telling schools they are your first choice?

[organichemistry]

does it hurt/help/no effect on your application to a school if you make it clear either in a secondary app or an interview that a particular school is far and away your first choice?

i think most of us have clear cut first choices... but was wondering on how the dental schools percieve this...

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[LIer2010]

I told one of my interviewer that I would definitely come to their school if they accepted me ...

Dunno if it works in all cases, or whether it has an effect at all on admissions decisions. Think about it, what would stop an applicant from saying that that schools is his first choice to ALL the schools that he applies to? The admissions committee probably knows this and takes it with a grain of salt whenever an applicant says something like that.

 

[organichemistry]

I told one of my interviewer that I would definitely come to their school if they accepted me ...

Dunno if it works in all cases, or whether it has an effect at all on admissions decisions. Think about it, what would stop an applicant from saying that that schools is his first choice to ALL the schools that he applies to? The admissions committee probably knows this and takes it with a grain of salt whenever an applicant says something like that.

that's kind of what i was thinking too.

though it might carry weight in some situations (for instance, a permanent address has the same zip code as a certain dental school).

 

[dds4life]

wouldn't bring it up unless the interviewer flat out asked me if their school was your #1 choice. don't want to get a biased opinion from the interviewer. just complement them on their curriculum and clinical areas and leave it as that.

 

[dexadental]

wouldn't bring it up unless the interviewer flat out asked me if their school was your #1 choice. don't want to get a biased opinion from the interviewer. just complement them on their curriculum and clinical areas and leave it as that.

Exactly, and I'm not sure if the interviewer will tie the whole address thing together...that is a little too advanced for some schools. I'd stick with the complements, and if asked, of course say they're your number one...try to mean it!

 

[L8DYV]

Yeah, tell every school that!

 

[polarnut]

you tell every school that its your #1 choice. they already know you are bs'ing, but they still wanna hear it because if you dont say it, then they know that it's definitely not.

so, in essence, you gotta say it because every ****in loser that came before you pretty much diluted the whole term into this vague sort of statement that must be blurted out because the losers that came before them said it.

 

[L8DYV]

you tell every school that its your #1 choice. they already know you are bs'ing, but they still wanna hear it because if you dont say it, then they know that it's definitely not.

so, in essence, you gotta say it because every ****in loser that came before you pretty much diluted the whole term into this vague sort of statement that must be blurted out because the losers that came before them said it.

LOL, true.

 

[I'mFillingFine]

you tell every school that its your #1 choice. they already know you are bs'ing, but they still wanna hear it because if you dont say it, then they know that it's definitely not.

so, in essence, you gotta say it because every ****in loser that came before you pretty much diluted the whole term into this vague sort of statement that must be blurted out because the losers that came before them said it.

ha, true.

On the other hand, there's always the "well, ______ is definitely at the top of my list", offering a vague compliment with hints of enigmatic preferences.

 

[coral2005]

Unless it really is your top choice, I wouldn't say it. I had the luxury of being able to state many reasons why NSU was my top choice..

1. i moved from RI to Davie because i love the area.
2. my husband goes there.
3. i live across the street from it and don't want to move.
4. i only applied to 2 other schools.
5. i have easy access to the school and students, so i already knew a lot about it.

These are the types of reasons that I think would make it believable to state that a certain school is your top choice. Everything else is pretty much bull****.

 

[dexadental]

Hey Coral, since you live across the street from Nova, what are two bedroom/2 bath condos going for over there?

 

[BallDontLie]

it wont make any difference at all. In fact, Temple pretty much makes you kiss ass with an email after the interview just to be further considered. But really, unless you have a state school that is significantly cheaper than private schools (im talking 100K+ cheaper), its tough to have a clear cut #1 until you actually go and see the school yourself and get a chance to talk to students, see the area, get a feel for the atmosphere, etc....

 

[coral2005]

In the low 200,000's.. If you want to go further from campus, 180,000-200,000. I know because I've been looking, too.

 

[DIRTIE]

you tell every school that its your #1 choice. they already know you are bs'ing, but they still wanna hear it because if you dont say it, then they know that it's definitely not.

so, in essence, you gotta say it because every ****in loser that came before you pretty much diluted the whole term into this vague sort of statement that must be blurted out because the losers that came before them said it.

Case Western would definately know that you were bs'ing them

 

[polarnut]

Case Western would definately know that you were bs'ing them

what are you talking about. case is my #1 choice

 

[Uracil]

Unless it really is your top choice, I wouldn't say it. I had the luxury of being able to state many reasons why NSU was my top choice..

1. i moved from RI to Davie because i love the area.
2. my husband goes there.
3. i live across the street from it and don't want to move.
4. i only applied to 2 other schools.
5. i have easy access to the school and students, so i already knew a lot about it.

These are the types of reasons that I think would make it believable to state that a certain school is your top choice. Everything else is pretty much bull****.

Thanks for your advice. I thought it was not appropriate to say it in the interview. But now I am definetely then going to say that NOVA is my #1 top choice to the interviewers. I have lived in Ft. Lauderdale my entire life.. actually 10 minutes from the school and I know many many people that go there too, friends, and faculty etc.

 

[flossin']

Thanks for your advice. I thought it was not appropriate to say it in the interview. But now I am definetely then going to say that NOVA is my #1 top choice to the interviewers. I have lived in Ft. Lauderdale my entire life.. actually 10 minutes from the school and I know many many people that go there too, friends, and faculty etc.

Nova should be your number one no matter where you're from

 

[Uracil]

Nova should be your number one no matter where you're from

 

[hockeydentist]

Unless it really is your top choice, I wouldn't say it. I had the luxury of being able to state many reasons why NSU was my top choice..

1. i moved from RI to Davie because i love the area.
2. my husband goes there.
3. i live across the street from it and don't want to move.
4. i only applied to 2 other schools.
5. i have easy access to the school and students, so i already knew a lot about it.

These are the types of reasons that I think would make it believable to state that a certain school is your top choice. Everything else is pretty much bull****.

STALKER

 

[fightingspirit]

does it hurt/help/no effect on your application to a school if you make it clear either in a secondary app or an interview that a particular school is far and away your first choice?

i think most of us have clear cut first choices... but was wondering on how the dental schools percieve this...

this is an excellent question, and i think you should definitly let your top choice know that they are your top choice. now, when you say that in the secondary application and/or the inTview, they might very well suspect that you say that to every other school to garner acceptances; therefore, you may need to get your point across in other ways. after the inTview, dont send a post-inTview/thank you letter after a week or two. send your letter the day after the inTview. it gives a very good impression in terms of the truthfullness of your top choice claim when you send the letter promptly. after a while, if you don't hear fromt the school, do not hesitate to send an e-mail to be forwarded to the admissions dean ot assistan dean re-stating and re-reminding them that they are your number one. they won't look at it as shmoozing and you'd have nothing to loose...