Let us know how the interview went! Any feedback? Advice? 🙂
It was fantastic. The facilities there are awesome, and every faculty member I met seemed very personable and friendly, and while they're in management-like positions, they seemed very loose and open with the students, as opposed to some more stiff faculty at other schools. I felt very comfortable around them, and being on an interview day, I would say that explains a lot about them.
The two main points I was questioned on (aside from normal conversational stuff) was how would I deal with the intense course load (time management issues), and what experiences have given me confidence in my hand skills and confirmed that I would do well in dentistry as far as these skills are concerned.
Other than that, they'll suggest that after your official faculty and student interviews, that you visit other faculty members (specifically Dr. Ancajas and Brownstein) whom you didn't interview with. They'll take you in groups of 2-6 for this, depending on how many are waiting, so it's really relaxed. It just gives the rest of the faculty the chance to get know you. Definitely schedule time for this. They say it's optional (which it is), like if you need to catch a flight, but my flight left at 6:05 and that left just enough time to drop by Wendy's across the street, return my rental car, and get through the airport with 30 minutes to spare before boarding. It was great for me because I actually knew a Periodontist from my area who was a student of Dr. Brownstein's at VCU, so we found a unique connection. You never know what can come up.
Overall, it was pretty low key, so I wouldn't stress out about it at all. There's not much to prepare for I would say. If you put considerable thought into your applications, then you'll be well prepared since that will be much of the same stuff you'll be discussing.
