Got Questions about American schools???

[Guest DrBadVibes]

Hey, Im a senior dental student in Philadelphia and I know a lot about the American process. And as a Canadian, I'd like to help my fellow Canadians out as much as I can. I went to UofT undergrad :x

 

Here was a question someone had in another thread:

 

"Have you been to U of Pittsburgh or the city itself? What's it like? It's one of the schools I've applied to this summer"

 

I have not been to Pittsburgh, but being from Pennsylvania, I hear about Pittsburgh A LOT!!! So much, that Im going to be applying to Pitts for residency.

 

Many of my profs are from there and they have nothing but good things to say about it. And before you say, "well they came there, of course they'll say good things about it", thats not necessarily true....

 

I have profs from Penn and half of them liked it and half of them would, in their own words "never send my kids there"......

 

I think out of the 3 Pennsylvania schools, Pitts is the most well rounded....Temple is very clinical, Penn is very academic while Pitts is a bit of both.

 

About the city.....well, ummm.....lets just say that my classmates from Pittsburgh dont speak highly of it as a city to live in as a student.....they are going back there to practice cause of their family, but otherwise they dont think its a "happening" city.....and thats from their own mouth.

 

But I think Pittsburgh is on the up and is only getting better.....it doesnt have much of the industrial roots that its known for....and plus, in 4-5 years, the Penguins are going to be the hockey dynasty again!!!!

 

If you want a great comparison that you could relate to, Pittsburgh is very much like Hamilton, Ontario. Hope this helped!

[Guest Aplusdent]

Wow! Thanks!

Here's another question: How important are the interviews in the U.S.? If you have ok stats or wonderful stats will the interview help you/hurt you? Is the process/environment different from Canadian interviews?

 

Thanks again

 

(you know...now that you started this thread....i have so many questions to ask you...but seeing as it's still early in the application process i'll try to keep them focused)

[Guest Angle Jr]

I also did my undergrad at UofT. I got accepted to Tufts and NYU and will be attending NYU.

 

Different schools have a different interview format, but in general interviews are less structured at U.S. schools compared to Canadian schools. Normally interviewers don’t ask difficult situation-based or ethical questions, but they just try to get to know you better. For example, my “interview” at Tufts was more like a casual conversation with a faculty member. She just asked me 7 questions (why dentistry? which schools did you apply to? what is your most significant contribution to your community? how do you handle stress? do you have public speaking experience? tell me about your origami skills. is there anything you want to ask me?). It was not stressful at all. About 70% of those who interviewed at Tufts were accepted last year (except for the last couple of interview groups, who were mostly waitlisted). If you have a 3.5+ GPA and 22+ DAT, you can get into NYU without an interview.

 

I wonder if DrBadVibes could answer my question: which visa would I get if I want to do my postgraduate studies in the U.S.? For example, if I want to do perio residency in the U.S., will I get an F-1 student visa? Or will I be on my Optional Practical Training visa in my first year of residency and change it to H1B visa? Would my visa be different depending on whether the program charges tuition or offers stipend? If you could answer my question, I would really appreciate your input.

[Guest DrBadVibes]

Like Angle said, interviews for US dental schools are exactly like job interviews.....its more of a casual conversation.....every interviewer has their own way of doing it, and a lot of the time it has to do with whom you interview with, but the fact that its more like a job interview is universal among all US dental schools (Arizona excepted)

 

For instance, I conduct interviews at my school and this is my style. I tell the students first and foremost that they shouldnt impress me with their dental knowledge or their research or @#%$ like that....cause I can read that from your application. I wanna know them as a person....like hobbies, their family, if they have any interesting stories....stuff like that. Cause before you come to the school, you are just numbers to me with a small 2X2 photo......the interview allows me to put an actual personality to these numbers and thats what I look for. Just like a job interview.

 

and yes....interviews are very important......they can easily make or break you.

 

And as you can see, this format is very different than the Canadian format......personally I think the Canadian format is super retarded cause it reveals nothing about the person and the fact that its so scientific and number based is sickening. A person's persona cannot be determined numerically.....so stupid.

[Guest DrBadVibes]

Hey Angle....unfortunately Im not gonna touch your question, cause these immigration laws change all the time. And honestly, I wouldnt even trust the international offices at the school, cause they are usually clueless about it as well.

 

If I were you, your best bet would to contact the school's perio dept and ask if they have any canadian residents there that you could talk to.....cause they would know better than anyone else the current visa laws.

 

by the way, how can you know you wanna specialize in perio when you havent even started dental school yet!!! The first day of my class, I'd say 60% wanted to specialize.....right now, its probably about 15%.

 

Dental school changes everything about your life. Just be prepared and dont expect things in the future to pan out the way you want it to be.

[Guest Angle Jr]

Thanks for your reply, DrBadVibes. I will ask visa related questions when I have a chance to talk with international students enrolled in NYU’s postgraduate programs. Thanks for helping us with your insightful posts.

[Guest DrBadVibes]

This was a question that someone asked me in a private message but Im putting it on the forums so everyone can see, cause I think its important to all:

 

My friend was asking me to recommend US Dental schools to apply to. I never did apply to american schools so I do not know other than word of mouth. Can you provide me with some information and schools so I can relay the information to my friend?

 

For anyone applying to US schools, you MUSt.....and I cant emphasize MUST anymore.....you must buy the ADEA OFFICIAL Guide to Dental Schools. Yah its $35, but Im telling you, its the one and only best source when applying to schools....especially figuring out what schools to apply to. Even if the book were $100, I'd still recommend everyone buy it.

 

I understand that money can be tight, but applying to dental schools is not cheap. You gotta pay for AADSAS, plus the schools application fee, plus your flight/hotel when u go on the interview circuit....an extra $35 for a book that is absolutely essential is really nothing in the big picture.

 

You could try and goto your university's library and see if they have the book so you dont have to buy it...but please make sure that they have the absolute most recent edition.....and dont assume that the book 2 years ago or last year is sufficient, because every year, requirements change, average GPAs change drastically and applying to dental school should be nothing you should skim on. Getting the absolute most current information is crucial.

 

You can buy the book from the ADEA's website:

 

/access.adea.org/adeassa/...p_cust_id=

 

Remember, this book is OFFICIAL, straight from the schools themselves, so there is no BS. Its straight to the point, well formatted, easy to read and an invaluable resource. Any other book that claims to offer similar information is sketchy to say the least.....get the official book and you'll have no worries.

[Guest markbird06]

Hi, I got a quick question. Can I apply for US dental schools without DAT score? I mean if I decide to write the Canadian DAT this Nov, can I apply to US schools now and send them my DAT score when I actually write it?

[Guest Periolocum]

Better ask the school. Every school is different

[Guest tamkhan1]

yes, scores can be sent later on. but it will only delay their decisions. remember, most US schools start sending out admission offers by december.

[Guest DrBadVibes]

like tamkhan said, the scores can be added later on, but its gonna take time and its really going to delay your application. Remember, all US dental schools start accepting students on December 1.

 

Canadian DAT scores are not received until the end of December and then you have to mail them out....by this time, schools are on Xmas break until the 2nd week of January....which means your file wont be complete until mid-late January....by this time, 70% of the class is filled and most of the interviews have been given out. So, you're definitely pushing it.

 

Why dont you just take the US DAT??? Its offered on the computer any day of the year, meaning you can get your application completed within a proper time.

 

I understand that it might be an extra test to study for, but it may make the difference between you being in the Class of 2011 or 2012 which is a huge difference.

[Guest Periolocum]

Remember tuition rising! The earlier the better

[Guest smooth operater]

for admission, do Canadians generally need to have higher GPA than other American applicants since we do not study in US?

 

Do Canadian applicant have any advantages over Americans? Or are we in disadvantages when coming to dental school admission? (I am refering to private schools only)

 

 

thanks!

[Guest Tonick]

Here is an excellent list of all U.S schools, private and public, with avg. GPA and DAT scores of the entering class for each one. A bit misleading for us Canadians though. My GPA surpassed every school on the list yet I only got admitted to one school. Anyways, still a good "relative" resource to compare average stats between schools.

 

forums.studentdoctor.net/...entid=6610

[Guest Tonick]

Also, FYI, I got a letter from NYU stating that they had 4000 applicants this year for a class of 230. Applicant numbers could easily reach 4500 next year. Since almost everyone on the East Coast applies there, I'd say that number is indicative of roughly half of all U.S applicants. Huge competition folks... Getting your foot in the door at a U.S school is no cakewalk. Make yourself stand out among the thousands. Shadow, research, get the best ref. letters possible, rip ur DAT, raise ur GPA, and apply early early early.

 

By the way, only 1700 of accepted people on that list I sent in the above post were "out-of-state." So we should roughly think that 1700 spots are actually even made available to Canadians, who still face competition of course from an enormous number of Americans from other states.

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

dude once u get the interview, unless eh school is interviewing for waitlists, you are in the bag.