Interview Question: Why did you pick this D school?

[dkny2kx]

How do you answer the question "Why did you pick this dental school?"

Please do not include statements of relatives, or praying to go there since i was a child.

just factual things that I should research.

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[jackbauer!]

mention that you like the location, and that you respect the school's clinical and/or research aspect.

honestly though, if you can't answer this question on you're own, then you probably shouldn't have applied there.

jb!

 

[tooth decay]

The usual suspects: quality of faculty, research opportunities, patient population, training facilities and program, student mentoring programs, reputation of dental school, specialty rates, location to name just a few.

If you can come up with a personal connection with the school (e.g. relative went there, you did some schooling or research at the same institution, etc. ) that would give you a leg up on the rest.

 

[toothfairy85]

I will give you a specific example.

I am a Texas resident and applied to all my in-state schools as well as several out-of-state schools, including Nova Southeastern. At my Nova interview, I was asked "Why did you apply to Nova?"

I told them that the location was a determining factor. I applied to schools that I thought I would be happy living there and establishing a practice after graduation. I had vacationed in parts of Florida growing up and I knew it was a place that I would be happy. I also like the fact that the school is relatively new, so it is really up-to-date with technology... ie: simulation clinic, laptop curriculum. I also liked the fact that there are many students from different health-related disciplines on one campus.

My best advice is to research the schools you get offered interviews, find something you really like about it, and if asked, mention it. If there are any other reasons (like I had mentioned), be honest... many adcoms will be able to tell if you are saying what you think they want to hear.

 

[HeMan]

Here's my take on it. Most schools some sort of obvious advantage. It may be your state school, "in NYC," new facilities, small class size. Typically the admin. is proud of their obvious advantages, but they want their school to be seen as "more that just X." Now for the hard part, and I guess this is what the OP was getting at in the first place. You have to find something less obvious, and they'll know you are serious (or at least did enough homework to look like you are). Man, I should be a politician with the way I answer questions that weren't asked.

 

[Streetwolf]

Instead of blindly choosing schools you should select them for good reasons. Do a LITTLE research before selecting 15 or however many schools. Choose school A because of the location and class size. Choose school B because you've only heard good things about their clinic. Choose school C because it's very affordable, your state school, and you happen to know many faculty members.

etc etc...

 

[yeabuddy]

I would also recommend before your interview to speak with some of the students already in that particular dental school. They will tell you with honest answers the positives about the school and you can use that to answer the question "why did you choose this d school?"

Last cycle I went on seven interviews and the admissions officers all said the same thing. They try to hype up their school and make it sound so appealing to applicants. Each school made you think that their school was the best. Speaking with the students will give you the real positives and negatives about the school and why you should choose it over others.