International Dentists in Residency programs

[sherif kamel]

Hey all,,
I would like all the FTDs to share their experience if they are applying, applied, accepted, rejected in Advanced education program (residency/masters) ...

I have applied this to a couple of programs,,

My profile:
NBDE part 1: 84 (New)
Toefl: 112
GPA: 2.8
Additional Qualifications : 1.5 years residency in OMFS in my country
MFDS (membership of the royal college of surgeons of Edinburgh)
U.S experience: 1 year Preceptorship and Research

Programs applied to: AEGD, Perio
Number of Program: 10

Status : waiting for replies ,,,



So start posting if you are applied, or got accepted previously and share your experience..

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[BABAK kabab]

which school or institute you applied to? by the way you might have chance in OMS I hear many few Universities offer it to Foreign Dentists, but considering your residency back home, it might be good to give it a try,
god speed

 

[sherif kamel]

which school or institute you applied to? by the way you might have chance in OMS I hear many few Universities offer it to Foreign Dentists, but considering your residency back home, it might be good to give it a try,
god speed

well i have done my research ,, and OMFS is very competitive ,, so am not putting so much hope on that now ,, although i applied to three programs to give it a shot,,
but if i do an AEGD or GPR for one year then maybe my chances will be better,

 

[yahoo31]

Hi there.
Just wanted to know which programs can foreign trained dentists apply to ,for AEGD and do u have to apply thru the PASS or can u directly apply to them. Pls let me know .thank you.

Hey all,,
I would like all the FTDs to share their experience if they are applying, applied, accepted, rejected in Advanced education program (residency/masters) ...

I have applied this to a couple of programs,,

My profile:
NBDE part 1: 84 (New)
Toefl: 112
GPA: 2.8
Additional Qualifications : 1.5 years residency in OMFS in my country
MFDS (membership of the royal college of surgeons of Edinburgh)
U.S experience: 1 year Preceptorship and Research

Programs applied to: AEGD, Perio
Number of Program: 10

Status : waiting for replies ,,,



So start posting if you are applied, or got accepted previously and share your experience..

 

[Nazish]

You have to go program search Engine and find out programs that accept international students or call them. So it you that has to work on that .

 

[yahoo31]

in response to yr post,
pls try and share advice that is useful.what i am trying to find out here is programs that actually accept international students , some programs may say that they accept international students ,but may actually not prefer them since they are from non accredited schools.there is a big difference between using a search engine and getting first hand experience from someone who has actually attened such a program.i hope you take it in the right spirit .

You have to go program search Engine and find out programs that accept international students or call them. So it you that has to work on that .

 

[sherif kamel]

in response to yr post,
pls try and share advice that is useful.what i am trying to find out here is programs that actually accept international students , some programs may say that they accept international students ,but may actually not prefer them since they are from non accredited schools.there is a big difference between using a search engine and getting first hand experience from someone who has actually attened such a program.i hope you take it in the right spirit .

dude i agree with you ,, you are totally right ,,
well some program says they accept international students and by that they sumtimes mean only canadian,,
the best thing to do is ask the program directly,, and one more thing is to go onto the program website and check their residents ,, if they have any international students then this probably means that they might be friendly with FTDs ,,,

the programs that say only US citizens or permenant residents or must be graduate from accredited US dental school then dont bother asking or applying,, save your money,

 

[tinna]

Hi Sherif,
I have also applied in Postdoc programs

My stats are

NBDE-1: 82
Toefl: 99
GPA: 3.75
1 Yr internship in my home country and also some volunteer work in Public health.
2 yr experience as general dentist in home country.
3 month U.S experience as observer in implants dentistry.
1 Table clinic.
Hand on courses in implants & Periodontics.

Programs applied: Perio and Prostho

Total Number of Program applied: 7

Status; Waiting

Can u plz share with me about the universities to which u have applied. I have applied to UCSF, UMDNJ, UAB for Prostho
, UKY, SLU, ULouisville, Univ at Buffalo for Perio.

 

[sherif kamel]

Hi Sherif,
I have also applied in Postdoc programs

My stats are

NBDE-1: 82
Toefl: 99
GPA: 3.75
1 Yr internship in my home country and also some volunteer work in Public health.
2 yr experience as general dentist in home country.
3 month U.S experience as observer in implants dentistry.
1 Table clinic.
Hand on courses in implants & Periodontics.

Programs applied: Perio and Prostho

Total Number of Program applied: 7

Status; Waiting

Can u plz share with me about the universities to which u have applied. I have applied to UCSF, UMDNJ, UAB for Prostho
, UKY, SLU, ULouisville, Univ at Buffalo for Perio.

Tinna,, y too many sad faces ?!!
be optimistic ,, that's what it takes us to get to our goal, i know it's not easy but being optimisitc is good ,,

I applied to : Rochester, Coloumbia, Louisana, Louisville, Connecticut, UTHouston, Boston University, Tufts and Maryland,,
UAB prosth also ,, but they said my application is incomplelte unless i send them a Financial statment ,,
did you do that?! could you give me an idea about that thanks,,

Gluck tinna ,,
Rochester is the only program that replied and asked me to set an appointment for an interview,, but from what i understand that they do this will all the applicants

 

[tinna]

Tinna,, y too many sad faces ?!!
be optimistic ,, that's what it takes us to get to our goal, i know it's not easy but being optimisitc is good ,,

I applied to : Rochester, Coloumbia, Louisana, Louisville, Connecticut, UTHouston, Boston University, Tufts and Maryland,,
UAB prosth also ,, but they said my application is incomplelte unless i send them a Financial statment ,,
did you do that?! could you give me an idea about that thanks,,

Gluck tinna ,,
Rochester is the only program that replied and asked me to set an appointment for an interview,, but from what i understand that they do this will all the applicants

Yes u r right that I should be optimistic but on the other hand I have got a rejection from buffalo today. Anyway I know that this program is highly compititve and I was not much expecting from it.
yeah! I send a bank statement to UAB with my application and ur bank statement should contain suffecient amount of funds so that u can afford ur studies. U can send also a letter from bank that u have such amount of funds, also u can send if u have any scholarship or loan approval letter from some institute or organization. But keep in mind that any documents regarding this way should reflect suffecient funds at least equal to first yr expenditure. I hope this information will help.

Good luck to u too for admission process and I m hopeful that we'll get our goals in near future.

 

[rose82]

can anyone pls tell me whats a residency program?how to get iinto it?or how to do an observership in any branch or a dentist?or how to be a research assistant?
i got 86 in part 1 but no use due to my gpa...im trying a lot to do some other stuff to improve my profile...but no avail!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kash]

can anyone pls tell me whats a residency program?how to get iinto it?or how to do an observership in any branch or a dentist?or how to be a research assistant?
i got 86 in part 1 but no use due to my gpa...im trying a lot to do some other stuff to improve my profile...but no avail!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Rose82,

Forgot to ask you did you apply for ur evaluation at wes....you can try that ...coz if you get a better gpa with them...you can apply to schools with that... just found somebody on sdn - docsmiley - got thru i think uic with 2.4 gpa ..Dont loose hope ... you have chances...

 

[rose82]

Hi Rose82,

Forgot to ask you did you apply for ur evaluation at wes....you can try that ...coz if you get a better gpa with them...you can apply to schools with that... just found somebody on sdn - docsmiley - got thru i think uic with 2.4 gpa ..Dont loose hope ... you have chances...

hi kash...thanks a lot for ur help...i did get my evaluation done from wes...thank god that they gave me a decent one...
i did speak to docsmiley.she guided me..but the thing is she has 6 years of exp in india...i have just about 1.5 years.im trying some observership exp here trhu craigslist ads...but none of the dentists want such candidates...they all want DA's or X ray certified ppl...they place ads everyday asking for assitants and they dont even respond to a person asking for free assistanceship!!!!!!

unfortunately,i stay in Nj and to get a X ray certificate...we need about 50 hours of lecture and then write an exam

i really wanna salute all those retakers who got a 90...how much ever i try,im not able to put myself to study...fearing that i might get less...

 

[ashii]

Hi,

I'm a foreign trained dentist from Pakistan. I've looked into some residency programs and there are lots out there. most of them do accept international students.
I've looked into university of Alabama..i got rejected from there.
you can try case university in OH as well.
I really wish there was a person who could do all the research for us and give us answers, i would even pay for a service like that. this is so frustrating to be depending on other ppl for information, and calling 10 universities every day without any success

 

[tinna]

Hi,

I'm a foreign trained dentist from Pakistan. I've looked into some residency programs and there are lots out there. most of them do accept international students.
I've looked into university of Alabama..i got rejected from there.
you can try case university in OH as well.
I really wish there was a person who could do all the research for us and give us answers, i would even pay for a service like that. this is so frustrating to be depending on other ppl for information, and calling 10 universities every day without any success

I am also from pakistan, when did u get rejection from alabama and what r ur stats and also tell me the other universities to which u have applied so far and in which speciality.

 

[sherif kamel]

Hi,

I'm a foreign trained dentist from Pakistan. I've looked into some residency programs and there are lots out there. most of them do accept international students.
I've looked into university of Alabama..i got rejected from there.
you can try case university in OH as well.
I really wish there was a person who could do all the research for us and give us answers, i would even pay for a service like that. this is so frustrating to be depending on other ppl for information, and calling 10 universities every day without any success

well no one ever said that it was easy,, but working hard is just part of getting to your goal,, dont expect things to be easy in here,, cuz even back there in our countries things are not easy ... so do your homework and hopefully u'll get there in the end ...
About case western,, they say one of their requirements is to have a DMD or DDS from an accredited dental school,, so i dont think we meet this requirement,, so you either give them a call and make sure you dont have to have a DDS or DMD from an accredited dental school ,, or save your money and time ,, and apply somewhere else...

Tinna getting a rejection is very common,, and realisticly speaking is what we are expecting,, it's even good that they told you that you have been rejected,, cuz some programs they dont even bother to give you a feedback ...

 

[sherif kamel]

hi kash...thanks a lot for ur help...i did get my evaluation done from wes...thank god that they gave me a decent one...
i did speak to docsmiley.she guided me..but the thing is she has 6 years of exp in india...i have just about 1.5 years.im trying some observership exp here trhu craigslist ads...but none of the dentists want such candidates...they all want DA's or X ray certified ppl...they place ads everyday asking for assitants and they dont even respond to a person asking for free assistanceship!!!!!!

unfortunately,i stay in Nj and to get a X ray certificate...we need about 50 hours of lecture and then write an exam

i really wanna salute all those retakers who got a 90...how much ever i try,im not able to put myself to study...fearing that i might get less...

To me you dont sounds like you are a very serious man,, if i was in your shoes and really want to work as a dental assitant i would go for the certification and the x-ray lecture course,,
i dont know about NJ,, but speaking about texas you also have to be certified and you can take the course online ,,
so that's what i've done ,,, so there must be sumthing similar in NJ,,
find out ,,do your homework ,,

 

[tinna]

well no one ever said that it was easy,, but working hard is just part of getting to your goal,, dont expect things to be easy in here,, cuz even back there in our countries things are not easy ... so do your homework and hopefully u'll get there in the end ...
About case western,, they say one of their requirements is to have a DMD or DDS from an accredited dental school,, so i dont think we meet this requirement,, so you either give them a call and make sure you dont have to have a DDS or DMD from an accredited dental school ,, or save your money and time ,, and apply somewhere else...

Tinna getting a rejection is very common,, and realisticly speaking is what we are expecting,, it's even good that they told you that you have been rejected,, cuz some programs they dont even bother to give you a feedback ...

Yeah! u r right Sherif, usually programs even don't bother to inform u abt rejection and I have understand this thing that be ready for everykind of response and try to learn from everykind of experience. Do you have some information regarding working in some research on H-1 visa for internationa dentists. I know some of my friends who are International medical graduates and doing research on H-1 visa sponsored by their supervisior. I am on Visit Visa this time and I m nt been able to do work and also can't stay longer in a single visit. I want to change my status. If u have any information in this way just let me know as I have no hesitation in saying that u r good guide and u r ready to share ur experiences. Good Luck to u again.

 

[rose82]

To me you dont sounds like you are a very serious man,, if i was in your shoes and really want to work as a dental assitant i would go for the certification and the x-ray lecture course,,
i dont know about NJ,, but speaking about texas you also have to be certified and you can take the course online ,,
so that's what i've done ,,, so there must be sumthing similar in NJ,,
find out ,,do your homework ,,

thanks for ur input...i have searched on this issue...there are some online courses...but we get a certificate,not a license. for NJ license...there are some clauses...that includes BOTH 50 hours of course plus exam.at this stage i cant afford to take this as i have other nbde things which r more imp.anyways..what u said was correct...nothing is easy!all the best.

 

[sherif kamel]

Yeah! u r right Sherif, usually programs even don't bother to inform u abt rejection and I have understand this thing that be ready for everykind of response and try to learn from everykind of experience. Do you have some information regarding working in some research on H-1 visa for internationa dentists. I know some of my friends who are International medical graduates and doing research on H-1 visa sponsored by their supervisior. I am on Visit Visa this time and I m nt been able to do work and also can't stay longer in a single visit. I want to change my status. If u have any information in this way just let me know as I have no hesitation in saying that u r good guide and u r ready to share ur experiences. Good Luck to u again.

H-1 visa ))) is proabably what everyone is looking for in the US ,,it's a fact that we cant deny it,, to some people it's a way to get a greencard and then be able to apply for loans and life becomes so much easier i guess,,,
here is what i know ,,, i am an international research scholar, am doing it on a J-1 Visa ,, I am also searching for a research post that is willing to sponsor me for an H-1 visa....

In the medical field it's a bit different,, much easier .. more posts

it's might be difficult to get an H-1 visa as a researcher if you dont have an previous research experience,,
so start as a volunteeer,, or maybe on a J-1 visa,, with the potential to transfer into a paid H-1 Visa ,..!!!
I dont wana passimestic,, but that's reality as i see it ...

Unless you have a Masters degree then you might have a good chace,,
i hope this was helpful ,,,
let me know if you find anything or need further information,,,

 

[tinna]

H-1 visa ))) is proabably what everyone is looking for in the US ,,it's a fact that we cant deny it,, to some people it's a way to get a greencard and then be able to apply for loans and life becomes so much easier i guess,,,
here is what i know ,,, i am an international research scholar, am doing it on a J-1 Visa ,, I am also searching for a research post that is willing to sponsor me for an H-1 visa....

In the medical field it's a bit different,, much easier .. more posts

it's might be difficult to get an H-1 visa as a researcher if you dont have an previous research experience,,
so start as a volunteeer,, or maybe on a J-1 visa,, with the potential to transfer into a paid H-1 Visa ,..!!!
I dont wana passimestic,, but that's reality as i see it ...

Unless you have a Masters degree then you might have a good chace,,
i hope this was helpful ,,,
let me know if you find anything or need further information,,,

Thank you for your guidence and time, please atay in touch and keep me updated regarding ur admission process, I will also make u updated from my side. Thanx again

 

[IndianGraduate]

do you guys know if there are any schols in california that offer a masters degree to ftd?

 

[kianaz]

thanks for ur input...i have searched on this issue...there are some online courses...but we get a certificate,not a license. for NJ license...there are some clauses...that includes BOTH 50 hours of course plus exam.at this stage i cant afford to take this as i have other nbde things which r more imp.anyways..what u said was correct...nothing is easy!all the best.

can u tell me where are those classes in NJ , how can i contact them ? how much dose it cost?
thanks a loooot

 

[rose82]

can u tell me where are those classes in NJ , how can i contact them ? how much dose it cost?
thanks a loooot

http://www.danb.org/exams/stateacceptance.asp

(type in NJ as state and u'll get the requirements)

google for it..there are many colleges..good luck

 

[jacksonkelly]

has anyone got any acceptances?
anyone got an interview invitation from Nova for the aegd?

 

[sherif kamel]

has anyone got any acceptances?
anyone got an interview invitation from Nova for the aegd?

well so far i didnt get any interviews,, and to be honest, i feel like this yr. is done with interviews,,,
so looks like this yr. was too competitve ..

anywayz other FTD's that got some interviews it would be nice to share your experiences and ur stats.

 

[jacksonkelly]

well so far i didnt get any interviews,, and to be honest, i feel like this yr. is done with interviews,,,
so looks like this yr. was too competitve ..

anywayz other FTD's that got some interviews it would be nice to share your experiences and ur stats.

sherif did u get accepted somewhere? where were u interviewed?
yes this year seems to be very competitive

good luck to you

 

[Tantush]

Hey Guys!!!
would you please help me?!!!
After you finish your NBDE part 1/ 2 ,how I can applied for residency programs? I don't know how? Do I have to apply to the school directly or to go to the match/ pass website? and what Should I do?!!!!
Please I am waiting for your help GUYS

 

[Jules711]

Hey Guys!!!
would you please help me?!!!
After you finish your NBDE part 1/ 2 ,how I can applied for residency programs? I don't know how? Do I have to apply to the school directly or to go to the match/ pass website? and what Should I do?!!!!
Please I am waiting for your help GUYS

Hi Tantush. There is a sticky thread at the home page "links of interest for foreign trained dentists" that will help you. Read it. Once you pass part1&2, take the TOEFL. Research what kind of residency fits your needs and call the program. Majority of the residency programs participate in MATCH/PASS. If you read each program closely, you will find contact info for the director. Call or email them. You should also check my thread "tips for FTDs applying for AEGD". You might get some info from it. Best of luck.

 

[exmachine123]

hello all, I came to know toefl offers us to send our score to four different universities.my question is does universities need toefl to submit our score or they accept it if we submit it by ourselves?

I would advise you to stay there and take NBDE part 1 and 2, after you clear National boards try to find out programs you are interested in. You should plan and apply at least a year before your proposed year for study. ...
TOEFL is must for every application .. Good TOEFL scores increases your chance of acceptance (it is only valid for 2 years, you have plan your time carefully, because with one TOEFL you will be able to apply upto two years only)

I would be honest with you, it is very difficult for international dentists even if they have US residency to get admission into DDS or Residency programs; of course there are champions who are able to make it. but even if you have a very good (3.5 GPA) in your undergraduate dental degree, and you get a very good TOEFL score (90), and no matter you have public health or clinical experience in your home country ... it would not make any difference to them.

What matters is your publications, your research work, public health degree from USA with good GPA, this would increase your chance of acceptance. you can explore all US universities offering different DDS programs and specialty residency program at ADA.org that are accredited.

I would advise to take NBDE and enroll and pass public health online program and complete it and then apply for the residency programs. NBDE does not require good score anymore (its just pass or fail). Many states do not require any certification for dental assistance, few does. dental assistant jobs are far more better than odd jobs ($18/hour as compare to $8/hour) ...

Good Luck!

JazakAllah Khair!

 

[malikgrouz]

i heard that it's difficult to get dental assistant job , is that true ? and can you tell me the best way to find this job so to improve the profile for admission ?

 

[drp89]

Whats online public program?

 

[exmachine123]

i heard that it's difficult to get dental assistant job , is that true ? and can you tell me the best way to find this job so to improve the profile for admission ?

you are right in a way that most of the dental clinics look for experienced dental assistants and are hesitant to beginners, they test you before they give you offer letter. The best way to be handy as a dental assistant is to find a community health center in your city that is federally governed and work there voluntarily, this way you will have some exposure, gain experience and learn a lot. This may make some impact on your CV in terms of acceptance for dental programs as you will have some exposure of US dental offices, but it would not be as much as research or outreach public health programs.

 

[malikgrouz]

how to do a research work while in USA ? i've been looking for this but found it actually more difficult than dental assistant job , this is why i'm looking for a job to improve my profile.

 

[AsmDENTISTS]

I am a foreign trained dentist from Jordan.
nbde part 1 and2
Toefl 90
3 months observership in usa
1 year internship jordan
1 year clinical experience in jordan
I applied for
UConn. Ortho,aegd,pedo,endo
Gpr saint Mary's
Lousiana
Myrland pedo
All reject
What is your advice guys? ?

 

[ourlovestory]

Are you rejected at the application level or did you get to the interview and then didn't make it? I think generally,
- TOEFL should be not less than a 100.
- Where did you do your observation-ship? which specialty? it does not make sense if you observer 3 month in a specialty and then apply in another specialty just to get in.
- How about Continuous Education? did you take any classes or attend any conferences? If not, then you should do as much CE as you can.
- How about volunteering? Very important to serve the community. Find volunteer opportunities where you live.
- Did you have a technical writer review your Statement of Purpose and any other supporting documents? If not, you should.

Last but not least, don't give up and try again.

 

[AsmDENTISTS]

Are you rejected at the application level or did you get to the interview and then didn't make it? I think generally,
- TOEFL should be not less than a 100.
- Where did you do your observation-ship? which specialty? it does not make sense if you observer 3 month in a specialty and then apply in another specialty just to get in.
- How about Continuous Education? did you take any classes or attend any conferences? If not, then you should do as much CE as you can.
- How about volunteering? Very important to serve the community. Find volunteer opportunities where you live.
- Did you have a technical writer review your Statement of Purpose and any other supporting documents? If not, you should.

Last but not least, don't give up and try again.

I got rejection at application level, no single interview
Observership at GP clinic
I did Online CE
No classes or conferences
I did several weeks vulonteerin at public library in usa
Actually I am very confused about sop what they need... honestly I wrote one general sop for all about how I've chosen dentistry and what things I did here in usa to improve my self it's disaster true!! Just I changed last sentence ...what they want in the sop???and how I could make a different sop for each type??I just want to be a specialist

 

[AsmDENTISTS]

I got rejection at application level, no single interview
Observership at GP clinic
I did Online CE
No classes or conferences
I did several weeks vulonteerin at public library in usa
Actually I am very confused about sop what they need... honestly I wrote one general sop for all about how I've chosen dentistry and what things I did here in usa to improve my self it's disaster true!! Just I changed last sentence ...what they want in the sop???and how I could make a different sop for each type??I just want to be a specialist

My GPA 3.19

 

[ourlovestory]

I am not there yet so you are ahead of me. What I can tell from many discussions is you will need,
- Help with your sop.
- Volunteer as a dental assistant in your community.
- Get some real in-person continuous education classes and conferences.

If you need more help with items above, do search this forum. People have previous discussion that covers of all above since many many people had your complains and concerns.
Good luck!

 

[mayank310889]

I'm currently entering my third year of residency in Oral medicine & radiology in India and very soon will be applying to Medicine/Radio/TMJ programs. I visited US recently to give my part 1 and met several professors and directors at a couple of universities and through e-mail am trying to get some sort of contact with the others.

Till now: NBDE part 1 pass, GRE 302, TOEFL 114, GPA 3.75.
Third year of residency in Oral Medicine/Radiology.
Attended various CE courses across several fields.
2 publications in Pubmed indexed journals till now, several paper presentations including best paper at national level and lots of community treatment camps attended.

What do you guys think would be regarding my chances? I'm only going to be applying for Radiology or Medicine to further my career and probably AEGD if I feel like learning more about GP.

Which programs would you guys consider?

 

[AsmDENTISTS]

I'm currently entering my third year of residency in Oral medicine & radiology in India and very soon will be applying to Medicine/Radio/TMJ programs. I visited US recently to give my part 1 and met several professors and directors at a couple of universities and through e-mail am trying to get some sort of contact with the others.

Till now: NBDE part 1 pass, GRE 302, TOEFL 114, GPA 3.75.
Third year of residency in Oral Medicine/Radiology.
Attended various CE courses across several fields.
2 publications in Pubmed indexed journals till now, several paper presentations including best paper at national level and lots of community treatment camps attended.

What do you guys think would be regarding my chances? I'm only going to be applying for Radiology or Medicine to further my career and probably AEGD if I feel like learning more about GP.

Which programs would you guys consider?

Please can you advise me how to do any publication???

 

[Pedoleads]

I got rejection at application level, no single interview
Observership at GP clinic
I did Online CE
No classes or conferences
I did several weeks vulonteerin at public library in usa
Actually I am very confused about sop what they need... honestly I wrote one general sop for all about how I've chosen dentistry and what things I did here in usa to improve my self it's disaster true!! Just I changed last sentence ...what they want in the sop???and how I could make a different sop for each type??I just want to be a specialist

Hi there,
Since I have travelled this road and made it I can tell you right off the bat that you need to focus on one speciality if you want to make it. Dental students invest time and efforts since junior year (3rd year) working on the application process in their chosen speciality. All candidates usually are in the top 1/3rd of their class, participate in clubs/ activities of their chosen speciality, volunteer ,do externships in multiple programs and do anything and everything to stand out during the application process so they can get interviews. So, it seems to me applying to ortho, Pedo , Endo and GPRs is more than a little bit of stretch, these specialities are in no way similar so how could you support your application to reflect this? Are you surprised with the outcome, you should not be coz what it conveyed is your state of mind, fortunately for them and unfortunately for you.
Your SOP comes into play once you know what you want to do and has to be custom made, it's called "statement of purpose" for a reason, you should be able to articulate why you are interested in a particular speciality and what you bring to the table. SOPs can't be written for you by someone, you are the architect of this piece of writing, you can always ask someone to proof read it for you and give you feedback. It is your story, your journey from wherever you graduated dentistry from and what and why it brought you to the States. Your passion and commitment should ring true thro this most important piece of writing.Frankly, if you are not able to articulate this most important piece of info to the admission committee then how do you expect to stand out from the innumerable applicants. Getting into specialities directly without a DMD/DDS is a difficult but not an impossible task. There are radiology and oral med residencies that I have seen accept FTDs but do you see my point , that if you aspire to a clinical speciality then it's an altogether different ballgame. Be clear in your thought process and the most difficult decision is to get behind one thing rather than spread yourself thin. Finally, there is no magic formula/ potion for getting into dental programs or specialities except the good old formula of doing the hard work and giving it your all! Getting focused and narrowing your choice just makes it a little easier to run behind it.
As always, my two cents!

 

[ourlovestory]

Pedoleads, thanks a lot for sharing this info!
I think the most challenge I see is SoP. The reason is I don't know how it is evaluated by the interviewer. I think evaluation is very subjective. I can tell someone my story and what I want to do in the program which is very convincing to me but it may turn to be not convincing enough to the evaluators.
Do you have any insights on how SoP is evaluated?

Thanks!

 

[Pedoleads]

Pedoleads, thanks a lot for sharing this info!
I think the most challenge I see is SoP. The reason is I don't know how it is evaluated by the interviewer. I think evaluation is very subjective. I can tell someone my story and what I want to do in the program which is very convincing to me but it may turn to be not convincing enough to the evaluators.
Do you have any insights on how SoP is evaluated?

Thanks!

When I say your SOP should state your story, I mean it in the sense that everyone has a story and if you had to put it in 1000 odd words what would you like the person reading it want to know. Your story may be convincing to you and you may want to do many a number of things but you have to back up your "story" with evidence which points in that direction on your resume. It's essentially a narrative on why you chose to do what you did on your resume. Does your resume support your "story" about why you want to practice dentistry in the States. I wrote 2 SOPs, one during CAAPID and one for PASS. they were entirely different for obvious reasons. People who review applications do it for a living, they can pick your story apart if you are making it up. Am sure everyone wants to do dentistry because they like what they do and like helping people. What in your resume supports that? Above all, it's the only place to humanize yourself on paper and make a connection(possibly).
I don't know if there's a way a committee "evaluates" SOP but my understanding is it's a chance for you to present/ introduce yourself and convince them within reasonable limits why you would be an asset to their institution. SOP is the thread that ties your whole application together. When I had my interviews panel members asked me specific questions on certain things that I had written on my SOP. Hope it makes better sense now when I say- story

 

[ourlovestory]

Pedoleads, Thanks a lot! these are great insights and real eye opener.

 

[AsmDENTISTS]

Hi there,
Since I have travelled this road and made it I can tell you right off the bat that you need to focus on one speciality if you want to make it. Dental students invest time and efforts since junior year (3rd year) working on the application process in their chosen speciality. All candidates usually are in the top 1/3rd of their class, participate in clubs/ activities of their chosen speciality, volunteer ,do externships in multiple programs and do anything and everything to stand out during the application process so they can get interviews. So, it seems to me applying to ortho, Pedo , Endo and GPRs is more than a little bit of stretch, these specialities are in no way similar so how could you support your application to reflect this? Are you surprised with the outcome, you should not be coz what it conveyed is your state of mind, fortunately for them and unfortunately for you.
Your SOP comes into play once you know what you want to do and has to be custom made, it's called "statement of purpose" for a reason, you should be able to articulate why you are interested in a particular speciality and what you bring to the table. SOPs can't be written for you by someone, you are the architect of this piece of writing, you can always ask someone to proof read it for you and give you feedback. It is your story, your journey from wherever you graduated dentistry from and what and why it brought you to the States. Your passion and commitment should ring true thro this most important piece of writing.Frankly, if you are not able to articulate this most important piece of info to the admission committee then how do you expect to stand out from the innumerable applicants. Getting into specialities directly without a DMD/DDS is a difficult but not an impossible task. There are radiology and oral med residencies that I have seen accept FTDs but do you see my point , that if you aspire to a clinical speciality then it's an altogether different ballgame. Be clear in your thought process and the most difficult decision is to get behind one thing rather than spread yourself thin. Finally, there is no magic formula/ potion for getting into dental programs or specialities except the good old formula of doing the hard work and giving it your all! Getting focused and narrowing your choice just makes it a little easier to run behind it.
As always, my two cents!

Thanks a lot.

 

[Aspirant87]

Hi..I'm an international dentist..Done my BDS and MDS prosthodontics from India..I'm taking my NBDE part 1 and TOEFL in May/June 2016. I have done reasearch work in my postgraduation,presented papers in 2 national and 1 international conference,done 3 publications in national journals.
I wanted to know what are my chances for speciality in prostho/endo.
please guide me..