Hi goodstuff,
Thanks for the heads up on the dean at BU - she sounds a bit testy!! I can't believe you were asked only two questions on your one-on-one!!! How can that be? It must've taken two minutes. Those are easy questions!
At Temple, the interviewer only had access to our names, undergrad school, and the essay we had written that morning. He basically told us he was evaluating us based on our professional appearance, oral communication skills, confidence, "how you present yourself" kind of things. He made it clear to us that we were called for an interview so early because we are the "cream of the crop" and let us know that he'd be happy to have each of us as his student. He said he'd make that clear to the adcom. I took that as a "you're in if all else in your file checks out". Regarding odds - I believe they interview about 500 and admit 250. Also, they made no mention of the informatics program.
I don't blame you for wanting to do well at the Temple interview. They make it clear that they emphasize clinical skills to an enormous extent - you'll be seeing and doing things that other dental students have little or no exposure to. Third and fourth year students function as dentists. They were sure to tell us that their program is not for everyone - but I really think it suits my type of personality.
Margaret