- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
- Messages
- 1,532
- Reaction score
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Ok, where do I start?
First of all, I will start by saying that I have no affiliation with the University of the Pacific Admission Office nor the University of the Pacific as a body. The views expressed in this post are based solely upon my personal experience at UOP, and my personal views of the whole application process. It is your personal responsibility to verify any information which you decide to act upon from the appropriate personnel at the UOP admission office.
I have received several inquiries by private messaging about what UOP are looking for in potential applicants. Like "how did you get in with only %81 on part I? I have %92 and did not even get an interview" or "what should I write on my application for them to give me an interview?".
I anticipated this kind of controversy to arise from my acceptance at UOP. I hope this post addresses most of the issues some of you might have.
First of all, let me say that with no bias intended, UOP is one of THE BEST dental schools in the country. PERIOD. You really would be lucky to get in their program.
This is THE ONLY school in the USA that has approval from the ADA and the CODA (Commission On Dental Accreditation) to prepare its graduates to obtain a DDS degree after only 3 years of graduate dental training (2 years in the case of foreign trained dentists in the IDS program).
Why do you think it is so? I am sure there is a legitimate justification for that, which backs the statement I made above.
Being the strong institution it is, the Pacific (as they prefer to call it) has tough standards also. They are not looking for just anyone with a high part I score, GPA or TOEFL for that matter.
You need to have a good over all package! It is all about a rounded application, and how you present it.
This year, to the best of my knowledge, they received over 500 applications for the IDS program alone. About 90 applicants were intrviewed for the 21 spots available.
This is how I view the situation at UOP;
In order for them to be interested in calling you for an interview (which by the way, places you ahead of at least 400 other applicants whom did not get one), you must at least present the following;
1. At least %80 on your part I NBDE tests. Obviously, the higher the score, the better. However, once again, if you are lacking in other areas on your application, it will not take you much further.
Something else to note here is that part II scores are not considered to be an advantage to your application at all. I was informed directly that my part II score has absolutely no weight on my application. They only require part I scores. It is of UOP's opinion that considering part II scores of some applicants would be unfair to applicants with only part I of the boards (which to this day does not make much sense to me, but I am sure they have a point).
2. A strong TOEFL score and conversational skills. San Francisco is a major city, and one with a reputation of a having a highly educated and richly diverse population. They must also ensure that whoever will be in their program will be able to communicate with their patients effectively.
3. A good solid GPA (I would suggest at least 3.0 by ECE/ 3.5 by WES). Your transcripts must reflect sufficient academic and clinical training courses passed in order to insure a smooth transition into the DDS curriculum.
4. Strong (actually, very strong) personal statement, which should outline your dental experience, goals and future aspirations. It must accentuate your character. What makes you so special and interesting that would they want to choose you over the other 500 something applicants?
5. Sufficient dental/clinical experience. My personal estimates would place that around 1-3 years at least of full time clinical exposure.
6. STRONG recommendation letters.
They do not want to know how much your "uncle" dentist thinks you would make a perfect doctor, nor do they expect to hear how much your neighbors like you. They need good recommendations, like ones from the dean of your dental school or a chairman of a department which you have excelled in. They need something to justify their decision, which should express others views and support of your potential in the dental field.
Ok, now you might get an interview. Now, if and when you get an interview, this is what you will need to do in order to have a good shot at admission (which would position you ahead of 80 other interviewees and roughly 450 applicants);
1. You MUST leave a very positive impression on the admission committee, or whichever faculty member you interview with. You must leave the room with them thinking "we need someone like that around here". Remember that they will be the ones talking the admission committee into giving you an admission spot. They have to be %100 convinced with your experience and character in order to be able to do that.
2. You must AT THE VERY LEAST do satisfactory on your clinical exam. Satisfactory is a grade which you receive only upon showing evidence of good clinical skills and basic understanding of the procedures requested of you on that day. You must go prepared. They have a diverse selection of clinical cases which they may ask of you to perform.
3. You must also leave a good impression with the staff in general, and show them that you are a well rounded and professional applicant. They do not want to get the impression that "they should be happy that you showed up for your interview", or that you are too snobby. You must present a well balanced character, and they must like it.
Ok, now for the question which I have been asked over and over for the last week.
What did I have on MY application?
I will just list everything, and you can judge for yourself. Please do not compare any aspects of my application to your own. EVERY APPLICATION IS SPECIAL, AND WILL BE VIEWED SEPERATELY/DIFFERENTLY. I am just putting up my qualifications as a successful example, and I hope it will help some of you out there;
NBDE:
-I %81 / II %82
GPA:
-ECE 2.91 / WES 3.70
TOEFL:
-273/300 (CBT)
Work experience home:
-1 year AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) at a teaching hospital.
-Attended and organized several International Dental Conferences in Cairo, Egypt
-CE courses on topics such as Implantology and Recent advances in Endodontics
-Hands-on Implant workshops
Work experience in the US:
-2.5 years Expanded Function Dental Assistant
-Volunteered in US hospitals (Max. Fac. Surgery dept. to be specific at the University of Florida)
Recommendation letters:
-1 from the Dean of my dental school
-1 from the chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Dept. at my school
-2 from US doctors, which I used to assist on a daily basis, and whom have stated clearly that I was one of the best and most ambitious doctors to apprentice in their office for dental school.
Dental experience and goals statement:
-A very thorough and carefully worded statement outlining my dental experience along the past years, and my aspirations and plans upon graduating from UOP. You MUST express your individual character and personality. Let them get to know you better by reading about you. It must be attractive to them. While reading the statements, the only thing on their mind should be "wow, we need to meet this person".
Undergrad:
-Cambridge University, England, UK
You must also note that even though I seem to have pretty solid stats, I was still not good enough. I was placed on the alternate (waiting) list for 2 months, before I was recently offered admission. It does not come easy. Ask the students on the DENTAL threads, and you will hear about stories of people re-applying to UOP 5 times. And they are competing over 100+ spots, not 21!
Sorry about the huge posting (I am sure this one will go down in the SDN record books for being the longest and most boring post ever!). I was trying to be as thorough as possible, and cover as many of the questions I have been receiving lately.
If anything else comes to my mind, I will edit the post, and post another small mesage with the date it was last updated by me.
I hope this post serves its purpose, and if it helps just one of you UOP applicants, then my job here is done.
If anyone has any additional information, please post it here and correct me if I am wrong.
PS: I also have searched many times for UOP dedicated posts, in my days when I was applying, and could not find one. So here you are … a UOP post we can call our own.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! And I mean it …
First of all, I will start by saying that I have no affiliation with the University of the Pacific Admission Office nor the University of the Pacific as a body. The views expressed in this post are based solely upon my personal experience at UOP, and my personal views of the whole application process. It is your personal responsibility to verify any information which you decide to act upon from the appropriate personnel at the UOP admission office.
I have received several inquiries by private messaging about what UOP are looking for in potential applicants. Like "how did you get in with only %81 on part I? I have %92 and did not even get an interview" or "what should I write on my application for them to give me an interview?".
I anticipated this kind of controversy to arise from my acceptance at UOP. I hope this post addresses most of the issues some of you might have.
First of all, let me say that with no bias intended, UOP is one of THE BEST dental schools in the country. PERIOD. You really would be lucky to get in their program.
This is THE ONLY school in the USA that has approval from the ADA and the CODA (Commission On Dental Accreditation) to prepare its graduates to obtain a DDS degree after only 3 years of graduate dental training (2 years in the case of foreign trained dentists in the IDS program).
Why do you think it is so? I am sure there is a legitimate justification for that, which backs the statement I made above.
Being the strong institution it is, the Pacific (as they prefer to call it) has tough standards also. They are not looking for just anyone with a high part I score, GPA or TOEFL for that matter.
You need to have a good over all package! It is all about a rounded application, and how you present it.
This year, to the best of my knowledge, they received over 500 applications for the IDS program alone. About 90 applicants were intrviewed for the 21 spots available.
This is how I view the situation at UOP;
In order for them to be interested in calling you for an interview (which by the way, places you ahead of at least 400 other applicants whom did not get one), you must at least present the following;
1. At least %80 on your part I NBDE tests. Obviously, the higher the score, the better. However, once again, if you are lacking in other areas on your application, it will not take you much further.
Something else to note here is that part II scores are not considered to be an advantage to your application at all. I was informed directly that my part II score has absolutely no weight on my application. They only require part I scores. It is of UOP's opinion that considering part II scores of some applicants would be unfair to applicants with only part I of the boards (which to this day does not make much sense to me, but I am sure they have a point).
2. A strong TOEFL score and conversational skills. San Francisco is a major city, and one with a reputation of a having a highly educated and richly diverse population. They must also ensure that whoever will be in their program will be able to communicate with their patients effectively.
3. A good solid GPA (I would suggest at least 3.0 by ECE/ 3.5 by WES). Your transcripts must reflect sufficient academic and clinical training courses passed in order to insure a smooth transition into the DDS curriculum.
4. Strong (actually, very strong) personal statement, which should outline your dental experience, goals and future aspirations. It must accentuate your character. What makes you so special and interesting that would they want to choose you over the other 500 something applicants?
5. Sufficient dental/clinical experience. My personal estimates would place that around 1-3 years at least of full time clinical exposure.
6. STRONG recommendation letters.
They do not want to know how much your "uncle" dentist thinks you would make a perfect doctor, nor do they expect to hear how much your neighbors like you. They need good recommendations, like ones from the dean of your dental school or a chairman of a department which you have excelled in. They need something to justify their decision, which should express others views and support of your potential in the dental field.
Ok, now you might get an interview. Now, if and when you get an interview, this is what you will need to do in order to have a good shot at admission (which would position you ahead of 80 other interviewees and roughly 450 applicants);
1. You MUST leave a very positive impression on the admission committee, or whichever faculty member you interview with. You must leave the room with them thinking "we need someone like that around here". Remember that they will be the ones talking the admission committee into giving you an admission spot. They have to be %100 convinced with your experience and character in order to be able to do that.
2. You must AT THE VERY LEAST do satisfactory on your clinical exam. Satisfactory is a grade which you receive only upon showing evidence of good clinical skills and basic understanding of the procedures requested of you on that day. You must go prepared. They have a diverse selection of clinical cases which they may ask of you to perform.
3. You must also leave a good impression with the staff in general, and show them that you are a well rounded and professional applicant. They do not want to get the impression that "they should be happy that you showed up for your interview", or that you are too snobby. You must present a well balanced character, and they must like it.
Ok, now for the question which I have been asked over and over for the last week.
What did I have on MY application?
I will just list everything, and you can judge for yourself. Please do not compare any aspects of my application to your own. EVERY APPLICATION IS SPECIAL, AND WILL BE VIEWED SEPERATELY/DIFFERENTLY. I am just putting up my qualifications as a successful example, and I hope it will help some of you out there;
NBDE:
-I %81 / II %82
GPA:
-ECE 2.91 / WES 3.70
TOEFL:
-273/300 (CBT)
Work experience home:
-1 year AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) at a teaching hospital.
-Attended and organized several International Dental Conferences in Cairo, Egypt
-CE courses on topics such as Implantology and Recent advances in Endodontics
-Hands-on Implant workshops
Work experience in the US:
-2.5 years Expanded Function Dental Assistant
-Volunteered in US hospitals (Max. Fac. Surgery dept. to be specific at the University of Florida)
Recommendation letters:
-1 from the Dean of my dental school
-1 from the chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Dept. at my school
-2 from US doctors, which I used to assist on a daily basis, and whom have stated clearly that I was one of the best and most ambitious doctors to apprentice in their office for dental school.
Dental experience and goals statement:
-A very thorough and carefully worded statement outlining my dental experience along the past years, and my aspirations and plans upon graduating from UOP. You MUST express your individual character and personality. Let them get to know you better by reading about you. It must be attractive to them. While reading the statements, the only thing on their mind should be "wow, we need to meet this person".
Undergrad:
-Cambridge University, England, UK
You must also note that even though I seem to have pretty solid stats, I was still not good enough. I was placed on the alternate (waiting) list for 2 months, before I was recently offered admission. It does not come easy. Ask the students on the DENTAL threads, and you will hear about stories of people re-applying to UOP 5 times. And they are competing over 100+ spots, not 21!
Sorry about the huge posting (I am sure this one will go down in the SDN record books for being the longest and most boring post ever!). I was trying to be as thorough as possible, and cover as many of the questions I have been receiving lately.
If anything else comes to my mind, I will edit the post, and post another small mesage with the date it was last updated by me.
I hope this post serves its purpose, and if it helps just one of you UOP applicants, then my job here is done.
If anyone has any additional information, please post it here and correct me if I am wrong.
PS: I also have searched many times for UOP dedicated posts, in my days when I was applying, and could not find one. So here you are … a UOP post we can call our own.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! And I mean it …
. Thanks. 
