Is an interview really that big of a deal?

[ARDental]

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I understand that an interview, for most schools, is a necessary requirement before admittance, but to what extent does an interview invitation really indicate your chances for acceptance? Is it simply a preliminary cut or does the committee honestly feel that you are a good fit for their program? In other words, is an interview invitation the product of an initial broad screening process or is the interview itself a basic form of screening. The reason for such questions is that I've noticed some schools interview a fairly large number of applicant which would indicate that, too some extent, an invite is not really that big of a deal. Just a few crazy ideas that popped into my head.

 

[busdent]

it just gives you a chance to tell the adcom a little more about yourself. AADSAS gives you limited space to make your point and that's what the interview does.

 

[jackbauer!]

i think it really varies from school to school. but i think its far more important than just a basic screening. interviewing is expensive and adcoms know this. i don't think they would invite you unless you truley have a shot. my motto is that the interview is yours to lose.

some schools invite more to interview because they give out more acceptances. these are usually private schools.

jb!

 

[busdent]

are there any schools that reimburse applicants for travel expenses, etc?

 

[earthcap]

I understand that an interview, for most schools, is a necessary requirement before admittance, but to what extent does an interview invitation really indicate your chances for acceptance? Is it simply a preliminary cut or does the committee honestly feel that you are a good fit for their program? In other words, is an interview invitation the product of an initial broad screening process or is the interview itself a basic form of screening. The reason for such questions is that I've noticed some schools interview a fairly large number of applicant which would indicate that, too some extent, an invite is not really that big of a deal. Just a few crazy ideas that popped into my head.

The significance of interview varies from school to school. I heard some schools weigh the interview portion more heavily than GPA or DAT (~40%) yet others weigh less (~20 or 30%). As far as I know, the interview is a crucial part of the selection factors. It allows dental school to evaluate you as a person. I have heard a story of a graduate of my school who had awesome stats but was rejected twice because of his poor performance at the interview. Hope this helps.

 

[Dsmack]

I am of this opinion, You interview because they have a position for you. If you are ******ed they take it back.

Exception would be A.T. Still AZ, where they try to stump you with pointless trivia and current events.👎 👎

I think this applies to CASE, NOVA, UNLV, Marquette, Iowa, Ohio State, etc.
speaking from experience

 

[ChronarchB]

some schools wont' even accept you without an interview so an interview generally means your heading in the right direction.

 

[djeffreyt]

some schools wont' even accept you without an interview so an interview generally means your heading in the right direction.

There are only 1-2 schools that accept without interviews on rare occassions that I know of, NYU, and CASE (Case only if you are a deferral).

I think interviews are a huge deal. If a school has 100 seats and gets around 2500 applicants, and only interviews, say, 500 which is a lot more than some schools interview...your chances of getting in just shot up from 4% to 20%(minimum). Your actual chances are actually higher than 20% since most schools admit more students than they have seats for eventually because not everyone says yes.

 

[burton117]

There are only 1-2 schools that accept without interviews on rare occassions that I know of, NYU, and CASE (Case only if you are a deferral).

I think interviews are a huge deal. If a school has 100 seats and gets around 2500 applicants, and only interviews, say, 500 which is a lot more than some schools interview...your chances of getting in just shot up from 4% to 20%(minimum). Your actual chances are actually higher than 20% since most schools admit more students than they have seats for eventually because not everyone says yes.

So - this means an interview is a big deal!! Admissions chances just went up big time!!

 

[pmantz]

My understanding is that when you are interviewed they are looking for reasons to accept you rather then to reject you.. Obviously if you don't perform well you won't get accepted, but I heard interviews can be fun and adcomms are not trying to trick you just get to know/feel you out..

 

[pmantz]

I am of this opinion, You interview because they have a position for you. If you are ******ed they take it back.

Exception would be A.T. Still AZ, where they try to stump you with pointless trivia and current events.👎 👎

I think this applies to CASE, NOVA, UNLV, Marquette, Iowa, Ohio State, etc.
speaking from experience

I don't understand what you are saying "CASE, NOVA, UNLV, Marquette, Iowa, Ohio State, etc." are trying to stump you or are feeling you out.

 

[DentalBoarder]

I don't understand what you are saying "CASE, NOVA, UNLV, Marquette, Iowa, Ohio State, etc." are trying to stump you or are feeling you out.

i was wondering the same. also, is it better to interview earlier or later as in closer to dec 1st? by the time they send out acceptances, they wont remember the early ones, right? or do they write detailed notes?

 

[jackbauer!]

i was wondering the same. also, is it better to interview earlier or later as in closer to dec 1st? by the time they send out acceptances, they wont remember the early ones, right? or do they write detailed notes?

i don't think it matters. i'm almost positive that interviews are "scored" and then every so often the admission committee gets together and makes their decision based on "your interview score" + the rest of your application (gpa, dat, ec's, essay, etc.) i'm going out on a limb here, but i'm assuming that's how it happens.

jb!

 

[tinman831]

are there any schools that reimburse applicants for travel expenses, etc?

No. They go only as far as to provide you with lunch the day of your interview. 😛

 

[Dsmack]

AZ is the only school, from my experience, that makes students feel uncomfortable. The other schools are just interviewing you to make sure you are what they think you are, an intelligent/sociable individual. As long as you aren't ******ed, you are pretty safe. AZ is the only school where I didn't feel welcome. All the other schools have made me feel as though they want me to attend. That is HUGE to me personally.

You can really tell a lot about your chances also based on when you are invited. I was invited to case the second day of interviews. That makes me feel great. The students there even said, "If you are interviewing this early you are in for sure as long as you aren't ******ed in your interview."

If you are invited today for case, that isn't a lock. So there is a huge factor of timing. That is the number one reason I come to SDN, I want to see who has started inviting and where I fall. Both of those combined factors can say so much about your chances.

Do I make sense?

 

[hopelessdoc]

ok...i got all this...but what does it means to be ******ed?? i mean if interviewer asks something and say u dont know about it or may be didnt give a satisfactory ans...does that mean u ******ed?? if so...whats the best strategy to tackle those situations??

 

[Dsmack]

To be ******ed: not being able to maintain an intelligent conversation. Not being able to speak clearly, not being able to pay attention during an interview, etc.

The position is yours to lose, good luck!

 

[in her drawer]

I don't understand what you are saying "CASE, NOVA, UNLV, Marquette, Iowa, Ohio State, etc." are trying to stump you or are feeling you out.

He was saying that only ASDOH tries to stump you, whereas the others he listed are ones that follow his statement made in the first paragraph.

 

[djeffreyt]

I don't know if the following example is a ****** example, But I think it is.

My friend just graduated from dental school, and as a D3 he was an interviewer. One student he interviewed saw he was a dental student, not a staff member and said at one point in the interview something like: "Yeah, I totally want to come here. I heard you guys drink and party pretty hard here." The D3 just wrote, verbatim, what the student being interviewed said on his interview comments sheet and submitted it to the admissions board and the student didn't get into the school.

Here's another example.

A student had an interview at a school and showed up about 15 minutes late and was apologetic about not getting there on time at first. The interviewers and admissions people didn't really mind because the student said he couldn't find parking. Throughout the day, before the actual interview occurred, however, the student repeatedly made comments about the "horrible parking" around the school. The ADCOM member that told me this story said that on two separate occassions another admissions officer heard the student loudly complaining to other interviewees about how he was late and parking around the school sucked. He didn't like the attitude of the student and how much he seemed to dwell and vocalize this problem of the school to the public so before the student ever got into the interview, he had pretty much screwed his own chances at the school.

 

[apaul]

in regards to ASDOH trying to stump you, if you dont know the answers to the current events/random questions, you have been living under a rock

 

[armorshell]

in regards to ASDOH trying to stump you, if you dont know the answers to the current events/random questions, you have been living under a rock

And we all know what lives under rocks...spiders.

Nobody wants a spider going to their school, though I'm sure they have pretty good manual dexterity with 8 limbs and all...

 

[apaul]

i'm sure people are totally confortable with the thought of a spider working in/inside one's mouth

 

[DentalBoarder]

forgive me for sounding uninformed, but i'm hearing two different things.

some people say that the interview is the final make or break point of ur admittance. you've passed the initial screenings, so if u do well, u'll get in.

others say that they look at your academic credentials again and then decide with the interview in mind.

which is it? i'm just getting nervous b/c i have ONE interview at UNLV and my stats aren't particularly stellar.

 

[jackbauer!]

forgive me for sounding uninformed, but i'm hearing two different things.

some people say that the interview is the final make or break point of ur admittance. you've passed the initial screenings, so if u do well, u'll get in.

others say that they look at your academic credentials again and then decide with the interview in mind.

which is it? i'm just getting nervous b/c i have ONE interview at UNLV and my stats aren't particularly stellar.

it's the latter. your stats, application will ALWAYS count for something....even post-interview. some schools, however, place more emphisis on the interview than others.

jb!

 

[dddsmack]

in regards to ASDOH trying to stump you, if you dont know the answers to the current events/random questions, you have been living under a rock

I don't live under a rock, but I can't tell you the last five places in the world oil has been found recently. Or exactly how many soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

If you know these answers, good for you, you'll be a great A Z dentist. I won't because I didn't know these answers. It just doesn't add up. Again I was unimpressed, I wasted my money going to that interview. I want a school that wants me, plain and simple. Not a school that invites me out to play jeopardy.

Just my opinion, good luck guys!

 

[kjayquen]

A lot of people fret about whether they know the answers to the questions at ASDOH. However, it sounds a lot like going in front of the boards in the military. The answer really isn't as important as how you handle yourself when in a pressure situation and you don't have all the answers. Just remain calm and tell them that you don't know but that you could find out for them and maybe where you could find it at. if you do tell them that then follow through with it and get back to them with the answer after you leave you may even impress them more with your ability to keep your word and follow through with a task.

 

[RozhonDDS]

no an interview is not important, bsaically if you don't have one than you don't go to dental school. Are you serious? It's the most important part of the application process. If you aren't receiving any that start thinking about reapplying!

 

[jackbauer!]

no an interview is not important, bsaically if you don't have one than you don't go to dental school. Are you serious? It's the most important part of the application process. If you aren't receiving any that start thinking about reapplying!

chill out man.. just cause you have some doesn't entitle you to say such things. MANY schools haven't even begun interviewing yet. MANY others are only interviewing extremely high stat people now.

it isn't even october yet, a little early to be thinking about reapplying, lol.

good luck everyone!

jb!

 

[wigglytooth]

I don't know if the following example is a ****** example, But I think it is.

My friend just graduated from dental school, and as a D3 he was an interviewer. One student he interviewed saw he was a dental student, not a staff member and said at one point in the interview something like: "Yeah, I totally want to come here. I heard you guys drink and party pretty hard here." The D3 just wrote, verbatim, what the student being interviewed said on his interview comments sheet and submitted it to the admissions board and the student didn't get into the school.

Here's another example.

A student had an interview at a school and showed up about 15 minutes late and was apologetic about not getting there on time at first. The interviewers and admissions people didn't really mind because the student said he couldn't find parking. Throughout the day, before the actual interview occurred, however, the student repeatedly made comments about the "horrible parking" around the school. The ADCOM member that told me this story said that on two separate occassions another admissions officer heard the student loudly complaining to other interviewees about how he was late and parking around the school sucked. He didn't like the attitude of the student and how much he seemed to dwell and vocalize this problem of the school to the public so before the student ever got into the interview, he had pretty much screwed his own chances at the school.

both stories are quite ******ed.. good examples 😛

 

[dddsmack]

chill out man.. just cause you have some doesn't entitle you to say such things. MANY schools haven't even begun interviewing yet. MANY others are only interviewing extremely high stat people now.

it isn't even october yet, a little early to be thinking about reapplying, lol.

good luck everyone!

jb!

I agree with Jack, it is still way early, and that some schools haven't even began yet. I am also leary though about not being at the top of a school's list. It would be very hard on me personally to not have any interviews yet.
Hang in there guys, while it is still too early to think about re-applying, make sure you are your very best if you do come across any interview.

"It is your Super Bowl," Brian Trecek, Marquette.

Good Luck to all

 

[Sprgrover]

are there any schools that reimburse applicants for travel expenses, etc?

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[RozhonDDS]

chill out man.. just cause you have some doesn't entitle you to say such things. MANY schools haven't even begun interviewing yet. MANY others are only interviewing extremely high stat people now.

it isn't even october yet, a little early to be thinking about reapplying, lol.

good luck everyone!

jb!

I was just trying to get at the point, that the question doesn't make sense. I mean an interview in my opinion is the most important part, it gives the applicant the realization that they are just as competitive with other students who applied.

 

[ARDental]

I was just trying to get at the point, that the question doesn't make sense. I mean an interview in my opinion is the most important part, it gives the applicant the realization that they are just as competitive with other students who applied.

Apparently you're not understanding the logic of my post. First, I was being somewhat facetious when saying "Is an interview really that big of a deal." Second, it is quite obvious and, should go without saying, that an interview is required for acceptance at virtually every school. I suppose that I will have to spell out my intentions. My thought process behind the question was as follows: Is an interview invite indicative of your true chances for admission or is it simply a more intimate way for the admissions committee to evaluate an applicant. I never questioned whether or not an interview was a required admissions step. Furthermore, I should probably correct your incorrect assumption as to my application status. I now have an interview invite from every school I've applied to, which was only four, so my motivation for posting this thought was simply out of curiosity and not of panic or some type of self-healing. Thanks.