How do you answer "Why X School?"

[GoToHolmes]

I know for a fact that this question is going to come up during my interviews and I'm wondering what is the best way to answer it.

What were your methods for answering this in an authentic way? Imo the "curriculum and research" arguments fall flat because it's not as if Harvard dental is teaching secret techniques and material that you can only get at Harvard and it seems that every school likes to talk up their research commitments. Tbh, I don't put much stock into prestige either.

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[DocStranger]

I know for a fact that this question is going to come up during my interviews and I'm wondering what is the best way to answer it.

What were your methods for answering this in an authentic way? Imo the "curriculum and research" arguments fall flat because it's not as if Harvard dental is teaching secret techniques and material that you can only get at Harvard and it seems that every school likes to talk up their research commitments. Tbh, I don't put much stock into prestige either.

Buy a kinder chocolate cup and look inside it. You’ll find your answer there. Best of luck!

 

[deleted1005514]

I’ve always looked at this question like “did this applicant even bother to find out about us?”. Comb through the school’s website and find something that interests you that you can talk about. Be more specific than just a generic “curriculum & research” answer, but not so super specific that it appears that you’re applying just to get into one research project of work with a single professor. If the school is heavily service oriented, see what kinds of programs they have and mention interest in one.

If nothing about the school interests you, what about the area? Do you have a family tie, are you hoping to move back home, try out a new region, or hopefully match in the area for residency? It’s not terribly difficult to come up with a “reason” for choosing a school to talk about in interviews.