Answering "Why Dentistry?" in Personal Statement & interview

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I'm not applying this cycle, but I recently had to write a 1-page essay about my motivation in pursuing dentistry for something that I applied for an organization.


I'm content with it and feel like 50% of my personal statement will come from it when I revise it within these next few months.

My question is...

What else should you include in your personal statement, because I feel like mine will have about 2/3 answering "why dentistry?" What should the rest 1/3 of my personal statement also include? Is 2/3 too much to focus on for answering that question?

I also worry that if I take up so many characters in writing about my motivation behind pursuing dentistry, that it might take away some aspects if I basically regurgitate what I wrote in my personal statement IN the interview.

Isn't the interviewer going to be reading my personal statement anyways, would they want to hear the same exact thing in person?

 

[sketo43]

I wrote my entire personal statement on the topic of "why dentistry"... so I think you're fine if you want to write mostly about this topic.

It's not a problem if you repeat the same information from your personal statement in your interview. In fact, I would encourage you to do so. Admissions committees want your interview to be consistent with the rest of your application. Interviews always repeat a lot of the same information from your application - if you give a different answer in person, that would be a problem.

 

[dentalWorks]

from what I understand, every interview is different, some have your file open where they ask you questions about your PS while others are totally closed book, the only thing the interviewer knows is your name.

some interviews ask you questions that have NOTHING to do with your PS and others mostly focus on your PS... its totally different. Some may ask you weird questions that has nothing to do with your application, things about health care ethics, health care reform, things of that nature.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

Best way to convince someone that you really want to do dentistry is to explain the real reason why you want to do it. anyone can make up generic responses and follow through with the same answers/responses in interviews. The true honest people stand out and make it seem more realistic despite probably being simple or stupid (my dad convinced me dentistry is better than medicine)>

 

[No19Prophy]

To the best of my knowledge, your personal statement is the first step in telling the admissions committees who you really are. The statement is in part a test of well you can write. However, I don't think telling them why you want to become a dentist is as important as trying to convince them that you have the potential for becoming a great dentist.

Remember that you're addressing dentists, many of which may have their own practices, or have at least practiced dentistry at some point in time, and were once college students like you, and were also dental students. They may not be interested in knowing why dentistry is very awesome because if they did not think so, they wouldn't have pursued it as a career. You want to show them not only that you would love to do what they do, but that you can be good at it if they train you.

From what I have learned, I think that you need to make it relatively personal. You want your statement to stand out, so that if an interviewer has read it before hand, they will associate it with your transcript.

You might want to start with an anecdote, or some kind of introduction that attracts the reader's attention, which will at least in part explain why you decided to become a dentist, or started to consider it. You have to be able to explain how you became a dentist. Some for example have family members who are dentists who exposed them to the practice. Others, for example, had experiences as dental patients that motivated them to become dentists. I for example, and for a relatively long time, had no idea what I wanted to do, and actually developed a real passion for dentistry after working as an assistant for a pediatric dentist. Everyone has a different experience.

Then, you want to talk about qualities and experiences that may prove valuable for you in a dental career. You should mention any relevant volunteer, education or work experience, or challenges you were able to overcome; all while making sure to tie that with your main thesis: Please accept me as a student at your dental school!

The interview will have elements of your application generally, including your personal statement, but I don't know if you need to worry about it now. It is very important that you stay honest and consistent, because the interview will be a test of how you communicate verbally, and you may have to further talk about something you wrote on your application or statement. You may also be asked about things not covered in the application or personal statement, such as your background, discrepancies in your transcript(s), what you would do in hypothetical situations (that seem to have nothing to do at all with anything, but seem to be important enough for the interviewer that they are willing to ask you about them)... etc.

I really hope that helped. I wish you luck getting into (then graduating) dental school!