UMKC secondary and Interview question!!

[Mustt Mustt]

I just got the package from UMKC about interview and their secondary information. Tthey suggest in their secondary that you should observe atleast 5 different dentists with combined 80-100 hours of total dental experience. I have only observed two and my dental experience is about 70 hours total. How serious do you think they are about this requirement. If I had known this earlier I might have done the visits to five different offices. Has anybody gotten into UMKC without 5 different office shadowing experience. Also, how many out of staters does UMKC accept. I am from Michigan. I would love to go there but just worried. This is my only interview so far.

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[umkcdds]

to be honest, the last i heard was that having 100 hours of some kind of experience (observation, working, etc.) was a requirement for getting an interview. but if you have already been offered an interview, then it must not be absolute.
also, the chances of you getting into umkc from michigan are pretty slim. we have agreements to accept students from a few states (kansas ~20, oklahoma-2, new mexico 3, hawaii 3, arkansas 2 and missouri). to get in from another state your gpa has to be pretty darn high and your dat score has to be over a 20. i can't think of anyone in my class that is from a state other than those listed. but, i do rememer interviewing with a guy from notre dame, but that was a few years ago.
i don't know the exact numbers for gpa requirements now, but i think the science gpa must be a 3.3 to even be considered for an interview if you are from one of the states listed above and it has to be much higher than that to get in from another state.
the person to talk to to get from-the-horses-mouth, exact, answers would be dianne beard. the number to her office is: 800-776-8652. she could give you an exact break-down of how many people go to umkc from states other than the ones listed above.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

Thanks UMKCDDS for the detailed answer. I just have one more question if you currently go to UMKC. I have total of more than 200 hours of shadowing in the healthcare field but only 70-80 in Dentistry. Did anyone get in with less than 100 hours of dent related experience or the guys from other states like Michigan in your class. I will go to interview anyway becasue it is my only interview. Anyway my GPA is just 3.3 (3.29 for science) and my DAT is 21. If you think they don't accept anyone from other than those states then why would they interview someone from other states like Michigan. It would really suck if they interview people that they don;t want to accept becasue interview do cost a lot of money. I am from Michigan. I am hoping that they would accept atleast few people from states like Michigan so people like me have some chance. Thanks

 

[umkcdds]

i don't know of anyone in my class from states other than the ones i listed. i'm sure there might be students in the school from other states, i just don't know all 380 students in the entire school.
call dianne beard. she would be more than happy to give you exact numbers.
also, the earlier your interview is, the better your chances of being accepted are. about 90% of the class will be filled on december 1st. so, if your interview is after that, it's pretty tough. i would recommend scheduling your interview very soon if you are serious about umkc. i think they started interviewing students last week. they will interview about 10-15 each week until the end of november.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

Thanks, UMKCDDS, I am sending my secondary today and will get there soon. I would be able to schedule my interview within a couple of weeks or so. Hopefully in September. I will call tomorrow to dianne beard. Thanks again.

 

[FCIllini]

I had the same questions that Mustt had. Actually, I received a packet from UMKC in the mail yesterday with a letter stating that they have a deal with the states umkcdds listed, thanked me for my application, etc, etc, etc - but no interview invite.

But today, I was checking my e-mail and had one from Ms. Beard from yesterday (Saturday) stating that they received my DAT scores and wanted me to come in for an interview. I too am lacking in the requirement for # of hours shadowed and I'm from Texas.

Being from Texas, I had thought about UMKC & decided that it probably wouldn't be the best use of my time since I'm not from one of the "preferred" states for this school. Based on the e-mail I now received from Ms. Beard, should I reconsider?

Thanks.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

I had the same questions that Mustt had. Actually, I received a packet from UMKC in the mail yesterday with a letter stating that they have a deal with the states umkcdds listed, thanked me for my application, etc, etc, etc - but no interview invite.

But today, I was checking my e-mail and had one from Ms. Beard from yesterday (Saturday) stating that they received my DAT scores and wanted me to come in for an interview. I too am lacking in the requirement for # of hours shadowed and I'm from Texas.

Being from Texas, I had thought about UMKC & decided that it probably wouldn't be the best use of my time since I'm not from one of the "preferred" states for this school. Based on the e-mail I now received from Ms. Beard, should I reconsider?

Thanks.

I will be going for an interview. I think may be they will accept more students from other states this year since they are interviewing people from other states. I mean if they don't want to accept then why would they interview? I think you should go as well becasue even if they only accept 2 people from other states you could be one of them?? If you don't go for an interview is NO admission but you have chance for an admission if you go for an interview.

 

[katieTX]

I'm in the same situation and I'm not sure if I go to the interview. I apply to UMKC because they keep me update (very detailed) thru last whole year by email, mails and postcards. They makes me feel very welcome there... but I did not know that they only take few students from outstate, esp. none from TX.

Well, maybe I'll do this... head I go, tail I stay

Thanks,

I had the same questions that Mustt had. Actually, I received a packet from UMKC in the mail yesterday with a letter stating that they have a deal with the states umkcdds listed, thanked me for my application, etc, etc, etc - but no interview invite.

But today, I was checking my e-mail and had one from Ms. Beard from yesterday (Saturday) stating that they received my DAT scores and wanted me to come in for an interview. I too am lacking in the requirement for # of hours shadowed and I'm from Texas.

Being from Texas, I had thought about UMKC & decided that it probably wouldn't be the best use of my time since I'm not from one of the "preferred" states for this school. Based on the e-mail I now received from Ms. Beard, should I reconsider?

Thanks.

 

[umkcdds]

an update with possibly some insight, possibly more confusion.

interviews are to begin on october 3rd and will interview about 10-15 students each monday, until slots are filled. the first acceptances will go out on dec. 1st. umkc has received about 400 completed applications through aadsas and they are expecting over 900 total by january (which is really too late to be considered anyway...). interviews are starting much later this year, because the number of applicants that aadsas is receiving is much higher than last year, so they are moving very slow. the dean of admissions has also said that overall, there are many more highly qualified applicants than there have been in the past.
out of a class of 100 students, about 45 of those slots have already been filled by people that have been accepted through the advanded acceptance program. that means that there about 175 individuals will be interviewed for about 55 positions.
students from outside of the states umkc has contracts with:
umkc will invite a few highly qualified individuals for interviews. (i.e. above 20 of DAT is the main thing they look for from your application. gpa isn't nearly as important.). it is very hard for an out of state student to be accepted. there are none in my class, 2 or 3 in the 2nd year class and 3 or 4 in the 1st year class. i was told by the dean of admissions that the thing that will put an out of state student over the edge for acceptance will really be standing out in their interview. i would recommend visiting the school a time or two, outside of their interview, so that you won't just be a faceless name. the "dental student for a day" program will be starting up at the end of october. if you haven't received info about that, i highly recommend contacting dianne beard and signing up to come to umkc for a day for that program. the better the people in admissions know you, the better your chances are. if you get invited for an interview from out of state, your grades and DAT are good. you have to go above and beyond that to make yourself stand out. the admissions people seeing an out of state student taking the initiative to show up to the "dental student for a day" program would be a VERY impressive start. it last one day from around 8am to 3pm. you spend a day touring umkc, doing some lab projects, sitting in on a class, meeting and talking with current students, shadowing in the clinic. basically just getting to know a lot more about umkc and being a dental student here. this will take place on fridays, beginning toward the end of october and running through november. call dianne beard for more info.
the number of students accepted from out of state is determined by a grant that the school receives that will fee-waive your out of state tuition for one year. this will give you in-state tuition for your first year, which is long enough for you to establish residency so you can get in-state tuition your remaining three years. this will probably be in the neighborhood of 3-5.
as far as your interview goes:
the school must receive your secondary application before you can schedule an interview. you need to get this in within the next couple weeks and schedule your interview ASAP. this is very important. the earlier your interview is, the better.
one last tidbit. when they give you the chance to send in a personal statement letter. do it. i HIGHLY recommend this. not a lot of applicants actually do this. doing so is looked upon VERY favorably.

 

[umkcdds]

it's not too late to get in some more time in offices. most any dentist or specialist would be happy to let you spend a week shadowing in their office.
accpetances aren't made until december 1st (about 90% of students will be accepted then, with the rest of acceptences send out around the end of january). get out there and spend some time in some general dentist offices and a specialist or two. you can still make additions to your application, even after they have received your aadsas application and even after your have interviewed. you can always send in a personal statement letter (this is HIGHLY recommended) that is not part of your aadsas application. tell them things like what you are doing in school and how you are spending time in the dental field.

I had the same questions that Mustt had. Actually, I received a packet from UMKC in the mail yesterday with a letter stating that they have a deal with the states umkcdds listed, thanked me for my application, etc, etc, etc - but no interview invite.

But today, I was checking my e-mail and had one from Ms. Beard from yesterday (Saturday) stating that they received my DAT scores and wanted me to come in for an interview. I too am lacking in the requirement for # of hours shadowed and I'm from Texas.

Being from Texas, I had thought about UMKC & decided that it probably wouldn't be the best use of my time since I'm not from one of the "preferred" states for this school. Based on the e-mail I now received from Ms. Beard, should I reconsider?

Thanks.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

it's not too late to get in some more time in offices. most any dentist or specialist would be happy to let you spend a week shadowing in their office.
accpetances aren't made until december 1st (about 90% of students will be accepted then, with the rest of acceptences send out around the end of january). get out there and spend some time in some general dentist offices and a specialist or two. you can still make additions to your application, even after they have received your aadsas application and even after your have interviewed. you can always send in a personal statement letter (this is HIGHLY recommended) that is not part of your aadsas application. tell them things like what you are doing in school and how you are spending time in the dental field.

Thank you UMKCDDS for updating us on the info. I am going to be start shadowing my 3rd dentist now. I will talk to dianne Beard about updating the file after the secondary is being sent. I really appreciate this and please update us on as much as you can. I really like UMKC and is really becoming one of my top choices and I hope to do well in the interviews. Thanks again.