Alright, I had my interview today and I've got 5 more hours until my flight leaves so lets make this a comprehensive breakdown so I can procrastinate on Physical Biochemistry.
First off, it is true, the interview is remarkably relaxed, second only to my experience at UoP. I was in the morning session as opposed to the afternoon and it looks like they have one interview day per month, starting in September. This means there are only 3 dates before December, each with a morning and noon session. There were 16 students in the morning session, so extrapolating you've got 32 a day, and 96 interviewed candidates total. My impression is that they are interviewing to accept you, and yes there is the statistic that they are looking to fill up half of the class (it is a class of 80), but of course every accepted individual will not accept the acceptance. So, it is my impression (this is by no means a fact) that about 80 acceptances will go out with the idea that half will matriculate from the original round of acceptances. If this is true then you are looking at an 83% chance of acceptance to the school if you have a pre-December interview. That being said, I would say the stats then cut in half if you have a post-December interview because half of the seats will be available, but I don't know how long they plan on interviewing so don't lose hope!
For the morning session, we started off with an info session and basic financial aid, and immunizations were really stressed. Barbara Swedensky and Mrs./Dr. Moreno head up this portion. This is actually the shortest info session I have yet to experience. It was basically an hour and fifteen minutes if I remember correctly, but felt more like 20-30. Next you have a respite and can snack and talk with available dental students. Depending on your schedule, you will either have 45 minutes to eat, or will have your first interview with a break in between, or 2 interviews with a break at the end. I had my 2 interviews after a particularly long break, so I just sat and chatted with the interviewees and dental students.
At 10:15 I was brought into my first interview with Dr./Ms. Brunson, and she was so nice! I was really glad to have her as well, because it gave me a chance to talk about global health initiatives and available outreach programs in Colorado that I might be able to become a part of if I matriculate here. It was all really conversational and I was asked about my future plans with dentistry, what I have learned about the business side of dentistry from my shadowing and interning, why I chose the school, and about my research. Quite nice, and these are topics that I love discussing so I was very happy with the whole ordeal. I also had questions prepared and we chatted longer than the interview was supposed to go, which cut into my second interview a bit actually.
My second interview was with Dr. Williams, who is involved with research, and I found to be a remarkably satiric man. We made jokes and his first question was based off of my personal statement, and he followed up asking questions about my own research, my goals in life, what I do for fun, my manual dexterity practices, and I'm sure a bit more that I don't quite remember. He was very relaxed the whole time and we laughed quite often. He stretches out and calmly lets you talk. I found it very enjoyable and both interviews didn't really feel like an interview at all, which luckily has been a common theme for all of my experiences thus far.
Afterwards, we went for a tour of the amazingly beautiful campus and learned a bit about the ins and outs of the school. We saw the sim lab, anatomy lab, study rooms, locker rooms, places to eat, multitude of clinics, etc... Afterwards I wound up meeting with one of the dental students and he gave me another 15 minute tour of the library and places to study. Overall, it was a great experience and none of you need to stress at all, although a little bit of nervousness will release adrenaline and help you focus, so I suggest being ever so slightly antsy with anticipation. Good luck everyone and feel free to PM if you have any more personal questions or really any questions at all. I will possibly see some of you next year!
