We're three D1s at HSDM at the end of our first year: Ask Us Anything!

[HarvardStudent]

Feel free to ask us anything!

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[Sbofet]

Feel free to ask us anything!

Why did you guys choose to go to Harvard Dental School and was your D1 experience representative of what you expected?
Also did anyone in your class get in WITHOUT research experience?

Thanks for doing this!

 

[coldicecream]

What's it like having a super small class size? It's like 25, right?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Why did you guys choose to go to Harvard Dental School and was your D1 experience representative of what you expected?
Also did anyone in your class get in WITHOUT research experience?

Thanks for doing this!

Pass/fail and not being ranked is huge, if you want to specialize or go to a selective a GPR/AEGD this is great to have. In general our specialization rates are incredible, so this is a great school to go to if you think you might want to specialize. It also makes things pretty chill, since you're not worried about keeping grades or ranks up and can focus on what you're interested in and not have to worry as much about things that are less important. We also spend the first year fully integrated with the med school, which could be good bad or neutral depending on who you ask. From talking to fourth years and people who have gone on to GPR programs, they say the medical education helps a lot with managing medically complex patients and that they can do that better than their peers. We have a lot of time in community health clinics and externship in our fourth year, so most fourth years that I've talked to tell me they don't feel behind clinically. The fact that this is such a small school is also nice, since you have a lot of freedom to pursue your interests within the field, and you'll be able to find people to help you accomplish those goals. I had the impression that going here sets you up to go anywhere you want to either directly or indirectly within dentistry, which seems to be the case from talking to fourth years and alumni.

I'd say our D1 experience was about what we expected. Some people enjoyed the med school, some didn't as much, but nobody was stressed about making it through. The structure was flipped classroom from 8 AM to 12:30 PM every day, with the afternoons free to do whatever we wanted. Once a week we would be either in the dental clinic or the hospital doing interviews and practicing the physical exam on patients. Since we didn't get much exposure to dentistry in the class room, a lot of us got involved in a lot of extracurricular stuff. There's a student run pediatric dental clinic called ACTION that two of us help manage and run, most first and second years also assist at ACTION and 3rd and 4th years provide. We also have monthly trips to the Wampanoag tribe in Martha's Vineyard to provide free dentistry where one of us assisted at, a jail that some of us assist in providing free dentistry once a month and some other things that I'm forgetting. Lots of opportunities to be really involved in ASDA as well since we're so small,

There's a few of us who don't have undergrad research experience

 

[Sbofet]

Pass/fail and not being ranked is huge, if you want to specialize or go to a selective a GPR/AEGD this is great to have. In general our specialization rates are incredible, so this is a great school to go to if you think you might want to specialize. It also makes things pretty chill, since you're not worried about keeping grades or ranks up and can focus on what you're interested in and not have to worry as much about things that are less important. We also spend the first year fully integrated with the med school, which could be good bad or neutral depending on who you ask. From talking to fourth years and people who have gone on to GPR programs, they say the medical education helps a lot with managing medically complex patients and that they can do that better than their peers. We have a lot of time in community health clinics and externship in our fourth year, so most fourth years that I've talked to tell me they don't feel behind clinically. The fact that this is such a small school is also nice, since you have a lot of freedom to pursue your interests within the field, and you'll be able to find people to help you accomplish those goals. I had the impression that going here sets you up to go anywhere you want to either directly or indirectly within dentistry, which seems to be the case from talking to fourth years and alumni.

I'd say our D1 experience was about what we expected. Some people enjoyed the med school, some didn't as much, but nobody was stressed about making it through. The structure was flipped classroom from 8 AM to 12:30 PM every day, with the afternoons free to do whatever we wanted. Once a week we would be either in the dental clinic or the hospital doing interviews and practicing the physical exam on patients. Since we didn't get much exposure to dentistry in the class room, a lot of us got involved in a lot of extracurricular stuff. There's a student run pediatric dental clinic called ACTION that two of us help manage and run, most first and second years also assist at ACTION and 3rd and 4th years provide. We also have monthly trips to the Wampanoag tribe in Martha's Vineyard to provide free dentistry where one of us assisted at, a jail that some of us assist in providing free dentistry once a month and some other things that I'm forgetting. Lots of opportunities to be really involved in ASDA as well since we're so small,

There's a few of us who don't have undergrad research experience

Incredibly detailed response!! Very helpful thank you!

 

[HarvardStudent]

What's it like having a super small class size? It's like 25, right?

The class size for our year is 35. Can't speak to this yet since we spend the first year fully integrated with the medical school, where we're 165ish altogether. We got pretty close with the med students, but still did a lot of dental hangouts and stuff like that. From talking to 2nd years, they tell me they're really tight knit and I see them hanging out a lot. Even this first year everyone knows everyone.

 

[Invisibility]

What are some things that you think helped you three standout as applicants to HSDM? Also, how were your interviews like?

 

[HarvardStudent]

What are some things that you think helped you three standout as applicants to HSDM? Also, how were your interviews like?

Interviews were the most relaxed for us compared to any other school, it was two one on one interviews. Honestly, I'm not sure if there's something HSDM specifically looks for that other schools don't. Some people have been heavily involved in research, some people have a lot of leadership experience that they've been passionate about, some people are really involved in different extracurricular and some people have done none of that. During the interview they're trying to get a sense of who you are, what you're motivated by, and what interests you.

 

[rectangle]

Can I ask if any of your peers were nontraditional students? Or students with bad undergrad stats then did well in an SMP?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Can I ask if any of your peers were nontraditional students? Or students with bad undergrad stats then did well in an SMP?

We have a couple nontraditional students, although less in our year than some other years. I think our year doesn't have many though, not sure about the years above of us since we don't know everyone's situation. Ditto on the SMP.

 

[deleted904921]

Anyone get in with a non science major and maybe didnt take micro biology or anatomy?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Anyone get in with a non science major and maybe didnt take micro biology or anatomy?

We have a a couple of people with non-science majors, I think we have someone with dance and someone with english at least, a couple of engineers as well. A good amount of people don't have micro or anatomy or both.

 

[FanOfCostco]

Are you guys proud of Jeremy lin?

 

[deleted904921]

We have a a couple of people with non-science majors, I think we have someone with dance and someone with english at least, a couple of engineers as well. A good amount of people don't have micro or anatomy or both.

I know I is wishful thinking ... so what's the least sgpa at Harvard?

 

[HarvardStudent]

I know I is wishful thinking ... so what's the least sgpa at Harvard?

No clue tbh, we don't know everyone's situation

 

[Faefly]

Do you still have a chance to get into one of their secret societies?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Do you still have a chance to get into one of their secret societies?

I think finals clubs and stuff like that are more of a thing on the undergrad side. None of us went to Harvard for undergrad, so not sure how those work

 

[deleted904921]

No clue tbh, we don't know everyone's situation

that's true :\ how likely is it for someone with 3.3 sgpa and 3.6 cgpa and 22 DAT? it's still considered too low right? haha

 

[HarvardStudent]

that's true :\ how likely is it for someone with 3.3 sgpa and 3.6 cgpa and 22 DAT? it's still considered too low right? haha

Not sure since none of us are involved in admissions (some 4th years are on the committee though), but depending on how the rest of your application looks it might be worth a shot. Once you get an interview at a school your gpa and dat matter a lot less than what happens at the interview and the rest of your app.

 

[mikedental]

is it possible if you could take a look at my personal statement?

 

[HarvardStudent]

is it possible if you could take a look at my personal statement?

PM us

 

[P7898]

Dental Student here: Do you know anything about your GPR programs?

 

[2TH MVR]

Curious why you three chose Harvard. What's the end goal? Specialize? Academics? Private practice? Politics?
What future advantages do you envision as a grad from Harvard?
And finally ..... the most important question. Is Tom Brady going to remain with the PATRIOTS?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Dental Student here: Do you know anything about your GPR programs?

We don't know too much about them besides occasional run-ins with the residents. The MGH gpr residents work a lot with the OMFS residents, the CHA program residency seems to be good if you're interested in public health or academics, and the VA program we have no idea. If you any specific questions, we can try to ask the residents/attendings/PD for you.

 

[HarvardStudent]

Curious why you three chose Harvard. What's the end goal? Specialize? Academics? Private practice? Politics?
What future advantages do you envision as a grad from Harvard?
And finally ..... the most important question. Is Tom Brady going to remain with the PATRIOTS?

The small class size, pass fail, and graduate's success with specialization were all important to us. All three of us are interested in private practice. Two of us are probably going to specialize, one is probably doing general (too early to say for sure though, we all have open minds). Most of us aren't interested in academics, but there are a few classmates who are.


What's nice about this school and a big reason we chose to attend is that, no matter what someone wants to do in their career, the school can help you out and give you the connections you want, either directly, through the alumni network, or sometimes just having the name. We've had the opportunity to meet and speak with alumni that started 30+ practices, dental directors for states, former governors, incredible researchers, public and global health folks who have helped a lot of people, hospital ceo's, restorative experts, and a lot more. It usually feels like the limiting factor for what we could learn or work towards is our own effort rather than anything else.

 

[Predent20192023]

What are the most helpful courses, besides prerequisites, to take as an undergrad to prepare for dental school; specifically Harvard dental?

 

[Predent20192023]

Also besides getting A’s and good DAT score. How can you standout as a Harvard dental applicant/ how do you guys believe you stood out?

 

[HarvardStudent]

What are the most helpful courses, besides prerequisites, to take as an undergrad to prepare for dental school; specifically Harvard dental?

Also besides getting A’s and good DAT score. How can you standout as a Harvard dental applicant/ how do you guys believe you stood out?

There are a couple of classes that are required and some others that are recommended by HSDM. They can be found on the school's admissions webpage, but we can't say for certain whether or not taking the recommended classes helps. It definitely wouldn't hurt. To lighten your load during dental school, we would recommend: anatomy, immunology, maybe microbiology.

But in all honesty, no school looks for any single quality in their applicants, and it's not really possible to tailor an application to any one school. HSDM accepts all types of strong applicants each year, and there's really no discernible pattern or trend. Some were well rounded, others were particular strong in either grades, leadership/involvement, or research. Simply be the best applicant you can, take classes that interest you, and be genuine during the interview.

 

[Light.cure15]

What is the vibe of the small class size at HSDM? Is the relationship between the dental students and med students positive? Is there any sense of competitiveness, including or aside from grades (I know it’s P/F, but other aspects like clubs or research)? And lastly, do some people ever struggle with “imposter syndrome” or feel discouraged if not doing well at such a prestigious environment like Harvard? Thanks for your insight!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[HarvardStudent]

What is the vibe of the small class size at HSDM? Is the relationship between the dental students and med students positive? Is there any sense of competitiveness, including or aside from grades (I know it’s P/F, but other aspects like clubs or research)? And lastly, do some people ever struggle with “imposter syndrome” or feel discouraged if not doing well at such a prestigious environment like Harvard? Thanks for your insight!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

Vibe depends on the group of people that make up that particular class year, but in general people are pretty chill and friendly. Not really much competiveness in any way, there's so much opportunity and so much to do that if anything most orginizations and researchers etc are always looking for more people. No issues with med students, since we do the entire first year together most forget you're dental unless you bring it up

Imposter syndrome is pretty common in the beginning especially, but it gets better for most people once they they stop putting Harvard on a pedestal and realize that everyone else feels the same as they do.

 

[Light.cure15]

Thanks for the response! Seems like a positive environment.

Another follow up question- according to the tuition and fees for HSDM online, there is a line for “instrument purchase.” This makes me think that at Harvard they have you purchase your own instruments instead of renting (with huge fees) like at most other dental schools? If so, this seems like a pretty big pro to me, even if going into specialty and not having use for some stuff in the future... but better to get to keep than having to give it back? If so, Do students have to do their own sterilization?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[HarvardStudent]

Thanks for the response! Seems like a positive environment.

Another follow up question- according to the tuition and fees for HSDM online, there is a line for “instrument purchase.” This makes me think that at Harvard they have you purchase your own instruments instead of renting (with huge fees) like at most other dental schools? If so, this seems like a pretty big pro to me, even if going into specialty and not having use for some stuff in the future... but better to get to keep than having to give it back? If so, Do students have to do their own sterilization?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

Yeah all the instruments we get to keep. Some people use the hand pieces for their first practices and stuff like that. We don't do our own sterilization, the clinic has back office staff.

 

[deleted1008013]

First of all, thanks for starting this thread.
I am still waiting for an interview invite from HSDM and was wondering if there is any interview dates left/ if the admissions plan to send out more postdec interviews.
The anticipation has been too long:-/ now I am thinking if there is no hope, I should just stop waiting.

 

[HarvardStudent]

First of all, thanks for starting this thread.
I am still waiting for an interview invite from HSDM and was wondering if there is any interview dates left/ if the admissions plan to send out more postdec interviews.
The anticipation has been too long:-/ now I am thinking if there is no hope, I should just stop waiting.

Not something we have information about unfortunately

 

[Dentalroyalty]

Do you mind disclosing your stats while applying such as GPA, DAT score, and involved extracurriculars during and after undergrad?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Do you mind disclosing your stats while applying such as GPA, DAT score, and involved extracurriculars during and after undergrad?

For the sake of our anonymity, we're not comfortable talking about the specifics of our stats or extracurriculars.

 

[0Mik3cho]

Should I bother applying if I have zero leadership experience and average volunteer hours? I also have zero involvement with any clubs in my college. I have a decent variety of extracurricular hobbies I've been doing for years though. I get the impression, maybe a false one, that top tier schools really want leadership experience.

 

[Predent20192023]

What’s the average cost of living? Where do dental students live? Closer or farther from school? Do most have cars or use public transportation? Do you need a roommate to help pay the rent or is it not too high?

 

[HarvardStudent]

Should I bother applying if I have zero leadership experience and average volunteer hours? I also have zero involvement with any clubs in my college. I have a decent variety of extracurricular hobbies I've been doing for years though. I get the impression, maybe a false one, that top tier schools really want leadership experience.

It's hard for us to say since we don't know your whole app and aren't on the admissions committee. Having zero leadership experience definitely doesn't help, but if the rest of your app is strong there's still a chance. We have people in our class ranging from involved in everything to involved in very little.

 

[HarvardStudent]

What’s the average cost of living? Where do dental students live? Closer or farther from school? Do most have cars or use public transportation? Do you need a roommate to help pay the rent or is it not too high?

Most people use public transport since you don't need a car in Boston. First year's tend to stay in Vanderbilt hall, the dorm for med and dental students, and move out later (although some people stay all four years). Rent is around $1000 per month for vandy. Depending on how big your group is and what area you're looking to live in, you can find something cheaper. The mission hill area is popular among students and residents for being close (5-10 min walk from the school) but not too expensive.

 

[bracesforever]

What's the school's policy on students that fail a course? How many students cannot keep up with the intense curriculum and end up pursuing something else?

 

[HarvardStudent]

What's the school's policy on students that fail a course? How many students cannot keep up with the intense curriculum and end up pursuing something else?

The school is very supportive and does it's best to help you out. In the 1st year med school part this is especially true, there is even an office that only exists to help out people struggling. If you're having trouble, they will reach out to you. If you fail an exam, you have an opportunity to retake usually. Nobody that we know of has had to repeat a year due to academics.

 

[acvdental937]

How much emphasis is placed on research at HSDM? Is it possible to get in without research experience?

 

[DMD12345]

What were your interviews like? Have any advice?

 

[DentGent13]

I heard Harvard sent shares class with med students. Do you have to take all their classes or just some along with hand skills?

and if you do, are dental students graded less strictly or the same?

 

[modernfam]

I happen to have some leadership roles from different extracurricular activities and research/presentations through a few research conferences. If you had leadership/research experience, did it ever come up during your interviews? Was there anything in your application that expressed interest from your interviewers?
Also, how important is research when it comes to competing for specializations?

 

[HarvardStudent]

How much emphasis is placed on research at HSDM? Is it possible to get in without research experience?

Different applicants have different amounts of research. Research is definitely a plus, but we also have people with no research on their app.

 

[HarvardStudent]

What were your interviews like? Have any advice?

Interviews will probably be different this time around because of covid, but for us we had two 1:1 interviews, one of which was with an alum or 4th year student. They were very conversational and longer on average than our interviews were at other schools.

 

[HarvardStudent]

I heard Harvard sent shares class with med students. Do you have to take all their classes or just some along with hand skills?

and if you do, are dental students graded less strictly or the same?

We spend the entire first year 110% integrated with the med school. Same grading (still P/F), same hospital rotations, same everything. We actually don't start any dental specific activities until D2 and do just the first year as med school with HMS (HMS med does their entire preclin over 1 year then goes to the wards during M2).

 

[HarvardStudent]

I happen to have some leadership roles from different extracurricular activities and research/presentations through a few research conferences. If you had leadership/research experience, did it ever come up during your interviews? Was there anything in your application that expressed interest from your interviewers?
Also, how important is research when it comes to competing for specializations?

Yeah all of that is definitely a plus. The interviews are long and conversational, so a lot comes up and you have plenty of opportunity to bring something up as well. For specializing after dental school, research is fairly important although it's also probably program dependent as well.