That's awesome! Were you in Sydney for school too? Those are fantastic scores. From the research that I've done, it's implied that they still consider your application as a whole (include the interview and grades) in the ranking of their applicants, but it does sound to me that the interview can either make or break an application. There will be those who do exceptional in the interview who will not necessarily have the best grades but be offered admission and those who will have superior academic standing but will disqualify themselves as a result of their interview. I think the vagueness in their candidate selection reserves their right to holistically evaluate the candidates from every angle in the extremely unlikely event that all their interviewees perform to the same level in the interview.. At that point then their academic performance may help differentiate.
Either way, the interview is important!
Actually I just had my interview yesterday, and believe me I was very nervous for the week before hand too. Obviously the confidentiality agreement prevents me from the release of any details, but I can tell you to just be yourself and try not to overthink it as authenticity of your responses is important. Nerves happen to everyone! If you weren't nervous about the interview I would think that the opportunity didn't mean all that much to you. I manage my nerves by remembering that the reason I'm nervous is because of how much the interview opportunity means to me, and that it is a direct result of how excited I am about the prospect of getting into Dentistry. I find that if I convince myself that the nervousness is a good thing, albeit uncomfortable, it is more easily utilized as a tool of enthusiasm. I guess staying excited about the opportunity and focusing on that sensation instead of nervousness is what makes it easier for me.
I'm from Inuvik, Northwest Territories in Canada. As far as my Academic Record goes, I took the CDAT and got:
PA 22
RC 23
MD 21
Bio 20
Chem 21
My overall GPA for my undergraduate BSc. Pharm was a 3.2. Not the greatest, but we were curved against each other in an already competitive program which made it difficult. My plan for August is to take another year of Science in university (I only had 1 year of Science as prerequisite to Pharmacy) to make my application more competitive for subsequent Dental applications and to qualify for some of those for which I'm missing courses.
I'm excited for you for your interview! I hope it goes really well. It would be an honour to have you as a colleague in the Sydney Dentistry Class commencing in 2016!
You know what's worse than the interview apprehension? After your interview while you're waiting in cautious excitement until the first offers are released on August 12... It's such a roller coaster of emotions isn't it??
