Rejected by Penn and reapplying!

[Kobe08]

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[justdandi]

Was Penn the only school you applied to? Because, with your stats, I can't imagine you not getting an offer if you applied to at least half a dozen schools.

I can't give any advice on how to get into Penn, specifically. But if you're looking to get into any dental schools, I'd suggest applying to 5-10+ schools, with some that are OOS-friendly and not as difficult as Penn to get into.

 

[7 Iron]

All dental schools are selective, Penn especially so. Sometimes it really is luck of the draw. Good luck this time around. As someone said, you need to apply to more than just Penn, that way you can go to dental school even if they reject you a second time. Maybe work on your interviewing skills (since your numbers are very good).

 

[Kobe08]

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[Maygyver]

I would work on your interview skills. To have those stats and not get in, there must be something wrong with your interview style.

 

[Kobe08]

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[Maygyver]

One question I have about this. I am typically somewhat "shy" or humble during interviews-not a good trait I know. I understand that there should be a fine line, but several people I know who got into medical and dental schools have a very outgoing, sometimes borderline arrogant demeanor. Is it better to be boastful of one's accomplishments? I wasn't sure about this.

There was also the issue where I was asked during the interview why not medical school or graduate school and one of the reasons I gave was the lifestyle of dentistry even in academia as I shadowed some part-time staff dentists at Pitt. Now this was also one of the reasons given in the ADA booklet, but when I said lifestyle my interview looked like she was about to vomit and said that perhaps was not the best reason. But it was a small detail and I thought the rest of the interview she liked my responses. good and down to earth or so I thought.

Honestly, lifestyle is a horrible answer. Sorry. What were the reasons you listed in your personal statement? Would you want your future dr to only be practicing so they can have a family/money?

As far as being shy, you don't have to be arrogant in order to talk to people. I would suggest having a dentist give you a mock interview because it sounds like you don't really understand how interviews are conducted. You need to talk about yourself but not be rude. Obviously you need to sell yourself.

 

[Kobe08]

I gave other reasons including how I was interested in dentistry from initially learning about the oral cavity in physiology and anatomy and gave examples from my experiences shadowing. I thought it would be best to be honest and I do feel that I am choosing dentistry as it both appeals to my biological interest, my interest in serving others, and my temperament- I like to control my own hours. The reason I guess I got stumped is because they asked why not medical or graduate school? After all, each medical field has their own interesting parts in terms of physiological relevance. And lifestyle was a big difference especially for someone who wants to go into dental research afterwards.

 

[Maygyver]

I gave other reasons including how I was interested in dentistry from initially learning about the oral cavity in physiology and anatomy and gave examples from my experiences shadowing. I thought it would be best to be honest and I do feel that I am choosing dentistry as it both appeals to my biological interest, my interest in serving others, and my temperament- I like to control my own hours. The reason I guess I got stumped is because they asked why not medical or graduate school? After all, each medical field has their own interesting parts in terms of physiological relevance. And lifestyle was a big difference especially for someone who wants to go into dental research afterwards.

Nobody can tell you the answer. You need to figure out why you would pick dental over medical now. I think in general it sounds like you need to solidify your choice and be sure that you know why you want to be a dentist.

 

[7 Iron]

I think lifestyle is one of the great things about dentistry and the interviewer knows this. So they expect that answer. I think it's a reasonable answer, but it probably shouldn't be your only answer to why dentistry.

It sounds like you are interested in the academic side of dentistry. So they really wanted to know "why not grad school" because wouldn't your career path be about the same in grad school vs. academic dentistry? And I think college profs have pretty good lifestyles too.

Interviews are tough. But with practice it is a skill that you can acquire. Do some mock interviews for practice. If I had to give one piece of advice about interviews, though, it is: just be yourself. Don't be phony. People can see right through it. It's OK to be shy but you have to portray yourself as confident as well.

 

[Kobe08]

Thanks for the advice and insight iron. I'm going to practice a lot this time around, now that I've already been through it.

 

[4thMolar]

Did you get any interviews besides Penn? It's hard to imagine you wouldn't at least get an interview at other schools. Maybe you need to review your personal statement as well?

 

[rickblas]

Hey guys, I'm a long time reader and follower of SDN and predents, though haven't really ever posted on these two sites. I'm going to be a bit more proactive in my second time around and was wondering if any of you could help me as I reapply to dental schools-specifically Penn my top choice.

My GPA is 3.95/3.91, Graduated with a B.S. Chem from Northwestern, and have a DAT of 22/22/19 with everything above 20 besides PAT and QR (18! :x). My EC's I feel are decent. Maybe they didn't like the way I looked lol? I noticed Penn people generally are very attractive! I'm White and from Pittsburgh originally-US Citizen. That's pretty much all the info I want to put out there about myself. Also I submitted my application on June 30th last year. I tried calling them and just got the explanation that this year's class was quite exceptional yadda yadda. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

There are people with less stats than you getting into Penn (I got in with less stats than you). I agree with the above posters that there must be something wrong besides just the numbers. I think you should do a mock interview; you never really know how you come off to another person and this is worth investigating (You may sound TOO boring or too quiet etc.) Also, did you make sure your supplemental for Penn was well edited/good responses? How are your dental shadowing hours/experiences? etc.

also lol @ looks....I doubt they judge you by looks...although they do ask for a 2x2 photo hmmm