Peds Residency, No Interviews Yet

[HelloGuys]

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Hi everyone, looking for some honest feedback on my application this cycle.

I have applied to 19 pediatric residency programs. My class rank is 26/64. I have several pediatric-focused clinical experiences, including Give Kids a Smile, pediatric sealant clinics, a pediatric-focused dental mission trip, and a mobile dental clinic. I also have a bit of pediatric research, lots of leadership/service involvement, and two pediatric externships.

My application is pediatric-focused overall, with additional experience working with patients with special healthcare needs.

My main concern is that 9/19 programs have already sent out interviews, and I haven’t received any yet, including from the schools I had an externship at.

At this point, should I be concerned, or is it still relatively early in the cycle? I’d appreciate any honest feedback on my application or insight where my app may be weak.

 

[flashysmile]

Hi everyone, looking for some honest feedback on my application this cycle.

I have applied to 19 pediatric residency programs. My class rank is 26/64. I have several pediatric-focused clinical experiences, including Give Kids a Smile, pediatric sealant clinics, a pediatric-focused dental mission trip, and a mobile dental clinic. I also have a bit of pediatric research, lots of leadership/service involvement, and two pediatric externships.

My application is pediatric-focused overall, with additional experience working with patients with special healthcare needs.

My main concern is that 9/19 programs have already sent out interviews, and I haven’t received any yet, including from the schools I had an externship at.

At this point, should I be concerned, or is it still relatively early in the cycle? I’d appreciate any honest feedback on my application or insight where my app may be weak.

I’m in the same boat. It’s still early . Let’s hope for the best . Good luck !

 

[TheLastDance]

Hi everyone, looking for some honest feedback on my application this cycle.

I have applied to 19 pediatric residency programs. My class rank is 26/64. I have several pediatric-focused clinical experiences, including Give Kids a Smile, pediatric sealant clinics, a pediatric-focused dental mission trip, and a mobile dental clinic. I also have a bit of pediatric research, lots of leadership/service involvement, and two pediatric externships.

My application is pediatric-focused overall, with additional experience working with patients with special healthcare needs.

My main concern is that 9/19 programs have already sent out interviews, and I haven’t received any yet, including from the schools I had an externship at.

At this point, should I be concerned, or is it still relatively early in the cycle? I’d appreciate any honest feedback on my application or insight where my app may be weak.

We've all gone through it. Advice you need to hear:

(1) You applied to too few programs. 19 is barebones and any faculty at these programs will tell you that. Everyone is specializing now. No one wants to do adult general dentistry with insurance. Your application net has to be 40+ programs in this process. It's gonna cost you 5K+ USD to do all this every cycle. You need to get over that. Half the programs don't even correspond to you that everything is complete. Disrespectful, but the application game is nothing more than a game now, and nothing is respectful or fair in how these programs operate. Ultimately, the majority of them just want to take your money. They typically already know who they're going to take in.

(2) We all have what you have. Outside of knowing directors personally or having LORs that they recognize in the specialty space, you applying is mostly luck. No one is inherently special. If you want to "stand out," find a LOR that programs recognize by name or by company.

(3) Externships don't matter in pediatrics unless the program/director actually likes you. Super rare. If they didn't like you, or if they didn't know who you were beforehand, it doesn't truly help you to be there just to be there. The resident class isn't going to suddenly advocate for you just because they liked you. Programs have committees that review applications. If they don't like what they see on paper in review, they're not going to magically cater to resident opinion by bringing you in. The one exception to this rule in dentistry is OMFS. Externships can benefit you greatly in oral surgery circles, and that's been happening for 50 years.