accept e-mail requests but it is on my home computer and home e-mail address since we do not have e-mail at the hospital. This requires that I print out the request and take to work to mail the packet. As long as I get the complete mailing address I'm happy." Touro Infirmary Dietetic Internship Program Letter of application for DI or job The Nov. 25 assignment is the "final" copy of a letter to apply for a job, graduate school or a dietetic internship. You created the letter in your word processor several weeks ago. For the Nov. 25 assignment you should have had your printed draft critiqued by Career Services, the Writing Center, a dietitian, a mentor, or other person you believe is qualified to make suggestions. The copy of the critiqued draft (with the name and "title" of your reviewer) will be submitted on Nov. 25 stapled to a hard copy of your "final" letter of application. I put "final copy" in quotes because I expect you will do further revisions before you submit your application for a DI in February. What to write? If you are applying for a job, then a 1-page cover letter is sufficient to describe how your talents/skills match with the job available. Some grad school applications request a "personal statement" rather than a letter. That is what you should write (and submit as this assignment) if grad school is your goal. Most application letters for DIs are about 2 pages long (3 is maximum). The best way to start is to see examples of letters former applicants wrote. They are on display in S-120 Henderson. General information and tips follow. Use standard business format and write the date that makes sense for when you will send the application . Address the letter to the director of the DI with full title in the address part. On the "salutation" line ("Dear.....") you MUST be formal and use Dr. Lastname or Ms. Lastname, not the first name alone. Do NOT start "Hello, my name is ......" You may put your own name above your address at the top of the page to create your own "letterhead.". You are going to a University with an excellent reputation, so starting with a reference to Penn State is a strong way to begin. Next you want to identify the particular internship you are applying to in this particular letter. Use its name and describe WHY you are interested to attend that particular program. In the next paragraphs you will describe your best qualities and explain why those qualities will make you a successful intern and future dietitian. You are selling/marketing yourself....use examples to document your statements. Be concise in your choice of words. Just because you may be allowed to fill 2-3 pages doesn't mean the reader wants to read wordy prose. In addition to using spell checker READ your letter out loud to check for misspellings and grammatical errors. Misspelled words and poor grammar reflect poorly on you. Have a friend read it first and see if s/he understands what you are trying to say. Ask someone such as your ENGL 202 professor to read the letter and make suggestions, especially on grammar, word use, and clarity. Eventually you want to have an RD read the letter because that person will probably understand a lot better than you do what kinds of talents you want to display. It helps to look at the grid page of the recommendation form. (It is the last page of your electronic application.) Those are the qualities that many directors want....so you must describe how you have those qualities. Most DI directors basically you want to show that you have food service experience and can work well under stress, that you have clinical experience and won't be grossed out by the smells and sights in a hospital, that you have community experience and are a person who can communicate with a diverse group of people. If you have research experience, fine, but that isn't usually the #1 criteria the DI director is looking for. Skills with foreign language and computer are both worth mentioning. If the DI you are applying to requires the ADA standard electronic application you already know what information you have listed in the application. Do not simply re-list all those honors and activities....describe how they will make you a productive intern/dietitian. Some DI directors list the application letter as the #1 or #2 factor in their choice. It is worth taking seriously. Help for the full electronic application: I will send the electronic application to the class listserv via email attachment. I suggest you bring a fresh disk to the computer lab when you open it because it is a very large file. Your first job should be to make a copy of the file that you will complete and save…. pull down the "file" menu to select "save as" and then type in your last name as part of the filename. Maybe you will call it "lastname_app.doc" so you can distinguish it from the other documents you have saved with your last name. You can rename a file through the Windows Explorer directory. If something happens and you lose your app, you may email me with this on the subject line: "request new ADA app" (Please do NOT have n370 as part of your subject…..if you do, your request will probably get filtered into assignments and it could be weeks before I read it. The main tip about working with the electronic app is to take control of it and go in to make changes you think are needed to make it look great. Most students find that as they type words onto the lines, blank lines get created and push ahead, changing the page breaks and general appearance. You should be able to highlight and delete the excess blank lines. Moving from one field to the next on the same line can be done with the tab key, but you will probably find you need to use the mouse to get the cursor where you want it on the next line in some parts of the app. Students in the past have found that it takes a LOT of time at first to work with the electronic app, but in the long run, the outstanding results are worth the trouble. You should see examples of printouts in S-120 Henderson South if you aren’t a believer that anything good can come from the effort. Everyone does the first 4 pages of the electronic form just to get the experience, including students who will do an alternate assignment later on. Be sure to see the samples of actual applications done electronically by last year's students. There are several of them in S-120 Henderson. I think you can get most of your questions answered that way. Don't forget to read the instructions that are included after page 4 of the application. They tell you the order to list courses and how to deal with repeated course grades. Here are tips and answers to FAQs organized by page. Page 1: * Supervised Practice Entrance Date Preferred: For most of you that will be Aug/Sept
2003. If you are applying to a program that has multiple start dates you must list your
preferred one. Page 2: * Please be sure to have the correct spelling of your recommenders' names,
their correct titles and addresses. After the name of your recommender you may put
"credentials" such as Ph.D. or RD. The "title" means the
person's job title such as Assistant Professor, Instructor, Clinical Dietitian, etc. If
you don't know the title, ASK the person. For a PSU prof, the address can be
"office/building, University Park, PA 16802" For example my nutrition address
is: "S-126 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802" Page 3: I hope this is self-explanatory. This experience may be related to dietetics or not if it is within the past 5 years. Only dietetics-related may be used prior to 5 years ago. Page 4: Only non-paid experience related to dietetics may go on this page. It may be something for which you earned credits such as NUTR 496 independent study. Instruction page Do NOT send this page in with your actual application nor with your printed assignment.
Read these directions carefully. At Penn State an A = 4 grade points per credit, A -
= 3.67 gp/cr, B+ = 3.33 gp/cr, B = 3.0 gp/cr, B - = 2.67 gp/cr, C+ = 2.33 gp/cr, C = 2.0
gp/cr, D = 1.0 gp/cr. Page 5: Professional courses to meet DPD reqts: Page 6: Behavioral and social Sciences courses to meet DPD req'ts: Page 7: Physical, Biological Sciences, Math courses to meet DPD req'ts: Page 8: Communication courses to meet DPD req'ts: Don't forget to SIGN the application for my assignment or for the real thing. You will be doing lots of calculations of GPA's in several categories. Of course you won't have the grades yet from your fall classes….just leave the grades blank for now and complete them in Jan. Please remember to list the courses you will take for spring….without grades. If you have taken courses at any other university, now is the time to write to them to learn about their system to request transcripts. You will need to order one copy of your official transcript for EACH place you are applying. Then order one more for insurance. Do not order your official Penn State transcripts until January unless you are applying to a place with early deadlines. (Military internship deadlines are Jan 1, I think!) I hope this answers your questions for the Oct. 7, 16 and 28 assignments. The easiest way to print it for Oct. 28 is just to print the entire document. If you do that, please recycle the instruction page and save the letter of recommendation form to give to someone who is writing for you. I don't want any more paper than is essential.
Penn State students with at least a 3.0 GPA often find it easier to gain admission to combination MS/RD programs than for some competitive stand-alone internships. Virtually all grad programs require Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. Kaplan is sponsoring a free practice GRE Test on October 5 at the Forum beginning at 8:30 AM. Students should arrive by 8:15 to get settled in. They need to register for a spot by calling 1-800-KAP-TEST (Registration is required so they know how many tests to bring .) The test will be about 3.5 hours long and all students need to bring is a pencil. Stacey (the Kaplan rep) will return the scores at the Graduate School Fair in the Bryce Jordan Center. If you don't go to the Grad Fair, she will bring your scores to class on Oct. 21 when she will give tips for success on the GRE. You can get more info about the GRE exam from their web page Harrisburg is the closest location to take the exam. It is offered every day but there are only a limited number of test-takers that can be accommodated each day because each one needs a computer and the computer labs where the tests are given are of finite size.
|