Jenny here with another blog post to help you prepare for interviews this busy time of the application year. Earning a dental school interview is an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations! It serves as affirmation from the prospective dental school that they are interested in you becoming a part of their student community. It also acknowledges that you’ve done a great job putting your best foot forward in your personal statement, letters of recommendation, and secondaries.
Now, the final step between you and gaining an acceptance offer to your dream dental school is leaving a lasting impression in your interview. Let's talk about how to In today’s dental school interview landscape, each school offers a different permutation of interview styles. This blog post will detail our tried and true systematic approach to preparing for a dental school interview:
Thoroughly read through your interview email invitation and gather important logistical details.
Take note of date options. You’ll want to schedule the earliest date they have available. Any interview date prior to December 13th (Dental School Decision Day) will help you optimize your choices of school selection.
Confirm your interview date via email/phone as directed to secure your interview spot.
Double check to see if there are any administrative tasks needed to confirm your interview date ie. submitting a photo.
If the interview is in person, book your flights and lodging.
For virtual interviews: Invest in a ring light to create a professional lighting background. My go to ring light that can be attached to desktop and laptops is linked here.
For in person interviews, invest in a Padfolio to hold your notes, business card, and resume/CV, etc.
Become an expert researcher on the dental school interview format. The best two resources for this will be the SDN interview feedback page and the school’s admissions page. For example, if you have just received an interview to UCSF School of dentistry, here will be a few important pages to reference:
Make a list of the most commonly asked interview questions
Bullet point/ script your response to interview questions and rehearse them outloud with a friend or loved one
https://dentistry.ucsf.edu/programs/dds/admissions
Look at research opportunities, student run organizations, and community outreach events you foresee yourself getting involved with
Reach out to a current dental student at the school to learn more about the interview process and dental student experience.
You can look on the school’s Facebook or Instagram to get connected with a current dental student. You can also email the school’s admissions and outreach to ask to get in touch with a student.
Schedule a mock interview.
Once you’ve got all this information, it’s time to put the practice to the test! If you’d like to schedule a mock interview with us, send an email to thepredentalguide@gmail.com. Definitely utilize our decade long experience having interviewed at the top dental school and residency programs in the nation. Include your interview date and school and any information the admissions committee passed to you regarding the interview style.
Dental school interviews can take any of these formats:
KIRA (online format)
1:1 / 2:1/ 3:1 interviews
Group/ PBL interview
Open/closed/semi-closed file
MMI
In the next blog post, we will dissect different types of interview formats to prepare you to make a lasting impression in any interview setting.
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If you are a pre-dental student and would like to seek assistance in your personal statement or mock interview practice, please email us at thepredentalguide@gmail.com or send us a message in our chatbox to your right.
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