I will try my best here my peeps!
1. I heard that the interview is pretty key at OU dental. It's not just a formality like at some schools. However, I also hear it's laid back. I know the interview at OU medical school is the second coming of the Spanish Inquisition. I was expecting their dental interview to be the same? How is it they place so much importance on it yet they are so easy going about it?
Interviews are KEY!!!!! I cannot express this enough. You can take an average or well below average candidate and turn it around in the interview. Some of the laid back approach comes from the fact that this is OK. You should know that. ;-) It is laid back here, much more than Arizona. Their approach also can throw you off if you are not prepared. There is a fine line as far as taking on their laid back approach. If you are too laid back they may see that as a lack of confidence or maturity. It is important to take the interview very seriously and come with your A game. Their attitude may be laid back but the answers they are looking for as they do their probing are very specific. I can elaberate on this more if you would like me to. Dr. Miller told me that in the interview your entire purpose or job is to convince them you are the person they need to fight for in front of their peers in the admission committee meeting. Don't take this the wrong way or think I am bragging but when I met with Dr. Miller (after the school year started and my alternate list "number was not called") he told me he wished he had a video camera in my interview. He said I don't know exactly what you said but you definately did your job in the interview. My stats are lower than yours, I was competing for four spots left when my application arrived to OU and there were another 1000 or so applicants I was up against I was still able to pull off a spot on the alternate list. So the Interview is very crucial to your chances of getting in.
2. How do they treat borderline candidates. My GPA is 3.1 I noticed that their average is 3.5., Does't look good for me.
Don't let your GPA discourage you. During the interview they may ask you questions about that but be very confident and don't shy away from the question or give excuses. Just be honest and explain. It can be difficult to not sound like you are giving excuses. They are looking for reasons that will not show up on your app. Such as a death in the family, birth of a child, marriage, work commitments. Life altering events. Not things like, my teacher was a jerk or I got the shaft from that teacher.
3. What have you heard about the school itself? Do they have an entirely different curriculum or do they stick you in with the med students the first two years.
They have a similiar curriculum as most dental schools. You will be taking some classes with the Med students, like Neural anatomy, bio-chem, etc. Something I like that they do that most other schools do not is start classes on July 1st. They have taken the dental students out of the med student's gross anatomy class and you will take it for 6 weeks prior to the semster starting. They feel that taking this class by itself will lighten the load a little bit during your first semester. The calss is after lunch until 5:30 or so. The morning you spend studying. The class moves pretty fast but the students I have spoken with are glad to get that class over with before the semester begins.
4. When do they start interviewing?
Interviews begin the first week of October. The first committee meeting is the week of Thanksgiving and the first round of letters go out the 1st of December. At that time you are accepted, deferred or denied.
5. Do students like the school? I have heard that students don't enjoy their experience at OU dental?
😉 😉
To be honest I have spoken with about 10 students there from different years, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and they love it. The clinical experience is great and most of it is on campus. There are some hospital rotations as well.
Austin1, to answer your questions they begin sending out letters about this time, September.
Hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.