Class Rank

[fordcruise]

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I am curious what percentile you need to be in if you want to specialize? I know that it has a lot to do with the school you're applying to and the specialty you're applying for. Just curious, as a broad statement, what opportunities would be available for someone graduating in the top 15% of their dental school? I know ortho and OMFS are much more competitive and would likely only be the top 5 or 10%, but what are competitive rankings for the other specialties?

Thank you.

 

[DoctaFauci]

Nothing is certain. People in the top 5 don't match and people in the bottom quartile from the same class match sometimes. There are a lot of politics, nepotism, cronyism, etc. in the process. Obviously, better grades and more interviews yield higher chance of acceptance at a program. But sometimes it boils down to where you went to dental school or who you know. Sometimes your personality is more important than your credentials.

Bottom line: there are no bottom lines. Just do your best, apply, see what happens. No luck? Apply again.

 

[setdoc7]

Since class rank is not provided by many schools, (Harvard, UCSF, Columbia, UConn, Stonybrook, for example) it is not a hard metric. The ADAT will eventually even the field.