ortho interview questions

docj1 said:

Could people who interviewed for ortho programs give some examples of the types of questions they were asked during the interview?

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Here's a gem:

"If you had to do your Match List today, what would you do?"

(By the way, that's sort of not a 'legal' question to ask. Those sorts of questions are what pisses me off about Match.)

Yeah

Why did you choose orthodontics?
When did you become interested in orthodontics
Does your GPA and Rank accurately describe your ability?
Why did you pick our program?
If you were a program director what would you include in an ortho program?
If you dont get into ortho this year, what will you do?
Tell me about ______ on your CV.
All the students here all have high grades and board scores, what sets you apart from them and why should we accept you?
Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?
Are you doing orthodontics for the money?

1. So how do you like our weather up here?
2. Now that's a nice suit, where did you get it?
3. So how did you enjoy our spread? Were the bagels fresh?
4. Do you have any questions for me that weren't answered by us or our residents and could quite possible cause us to look at you in a more negative light depending on if the question was already addressed earlier or sounds prefabricated enough that we can see what a shallow and mundane personality you could possibly be?
5. So would you like to join our program?

a classmate of mine received the following question/statement during an interview at a "top" ortho program: "Describe the process of saponification." btw, bending wires sucks! j/k

LonestarYankee said:

a classmate of mine received the following question/statement during an interview at a "top" ortho program: "Describe the process of saponification." btw, bending wires sucks! j/k

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D

"How long did you serve before you were released for good behavior?"

The most annoying question I got in any interview: "Well, your city of _____________ sure is far away from our residency program in ___________. Are you sure your willing to relocate so far away from home?"

Of course I wouldn't spend 800 bucks on a hotel room, plane flight, rental car, food and cheap suit if I didn't have plans of relocating. That is simply obnoxious. People relocate all the time.

I got a ton of obnoxious questions, although I really got nothing orthodontic related. Of course, if you have done research make sure that you know everything about it and can discuss it ad nauseum, because you will have to.

cuneatus2 said:

Did your classmate have research in that area on his CV? It's not too uncommon to get questions about your research topic to gauge just how well you understood it.

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nope. totally random.

What's the scoop on this program in St. Louis that accepts 14 residents? Apart from OEC, that number sticks out like a sore thumb

LonestarYankee said:

a classmate of mine received the following question/statement during an interview at a "top" ortho program: "Describe the process of saponification." btw, bending wires sucks! j/k

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yep, your classmate wasn't the only to be asked that question by Dr. Buschang when he interviewed at Baylor. he informed me i should have remembered it from organic chemistry. pretty sure he just wants to make you squirm and see if you'll admit when you don't know something.

jaap said:

What's the scoop on this program in St. Louis that accepts 14 residents? Apart from OEC, that number sticks out like a sore thumb

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Most of the residents like it. It seems pretty laid back. There seems to be a downside as the ones I have talked to said they only start 25-30 cases. That number may be different now as I talked to some of the guys at GORP a couple of years ago but not last year so take it with a grain of salt.

jaap said:

What's the scoop on this program in St. Louis that accepts 14 residents? Apart from OEC, that number sticks out like a sore thumb

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I will be attending that program in June and I am extremely excited about it, so I might be a bit biased. I did rank it #3 out of 9, just to give you an idea of my impressions of it, and #1 and 2 were more for location than anything else. It is VERY different than any OEC program.

I go to a dental school that has an OEC (or ex-OEC) ortho program, so I can tell you that the caliber of SLU is much, much higher than the OEC-associated program at my dental school.

The program was started in 1948, so it has a long tradition and very strong alumni base.

Although there are 14 residents, they have a HUGE clinic with ~45 chairs and great faculty with a good mix of experience in academia and private practice. They do learn a broad range of treatment philosophies which some may argue may be a good thing or a bad thing.

During interviews, we were told that residents treat between 40-45 cases, which seems fairly comparable to others. All of the residents there seem very happy. To read more for yourself, here is a link:

http://cade.slu.edu/Ortho Program Description 2007 (Application).pdf

indeep said:

I will be attending that program in June and I am extremely excited about it, so I might be a bit biased. I did rank it #3 out of 9, just to give you an idea of my impressions of it, and #1 and 2 were more for location than anything else. It is VERY different than any OEC program.

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Thanks for the info, I didn't mean to associate SLU with OEC, but the number of residents certainly makes it unique.

jaap said:

What's the scoop on this program in St. Louis that accepts 14 residents? Apart from OEC, that number sticks out like a sore thumb

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my impressions of SLU...

the clinic looks like an ortho factory (could be bad or good, and NO dental school associated with it)

dr. behrents seems like a great guy and obviously is doing excellent things for the program (the residents seem to think he was a bit inaccessible and a control freak)

most residents seemed happy and it would be easy to find 1 in 14 you could get along with

the area seemed a bit shady and we all know st louis is known for its high crime rates

my rank: 7th out of 7

Jediwendell said:

The most annoying question I got in any interview: "Well, your city of _____________ sure is far away from our residency program in ___________. Are you sure your willing to relocate so far away from home?"

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I hated this question!!! I wonder why some programs are so hung up on this.

Billy Gilmore said:

my impressions of SLU...

the clinic looks like an ortho factory (could be bad or good, and NO dental school associated with it)

dr. behrents seems like a great guy and obviously is doing excellent things for the program (the residents seem to think he was a bit inaccessible and a control freak)

most residents seemed happy and it would be easy to find 1 in 14 you could get along with

the area seemed a bit shady and we all know st louis is known for its high crime rates

my rank: 7th out of 7

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The clinic has arguably the best facilities in the country. Maybe 2 other schools can even compare from what I've heard. The SLU program actually IS loosely affiliated with Southern Illinois Dental School for all the Master's courses.

My good friend is a first year at SLU and absolutely loves it. He has already placed a few miniscrews, he's using both direct and indirect bonding, and he says the clinic is a great place to work because of the quality of facilities.

You would get a good education at SLU. Its nothing like an OEC styled program. Its not designed to teach you assembly line ortho. They do Masters level research. They have no implicit or explicit ties to any corporation whatsoever.

Drawbacks:
1) Highest crime rate city in the country (but lets face it, many dental schools are located in the worst area of their respective city)
2) Large class size (although I don't think this affects the quality of education there)

Billy Gilmore said:

yep, your classmate wasn't the only to be asked that question by Dr. Buschang when he interviewed at Baylor. he informed me i should have remembered it from organic chemistry. pretty sure he just wants to make you squirm and see if you'll admit when you don't know something.

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Baylor was the most obnoxious interview I went to. Period.

Nothing against the residents. I liked them the best, but come on. . . Lets dispatch with the esoteric and irrelevant interview questions guys!!!

WVU asked me to bend wire, write an essay on what it means to be patriotic, and several clinical questions. Ex. How would you handle a mom who wants her 12 year-old to have braces and they refuse. Also, If a 7 y.o. had a thumb habit what would you do? Very different from the other schools. I had to find my way to a computer and type my essay because I suck so bad at spelling (as you can probably see). The wire bending was not so bad, I dont think they really care about what the wire ends up looking like; however, try bending a balista spring while answering what is your biggest weakness. Very different interview, but seemed like a good program with happy residents. Most schools ask about your research. If you have done orthodontic research be prepared for some of the interviewers to know more than you about your topic. Just be ready. Other than that mostly the same interview questions that you may have gotten to get into college, dental school, or get a job. good luck!

Jaybe said:

Drawbacks:
1) Highest crime rate city in the country (but lets face it, many dental schools are located in the worst area of their respective city)
2) Large class size (although I don't think this affects the quality of education there)

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Add to that...
3) INSANE TUITION for 30 months.

Billy Gilmore said:

Add to that...
3) INSANE TUITION for 30 months.

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Per their website:

Orthodontics
Advance Tuition Deposit $1,000.00 (due in January for July classes)
Tuition $13,990.00 (per semester for 5 semesters)
Required Instruments $3,000.00
Required Texts $544.00
Copy Fee $50.00 (unlimited copy machine use)
Key Deposit $10.00
Parking Fees $170.00 (per semester, $80 for summer, parking is optional)

Does that mean there are 5 semesters per year, or 5 for the whole program. I imagine it's the latter, which isn't "insane" The former would be!

jaap said:

Per their website:

Orthodontics
Advance Tuition Deposit $1,000.00 (due in January for July classes)
Tuition $13,990.00 (per semester for 5 semesters)
Required Instruments $3,000.00
Required Texts $544.00
Copy Fee $50.00 (unlimited copy machine use)
Key Deposit $10.00
Parking Fees $170.00 (per semester, $80 for summer, parking is optional)

Does that mean there are 5 semesters per year, or 5 for the whole program. I imagine it's the latter, which isn't "insane" The former would be!

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Its five semesters for the entire program.

So they are talking about 28,000/yr. + books and instruments.

It IS toward the higher end of ortho tuitions, but there are many programs that cost as much or more. Even Iowa is darn close for out of state (over 20,000/yr). Michigan is more. Most of the California programs are much, much higher. Columbia. Harvard. Detroit Mercy. Case Western. Temple. Pitt. Boston. Maryland. Marquette. The former OEC's at UNLV and Colorado are also outrageous. The list goes on and on.

If all you care about is cheap, try UIC or UMKC. Tennessee and Baylor are also cheap and have good programs.

Jaybe said:

It IS toward the higher end of ortho tuitions, but there are many programs that cost as much or more. Even Iowa is darn close for out of state (over 20,000/yr). Michigan is more. Most of the California programs are much, much higher. Columbia. Harvard. Detroit Mercy. Case Western. Temple. Pitt. Boston. Maryland. Marquette. The former OEC's at UNLV and Colorado are also outrageous. The list goes on and on.

If all you care about is cheap, try UIC or UMKC. Tennessee and Baylor are also cheap and have good programs.

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My point exactly. It is toward the higher end; however, there are plenty of very good programs that are much cheaper or offer a stipend. I personally think it is crap to pay nearly $30,000 a year in tuition after you've received your DDS/DMD.

Programs in the much cheaper realm include very good programs like VCU, UNC, and tOSU in addition to those previously mentioned. I think it is important to weigh the cost of education versus program caliber when you make the decision.

The most outrageous part about the OECs is the comparison of education quality to the tuition paid.

Jaybe said:

Its five semesters for the entire program.

So they are talking about 28,000/yr. + books and instruments.

It IS toward the higher end of ortho tuitions, but there are many programs that cost as much or more. Even Iowa is darn close for out of state (over 20,000/yr). Michigan is more. Most of the California programs are much, much higher. Columbia. Harvard. Detroit Mercy. Case Western. Temple. Pitt. Boston. Maryland. Marquette. The former OEC's at UNLV and Colorado are also outrageous. The list goes on and on.

If all you care about is cheap, try UIC or UMKC. Tennessee and Baylor are also cheap and have good programs.

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Wrong!! All Iowas Ortho Residents are considered in state and it is about a free program... 8K tuition+8K stipend=free Just to clear that up... My buddy is about to start there...

Kfiles said:

Wrong!! All Iowas Ortho Residents are considered in state and it is about a free program... 8K tuition+8K stipend=free Just to clear that up... My buddy is about to start there...

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That's awfully nice of Iowa to consider their out of state people to be In State. They didn't mention that when I was interviewing there. It wouldn't have changed my mind even if they had. But still, its quite generous of them.

The problem there is patients. That school just doesn't have much of a patient pool. And the population they draw from is not very diverse. You won't see as much variety.

Jaybe said:

That's awfully nice of Iowa to consider their out of state people to be In State. They didn't mention that when I was interviewing there. It wouldn't have changed my mind even if they had. But still, its quite generous of them.

The problem there is patients. That school just doesn't have much of a patient pool. And the population they draw from is not very diverse. You won't see as much variety.

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A friend of mine who attended dental school at Iowa told me that a bunch of new orthodontists moved into town. Iowa City is already small and likely wasn't doing a great job filling the school's ortho department w/ patients. He figured with all those young orthodontists (three new ones in the last 2 years) moving in, this would further decrease the pool of patients who would go to the dental school for tx.

I was also told that Iowa is especially qualified at playing favorites with their in-state residents. I've known a few supremely qualified students who did dental school at Iowa, but who were not in-state residents. These kids ranked Iowa #1 only to be passed up by others way down the rank list who grew up in the Hawkeye state.

The director, Dr. Southard, works hard to keep the local orthodontists happy by selecting Iowa natives for his program. That's fine for him and the state. These guys I know were quite frustrated initially post-match. As time passed, however, they express their gratitude to be in their current locations for multiple reasons.

Strangely, a UNC kid even left Iowa's program in the fall of '05 for various reasons. I'd never heard of anyone leaving any ortho program for any reason. It's ortho, buddy. How bad can it be? And to think someone I knew (top rank and 98 on boards) didn't get into Iowa when this UNC fellow drops out. A coveted ortho spot washed down the toilet.

vorosvirag said:

A friend of mine who attended dental school at Iowa told me that a bunch of new orthodontists moved into town. Iowa City is already small and likely wasn't doing a great job filling the school's ortho department w/ patients. He figured with all those young orthodontists (three new ones in the last 2 years) moving in, this would further decrease the pool of patients who would go to the dental school for tx.

I was also told that Iowa is especially qualified at playing favorites with their in-state residents. I've known a few supremely qualified students who did dental school at Iowa, but who were not in-state residents. These kids ranked Iowa #1 only to be passed up by others way down the rank list who grew up in the Hawkeye state.

The director, Dr. Southard, works hard to keep the local orthodontists happy by selecting Iowa natives for his program. That's fine for him and the state. These guys I know were quite frustrated initially post-match. As time passed, however, they express their gratitude to be in their current locations for multiple reasons.

Strangely, a UNC kid even left Iowa's program in the fall of '05 for various reasons. I'd never heard of anyone leaving any ortho program for any reason. It's ortho, buddy. How bad can it be? And to think someone I knew (top rank and 98 on boards) didn't get into Iowa when this UNC fellow drops out. A coveted ortho spot washed down the toilet.

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Darn it! I wouldn't have spent the money on them if I had known the spots all go to Iowa residents. I took a chance because they interviewed my non-Iowa classmate one year. Not all states are so generous to their qualified residents as I'm sure we all know.

As unfathomable as it sounds, people do leave ortho programs. We're short a second year resident because someone left our program (for personal reasons) to start over elsewhere.

while we're on the topic of favoritism, does anyone have information on UCLA? with the alleged 20+ people applying to ortho from each graduating class, does the ortho program essentially reserve all their spots for in-house candidates?

Kfiles said:

Wrong!! All Iowas Ortho Residents are considered in state and it is about a free program... 8K tuition+8K stipend=free Just to clear that up... My buddy is about to start there...

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that's news to me- i thought residents got to keep the 8K @ iowa. i sense a trend of applicants ranking some of the NY schools up there, instead of dropping 50K at another program, think about it, montefiore, st. barnabus, rochester, maimonides all give stipends (after paying back some in the form of tuition) ranging from 25-55K, and i think all offer housing for about $6-800/month as well.
back to iowa, i was definitely impressed with the residents and southard and bishara top notch dudes.

taylort said:

while we're on the topic of favoritism, does anyone have information on UCLA? with the alleged 20+ people applying to ortho from each graduating class, does the ortho program essentially reserve all their spots for in-house candidates?

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1

Some schools ask "obnoxious" or strange questions because they want to see what kind of person you realy are (and sometimes how you respond under pressure). I think these are best questions to ask because it gets the interviewees away from their rehearsed, rubber stamp answers. Anyone can prepare an answer that sounds impressive, but predetermined answers often appear as such.

The best thing to do is just be yourself and be honest. Most programs appreciate the honesty and respect someone that can say they don't know the answer to a question (or have never thought about the answer to a given question).

S Files said:

that's news to me- i thought residents got to keep the 8K @ iowa. i sense a trend of applicants ranking some of the NY schools up there, instead of dropping 50K at another program, think about it, montefiore, st. barnabus, rochester, maimonides all give stipends (after paying back some in the form of tuition) ranging from 25-55K, and i think all offer housing for about $6-800/month as well.
back to iowa, i was definitely impressed with the residents and southard and bishara top notch dudes.

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Yeah, I liked the residents a lot too. But I heard the bosses there don't even let the residents go to GORP. Like they are isolated from the outside world or something. Has anyone else heard that???

i sense a trend of applicants ranking some of the NY schools up there, instead of dropping 50K at another program

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Plus in NY medicare pays $6,000 for ortho tx. Patients have to meet certain qualifications (eg certain amount of overjet), but nonetheless tons of ortho patients with the NY programs.

Cost of Living can be much higher in NY though.

ScorpiORTHO said:

Cost of Living can be much higher in NY though.

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higher??? ya that's an understatement boston, la, dc and new york cost of living is ridiculous. that's why i wrote in my post that not only do some of the nyc programs offer stipends, but housing as well @ 600/800 at month....which is key.

Montefiore which is outside of manhattan and in the bronx provides stipend. But, they subtract most of it for "tuition". Columbia and NYU's simple tuition is over $40,000 with no stipend. St. Barnabas and Maimonides give some stipend as well, but again are outside of manhattan and I believe, require at least 1 year of experience after dental school.

True that all big cities have higher cost of living. But you know what? It appears that programs outside of big cities also charge less tuition. What do you think?

Jyaki said:

The UCLA ortho program is going through some serious political $hit right now. They were essentially caught selling their ortho spots. May not be such a big deal if it was a private school, but they're supposed to be a state supported program and not a state assisted one. The dean, ortho directors and alumni are all slinging mud at each other right now. It should be interesting to see how this pans out.

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Do you have any evidence for your claims? A good friend of mine is a resident in UCLA's ortho program and has told me this upcoming class is particularly stellar. 4 out of the 7 got 98 on Part I of the boards. I personally don't have a 98, but I can imagine these people didn't need to "buy" a spot into UCLA.

I think this forum is great for discussions, but it is to the benefit of everyone here if we all provide accurate information, not just unfounded rumors.

ScorpiORTHO said:

Montefiore which is outside of manhattan and in the bronx provides stipend. But, they subtract most of it for "tuition". Columbia and NYU's simple tuition is over $40,000 with no stipend. St. Barnabas and Maimonides give some stipend as well, but again are outside of manhattan and I believe, require at least 1 year of experience after dental school.

True that all big cities have higher cost of living. But you know what? It appears that programs outside of big cities also charge less tuition. What do you think?

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interviewed at Montefiore this past cycle and yes the stipend starts at 50K, goes up 2K every yr, and they charge 25K for tuition, so they still end up w/ 25-30K / year take home. Maimonides stipend starts at 52K. Didn't interview @ St.barnabus- i believe stipend is around 40K. Columbia and NYU tuition is off the charts. i wouldn't generalize big cities = more tuition. it depends on the program. the only constant is most hospital based programs offer stipends (einstein in philly, and the ones above, few others). in a larger city i would go for resident housing if available.

Jocan said:

Some schools ask "obnoxious" or strange questions because they want to see what kind of person you realy are (and sometimes how you respond under pressure). I think these are best questions to ask because it gets the interviewees away from their rehearsed, rubber stamp answers. Anyone can prepare an answer that sounds impressive, but predetermined answers often appear as such.

The best thing to do is just be yourself and be honest. Most programs appreciate the honesty and respect someone that can say they don't know the answer to a question (or have never thought about the answer to a given question).

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Any schools in particular? Is UCSF one of them? I hear each interview consists of 8-10 interviewers.

toofache32 said:

"How long did you serve before you were released for good behavior?"

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And the usual follow up to that question... "Spit, or swallow?"

off topic question...

PASS apps are due sometime in june or july if i'm correct. which means the programs see your GPA and class rank after spring semester. prior to interviews in the fall, does your school send your updated gpa and rank from the summer semester?

cuneatus2 said:

Did your classmate have research in that area on his CV? It's not too uncommon to get questions about your research topic to gauge just how well you understood it.

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i know who asked that question
he is a local renaissance man, just testing that person's non-dental vocabulary
there IS life outside teeth!

texas_dds said:

i know who asked that question
he is a local renaissance man, just testing that person's non-dental vocabulary
there IS life outside teeth!

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in reference to the saponification question

also, watch out at baylor - Dr. White will ask you about everything BUT teeth or your career goals or anything else. classical composers, current but obscure events, all kinds of fun stuff!