Help with preparing for dental school interview

[biiscute]

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Hi all, are there any tips for providing a less cliche answer yet still able to show that I am insightful? I kinda only give standard response during interview.. Help is greatly appreciated

 

[JAWSSS]

If you tie in a story from your past as you answer any question they ask (that might require a typically cliche answer) then you automatically appear to be less cliche.

"Why would you rather be a dentist and not a physician?"

Cliche option: "I want to be my own boss and have more patient interaction"

non-cliche option: "When I volunteered at a health clinic in Uganda... blah blah blah, patient interaction.... blah blah blah, be my own boss.... blah blah blah, and I don't think I would have come to this understanding if it wasn't for my time spent in Uganda."

The story is a little random... But, you get the point

 

[biiscute]

Alright so infusing story into my response.

 

[telemonster]

Alright so infusing story into my response.

Yep. Try to answer each question in such a way that you can refer to some interesting and unique aspects of your application.
Also, try to have some good questions for the interview. Ideally they would be questions you actually have, or questions that would show your interest in the school and in dentistry as a whole.

 

[Bottle]

im fresh to this whole dental thing. i have no experince but ..

i think if you act normal. very normal. not too tight or offical and not too funny or lose. being funny is good, but don't push it.

and as the person above me said ^ add stories and be special. you want them to remember you out of hundred people they interviewed.

 

[ATG20]

WAY easier said than done. This is why people struggle so much with interviews. The best advice I can give is to know your application and have answers for the "stock" questions. Like someone said before me relate stories to your answers. For example in every interview I got asked "why dentistry?"-- I replied with the same answer every time (obviously not word for word but the same principle). I love to serve others, I would relate a service trip I went on recently and how it opened my eyes to the opportunity that dentists have to serve in underserved areas. Easy--dont over think things either. My first interview I was so rehearsed and when I got in my interview I went blank (got wait listed). Next 3 interviews I just decided that I wasn't even going to rehearse. I looked over the interview feedback. Answered them one time in my head and didn't look again. (got in to all 3)

Spot on.

In addition to the above, just follow the idea that people love to talk and hear themselves speak. Ask the interviewer questions and they'll love it. I had a notebook at mine that I jotted down 15 or so questions in about the program and some more social questions, and these pretty much took over the interview and directed it. If you just respond with some rehearsed answer, you'll come across as a stiff and it'll be hard for them to gauge you as a person. The whole point of the interview is to gauge whether or not you're some nutter who shouldn't be allowed near patients. Think of the ppl across the table as just two random people you're having a conversation with. I did this and it put me at ease and made me feel very loose and casual. I was relaxed, but not sloppy. It worked for my final 3 interviews.