tips for first time applicants

[yuppers]

Do any people who got accepted or who have already been through the application cycle have any tips on it for us first timers? Things that get overlooked, things that take a lot of time to complete, or anything else. Thanks.

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[Vicviper]

Have your personal statement ready to go, and have your offical transcripts handy to type in all of your classes ... AND APPLY EARLY!!!! Haha, November 17th here....

 

[ak47]

Do any people who got accepted or who have already been through the application cycle have any tips on it for us first timers? Things that get overlooked, things that take a lot of time to complete, or anything else. Thanks.

its super important to stay organized. if you apply to more than like 10 schools, you're going to be going crazy with where you did/didnt send your DAT scores, who wants how many LORs, if they want a transcript now or later, if you pay the fee before or after the ask. good luck!!

 

[Kneecoal]

Have your personal statement ready to go, and have your offical transcripts handy to type in all of your classes ... AND APPLY EARLY!!!! Haha, November 17th here....

do i need to have my official transcript handy? why can't i just use my unofficial one that i can print off my school's website?

 

[Vicviper]

Well, a copy of what your official transcript looks like - so yes, an unofficial one can work, it just needs to show course names EXACTLY like the official transcript shows. Sometimes if you're just going through your college schedule it won't show the classes as the same as it does on your transcript (i.e. slightly different names or abbreviations). Though if there are minor mistakes, they will fix it themselves. Haha, now we're freaking all of you new applicants out as the clock rolls down to June 1st! Bwahahaha

 

[vlct0ria]

its super important to stay organized. if you apply to more than like 10 schools, you're going to be going crazy with where you did/didnt send your DAT scores, who wants how many LORs, if they want a transcript now or later, if you pay the fee before or after the ask. good luck!!

About the LORs, we just send our 4 letters to AADSAS...and do they send all 4 to ALL schools we applied to, even if most schools only request 3? Or do we have to somehow indicate on AADSAS which letters go where??

 

[Vicviper]

About the LORs, we just send our 4 letters to AADSAS...and do they send all 4 to ALL schools we applied to, even if most schools only request 3? Or do we have to somehow indicate on AADSAS which letters go where??

Yes, they send everything, even if the schools doesn't want it, and I've heard that if they only want 3 and you sent in 4, they only look at the first 3 - but I'm sure if your dentist one was the 4th one they could realize that. Some very specific letters, such as the LLU Spiritual Adviser letter, you send straight to them.

 

[yuppers]

What kind of things did you guys say in the various ECs summaries? For instance shadowing... what do you say besides that you just followed the doc around?

 

[Vicviper]

What kind of things did you guys say in the various ECs summaries? For instance shadowing... what do you say besides that you just followed the doc around?

Just expand on it a little, like "Observed a variety of procedures varying from extractions to periodontal work." Something like that, just jazz it up a bit, haha.

 

[Ballardista]

What is the procedure with your transcripts if you have credits from several different schools? I graduated from a 4-year university, but will be taking most of my science classes split between a local CC and a different 4-year university.

 

[vlct0ria]

What is the procedure with your transcripts if you have credits from several different schools? I graduated from a 4-year university, but will be taking most of my science classes split between a local CC and a different 4-year university.

You have to print individual transcript matching forms for each school you took classes from...and each schools has to include the matching form with the transcripts from that school when they mail them to AADSAS. So you'll be sending 3 matching forms and 3 official transcripts in.

 

[DrReo]

1. Apply early. I received 3 interview invitations in July.
2. Research the required LOR requirements for schools
- Some require LOR from 2 science, 1 liberal arts, employer, and/or dentist.
3. Write a short, concise personal statement. No one wants to read more than what's actually needed.
4. Invest in the ADEA dental school book. Saved a lot of cash buy understanding what specifics each schools looked for whether it's how many instate/out of state or some of the requirements. Know what the requirements are. Some will require anatomy, psychology, micro, etc.
5. Knowledge is power.

 

[MattH25]

If you have the chance schedule your interviews at your less desireable schools first. No matter how much practice you have you WILL be nervous/anxious and generally less articulate for your first interview. That way when your top schools roll around you'll be rocking your A game instead of a C+.

Also, carry yourself appropriately. You are being evaluated every step of the way. Remember though that as much as you're there to be evaluated, you are also there to evaluate them and decide if you'd be a good fit at the school. Ask questions that are important to you, not what you think or have been told the adcoms want to hear.

 

[DrReo]

If you have the chance schedule your interviews at your less desireable schools first. No matter how much practice you have you WILL be nervous/anxious and generally less articulate for your first interview. That way when your top schools roll around you'll be rocking your A game instead of a C+.

Also, carry yourself appropriately. You are being evaluated every step of the way. Remember though that as much as you're there to be evaluated, you are also there to evaluate them and decide if you'd be a good fit at the school. Ask questions that are important to you, not what you think or have been told the adcoms want to hear.

Asking thought provoking questions to the interview is good advice and helps shows interest in the school. Also, as with any interview, get to know your interviewer. People love to talk about themselves. I enjoyed meeting many interviewers on my trips. I learned about them, they learned more about me. This yields a more conversation interview, in most cases.

 

[MattH25]

Asking thought provoking questions to the interview is good advice and helps shows interest in the school. Also, as with any interview, get to know your interviewer. People love to talk about themselves. I enjoyed meeting many interviewers on my trips. I learned about them, they learned more about me. This yields a more conversation interview, in most cases.

Conversation interviews are the best. Reminds me of one I had. We had finished up and he asked if I had any questions. He was wearing a wedding band and obviously an older gentleman so I asked if he had any kids and if so had they followed him into dentistry. He smiled, said no, that the son that went to professional school had gone into medicine instead and he proceeded to lay-out the various reasons why. I laughed and remarked how the grass is always greener seeing that I was the exact opposite, a physician's son going into dentistry and then laid out my sentiments towards medicine. We went a good 15 minutes over our time just talking about the pros and cons of each and how the public has such a poor understanding of the sacrifices necessary to be a doctor or dentist. By the end it felt as if I were talking with a life-long friend rather than a person I had met roughly half an hour earlier.

 

[Vicviper]

Yes, I completely agree. It's always a very good thing with you can strike a friendly chord with your interviewer, that way they will remember you all the better and represent you to the Admissions committee the best they can. One of my interviewers was one of their head researchers and after talking about research I had done, we started talking about some of his research and I found it very interesting, and researchers are always happy to talk about their work to those willing to listen.

 

[Aceofspades]

1. Apply early. I received 3 interview invitations in July.
2. Research the required LOR requirements for schools
- Some require LOR from 2 science, 1 liberal arts, employer, and/or dentist.
3. Write a short, concise personal statement. No one wants to read more than what's actually needed.
4. Invest in the ADEA dental school book. Saved a lot of cash buy understanding what specifics each schools looked for whether it's how many instate/out of state or some of the requirements. Know what the requirements are. Some will require anatomy, psychology, micro, etc.
5. Knowledge is power.

6. Apply to enough dental schools and pick your school wisely. If you only apply to 1 and get rejected don't complain, especially if that school was Harvard.
7. Save up money. Application fees, transcript fee(s), DAT fee, DAT study material/class costs, secondary fees, interview costs, acceptance deposit(s) (1st and 2nd deposit), etc. It could wind up costing you a lot!
8. Prepare for your interview, and know how to answer "Why dentistry?"
9. Do not post a "what are my chances" thread if you are 100% sure you are going to apply this cycle anyway. Those threads are supposed to serve as a decision making factor for people with questionable stats who wonder if applying is worth the money. Instead you see 3.99's and 22+ DAT applicants who know for a fact that they will apply this cycle asking "what are my chances?" The answer to that question doesn't matter cause you are applying anyway whether it's 1% or 99%.
10. Realize that predents.com is not a representative sample of dental school applicants and matriculants.

 

[doc3232]

Which interviews did you get in July? Also, when in July exactly?

Aren't there some schools that don't have secondaries but just require a check for 90$ or something.

 

[JTSLai]

Do any people who got accepted or who have already been through the application cycle have any tips on it for us first timers? Things that get overlooked, things that take a lot of time to complete, or anything else. Thanks.

the SEARCH function of the forum works wonders for exactly this kind of stuff. If there ever was a question about the application process, somewhere along the life of the forum some one has probably asked it. Otherwise, the AADSAS does a pretty decent job of explaining how to go about the process and it is pretty self explanatory if you're willing to read through their help functions or FAQ's. Also if your school has a pre-health advisor or something similar I'd strongly suggest consulting them as they probably have tons of experience with the application process as students over the years ask for help.

 

[yuppers]

2. Research the required LOR requirements for schools
- Some require LOR from 2 science, 1 liberal arts, employer, and/or dentist.

I was wondering about this.... I asked a chem, bio/advisor, dentist, and volunteer supervisor to write me letters and send them to AADSAS. If the schools get all four how do they decide which ones to read.

 

[adizzle87]

From what I've been told from 2 schools already, they will read all of them.

 

[yuppers]

From what I've been told from 2 schools already, they will read all of them.

Yeah, I thought I heard that as well..... but some of the discussion here was making me second guess myself. I'm sure schools understand that different schools have variations in thier required letters and that applicants (such as myself) will attempt to satisfy all the requirements with the 4 letters sent to AADSAS.

 

[yuppers]

Personal Statement question: do you think some humor is good. I mentioned a funny thing that happened to me long ago and I pulled a pretty snazzy tie into dentistry. Oh and yes it is clean.

 

[Stephie3]

6. Apply to enough dental schools and pick your school wisely. If you only apply to 1 and get rejected don't complain, especially if that school was Harvard.
7. Save up money. Application fees, transcript fee(s), DAT fee, DAT study material/class costs, secondary fees, interview costs, acceptance deposit(s) (1st and 2nd deposit), etc. It could wind up costing you a lot!
8. Prepare for your interview, and know how to answer "Why dentistry?"
9. Do not post a "what are my chances" thread if you are 100% sure you are going to apply this cycle anyway. Those threads are supposed to serve as a decision making factor for people with questionable stats who wonder if applying is worth the money. Instead you see 3.99's and 22+ DAT applicants who know for a fact that they will apply this cycle asking "what are my chances?" The answer to that question doesn't matter cause you are applying anyway whether it's 1% or 99%.
10. Realize that predents.com is not a representative sample of dental school applicants and matriculants.

11. IMHO, Don't try to do something crazy/outlandish/off-the-wall in an attempt to stand out from the rest of the applicants. Know that this has already been done before year after year. Schools need to see that you can conform to societal expectations. This is important, b/c they want to be able to indoctrinate you with their education and you need to be able to appease patients.

12. Don't tell your interviewer that you want to be a dentist b/c your dad/mother/grandfather is a dentist. i wouldn't mention that. i interviewed at temple with three other people and ALL of them mentioned that they had parents that were doctors. so saying that is not original. PERSONALLY (IMHO) it looks to me like you are going to dental school b/c daddy told you to go to dental school and not because you REALLY want to practice dentistry (i know, some people may not share my feelings on this, but that is the feeling i get when ppl tell me this). just somethin to think about. don't hate on me for this..i'm just trying to help

13. Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Hotwire.com, and sometimes Priceline.com are your friends. try to book flights and hotel rooms as early as possible. DON'T book stuff before you've confirmed your interview dates with schools and you have the right flight times so that you are sure that you can make it back and forth to the airport and stuff so that you a. don't miss your interview b. don't miss your flight back home

14. At some hotels (like in Buffalo), you can request a special school discount rate that can save you money. i wish i would have known to check on this. at other schools, you can stay at their frat houses and stuff for a lot cheaper (if you don't mind spending a night at a place reminiscent of the Bates Motel lol )

15. Don't completely blow off your senior classes after you've applied. you still need to plan on doing marginally well (strive for B's or better) b/c they do check your grades after acceptance and a lot of schools nowadays say your acceptance is CONTIGENT on finishing the degree you said you would finish on AADSAS. this is a little detail not found on a lot of schools websites. Plan accordingly.

16. SMILE at your inteviews. smile at the teachers, smile at the interviewers, look and be friendly. you would not believe how much this can help you. looking cute can also help

17. don't spend a lot of time replaying what you said at your interviews in your head. it's over and done. don't stress about it. it doesn't matter how well or how horrible you thought your interview went. there are stories all the time of how people thought they blew an interview, then got accepted. the only school i got waitlisted at was the school where i thought i had the best interview at.

18. While it might seem like a huge financial burden shelling out the money to apply to more than one school, doing so can help prevent you from having to apply a SECOND time (more waiting and time and money). dish out the money in the first place for the good DAT review books and applying to more than one school, so you don't have to lose a year of being able to practice dentistry (which can end up costing you a whole years worth of dentist income). just try your best to get accepted the first time you apply.

19. Everyone at your interview is probably going to be wearing a black suit. While you are not required to wear a black suit, you might feel out of place or awkward if you walk into an interview group where all the other 11 people are wearing black suits and you are not. but if you think you look best in a conservative white business dress, by all means..go for it. there is nothing wrong with that.

20. Don't listen to negative people who try to bring you down when you're applying to dental school.

21. If you have a chance to schedule an interview before or after dec. 1, do it BEFORE dec. 1. Pre-december first interviews give you a much greater chance of being accepted.

22. You don't have to have perfect stats and perfect grades to get accepted.

23. Waiting to hear whether you got in on Dec. 1 is going to stress you out like nothing else whether or not you have perfect stats.

24. If you are a single guy and not currently engaged, stay single so you can give us single dental school girls someone to date (lol sorry i just had to add this b/c practically EVERYONE at the dschool i'm going to next year is already married)

 

[cgood]

Personal Statement question: do you think some humor is good. I mentioned a funny thing that happened to me long ago and I pulled a pretty snazzy tie into dentistry. Oh and yes it is clean.

As long as it's appropriate I don't see why not. It may make you stand out in a good way.

Also remember once you've applied to stay in contact with schools. Send them any new grades, E.C.s, volunteering, or anything else that can improve your status. It also shows continued interest in a school. I recommend this more for later in the cycle, especially if you are trying to get off a wait-list, but a short email or phone call pre-December couldn't hurt.

 

[Hordel]

25. Don't ever view anything as unimportant. Every little detail matters.

26. Make sure to send thank you letters ASAP after an interview. I actually sent some of them via priority mail (if I was really interested).

27. Get sleep before interviews and DO NOT have family pick you up from the airport. I had a aunt pick me up and she was like 3-4hours late and I got to sleep about 4 hours before my interview the next morning.

28. Be ready for the interview by examining past questions and be ready for the unexpected. When all else fails BE HONEST! Do not try to BS in an interview.

29. In the interview display the qualities that a dental school is looking for (ie. maturity, responsibility, honesty...etc)

30. Give support for all answers in a interview and do not forget that no matter how nice the interviewers are THEY ARE NOT your friend. Be kind and friendly but ALWAYS keep that professional distance.

31. Do not bring your daddy to the interview with you. I actually saw someone bring their father (who was a dentist) with them to the interview. He was with her the whole time. The only time when they parted was when the applicant went into the interview room. To me this is unprofessional.

32. Remember that throughout the whole interview process (ie. the tour...etc) they are examining you. Open doors for others, smile, be kind, ask questions, and show them that you are interested and the perfect applicant.

33. Remember that it is a LONG process (after all there are still a few people who might get accepted even this late in the cycle). So do NOT give up after Dec 1st. The school that you thought may have forgotten you might just come through for you later in the cycle.

To all of you I wish you the best of luck. Have fun with the process, b/c it is somewhat fun.

 

[doc3232]

To everyone writing these tips, I just want to say they are EXTREMELY useful.
I think this summarizes the Dental SDN forum.

Thanks again, please keep them coming.

 

[vlct0ria]

To everyone writing these tips, I just want to say they are EXTREMELY useful.
I think this summarizes the Dental SDN forum.

Thanks again, please keep them coming.

+1

Thanks guys!

 

[bennijai]

Great tips, thanks!

 

[Stephie3]

you're welcome.

maybe they could make this thread be a sticky one that gets to stay at the top of the thread page to help the newbies

 

[yuppers]

Thanks for all the good advice.
Does anyone else have anything to add?

 

[Cleric7x9]

25. Don't ever view anything as unimportant. Every little detail matters.

26. Make sure to send thank you letters ASAP after an interview. I actually sent some of them via priority mail (if I was really interested).

27. Get sleep before interviews and DO NOT have family pick you up from the airport. I had a aunt pick me up and she was like 3-4hours late and I got to sleep about 4 hours before my interview the next morning.

28. Be ready for the interview by examining past questions and be ready for the unexpected. When all else fails BE HONEST! Do not try to BS in an interview.

29. In the interview display the qualities that a dental school is looking for (ie. maturity, responsibility, honesty...etc)

30. Give support for all answers in a interview and do not forget that no matter how nice the interviewers are THEY ARE NOT your friend. Be kind and friendly but ALWAYS keep that professional distance.

31. Do not bring your daddy to the interview with you. I actually saw someone bring their father (who was a dentist) with them to the interview. He was with her the whole time. The only time when they parted was when the applicant went into the interview room. To me this is unprofessional.

32. Remember that throughout the whole interview process (ie. the tour...etc) they are examining you. Open doors for others, smile, be kind, ask questions, and show them that you are interested and the perfect applicant.

33. Remember that it is a LONG process (after all there are still a few people who might get accepted even this late in the cycle). So do NOT give up after Dec 1st. The school that you thought may have forgotten you might just come through for you later in the cycle.

To all of you I wish you the best of luck. Have fun with the process, b/c it is somewhat fun.

i think you should at least spell your future dental school correctly in your sig...

 

[yuppers]

If I shadowed at a few different offices should I separate each one and give each its own description (although similar)? or keep them together and describe them comprehensively?

 

[velospresso]

try to focus on the intangibles in your personal statement...There are spots on the adsaas for volunteer and leadership so in you personal statement try to address passion, dedication, an event that happened, what you learned, etc. Things that the adcom can't see just by looking elswhere in you application. IMO avoid the "Im a leader because I held (X) position in the dental club" its overplayed and they can see it in EC's...say what you did with it.
Also turn in fee's to schools early, just because you paid adsaas fees on June 1 along with you application a school wont consider it till they get their $.

 

[yuppers]

If you put something in the experiences in the dental profession category can you still put it in the ECs, volunteering, community service category?

 

[yuppers]

Anyone got any answers for my two previous questions (1 post up and 3 posts up). Thanks.

 

[vlct0ria]

Anyone got any answers for my two previous questions (1 post up and 3 posts up). Thanks.

I wouldn't think it would be necessary to list dental experience other places in the application...I think we just need to assign everything to a category (volunteer, leadership, dental experience) that it fits in best with. For example, I "volunteered" at a dental clinic, but I thought it was more important to list under dental experience than volunteer experience...and then in the brief description of each activity, it allows you to select the position type (choose from paid, volunteer, job shadowing, or other).

 

[Habslive]

Here's a tip too. You may feel confident in your chances, but never ASSUME that you're in. There's a real chance that even though you are well-qualified, that you won't get in somewhere. Be prepared to go through a second or third application cycle if necessary. If dental school is really what you want, then it's a small sacrifice to make.

It's just a numbers game. There are more qualified applicants than there are total spots available.

 

[4thMolar]

I'm not sure if anybody has mentioned this yet, but be sure to ask for your LORs early. I know many people who waited too long and ended up having their evaluators submit really late. If you haven't asked for them by now, do so ASAP.

 

[adizzle87]

I'm not sure if anybody has mentioned this yet, but be sure to ask for your LORs early. I know many people who waited too long and ended up having their evaluators submit really late. If you haven't asked for them by now, do so ASAP.

Word

 

[yuppers]

If I shadowed at a few different offices should I separate each one and give each its own description (although similar)? or keep them together and describe them comprehensively?

Anyone...

 

[yuppers]

How are the sup apps? Are some time consuming (really writting intensive)?

 

[Hordel]

i think you should at least spell your future dental school correctly in your sig...

Good point. Thanks, I completely didn't even notice till now. I added it when I found out and never noticed that I used an e instead of an a. Sorry

 

[gatorgrl10]

I just wanted to thank everyone so far for all your great advice!

 

[doc3232]

Any more tips?

 

[yuppers]

Any more tips?

pulled this thread out of the abyss...

 

[doc3232]

pulled this thread out of the abyss...

yep yep