what do you do to prepare for interviews?

[Kneecoal]

just looking for a general consensus... how much time do you put in to preparing for a single interview? an hour or 2? a few days? to what extent do you go in terms of gathering info up to doing mock interviews?

 

[doc3232]

read SDN feedback, get an idea of how to answer the questions. If I realize its a chill interview then don't prepare at all...you should know how to answer Why dentistry. The only thing I would say is have a reason for why X school.

 

[vlct0ria]

Same as doc...read thru SDN, re-read my PS, and check that particular school's website...overall I would say no more than a couple hours...That's what I did for my first interview at UF, and I was really surprised how relaxed I felt before and during the interview...if you set yourself up for it, you WILL be stressed out and nervous.

 

[doc3232]

Same as doc...read thru SDN, re-read my PS, and check that particular school's website...overall I would say no more than a couple hours...That's what I did for my first interview at UF, and I was really surprised how relaxed I felt before and during the interview...if you set yourself up for it, you WILL be stressed out and nervous.

Oh ya, reread AADSAS app and secondaries if available...you don't want to contradict something you said on paper.

 

[denner]

I just check and see if there are any common questions that they use and try to get a general idea of how the day goes.

15 minutes... maybe.

 

[Vicviper]

What really helped me was the night before my interviews I went over SDN feedback and found a few of the most common questions, and I'd think of what I'd like to say (don't script yourself), and I'd try to say it out loud as though I was just asked the question - might look a little silly, but helps. Be sure to know the schools mission statement - usually always education, community service, and research. Also like others said, go to their website, and see if they had anything big happen recently, like when I interviewed Pitt. they recently opened a big Special Needs dentistry clinic. Maybe all in all an hour for everything.

And yeah, preparing for the interview is the stressful part, once you're there in the hot seat it's really not that bad, just let it flow out naturally. Good luck!