How did you prepare?

[OhioGuy42]

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Hey guys! I am trying to prepare for my interview coming up and its my only one so I really want to kill it! I was just curious for anyone who was accepted on how you prepared for your interviews and any recommendations? Thanks again!

 

[Iroh]

I did very little preparation other than looking at some questions people posted that they were asked at their interview.

At the end of the day, I wanted to be accepted to a school because I gave genuine, truthful answers on the spot that showed my interest/passion for dentistry.

Unfortunately interviews are simply a means of getting in, and I know a wide variety of people that fabricate their answers/stories in order to sound more interested and more interesting.

I didn't want to receive an acceptance based off of a lie, even though it meant that I might not "sound" as good as someone that ran their answers through 10 different people just to make them sound like they were more involved than they really were.

 

[Cthuluhoop]

I prepped by answering "why dentistry?" and "why this school?" question.
I never got asked a single "interview" question at my 6 interviews other than those two. Just know your application and know yourself and why you want to be a dentist

This is a great resource that I studied the night before:
Dental Interview Feedback List | Student Doctor Network

 

[OhioGuy42]

Im mostly just scared of using any type of slang or casual talk... my mouth also gets dry so like would i be able to bring in a bottle of water or would that be super weird

 

[Cthuluhoop]

Im mostly just scared of using any type of slang or casual talk... my mouth also gets dry so like would i be able to bring in a bottle of water or would that be super weird

Bringing in a bottle of water is perfectly fine. Also important to be drinking water during the interview day prior to the actual interview to keep hydrated.
Two of my interviews even had water in the room for interviewees to drink. I was super stressed for my first one, but you really just have to shake the nerves off and go in confident. Easier said than done, but it is really important. Depending on the school, it will probably be more like a conversation than an interview. Most schools save for a few are keeping the traditional intense interview format

 

[rk1229]

The whole thing is a mystery. I bombed my first interview and absolutely killed the rest. But guess what school I got into? Only the interview I bombed [emoji23] I don’t get the process haha


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[OhioGuy42]

Bringing in a bottle of water is perfectly fine. Also important to be drinking water during the interview day prior to the actual interview to keep hydrated.
Two of my interviews even had water in the room for interviewees to drink. I was super stressed for my first one, but you really just have to shake the nerves off and go in confident. Easier said than done, but it is really important. Depending on the school, it will probably be more like a conversation than an interview. Most schools save for a few are keeping the traditional intense interview format

yeah the school i am interviewing at is said to be more stress free and more like a conversational interview which is fine because I can hold a conversation no problem.. i also dont have a problem talking to people but im definitely gonna take that tip of staying hydrated!

 

[macsak]

I did very little preparation other than looking at some questions people posted that they were asked at their interview.

At the end of the day, I wanted to be accepted to a school because I gave genuine, truthful answers on the spot that showed my interest/passion for dentistry.

Unfortunately interviews are simply a means of getting in, and I know a wide variety of people that fabricate their answers/stories in order to sound more interested and more interesting.

I didn't want to receive an acceptance based off of a lie, even though it meant that I might not "sound" as good as someone that ran their answers through 10 different people just to make them sound like they were more involved than they really were.

@Iroh is correct
relax and be yourself
give them YOUR answer, not the answer you think they want to hear
would you rather be accepted for your strengths, or because you pretended to be something else?

 

[princeafrica]

Im mostly just scared of using any type of slang or casual talk... my mouth also gets dry so like would i be able to bring in a bottle of water or would that be super weird

One interviewer said what's up to me. I said what's up back

Some other applicants I met at interviews told me their mouth get dry when they are nervous so they used biotene

 

[okiedokeartichoke]

If your mouth gets dry, I stuck some mints into my jacket pocket to induce salivation. I just popped it into my mouth just before the interview. I also made sure to bring a bottle of water with me because some schools didn't even provide water prior to the interview sessions, only during lunch.

As for prepping for the questions, going to the Interview Feedback page of the school on SDN definitely helps you get an idea of what they'll ask you.

 

[Faux]

My list of interview questions for upcoming cycle!

 

[2jz]

One interviewer said what's up to me. I said what's up back

Some other applicants I met at interviews told me their mouth get dry when they are nervous so they used biotene

I had an oxygen tank I was taking hits from in between questions like I was in the cfp.

But yeah it's definitely important to remain calm and collected. They know you'll be nervous and it's probably okay to seem it to some extent. However, it looks a whole lot better if you can show a degree of self confidence. You've earned the interview, you deserve to be there, now close the deal.

I'd recommend practicing questions ahead of time, ideally with someone who isn't a peer, someone older like a mentor or an advisor, but even just by yourself is enough. They should always be honest, authentic answers, but positive spin is important. Never steer the conversation towards a negative, or blame someone else, and if you have to, you show them how you made it into a positive in the end.

 

[pma96]

Mainly what I did the day before at my hotel room was looking around in the school's website and Youtube channel to be familiar with the program. I'd say showing interest in the program and convincing the interviewer that you'll be attending that school is really important. Yes, be honest but also smart with your answers. Remember at the end of the day your goal is getting admitted. Other than that, I always reviewed a document that's online from UPenn with practice interview questions. I didn't have a set answer for each question but rather a general idea of the points I wanted to get across. It was helpful in avoiding 'surprise' questions since when I'm nervous I can sometimes get stuck.

 

[setdoc7]

Answers should be thoughtful and to the point. Preparation is always a good idea. Well thought out answers shine brightly, as there are generally few of them.

 

[aspiring-dentist101]

Aside from preparation, be yourself and remain calm. I am sure you will do great! Good luck to you, OP.

 

[HuskersForTD]

talk to yourself in the mirror, have your professors interview you and read up on dental posts. Good LUCK!

 

[weaselodeath]

Winging it completely is definitely possible, especially if you tend to screw yourself up by being an over thinker. I am the opposite and prepared for the interview like I would prepare for any job interview.

Like was previously said, you gotta know what is important to the school. Pick out things you like. If you picked the school out at random, now is the time to think of reasons you like the school and ways that you would fit into their culture. Be specific here.

The morning of my interviews I would write down some bullet points that I wanted to hit in my “why dentistry” and “why this school” questions. I didn’t bring the paper with me, but it helped restrict and organize what I wanted to say. I will just blabber on nonsensically pretty much forever unless I slow down and organize myself.

Make sure to leave plenty of time to get there. Get up earlier than you need to. I was late to one of my interviews and it threw me off right from the start.

Once I was actually there I would try to just be myself as much as that’s possible in the context of an interview day. I definitely don’t miss that crap.

 

[DentTreadOnMe]

If you have something tangible that says something about your interests, like artwork or composed music, etc, they will likely remember you better.

Also be down to earth but focus your answers around what makes you unique and how those unique attributes can ADD VALUE to a dental class.

 

[setdoc7]

Just need to add in here that the advice being given, and not from anyone in particular, seems real, and for the most part terrible. Most of you use the same strategy at Residency interviews, which is even worse, as you have been through 3 years of grad school. The second career students do much better than those who go straight through, as their interview strategy and accumen is higher.
Be yourself is good for bowling league. Be a professional is where D school is at. Try starting at the d school interview and carry it through.

 

[Faefly]

I had my first and only pre-December interview at NOVA and it was like the end of November, so I wasn't expecting much.

Anyway, what I did is I went and bought a nice suit and a shirt. I love blue so it was blue.

(which later, I deemed bad luck and threw it away and changed to a cute outfit instead lol, but I'll get to that later)

Anyway, so I had this 100 typical questions that I found online and I copy pasted and answered them all
and then went to Nova interview feedback and copy pasted all the questions and answered the ones that weren't on the first 100 questions. That took me a day or two to finish.

I didn't memorize anything. But that is how I roll anyway, I don't memorize, If I show you how my many notes I wrote for the bio section of the DAT, you would be shocked, which I later never looked at and threw away anyway.

So, like I said I wrote them and looked at my answers once or twice and that was it.

I went to my interview earlier than the time they wrote on their website: They said 11 am, I arrived at 10:30

Now, you might wonder why would I do that?

Oh, because I have a paranoid sister that have to make me go before time so she was with me during the trip, she made sure I arrive earlier lol

Which was a very good thing.
Why again?

Because when you arrive early, you get to talk to only 2 or 3 students there, so you bond with them, and whoever comes later, will sit next to your small cycle and they would talk to you and the others.

So, arriving early is very beneficial and good for you.

Eat before you arrive and you will probably eat there as well.



Anyway, so yeah, socialize, introduce yourself, tell them it's your first interview, they will root for you if they are nice who knows, lol.
yeah don't feel sorry for yourself, be nice and not mean ( like some girls and guys I met)
even if you are mean, please don't show it! We are all stressed at the interview, so it's hard enough already, we don't need to deal with mean people on top of that.

There are these shy people who don't talk to everyone in the group. If you are like this, don't be! Before you enter the waiting room, tell yourself, I am gonna be extrovert today, I can be Introvert for the rest of my life afterward. Ok?

When the ambassadors come and talk to you, be friendly to them and ask 1 or 2 questions during the tour.

When the interview part comes.

Don't forget to shake the interviewer hand and smile.

You don't have to answer the questions right away, take your time and answer as truthfully and honestly as possible

I bet you will hear one or two of these questions.

Tell me about yourself/why Dentistry/ what do you do for fun/ what are your good or bad qualities/ what are good or bad things about dentistry, /what makes a good dentist/ what will you do in 5 years from now/ and why our school?




Back to why my suit was thrown away. Oh well:

After my Nova interview, I felt very good and I felt I could really get in, but comes December, and no decision was made on me, no offer, no waitlist, nor rejection. ( we are talking about 4-5 days after my interview, the nerves I had, people had to wait for months to hear something and I wanted to hear it right away lol)

So, I felt bad and decided to wear something that represents me more and the clothes don't influence the decision anyway.



So, best of luck!

And I did get into Nova after a month from my interview.


Before I forget: Don't talk about grades and don't try to ask people so many questions about how many interviews or acceptances they have, many people try to avoid answering this question and they might consider you an enemy lol. But, yeah some people will tell about their experience anyway.