Ortho Pathway (need help from ortho residents)

[oriJINal]

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Hello,
I want to become an orthodontist and need help with what needs to be done while in dental school (such as a timeline).
I will be matriculating this year to a dental school.

The basics that I know is that:
1) you need to have high gpa (top 10% class rank)
2) score 90% or higher on the NBDE Part 1 (taken in the summer after D2, right?)
3) take part in a research and externships in Ortho area
4) have leadership experience (does it have to be dental related or is having a leadership role in a club ok?)
5) take the GRE (when should we take this? do we have time to study this while in dental school? I have a break from now to September, should I study for this and take it before matriculating so that don't have to worry about it in D3?)
6) should we work while in dental school?

Is there anything else that I need to do to increase my chance of acceptance?

Is applying after a year of general residency or after practice a good idea? Do most apply after D3 so they can matriculate into the program right after dental school? Also, I was checking out USC Ortho program and they ask to send undergraduate transcript... Do most require this and would it affect my chances of acceptance greatly if I did not do to well in undergrad?

Thanks so much in advance!
cheers 👍

 

[oriJINal]

One more thing,
According to UCSF Ortho Program Admissions Requirements, it states that TOEFL is required for applicants whose native language is not English.

I was not born in the U.S. and English is not my native language.
However, I came here when I was 8, have lived here ever since, and have U.S. citizenship.
I attended middle school, high school, and college here in the states.
I also took the SAT in the states.

Do I need to take TOEFL?

 

[DrEndo]

I know people who have huge accents, primary school elsewhere, but never took toefl, but they got in.
If you don't have a foreign accent then don't even admit what your native language is. Always say it's English. They, ADCOMs, have no way of checking it. I don't think they are going to call your parents to check 😀

 

[oriJINal]

Anyone else? please pitch in! 🙂

 

[OG1]

1) you need to have high gpa (top 10% class rank)

Yes, this will be first and foremost if the boards will be pass/fail for you. If you are going to a pass/fail school and the boards are pass/fail, may the God of Luck and Dartboards have mercy on your soul.

2) score 90% or higher on the NBDE Part 1 (taken in the summer after D2, right?)

If it's pass/fail, no. If it's scored, yes, 90 gives you a better shot, and the higher the better. Many people get in with scores in the 80s, however.

3) take part in a research and externships in Ortho area

Externships are unnecessary. Research can help and makes for an interview talking point, and is especially important to some programs. Don't go overboard though, you should never sacrifice your grades to do a poster at some random research conference.

4) have leadership experience (does it have to be dental related or is having a leadership role in a club ok?)

Anything will do, since this just adds to the big picture of you.

5) take the GRE (when should we take this? do we have time to study this while in dental school? I have a break from now to September, should I study for this and take it before matriculating so that don't have to worry about it in D3?)

Not all schools require this. The test isn't that hard and is more of a formality at schools that require it. I studied for a week and did really well on it.

6) should we work while in dental school?

No. You should get the best grades you can. If the boards are pass/fail for you, getting the highest possible rank will open more doors for you than anything else. The rest is just fluff.

Is there anything else that I need to do to increase my chance of acceptance?

Get to know the ortho department at your school. I just poked my head in occasionally but tried to keep an air of mystery about me so they weren't tired of me by the time I applied. Overdoing it could backfire, but it works out well for some people. Just use discretion.

Is applying after a year of general residency or after practice a good idea? Do most apply after D3 so they can matriculate into the program right after dental school?

Most candidates go into ortho straight out of school. Doing a GPR will not benefit your application significantly.

Also, I was checking out USC Ortho program and they ask to send undergraduate transcript... Do most require this and would it affect my chances of acceptance greatly if I did not do to well in undergrad?

My undergrad grades were ho-hum and I got a bunch of interviews. No one cares or looks at them.

The moral of the story: get the best grades you can, mix in a few extracurriculars, some light research, and then apply to a whole bunch of programs. And above all else, if you have the personality of a potted plant, nothing can help you.

PS - You don't have to take the TOEFL. This is for people applying from international dental schools.

 

[oriJINal]

Wow, thanks so much for taking your time to answer these questions! 🙂

 

[Falak]

1) you need to have high gpa (top 10% class rank)

Yes, this will be first and foremost if the boards will be pass/fail for you. If you are going to a pass/fail school and the boards are pass/fail, may the God of Luck and Dartboards have mercy on your soul.

2) score 90% or higher on the NBDE Part 1 (taken in the summer after D2, right?)

If it's pass/fail, no. If it's scored, yes, 90 gives you a better shot, and the higher the better. Many people get in with scores in the 80s, however.

3) take part in a research and externships in Ortho area

Externships are unnecessary. Research can help and makes for an interview talking point, and is especially important to some programs. Don't go overboard though, you should never sacrifice your grades to do a poster at some random research conference.

4) have leadership experience (does it have to be dental related or is having a leadership role in a club ok?)

Anything will do, since this just adds to the big picture of you.

5) take the GRE (when should we take this? do we have time to study this while in dental school? I have a break from now to September, should I study for this and take it before matriculating so that don't have to worry about it in D3?)

Not all schools require this. The test isn't that hard and is more of a formality at schools that require it. I studied for a week and did really well on it.

6) should we work while in dental school?

No. You should get the best grades you can. If the boards are pass/fail for you, getting the highest possible rank will open more doors for you than anything else. The rest is just fluff.

Is there anything else that I need to do to increase my chance of acceptance?

Get to know the ortho department at your school. I just poked my head in occasionally but tried to keep an air of mystery about me so they weren't tired of me by the time I applied. Overdoing it could backfire, but it works out well for some people. Just use discretion.

Is applying after a year of general residency or after practice a good idea? Do most apply after D3 so they can matriculate into the program right after dental school?

Most candidates go into ortho straight out of school. Doing a GPR will not benefit your application significantly.

Also, I was checking out USC Ortho program and they ask to send undergraduate transcript... Do most require this and would it affect my chances of acceptance greatly if I did not do to well in undergrad?

My undergrad grades were ho-hum and I got a bunch of interviews. No one cares or looks at them.

The moral of the story: get the best grades you can, mix in a few extracurriculars, some light research, and then apply to a whole bunch of programs. And above all else, if you have the personality of a potted plant, nothing can help you.

PS - You don't have to take the TOEFL. This is for people applying from international dental schools.

great info ! do you know which unis have pass/fail criteria for boards? i havent come across any as yet.

 

[flapaTron]

great info ! do you know which unis have pass/fail criteria for boards? i havent come across any as yet.

the boards being P/F is not a school-to-school thing. if you are taking the boards in 2012 (i.e. most dental students who matriculated in 2010), your NBDE grade will solely be P/F....at every single school.

 

[flapaTron]

Yes, this will be first and foremost if the boards will be pass/fail for you. If you are going to a pass/fail school and the boards are pass/fail, may the God of Luck and Dartboards have mercy on your soul.

wait, so you're suggesting that schools like Harvard, Columbia, UCLA, UCSF, all of which have had historically high percentages of residency placements, are now going to be in peril? nay sir.

 

[Falak]

oh yea! thanks 🙂

 

[OG1]

wait, so you're suggesting that schools like Harvard, Columbia, UCLA, UCSF, all of which have had historically high percentages of residency placements, are now going to be in peril? nay sir.

I would argue that it's part mystique for these schools, and part students having more time to study for the boards, or rather the boards being the only thing they have to really kill themselves to excel at. I was already entering burn out mode when I began studying for the boards; if I had been at a pass/fail school I would have started studying for boards on day 1 of year 1 if I had known that was the most important thing to make me stand out.

Plus, if you have a high board score and a low ranking at a non-pass/fail school, you are weeded out. At a pass/fail school all you have to do is do well on the boards, instead of tackling both boards and class ranking. This means it's easier for more people to look outstanding from those schools. Ten people can get a 90+ on the boards, but ten people can't be ranked in the top 5.

These schools also have historically high percentages of people applying to ortho programs. More applicants = more acceptances. Harvard some years has 1/3 of people applying. UCLA typically has boatloads of people applying, too.

Maybe the mystique of these schools will continue to prevail after everything is pass/fail and everyone is just as special as everyone else. Maybe you'll have to have published research or be best friends with a director. I don't know how in the heck directors are going to quickly weed through 150+ applications, because ortho programs don't have separate admissions committees and it's a time consuming process even when you have hard numbers to select from.

 

[flapaTron]

either way, there has to be a new residency placement exam that equitably serves that purpose OG. otherwise (As you alluded to) the admissions process for post-doctoral placement will likely become very unbalanced.

 

[HKBB]

How would an applicant viewed at a school such as UConn? If grades are strictly P/F, no grades, no gpa, and no class rank.

 

[sgv]

How would an applicant viewed at a school such as UConn? If grades are strictly P/F, no grades, no gpa, and no class rank.

gre and fluff

 

[Adham]

Dear Colleagues ,
I garduated from dental school in 2012 ,, with a B+ ,, now I an oral and maxillofacial resident ,, I was wondering how can I get orthodontic residency program in france ,,, I passed DELF exam and TOEFL too ,,, any help would be appreciated ,,and more ,, Is that correct that if I want to continue maxillofacial surgery in france I have to be double qualified , and if so , Do I have to pass this concours exam and aslo the interneate concour to get the residency I want ?!!
Thanks ,,,,,