Tufts interview!!!

[Baker2010]

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Just got the email!!!!

 

[Trusturdentist]

Do you mind saying when you submitted your application? Thanks!

 

[passionfordent]

Nice! Can you tell us your stats and what your AADSAS mail out date was? Also how many emails had you received from them prior to receiving the invite?

 

[katwoman1688]

me too! Just got an email first one!

 

[dmdluffy]

me too! Just got an email first one!

When did AADSAS mail your stuff out?

 

[passionfordent]

me too! Just got an email first one!

Wow congrats to you! No offense or anything, but do you think you have an upperhand since you are at Tufts for undergrad? Or does Tufts really overlook low gpas if the DAT score is strong? And what was your mail out date?

 

[katwoman1688]

No offense taken! Haha I think for Tufts students there is an advantage; however, in my situation - I built a relationship with the admissions committee and they knew my lack there of in my grade department in undergrad. I explained a lot of the maturing process, kept visiting, and also I re-took the DAT 1 (19/19/19) --> DAT 2 (AA22 (97%)/TS21/PAT24) for Tufts b/c my grades weren't where they should be. They also did say that they know the caliber of Tufts classes in undergrad are valued as harder than most scores, but still my grades weren't good enough. Got the 20+ they asked me to push for so I think that helped. I also took the last year (2010-2011) took extra classes at Northeastern P/T while working and pulled off a 4.0 in all courses and a 100% in both semesters of biochem. (also working in a dental office full time) so yes, being an undergrad student definitely helped...but I agree I don't have the best gpa, so I spent the year trying to turn it around hardcore and did a ton of stuff to make myself a better applicant.

Tufts is a lot about showing interest and making a connection

 

[dmdluffy]

No offense taken! Haha I think for Tufts students there is an advantage; however, in my situation - I built a relationship with the admissions committee and they knew my lack there of in my grade department in undergrad. I explained a lot of the maturing process, kept visiting, and also I re-took the DAT 1 (19/19/19) --> DAT 2 (AA22 (97%)/TS21/PAT24) for Tufts b/c my grades weren't where they should be. They also did say that they know the caliber of Tufts classes in undergrad are valued as harder than most scores, but still my grades weren't good enough. Got the 20+ they asked me to push for so I think that helped. I also took the last year (2010-2011) took extra classes at Northeastern P/T while working and pulled off a 4.0 in all courses and a 100% in both semesters of biochem. (also working in a dental office full time) so yes, being an undergrad student definitely helped...but I agree I don't have the best gpa, so I spent the year trying to turn it around hardcore and did a ton of stuff to make myself a better applicant.

Our stats are crazy identical. I have this unrealistic and hopeful fantasy that a Tufts interview will show up in my email any minute now... I should stop refreshing gmail >.< AHHH!!!!!

 

[MrAvicii]

No offense taken! Haha I think for Tufts students there is an advantage; however, in my situation - I built a relationship with the admissions committee and they knew my lack there of in my grade department in undergrad. I explained a lot of the maturing process, kept visiting, and also I re-took the DAT 1 (19/19/19) --> DAT 2 (AA22 (97%)/TS21/PAT24) for Tufts b/c my grades weren't where they should be. They also did say that they know the caliber of Tufts classes in undergrad are valued as harder than most scores, but still my grades weren't good enough. Got the 20+ they asked me to push for so I think that helped. I also took the last year (2010-2011) took extra classes at Northeastern P/T while working and pulled off a 4.0 in all courses and a 100% in both semesters of biochem. (also working in a dental office full time) so yes, being an undergrad student definitely helped...but I agree I don't have the best gpa, so I spent the year trying to turn it around hardcore and did a ton of stuff to make myself a better applicant.

Tufts is a lot about showing interest and making a connection

how low was your gpa?, no offense but with a 22AA i would be aiming at much higher prospects. isnt the avg stat of a tufts d school student like 3.4 and a 19 (i.e a bit below my level, but def way lower than your level.)

 

[katwoman1688]

Our stats are crazy identical. I have this unrealistic and hopeful fantasy that a Tufts interview will show up in my email any minute now... I should stop refreshing gmail >.< AHHH!!!!!

I hope so for you too! whats your predent?

 

[katwoman1688]

how low was your gpa?, no offense but with a 22AA i would be aiming at much higher prospects. isnt the avg stat of a tufts d school student like 3.4 and a 19 (i.e a bit below my level, but def way lower than your level.)

I know...unfortunately I didn't focus in undergrad as well as I should have. 3.2 overall 2.9 scgpa - KILLER. Sucks cause I turned it around in the past year and a half and did a lot of work to do well on the DAT. Tufts average this year is a 20 btw. I love boston too - though I am applying to UofP and some others that stress the DAT > gpa

 

[bluepills]

Ugh, well this is depressing. Anyone want to trade their Tufts interview for Louisville + Indiana + NYU? C'mon, guys, 3 for 1 combo!

 

[dmdluffy]

I hope so for you too! whats your predent?

Haven't made one yet but my cGPA is 3.13 sci/bcp is 2.95
DAT scores are 22AA 21TS 24PAT 24RC 20QR 20BIO 24GC 22OC

Ahhhh! Waiting is torture!

 

[dmdluffy]

Ugh, well this is depressing. Anyone want to trade their Tufts interview for Louisville + Indiana + NYU? C'mon, guys, 3 for 1 combo!

I'll give you a hug and a six pack 😀

 

[bluepills]

how low was your gpa?, no offense but with a 22AA i would be aiming at much higher prospects. isnt the avg stat of a tufts d school student like 3.4 and a 19 (i.e a bit below my level, but def way lower than your level.)

Who cares about the average stats! Tufts is highly regarded as a top school and has the best facilities. I would put it up there with Penn, Columbia, and UCLA, in terms of my top choices.

 

[bluepills]

I'll give you a hug and a six pack 😀

Haha..for that, i'll throw in Pitt as well.

 

[dmdluffy]

Haha..for that, i'll throw in Pitt as well.

Excellent! How'd NYU go?

 

[sap1622]

Congrats on the interview! I'm so nervous to hear back from them I believe your the first to get the email.

 

[katwoman1688]

Oh yes no doubt, I think Tufts is a great school - and they train you wonderfully for general dentistry/ great facilities. I definitely would love to go to tufts - though UofP is a top choice as well - i need some sunny weather!

 

[MrAvicii]

Who cares about the average stats! Tufts is highly regarded as a top school and has the best facilities. I would put it up there with Penn, Columbia, and UCLA, in terms of my top choices.

lol its a fine institution and I would go if accepted, but to compare it to UCLA and Columbia? Hellz no! Im not even gonna try to argue the logic of that lol. you're on your own with that logic.

 

[dmdluffy]

lol its a fine institution and I would go if accepted, but to compare it to UCLA and Columbia? Hellz no! Im not even gonna try to argue the logic of that lol. you're on your own with that logic.

I think Tufts trains better clinicians than Columbia. I suppose if you want to specialize, Columbia is better. Tufts is a great school and to go there would be amazing.

 

[MrAvicii]

I think Tufts trains better clinicians than Columbia. I suppose if you want to specialize, Columbia is better. Tufts is a great school and to go there would be amazing.

I dunno about the statement above, can anyone else please verify that? this is the first time I hear that an Ivy League school is worse or slightly worse than Tufts?

 

[dskies]

Ugh, well this is depressing. Anyone want to trade their Tufts interview for Louisville + Indiana + NYU? C'mon, guys, 3 for 1 combo!

Im Canadian too, tufts would be sweet. But aren't they off the canadian bandwagon?? I applied too but I read somewhere they haven't accepted us in a while...so would they interview??

 

[dmdluffy]

I dunno about the statement above, can anyone else please verify that? this is the first time I hear that an Ivy League school is worse or slightly worse than Tufts?

It's kind of like Harvard. Harvard is without a doubt an amazing school, but they don't train good clinicians. Almost all of their students go into research or specialize. While Ivy League certainly is prestigious, I wouldn't equate that with quality clinical training. Tufts has amazing facilities and a reputation for training great clinicians. That said, I still think Columbia is amazing, don't get me wrong.

 

[katwoman1688]

Columbia is an amazing school - I don't think he meant Tufts is better than Columbia. Tufts has a good reputation for its clinical training of general dentistry, the students are very well prepared and comfortable - I heard when they do an externship with other students from dental schools in the area Tufts students always feel the most comfortable in jumping into the clinical hands on work.

Another reason why I say this aside from talking to tufts students/admissions, is my dad is an oral surgeon at cook county hospital and has said that his residents from Tufts typically have good hands and have said good things about their clinical training.

 

[bluepills]

I dunno about the statement above, can anyone else please verify that? this is the first time I hear that an Ivy League school is worse or slightly worse than Tufts?

I don't think anyone can really "verify" that statement. From speaking to students from both schools, I've gathered that Columbia really focuses on didactic/research, while Tufts is very clinically oriented. Not to say Columbia isn't great for clinical...it's just not their main focus.

@Dskies - yeah..I heard about the anti-Canadianness at Tufts and Columbia now. Oh well. I'll keep my fingers crossed 🙁

 

[MrAvicii]

It's kind of like Harvard. Harvard is without a doubt an amazing school, but they don't train good clinicians. Almost all of their students go into research or specialize. While Ivy League certainly is prestigious, I wouldn't equate that with quality clinical training. Tufts has amazing facilities and a reputation for training great clinicians. That said, I still think Columbia is amazing, don't get me wrong.

again i would want to see some other opinions on this, this is the first time im hearing that Tufts is better than those schools (just taking everything with a grain of salt.)

 

[flyingforever]

Congrats to all the people who got the interview at Tufts. Tufts is my dream school too and I just hope they look at my application really soon 😀

 

[polola55]

Columbia is an amazing school - I don't think he meant Tufts is better than Columbia. Tufts has a good reputation for its clinical training of general dentistry, the students are very well prepared and comfortable - I heard when they do an externship with other students from dental schools in the area Tufts students always feel the most comfortable in jumping into the clinical hands on work.

Another reason why I say this aside from talking to tufts students/admissions, is my dad is an oral surgeon at cook county hospital and has said that his residents from Tufts typically have good hands and have said good things about their clinical training.

I agree with you on this. Most Ivies do not put strong emphasis on clinical aspect of dentistry and usually don't start this part till at or after their second year. Why? Most of them originally grew roots from their medical schools and kept this till now. Ivies made sure their dental students are more fluent in the arts of medicine, such as diagnosing patients, creating medical history, etc. Hence, these students do not have much time in their dental curriculum involved in clinical aspects of dentistry, such as practicing or learning RCT, tooth extraction, implants, etc. Despite the flaws of their clinical program, they are very strong in preparing their students in didactic portion of dentistry, giving them a very well-rounded education involving both medicine and dentistry. Thus, these students traditionally are able to score extremely high scores on their part I of their NBDE, which explains the high numbers of students enrolling in post-doctoral programs in dentistry.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

I agree with you on this. Most Ivies do not put strong emphasis on clinical aspect of dentistry and usually don't start this part till at or after their second year. Why? Most of them originally grew roots from their medical schools and kept this till now. Ivies made sure their dental students are more fluent in the arts of medicine, such as diagnosing patients, creating medical history, etc. Hence, these students do not have much time in their dental curriculum involved in clinical aspects of dentistry, such as practicing or learning RCT, tooth extraction, implants, etc. Despite the flaws of their clinical program, they are very strong in preparing their students in didactic portion of dentistry, giving them a very well-rounded education involving both medicine and dentistry. Thus, these students traditionally are able to score extremely high scores on their part I of their NBDE, which explains the high numbers of students enrolling in post-doctoral programs in dentistry.

No kidding, I've heard the Harvard kids don't touch a drill until third year.

 

[Denthope]

got Tufts today too, but I have all of my exams on all but one of the days they offered, and i have another interview on the last day

 

[Trusturdentist]

So for those who have gotten the Tufts interview...Can you please tell when you submitted your application? Thanks!

 

[PreDent321]

I agree with you on this. Most Ivies do not put strong emphasis on clinical aspect of dentistry and usually don't start this part till at or after their second year. Why? Most of them originally grew roots from their medical schools and kept this till now. Ivies made sure their dental students are more fluent in the arts of medicine, such as diagnosing patients, creating medical history, etc. Hence, these students do not have much time in their dental curriculum involved in clinical aspects of dentistry, such as practicing or learning RCT, tooth extraction, implants, etc. Despite the flaws of their clinical program, they are very strong in preparing their students in didactic portion of dentistry, giving them a very well-rounded education involving both medicine and dentistry. Thus, these students traditionally are able to score extremely high scores on their part I of their NBDE, which explains the high numbers of students enrolling in post-doctoral programs in dentistry.

What's so great about this flawed Ivy League approach?? You're going dental to school so you can provide the best possible treatment to your patients. Patients don't give a rat's ass if you understand the didactics of dentistry. They want to be sure that you can do a perfect job on their root canal or implant or composite filling. What a bunch of asinine schools caught up on their rich medicine tradition.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

What's so great about this flawed Ivy League approach?? You're going dental to school so you can provide the best possible treatment to your patients. Patients don't give a rat's ass if you understand the didactics of dentistry. They want to be sure that you can do a perfect job on their root canal or implant or composite filling. What a bunch of asinine schools caught up on their rich medicine tradition.

These schools specialize in dental research so there are advances in dentistry that can be utilized by clinicians to treat their patients. The world needs both of these people, and schools like harvard wants to focus on the research part.

Not long ago, metals were the preferred materials for fillings, and to do a dental implant in your mandible, they would have to saw part of jaw out.

 

[MrAvicii]

hey guys, how do i find out what schools emphasize more on didactic v. clinical? is there a uniform place for this sort of information?

 

[euphaire]

Do schools usually send out interviews over several days or, if I didn't get one today it's pretty much over?

 

[polola55]

hey guys, how do i find out what schools emphasize more on didactic v. clinical? is there a uniform place for this sort of information?

Got my info interviewing many dentists from many different dental schools around the country and also speaking with many dental schools too.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

What's so great about this flawed Ivy League approach?? You're going dental to school so you can provide the best possible treatment to your patients. Patients don't give a rat's ass if you understand the didactics of dentistry. They want to be sure that you can do a perfect job on their root canal or implant or composite filling. What a bunch of asinine schools caught up on their rich medicine tradition.

The hardest time of your dental career is your first year out as a clinician. That is when you really start learning dentistry. You can try to prep and prep as much as you want but you will never reach the intensity/level of your first year out. 2 patients a day, each scheduled for around 3 hours per appointment vs the typical 8 hour day with approximately 1 hour appointments each.

Actually... patients don't know a rat's ass if you've done the filling badly, well, or extremely well (Only your colleagues can tell). If you have good chair side manners, they'll think that you're a great dentist anyway.

 

[polola55]

the hardest time of your dental career is your first year out as a clinician. That is when you really start learning dentistry. You can try to prep and prep as much as you want but you will never reach the intensity/level of your first year out. 2 patients a day, each scheduled for around 3 hours per appointment vs the typical 8 hour day with approximately 1 hour appointments each.

Actually... Patients don't know a rat's ass if you've done the filling badly, well, or extremely well (only your colleagues can tell). If you have good chair side manners, they'll think that you're a great dentist anyway.

+1

 

[katwoman1688]

The hardest time of your dental career is your first year out as a clinician. That is when you really start learning dentistry. You can try to prep and prep as much as you want but you will never reach the intensity/level of your first year out. 2 patients a day, each scheduled for around 3 hours per appointment vs the typical 8 hour day with approximately 1 hour appointments each.

Actually... patients don't know a rat's ass if you've done the filling badly, well, or extremely well (Only your colleagues can tell). If you have good chair side manners, they'll think that you're a great dentist anyway.

So veryyyy true! haha I agree that kinda separates dentistry from medicine (not including surgeons), is that we need to have really good hand skills