Am I competitive for ortho?!!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

kING701

Full Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
53
Reaction score
0
Hi was wondering if my stats are competitive for ortho.

1st year top 10%
2nd year top 5%
part 1 = 87
no research
tons of EC/volunteer work

Im in my third year right now and am deciding whether or not to apply to ortho residencies.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Your boards will ding you at a lot of schools, but top 5% class rank could make a difference. You might as well try. Apply to a high number of schools.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
remember what you still have control over.
1) your essays
2) letters of rec.
3) your class rank
4) GRE (for some schools)

You need to go and ask the person "can you write me a very positive letter of rec?" If they can't move on. Find someone who will make you shine, sit down and talk to them and give them a copy of your CV so they will know what to write about you. (hopefully they will let you read it, all mine did)

Keep your class rank up!!!! Often many people will decide that they don't want to specialize or after they match they will stop killing themselves for grades, so you can move up a few spots, especially if you don't get in the first time. For example I was #5 in my class and then after I matched I stopped killing myself and just did enough to get out (I got my first ever C and some Bs) so I'm sure I dropped out of the top 10%.

Also, take advantage of your universities writing center to help w/ your essay. They are typically staffed by English grad students who have helped with essays and resume's many times before.

Study for the GRE and kill it!

Also, have a backup plan, do you want to do ortho so bad you would do a GPR and then reapply? If so, you need to apply to some GPRs. I have two friends who when that route and got in the second time. They networked and showed interest in programs during their GPR and they got in. I think that if you truly show interest and explain how bad you want to do ortho, you'll eventually get in.

Lastly, apply to MANY, MANY schools....remember it only takes one. I had pretty good stats and applied to 23 schools, interviewed at 9, and matched at my number 6 choice....(a unique experience, most match at their number 1 or 2), but even though it sucks you need to give 110% because there are others who will give 109%.

Also, your best shot is at your home school, so start kissing some butt, see if you can get your face down in the ortho clinic. Go and talk to the program director about how much you love the program, how much you want to stay, what you should do to make yourself a great candidate. Go again to show him your list of schools and see if he has recommendations. Etc.

Good luck, I know it sucks, I feel for you!
 
you're competitive and i think you know it. what are you worried about? that you aren't #1? not picking on you...just trying to keep it real :) if you like ortho, go for it :thumbup: i'd agree though that even though you have what it takes to apply for ortho you probably should apply to as many schools as possible.

just for clarification -- when you say top 5% after 2nd year, is that your cumulative rank or your rank just for the 2nd year?



Hi was wondering if my stats are competitive for ortho.

1st year top 10%
2nd year top 5%
part 1 = 87
no research
tons of EC/volunteer work

Im in my third year right now and am deciding whether or not to apply to ortho residencies.
 
Hi was wondering if my stats are competitive for ortho.

1st year top 10%
2nd year top 5%
part 1 = 87
no research
tons of EC/volunteer work

Im in my third year right now and am deciding whether or not to apply to ortho residencies.


You have a shot.
I've seen stranger things like people with part 1 at 84-85 get in. Part 1 is weak but not impossible.
your top 5% ranking is very important to keep up with, it will get you some interviews: apply to 30+ or 40+ or 50+ schools.
Don't be choosey on which school to go to.
 
thx a lot for the feedback. I'll keep you posted on the outcome :eek:
 
I was wondering, for future reference, if the research has to be dental related/done in dental school or if its any kind of research that could have been performed in undergrad. I am sure that dental research would look good, don't get me wrong, but I am curious if undergrad research would completely be discounted. Thoughts?
 
If you're published, I'd say it should be worthy enough in their eyes. If not, then of course dental research would be better, but your undergrad research certainly wouldn't hurt.


I was wondering, for future reference, if the research has to be dental related/done in dental school or if its any kind of research that could have been performed in undergrad. I am sure that dental research would look good, don't get me wrong, but I am curious if undergrad research would completely be discounted. Thoughts?
 
Hey, thanks for the reply. The dental school I am starting in the fall was very upfront that they do very little research. Its possible, but it sounds like it is very independent of help from faculty (i.e. write a proposal for a $500 grant). I guess I will have to keep my eyes open for any opportunites.

I am hoping for a paper publication soon :xf:And good luck, OP!
 
i have similar stats except poor class rank, and still going to apply and check whether i can match!
 
All of the stats I see for how competitive people are is for dental students. Does anyone know about people that have actual experience? How far does the real world experience get you?
I will have 3 years full time experience, both in the military and part time in private practice. I served as the brigade dental surgeon for about 8000 combat troops in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and have been a part of some ortho study clubs, member OKU etc...

NBDE1&2- 89
class rank top 10-15%
GRE- haven't taken it yet but sounds like you need above a 1200

I feel like I should be competitive, and I don't feel like applying to every single program in the country. There are 8 that I am seriously interested in. Would it be totally foolish not to apply to 20?
 
All of the stats I see for how competitive people are is for dental students. Does anyone know about people that have actual experience? How far does the real world experience get you?
I will have 3 years full time experience, both in the military and part time in private practice. I served as the brigade dental surgeon for about 8000 combat troops in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and have been a part of some ortho study clubs, member OKU etc...

NBDE1&2- 89
class rank top 10-15%
GRE- haven't taken it yet but sounds like you need above a 1200

I feel like I should be competitive, and I don't feel like applying to every single program in the country. There are 8 that I am seriously interested in. Would it be totally foolish not to apply to 20?

i'm probably not the best source of information about matching into ortho post-graduation, so keep that in mind when you read my post.

although work experiences, especially ones that catch your eye like your military stint during Op Iraqi Freedom, may be interesting and help you land some interviews, i don't think ortho as a specialty is like endo where candidates with post-grad training or private practice experiences are at an advantage or are even sought after. however, that experience combined with your good class rank may work out well for you.

in regards to how many programs you should apply to... this may be sort of hypocritical of me to say because i only applied to 9 programs, but i think it would benefit you a ton to apply to the usual 20+ schools that people recommend. although your stats and work experience are decently solid, it's not worth it to take a gamble and apply to only 8 programs. like i said it's sort of hard for me to say this bc i obviously didn't take my own advice and i dunno if i really would apply to more schools if i had a second go at it (i'd like to think that i would open up my options a little bit more by applying to more programs if i had to do it over again), but seeing what i've seen during this past cycle has me convinced the more programs applied to the better no matter your stats and how confident you feel. definitely better safe than sorry. there are tons of threads on this subject, so i'll let you read those instead of rehashing what's already been said a million times over. i can say that i am no longer a skeptic about the "apply to as many programs as you can" method...not so much because of my own personal experiences, but because i've seen how things worked out (or didn't work out) for people i know applying to ortho.

good luck!
 
All of the stats I see for how competitive people are is for dental students. Does anyone know about people that have actual experience? How far does the real world experience get you?
I will have 3 years full time experience, both in the military and part time in private practice. I served as the brigade dental surgeon for about 8000 combat troops in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and have been a part of some ortho study clubs, member OKU etc...

NBDE1&2- 89
class rank top 10-15%
GRE- haven't taken it yet but sounds like you need above a 1200

I feel like I should be competitive, and I don't feel like applying to every single program in the country. There are 8 that I am seriously interested in. Would it be totally foolish not to apply to 20?
Your stats are reasonable, but the real question here is why wouldn't you want to apply to more than 8 programs? Hopefully it isn't a cost of applying issue since you aren't a student anymore. Do you feel limited by geography?

The real question is how bad do I want to match this next cycle? If you want to increase your chances, apply to more schools. if you get lots of interviews, then be more choosey about which ones you go to. If you are overly confident, apply to only 8. It might work out great for you. Just decide now if applying to 8 this year and not matching is ok with you. Besides, you might be surprised by some of the programs out there that you didn't think much of. Most programs have a "personality" of some sort and it helps to find one that fits yours.
 
Your stats are reasonable, but the real question here is why wouldn't you want to apply to more than 8 programs? Hopefully it isn't a cost of applying issue since you aren't a student anymore. Do you feel limited by geography?

The real question is how bad do I want to match this next cycle? If you want to increase your chances, apply to more schools. if you get lots of interviews, then be more choosey about which ones you go to. If you are overly confident, apply to only 8. It might work out great for you. Just decide now if applying to 8 this year and not matching is ok with you. Besides, you might be surprised by some of the programs out there that you didn't think much of. Most programs have a "personality" of some sort and it helps to find one that fits yours.

Your logic is sound. My wife's job is limited by geography, but she doesn't necessarily have to work... That being said, especially because I am not certain how competitive I am, it makes the most sense to cast a wide net, and I can better gauge my appeal as a candidate based on interview offers.

Thanks for the advice.
 
Top