Hi friends! D1 here. Congrats on your interviews!
I noticed some of you were talking about whether or not to stay with a student. I personally believe that it doesn’t hurt to stay with a student because you can get to know more about the school and the life of a dental student. I didn’t chose the option to stay with a student on the interview sign up, but knew a couple students so I set it up on my own and mooched a couch so I could stay in town a little longer and get a good feel for things.
Interviews are relaxed. I had an afternoon interview so it started with a lunch. Not how I would have preferred to begin, but I was just happy as hell to have an interview. If I could have chosen, I’da picked a morning interview so I wouldn’t have to show people how picky of an eater I am right away
. You do you.
You’ll be given a sheet that tells you a little something about each of your interviewers. Basically to give you ideas on how you can connect with them or just to remind you that they’re also humans lol. Read it and use it to your advantage. You’ll have a two on one interview (one admissions team member and one professor) the professor can be from saint Louis (via skype) or kirksvillle. You’ll also have a one on one interview. That’s you sitting down with an admissions counselor. Remember that that is still an interview! My favorite part was the group interview. Where you and the other interviewees work together to discuss a problem and then present it. The key to this is finding balance. Dont be overpowering and dont be too quiet. Be sure to ask each other what they thing and really really work together. I worked really well with one of the other interviewees and we both got in!
If you have any bad grades (I had plenty #organic) be prepared to be asked about it. OWN UP TO IT. Show them you learned from it and have become a stronger, smarter student. My FIRST interview question was “What happpend with chemistry”
Dont let it shake you. Your grades do not define how amazing you are. Repeat. YOUR GRADES DO NOT DEFINE HOW AMAZING YOU ARE. Show them!!
They also have no idea what you went through. Did you have three jobs? Did your grandma die? Did you have to take care of a special needs family member? Did you just have trouble seeing how it was relevant to dentistry? What steps did you take to overcome those struggles and how are you better?
Side note: they DO actually read your application, so they do know if you have multiple jobs. It certainly doesn’t hurt to remind them though. Proof that they read applications: I got asked if people in my chem frat actually refer to each other as “brothers” He said he had to look back and make sure my application said female because I wrote “I am a brother of Alpha Chi Sigma”
Final bit of advice is to have tons of questions prepared in your mind and written down(you will blank out) and they will be hella impressed when you pull out a list of things you wanna know.
I hope this makes y’all feel a tiny bit less nervous!
