Pedo match stats

[realtalk]

Can some of the students who matched to pedo please give us your dental school stats. This can give many of us a guide of what we need to aim for. If you could please give your GPA, Boards, EC, any externships or research, your dental school, any advice for anyone looking into this specialty. Thank you so much for your help.

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[Demeter]

My stats suck!
This should give some people hope you want to get into Pedo and don't have 97 board scores. I think Pedo is all about personality. For me, the interview, my letters of rec, my personal statement, volunteer experience + AEGD got me in.

Demeter

Specialty/Where: Pedo 2yrs
Dental School Attended: Texas
Year Earned DDS: 2005
NBDE Part I/II scores: 85/80
Class Ranking: somewhere in the middle
Match/Non-Match:Match
Externship(s): 1 ( 2 weeks)
Research: N/A
Extracurriculars: Several weeks of South Texas rotations working in clinics with high HPSA scores ( Health professional shortage areas).
Received Letters of recommendation by well known Pediatric Dentists. This is extremely important, because the letter is only worth as much as the name attached to it.
Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 14/8/8/8

 

[Jediwendell]

I'll re-post this here. I agree with the above post that getting in to pedo has a lot to do with personality and experince. I know my GPR totally helped me get in with my mediocre part 1 board scores. And remember, this was from a loooong time ago! I've been in private practice for 3 years

Jedi's wife:
speciallty: pedo
dental school: UK class of 2000
boards:87/91
class rank: 7/48
ASDC student award
Two month externship in underserved area (doing tons of SSCs)
GPR at UK prior to deciding to apply to pedo
Pedo applied to about 10, interviews: 8, declined 1
Matched to #1 choice Baylor

 

[FireDancer]

FireDancer:
Specialty: Pedo
Dental school: UConn '05
Boards:91/83
Class rank: No rank
Community Service Award
1 year @ UConn AEGD
Pedo applied to 2, interview 2, rank 1, match 1
Matched to #1 choice UConn/CCMC

 

[ItsGavinC]

Thanks guys, these are really valuable. Keep 'em coming if there are more!

 

[Rezdawg]

There's gotta be more of you out there.

Thanks to those that answered.

 

[morgantaylor]

Specialty/Where: Pedo 2yrs
Year Earned DDS: 2006 (Hopefully)
NBDE Part I/II scores: 87
Class Ranking: somewhere in the middle
Match/Non-Match:Match
Externship(s): 3 ( 1 week each)
Research: N/A
Extracurriculars: Involved in school, lots of extracurriculars-some involving kids
Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 10/3/3/3
Matched to my #2

My grades and boards definitely hurt my ability to get more interviews. Thankfully 3 schools were willing to look past #'s and meet me in person!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Morgan, what were those 3 schools that looked past your numbers, and did any of those programs correlate to programs where you did your externships?

Please respond via PM if it's too personal to post here.

 

[Rezdawg]

This thread is giving me some hope...good stuff.

 

[DcS]

Specialty/Where: Pedo 2yrs
Year Earned DDS: 2006
NBDE Part I/II scores: 93/TBD
Class Ranking: Top 10%
Match/Non-Match: Match
Externship(s): 1 (1 month)
Research: Brief
Extracurriculars: The usual...involved at school, lots and lots of pedo specific experience like disabled pt tx, public service etc etc
Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 10/10/8/7
Matched to my #1

 

[Sommy]

Can someone tell me what are some great pedo externships to apply to? I go to a year round school and probably can't do any month long ones. Looking for 1-2 week type.
Thanks!!
Sommy

 

[ItsGavinC]

Can someone tell me what are some great pedo externships to apply to? I go to a year round school and probably can't do any month long ones. Looking for 1-2 week type.
Thanks!!
Sommy

All the ones I've seen are 1-2 weeks. 4 weeks is too long, but that's just my opinion.

 

[NoOneInParticul]

Specialty/Where: Pedo 2yrs
Year Earned DDS: 2006 (hopefully)
NBDE Part I/II scores: 90/86
Class Ranking: No rank
Match/Non-Match: Match
Externship(s): None
Research: Tons
Extracurriculars: Usual stuff (community service, etc.)
Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 15/12/10/10
Matched to my #2

 

[Dukie]

Just curious if you all know, but why has pedo popularity exploded in the last few years? It seems like the applications are going through the roof.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Just curious if you all know, but why has pedo popularity exploded in the last few years? It seems like the applications are going through the roof.

It seems that all specialties go in cycles, with some having cycles that are longer than others. Chalk it up to pedo being on the upswing of its cycle.

 

[pedo4life]

Specialty/Where: Pedo 2yrs
Year Earned DDS: 2006
NBDE Part I/II scores: 87/TBD
Class Ranking: No rank
Match/Non-Match: Match
Externship(s): 1
Research: a little
Extracurriculars: Usual stuff (community service, etc.)
Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 43/7/6/5
Matched to my #2

 

[ItsGavinC]

Programs applied to/Interviews received/Interviews Attended/Ranked programs: 43/7/6/5
Matched to my #2

Dang, tell me you didn't honestly apply to 43 programs?!? Seems like you could have applied to 20 and still gotten 7 interviews.

 

[gryffindor]

Dang, tell me you didn't honestly apply to 43 programs?!? Seems like you could have applied to 20 and still gotten 7 interviews.

Sure, if you have a crystal ball that will tell you which of those 20 will still yield the 7 interviews. The OP could have applied to the "wrong" 20 and gotten stuck with 0 because the 7 interviews came from the other 23 he didn't apply to. If he felt his stats were marginal, I see nothing wrong with him spending the money and effort to apply to 40+ and match this year, than apply to 20 and not match and have to kill time for another year. When your stats are marginal, the ball is not in your court.

All you have to lose is an application fee. I swallowed my pride and did the shotgun approach this year and matched to a program I would have never considered attending 2 years ago.

 

[pedo4life]

When I applied to 43 programs, faculty were telling me to only apply to 20 something max. I'm very glad that I did NOT listen to them. I didn't receive interviews from programs I thought I would be guaranteed an interview and I received interviews from schools that I thought would throw my application away after seeing my stats. With not-so-great stats, I feel that I had to apply to a crapload of programs. If I could do it again, I'd probably apply to ALL 50 something programs.

 

[Jone]

That takes some balls! You deserve the MATCH, congrats =)

When I applied to 43 programs, faculty were telling me to only apply to 20 something max. I'm very glad that I did NOT listen to them. I didn't receive interviews from programs I thought I would be guaranteed an interview and I received interviews from schools that I thought would throw my application away after seeing my stats. With not-so-great stats, I feel that I had to apply to a crapload of programs. If I could do it again, I'd probably apply to ALL 50 something programs.

 

[whynot?]

I swallowed my pride and did the shotgun approach this year and matched to a program I would have never considered attending 2 years ago.

Me too. I'm just happy to have a spot.

 

[ScorpiORTHO]

Do you guys have significant others? It's true that the more places u apply to, the better your chances and if you really want it bad you should go for it. BUt, how do u deal with parting from a significant other and knowing you'll be in a long-distance relationship for a couple years? How do u maintain your happiness at a place you know nobody and are all alone?!!

 

[DcS]

Do you guys have significant others? It's true that the more places u apply to, the better your chances and if you really want it bad you should go for it. BUt, how do u deal with parting from a significant other and knowing you'll be in a long-distance relationship for a couple years? How do u maintain your happiness at a place you know nobody and are all alone?!!

Propose and 'force' them to come

 

[ItsGavinC]

Sure, if you have a crystal ball that will tell you which of those 20 will still yield the 7 interviews. The OP could have applied to the "wrong" 20 and gotten stuck with 0 because the 7 interviews came from the other 23 he didn't apply to. If he felt his stats were marginal, I see nothing wrong with him spending the money and effort to apply to 40+ and match this year, than apply to 20 and not match and have to kill time for another year. When your stats are marginal, the ball is not in your court.

All you have to lose is an application fee. I swallowed my pride and did the shotgun approach this year and matched to a program I would have never considered attending 2 years ago.

Well said, but in your case I recall that you wanted to stay on the east coast and that's why you didn't apply initially to the program that you matched to this year.

Could it be true that it wasn't necessarily the shotgun approach that did it for you, but that if you would have done better research on programs you might have listed that program your first time around and matched there?

 

[ItsGavinC]

For the future pediatric residents, I'm so stoked about this specialty. Earlier this week I spent all day in an operating room where we treated patients that were fully sedated. It was essentially quadrant upon quadrant of pulpotomies and SSCs. Great stuff and I had a blast.

Today I did a rotation at a health clinic where I had my own assistant and was able to do more procedures in one afternoon than I ever would have dreamed of prior to today. Great morale booster for me in terms of speed and what I'm capable of when it comes to delivering quality services to the patient.

 

[gryffindor]

When I applied to 43 programs, faculty were telling me to only apply to 20 something max. I'm very glad that I did NOT listen to them. I didn't receive interviews from programs I thought I would be guaranteed an interview and I received interviews from schools that I thought would throw my application away after seeing my stats. With not-so-great stats, I feel that I had to apply to a crapload of programs. If I could do it again, I'd probably apply to ALL 50 something programs.

Gavin, pedo4life summed it up well in the bolded sentence. I definitely encountered this along the way. I don't know how you can "research" the programs to yield enough info to narrow down your application list. The only solid criteria I can think of is to find out if the program will never consider an application without post-grad experience. In ortho, for example, St. Barnabas & Albert Einstein (Philly) won't interview any dental school seniors - they will only look at the applications of those who have graduated already This info is listed on PASS and having interviewed at both, I can attest to it. I'm sure there are pedo programs like this too.

I've said this before. Applying to the more competitive specialties isn't like when you applied to dental school. Dental schools get a range of applicants, from the GPA 2.5/DAT 16 to GPA 4.0/DAT 27 students. Of course the 4.0/27 will get invited and most likely accepted, there are so few of them around compared to the entire pre-dent applicant pool. Competitive dental specialties (endo/ortho/OMS/pedo) get many applicants with 90+ on the boards, some programs probably get a plethora of 95+ to choose from. (BTW, in your research, I doubt a program will tell you this info about the breakdown of the board scores/class rank/former externs, etc.) So how are they going to narrow the applicants down since the academics are all so similar among them? And if you are the 87 in a pile of a hundred applications with 90+, how on earth are you going to get noticed? Maybe you have something else on your application - such as the same last name as the one on the entrance to the clinic, or a LOR from the program director's buddy/classmate (this actually happened to me, I didn't know it until I was sitting face to face with the director at the interview and he said it), or you discovered the caries vaccine, or you did an externship there and they really liked you enough to invite you to interview.

As for me, I had a pretty wide geographic spread my first time around. In the end, I think it all came down to fate. I don't know if applying to all 50ish programs my first time would have yielded a better result for me (anyone have a crystall ball I could borrow?). I think some of my "wisdom" the final time came from the trial and error from the cycles before.

 

[Yah-E]

Three of my classmates matched to Pedo this year, all three of them are in the middle 1/3 of the class and boards below a 90.

Univ. of Florida
Temple
UCSF

One did two externships: one was over a weekend, the other was one week
One did one externship: one week
One did nothing!

Not really sure if Pedo is competitive?

 

[DcS]

Three of my classmates matched to Pedo this year, all three of them are in the middle 1/3 of the class and boards below a 90.

Univ. of Florida
Temple
UCSF

One did two externships: one was over a weekend, the other was one week
One did one externship: one week
One did nothing!

Not really sure if Pedo is competitive?

I can't comment on UCSF or Florida but temple is a factory, i visited there, they have a lot of residents, cut everything dry, only use pressure on pulpos, different stuff.

Many times it's who knows who so they could have had connections you weren't aware of?

I guess it kind of depends on the program.

 

[gryffindor]

Not really sure if Pedo is competitive?

Let's see - 454 entered the Pedo match, 242 got a spot, 212 did not. I think that sounds pretty competitive. Not everyone who applies is getting in.

 

[drhobie7]

Let's see - 454 entered the Pedo match, 242 got a spot, 212 did not. I think that sounds pretty competitive. Not everyone who applies is getting in.

I think Pedo is the hot specialty right now. In my class it looks like it will garner the most applicants. Crazy. Makes sense though. Only 2 years post-grad, big money, and all the single moms you could want. You just have to be cool with crying kids.

 

[pedo4life]

Not really sure if Pedo is competitive?

I agree with griffin. Many people are applying to pedo and not getting in (47%).
You've deduced that pedo is NOT competitive based on 3 people in your class. I don't think the stats of 3 people is sufficient to make such a blanket statement.

 

[gryffindor]

Do you guys have significant others? It's true that the more places u apply to, the better your chances and if you really want it bad you should go for it. BUt, how do u deal with parting from a significant other and knowing you'll be in a long-distance relationship for a couple years? How do u maintain your happiness at a place you know nobody and are all alone?!!

I'll bite on this one. I see an LDR coming up this summer and have spent lots of time thinking about it. My goal is to make it work. The way I see it, "I do" means forever, so 3 years in an LDR now while we're both still trying to establish our careers is so small compared to the rest of our lives together once I finish and move back. Also, if there was any time for us to be apart in pursuit of education, now would be the best time while we're both single. It has to be MUCH harder to move away when you get tangled up in life - you're earning the income of a general dentist, the kids are in school, you bought a house, and now you have to uproot all that and go back to the student lifestyle to pursue your specialty dreams. Not impossible, but way more difficult than if you are single.

At first I was a little shocked I would be moving a plane ride away from EVERYONE that I know. But now I'm getting excited to go. I have never been to the south or midwest for longer than 24 hours and now I will have the chance to explore these parts of the country. I've never envisioned I'd be alone and unhappy - there will 11 other residents with me 8 - 5. After clinic hours end I plan to do labwork/tx plans, workout, figure out how to cook, read ortho/dental stuff, catch up on TV, gab online and on the phone, and make some new friends. My existence isn't based on only having my SO around, I'm pretty sure I'll survive.

It would have been nice to be closer, but oh well. I'm not going to complain, I got in. Actually, location wasn't my #1 priority when I made my list this time - I ranked my program ahead of a program 2 hours from NYC because I think the clinical training will be better at Vanderbilt over this program. I can't force him to move with me. His career is taking off here; he would be unemployed if he came with me and I will be an unpaid resident. Love doesn't pay the bills. I tried to stay in the northeast (MA/NY/NJ/PA/MD) - I applied to all programs here 3 times, but how much longer could I hold out in the hopes of getting in here?

It's not an easy decision, but I guess in the end it comes down to what is more important to you - to be apart for a while but come out with the specialty training or to stay in general dentistry so you can be with your SO?

EDIT: Just realized this post has nothing to do with the original topic, please pedo people, continue posting your stats.

 

[Dr. Pedo]

Three of my classmates matched to Pedo this year, all three of them are in the middle 1/3 of the class and boards below a 90.

Univ. of Florida
Temple
UCSF

One did two externships: one was over a weekend, the other was one week
One did one externship: one week
One did nothing!

Not really sure if Pedo is competitive?

Common' Yah-E with your little research experience even you should be able to deduce your [n] is a little small . I have 2 friends last year that matched OMFS with boards of less than 90 and only one did an externship. And no neither in the top 15%. They still laugh when people say OMFS is competitive. Obviously there are stories like this in every field, you just have to be smarter than the conclusion one draws on 3 people. Moreover, its obvious board scores are sometimes overlooked if everything else seems ok----you're a walking example .

 

[Yah-E]

Moreover, its obvious board scores are sometimes overlooked if everything else seems ok----you're a walking example .

What? My 90 isn't sweet anymore? C'mon!

I understand where y'all are coming from.

 

[joyride]

What? My 90 isn't sweet anymore? C'mon!

I understand where y'all are coming from.

Getting a sweet score on the boards is great and all, but how much weight does it carry (if any) if your class performs very well on part 1? Is it still possible to get into an OMFS program if your score is in the high 80's and your class was ranked in the top 5 in the country as far as board scores? I'm just assuming that a program director would realize that whatever applican came from a more difficult program and not put as much weight on the rank and board score. I guess what i'm getting to is how much weight does someone's gpa carry when applying?

____________
Tufts 08

 

[12YearOldKid]

Just curious if you all know, but why has pedo popularity exploded in the last few years? It seems like the applications are going through the roof.

Man... I am going to get killed for this one.

But there are two big reasons I see for the increase:

1. Misdirected maternal instinct. 50% of all dental students are now girls and the pedo residencies are absolutely bombarded by women fast approaching 30 with no kids, no husband, and no real prospects. People joke about the biological clock, but it is real and it is tick.. tick... ticking away.

2. $$$$ People are seeing that pedo is making HUGE money right now. I mean, new grads are STARTING at a quarter mill to associate!!!! HOLY CRAP! It's a two year, well paid residency and you are doubling to tripling your earning power. That is an amazing return on investment.




I am really not in any place to pass judgement on other people's motivation, but there is something about #2 that really bothers me. I know money is a major motivator in all residencies, but I just hate the idea that future pedos are doing it for the money.

(As much as everybody goes on about "doing it for the love of the specialty," the direct correlation between the earning power of a specialty and the competition to match into that specialty is undeniable.)

I couldn't care one way or the other if somebody is doing endo because they love searching for that 4th canal or for the $800/hr they get because they can find it. It's all good to me. But the idealist in me wants all the pedos in the world to be doing it because they love children and want to help.

I'm not saying that making huge money and loving kids are mutually exclusive. But at my school I see the part about wanting to help kids as a pretty minor sidenote to the money issue. And it bugs me.

 

[12YearOldKid]

I'm not saying that making huge money and loving kids are mutually exclusive.

Just look at Michael Jackson. O.K. bad, I know. I'm going now.

 

[drhobie7]

pedo residencies are absolutely bombarded by women fast approaching 30 with no kids, no husband, and no real prospects.

 

[jk5177]

I think Pedo is the hot specialty right now. In my class it looks like it will garner the most applicants. Crazy. Makes sense though. Only 2 years post-grad, big money, and all the single moms you could want. You just have to be cool with crying kids.

I agree. That's my sense with what's going on in class of 2009 as well. Somehow, my sense is that people are turning away from the ortho due to the competition of the specialty - so where do they turn to? Pedo.

 

[drhobie7]

I agree. That's my sense with what's going on in class of 2009 as well. Somehow, my sense is that people are turning away from the ortho due to the competition of the specialty - so where do they turn to? Pedo.

booyah!

 

[ItsGavinC]

I agree. That's my sense with what's going on in class of 2009 as well. Somehow, my sense is that people are turning away from the ortho due to the competition of the specialty - so where do they turn to? Pedo.

If that is the case, which it very well could be, those applicants are going to have truly miserable careers.

In every specialty, but especially in pedo, there *has* to be a deep motivating factor or it's going to be a miserable practice.

 

[FireDancer]

Do you guys have significant others? It's true that the more places u apply to, the better your chances and if you really want it bad you should go for it. BUt, how do u deal with parting from a significant other and knowing you'll be in a long-distance relationship for a couple years? How do u maintain your happiness at a place you know nobody and are all alone?!!

My family was the number 1 reason I applied to two programs in CT- I was unwilling to move my wife and 6mo old child away from my family and my in-laws. I got lucky and matched at UConn. I can tell you the first question asked at the interview was why did I only apply to 2 places? - I explained my family was in CT, my wife's career was in CT and I was unwilling to do without both of them - they seemed to understand. Yes I got VERY LUCKY!

 

[Narcissist]

and all the single moms you could want

.....Oh I found another reason to love my choosen speciaility....I cant wait to begin my Pedo residency in July!!

 

[Narcissist]

speciallty: pedo
boards:95/91
class rank: Top 10
Deans Award, and lots of other awards
GPR and 2-3 years of experience.
Pedo applied to about 6, interviewed 1.
Matched to #1.

 

[Sommy]

 

[drhobie7]

Are you speaking of the mothers of the children you will be seeing? Please, please, please be nice to them. I am a single mother and look like I am about 22 so people assume that I had a child in my teens. (I am in my early 30s now). I have been treated like I am an idiot and trash on several occasions by dental students and dentists (this does not by any means mean ALL of them - just some that have left a lasting sting).

I was talking (not seriously either) about hot single moms. Just a silly male fantasty...you know, the MILF thing. I've got several single moms among my patients and treat them the same as my other patients.

 

[Sommy]

I was talking (not seriously either) about hot single moms. Just a silly male fantasty...you know, the MILF thing. I've got several single moms among my patients and treat them the same as my other patients.

 

[drhobie7]

Glad to hear it. I meant more how you are treating them as a parent. You are going into pedo - no?
btw I know all about MILFs - since I am one.
Sommy

I'm going to do OMS. I love pedo when the kids aren't crying. I just hate seeing those little buggers cry.

 

[WestCoast]

I'm going to do OMS. I love pedo when the kids aren't crying. I just hate seeing those little buggers cry.

or better yet, when they are asleep. gotta love the ketamine.

 

[ItsGavinC]

or better yet, when they are asleep. gotta love the ketamine.

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