How do you answer the "Tell me about yourself" question?!

[toothfairy05]

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Do you start when you were born/where you're from? Or do you start with what college you're from and what you majored in?

Thanks snd'ers!

 

[OU11BB]

I started with where i grew up

 

[Denteeth]

Do you start when you were born/where you're from? Or do you start with what college you're from and what you majored in?

Thanks snd'ers!

This is really a make or break type question so make sure you practice this question with your friends or family.
Most dental schools want to hear about your past accomplishments and how you are planning to utilize those achievements in pursing the profession of dentistry. So, you can talk about your academic history, your study habits, how you overcame certain difficulties or obstacles in your life etc. etc… basically stuff that is directly related to dentistry…
However, what you do not want to talk about is your personal stuff such as your pets, spouse, hobbies etc… do not bring up any of these topics during the interview -- you might end up having a really relaxed and laid back conversation around these topics and you might even come out saying wow I really did well … but this is not what those interviewers are expecting to hear from you
You really really need to tell them why you are better than all those other applicants they will interview this cycle.
Good luck

 

[darktruth]

They ask that question in order for you to tell them info about yourself that they can't ask otherwise - such as your family life, experiences that you had that don't show up in numbers, etc.

Just tell them what makes you unique and give them a idea of who you are

 

[yappy]

This is a make or break question and should roll off your tongue like gold into the interviews ear.

 

[Phlogicyde]

I would hold back from talking about personal stuff in response to this particular question and keep it as professional as possible. I would talk about where you went to school, what initially interested you in the field of dentistry, your academic accomplishments, or something to that effect. Keep in mind that this is a professional interview and it should be approached as such. I would let the interviewer guide the interview towards the more personal realm if that's what they want. If they want to know more about your family, hobbies, or childhood they'll have no problem asking about those specific aspects of your life.

 

[JBieber]

This is really a make or break type question so make sure you practice this question with your friends or family.
Most dental schools want to hear about your past accomplishments and how you are planning to utilize those achievements in pursing the profession of dentistry. So, you can talk about your academic history, your study habits, how you overcame certain difficulties or obstacles in your life etc. etc… basically stuff that is directly related to dentistry…
However, what you do not want to talk about is your personal stuff such as your pets, spouse, hobbies etc… do not bring up any of these topics during the interview -- you might end up having a really relaxed and laid back conversation around these topics and you might even come out saying wow I really did well … but this is not what those interviewers are expecting to hear from you
You really really need to tell them why you are better than all those other applicants they will interview this cycle.
Good luck

I'm glad I read this. I would've totally talked about personal stuff lol.

 

[hopefulDMD]

I'm glad I read this. I would've totally talked about personal stuff lol.

agreed. i would've talked about personal stuff as well. thanks for the advice

 

[Denticles11]

This helped me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezFNrWMTlc&feature=channel

 

[minoh87]

idk is it bad to just mention what your hobbies are? yea the focus should be on your previouos experiences but i also heard that with the opener questions like this, you should "seed" the interviewer so that you can talk about your forte's. for example i mentioned about photography and dentists do use a lot of digi photgraphy...

 

[UKdreams]

I've already had two interviews and before I went to one, I had practice with someone on the admissions committee..
They told me that they have all of your academics on paper. You DONT need to tell them about your grades, shadowing, really anything school because they have it.
Instead, tell them something unique that you like to do (surfing, skiing, playing drums, anything really). Tell them about a club or volunteer experience on a greater level. If you have a good relationship with your family, talk about your family.
After one of my interviews was over, we had a guy come in and talk to a few of us casually until we were released. He asked us this question, tell me about yourselves? what do you like to do?, etc. One guy just KEPT going on about setting up community service evens, student government and the admissions guy kept on asking, no, I mean what do you do for fun? So act like a real person and not a robot, because the admissions guy was clearly annoyed. If school and shadowing is all you do, you may not be the dynamic person they want.

 

[Phlogicyde]

I've already had two interviews and before I went to one, I had practice with someone on the admissions committee..
They told me that they have all of your academics on paper. You DONT need to tell them about your grades, shadowing, really anything school because they have it.
Instead, tell them something unique that you like to do (surfing, skiing, playing drums, anything really). Tell them about a club or volunteer experience on a greater level. If you have a good relationship with your family, talk about your family.
After one of my interviews was over, we had a guy come in and talk to a few of us casually until we were released. He asked us this question, tell me about yourselves? what do you like to do?, etc. One guy just KEPT going on about setting up community service evens, student government and the admissions guy kept on asking, no, I mean what do you do for fun? So act like a real person and not a robot, because the admissions guy was clearly annoyed. If school and shadowing is all you do, you may not be the dynamic person they want.

Everything about that situation screams at the fact that the man wanted more personal information. In that case, yes it's a mistake to insist on keeping things professional because you'll end up looking like the guy who's all work and no play. However, I still think it's best that when your interviewer starts things off with the "tell me about yourself" question you keep the personal information to a minimum. The worst case scenario at that point is that your interviewer will have to specifically ask a more personal question for a more personal response. That would be an understandable situation because this is after all a professional school interview. If on the other hand, your interview asks this question while looking for "professional" answer and you start talking about what it was like growing up with your pet goldfish in Kansas, you may at worst appear naive, inexperienced, and out of your league.

Also, just because something is in your application doesn't mean you shouldn't bring it up in the interview. I was constantly asked about why I wanted to be a dentist even though that's literally what my entire personal statement was about. This is just my advice, take it or leave it. Either way, best of luck.

 

[Dent001]

I've already had two interviews and before I went to one, I had practice with someone on the admissions committee..
They told me that they have all of your academics on paper. You DONT need to tell them about your grades, shadowing, really anything school because they have it.
Instead, tell them something unique that you like to do (surfing, skiing, playing drums, anything really). Tell them about a club or volunteer experience on a greater level. If you have a good relationship with your family, talk about your family.
After one of my interviews was over, we had a guy come in and talk to a few of us casually until we were released. He asked us this question, tell me about yourselves? what do you like to do?, etc. One guy just KEPT going on about setting up community service evens, student government and the admissions guy kept on asking, no, I mean what do you do for fun? So act like a real person and not a robot, because the admissions guy was clearly annoyed. If school and shadowing is all you do, you may not be the dynamic person they want.

i agree, that is exactly what i was thinking. they have our applications, they know our academics, they know our extra curriculars. they want to know about US. meaning what makes us who we are. i was gonna talk about the different aspects of my personality that make me me. they want to know about us thats why they ask us to describe ourselves. they are most likely going to ask other questions directly related to our extra curriculars or why we choose dentistry. you dont want to say everything about yourself at one time. keep them wanting more.

best way to prepare for this is doing some deep self reflection. i went kayaking out in the river and parked up by a sweet tree and just chilled there for a few hours reflecting upon myself. i sugest everyone try it.

 

[peanutb123]

Do you start when you were born/where you're from? Or do you start with what college you're from and what you majored in?

Thanks snd'ers!

Here is my answer and it always works hope it helps you: feel free to change things around


In west Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground where I spent most of my days
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool
And all shooting some b-ball outside of the school
When a couple of guys, they were up to no good
Started making trouble in my neighbourhood
I got in one little fight and my mom got scared
And said "You're moving with your auntie and uncle in (Dental school state)"

I whistled for a cab and when it came near the
License plate said "fresh" and had a dice in the mirror
If anything I could say that this cab was rare
But I thought nah, forget it, yo homes to D-school

I pulled up to your school about seven or eight
And I yelled to the cabby "Yo, homes smell you later!"
Looked at my kingdom I was finally there
To sit on my throne as I interview
in front of you.

 

[toothfairy05]

Thanks everyone for your input! Ok, so I'm going to summarize the consensus:

-where you grew up/ where you're from/family
-where you went to high school
-where you went to college, what you majored in
-work experience if any after college (i'm a non-traditional applicant)
-what led you to dentistry

Should be a 2-3 minute response.

 

[JBieber]

(How) Should our answers differ depending on if the interview is open or closed file?

 

[ECUpirate19]

the other thing to consider when you anwser the question is the person may or may not have looked at your file of all your accomplishments it is hard to tell if they have when intially asked the question.

 

[UKRDON]

The interviewers have and know and even reviewed everything you have done. Where you have grown up and where you went to high school and college. They know your major and also you EC'S and what you did to shadow. I sincerely think that they ask this question to see if you can actually talk about something rather than dentistry. In fact I was prepared for my interview to tell them such things as where my middle name came from and how I have a 2 nieces and a nephew. It is just a time for you to be able to break your own ice.
If I was you I would really think about if they want to hear a cookie cut answer like everyone else gives about where they went to high school and college and what they majored in....Any other robot could ramble off what is on their application.
So, my advice to you would be to be yourself to a T! Don't let all the know it all's tell you otherwise. What an interview is for is to distinguish dental school material from non dental school material. So...SET YOUR SELF APART FROM EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS IN THE ROOM WITH YOU!!!
I wouldn't make the mistake of boring your interviewers.
In my interview they never asked me this question. However, I did have oppourtunities to tell them throughout the interview about my self in order to make an impression on them. When they asked the question "where do you see your self in 10 years?" I was able to explain a little bit about my self. When they asked about my current job, I was able to talk about what I did and what I liked about it.
So keep it real, and do not get caught in a robot voiced interview that I am sure they have heard before.
(Sorry this is so long 🙂 But I hope this may help, but just remember it is all a personal choice on how you go about)😀

 

[27Teeth]

Do you start when you were born/where you're from? Or do you start with what college you're from and what you majored in?

Thanks snd'ers!

Begin with birth, make sure to include EVERYTHING, pacifier use, bedwetting, nail biting, thumb sucking, move onto grade school spelling bee's, playground activities, best friends etc.. Remember they wanna know this stuff, don't leave anything out!

But if I were you, I'd start with college..