UofT Interview

[eventualDDS]

Congrats to everyone who received an interview invite! I believe U of T uses the CDA Structured format, so check out the link in my sig for a break down of that interview style.

[N1s1]

For those of you with interviews.. What are your interview dates??

[jameskim9]

so did those people who weren't selected get a chance to hear from UofT? especially those with GPA close to 3.9?

[kristinad]

It's crazy how people with 3.85+ averages don't get interviews meanwhile people with a masters and a 3.7 something GPA do... It's actually pretty unfair in my opinion.

[UWOhopeful7]

How did students without masters, average DAT scores, and GPAs of 3.7 get an interview then? Something here isn't adding up

[kristinad]

Yeah, on page 2 someone with a gpa of 3.74 and masters got an interview apparently. It's unbelievable how uoft favors masters students so much.

[dmichel]

Yeah, on page 2 someone with a gpa of 3.74 and masters got an interview apparently. It's unbelievable how uoft favors masters students so much.

 

It's not a secret that a masters offers a roughly 5% bump to your GPA. That someone was me and my DAT scores were very solid, so I don't see the unfairness. I put the time into the 2nd degree.

[mrewmrew]

Yep, everyone already knows that UofT dent favours masters students. However, not everyone is willing to put in the time to complete a masters. Those who do should get rewarded. Besides, one can always just not apply to UofT and obtain a 90+++ average and apply to UWO where they don't favour masters

[Linny_Shar]

Actually UWO does favour students with master degree. I got a brochure from the UWO dentistry and it said that master students will get a bump up. It would be wise to double check.

[mrewmrew]

Actually UWO does favour students with master degree. I got a brochure from the UWO dentistry and it said that master students will get a bump up. It would be wise to double check.

 

Class statistics show that usually less than 5 people of each years entering class has a masters at UWO, compared to around 30% of the class at UofT each year. Also, the average age of entrance at UWO is much much lower than UofT.

[Guest qwertyy]

jokes man, i am pretty sure Canada is the only place in the world where 10 years (assuming that one has to do masters) of education is necessary to become a dentist. what's so special about having masters degree? you are essentially becoming a ***** to a random person for 2 years and you get nothing out of it in the end. Plus, research is not even strongly emphasized in the field of dentistry. Schools should be accepting younger students as they will most likely work longer and pay more tax by the time they retire. Also people can still apply for osap when doing masters and osap funds come from our taxes... I am regretting my decision to ever immigrate to this country, this winter was **** cold too

 

I hope you realize how ridiculous your arguments are

Plus, I'm sure you would've had a much better chance here than in Korea

[412simba]

I am not korean and i don't know why you are assuming that i am. Also, if you think my ideas are ridiculous, why don't you shed some light onto this issue? i agree that my explanation was rough but i firmly believe in what I said above. Our government subsidizes a portion of dental school funding that is spent towards educating the students. That being said, it does not make sense to me (tax payers) that we are raising rather older dentists who would give less back to the community (giving back mainly in terms of time spent practicing as a dentist before retiring).

 

I'm really sorry that you feel that way, i can understand that dent is what you truly wanted... but that thing about about age is not really a fair thing to say to those who sacrificed to get to where they were. i too felt quite upset with the canadian system but i realized that it shouldn't get to me. there are some great things about the system, and far from perfect, it is the system we live in and cannot change. don't give up... i know its difficult but keep pushing and you will get there. in fact knowing that they favour masters students or high GPA etc. if dent is still truly what u want maybe its not too much to actually do another year or masters etc. keep pushing.

[Guest qwertyy]

I am not korean and i don't know why you are assuming that i am. Also, if you think my ideas are ridiculous, why don't you shed some light onto this issue? i agree that my explanation was rough but i firmly believe in what I said above. Our government subsidizes a portion of dental school funding that is spent towards educating the students. That being said, it does not make sense to me (tax payers) that we are raising rather older dentists who would give less back to the community (giving back mainly in terms of time spent practicing as a dentist before retiring).

 

First of all, I assumed that you're Korean because your user name clearly suggests that you're Korean (unless you're using your friend's account)

And it's kind of silly how you talk as if you're the only tax payer in Canada.

If you are supporting the idea that dental schools should discriminate against older applicants, then someone else is going to start complaining that dental school should discriminate against immigrants as well. Does this sound fair to you?

So yeah I just hope you realize how silly your ideas are.

Because you like talking about taxes, native Canadian citizens have been paying more taxes than immigrants since immigrants joined the party later on. So according to your arguments, they should discriminate against immigrants who became Canadian citizens later on in their lives.

 

If you do a masters and apply again in 2 years or so, are you still going to be complaining about the system?

 

I agree that they favor people with masters a bit too much, but your arguments are not good.

[kdr]

This board is spinning out of control. First of all, congratulations to whoever applied to UofT and got an interview whether you're a masters student, undergraduate student, or a tomato. Regardless of your educational background, they handed out interviews to who they thought deserved them. To those who didn't get an interview - yes, it sucks. I get that you're upset/disappointed. However, the "f*** the system" approach isn't going to make them change their minds. Instead of focusing on why certain people got invited, try to focus on yourself. The fact that some schools do "favor" masters students was never a secret so that should just make the rest of step up our game and really convince them with our GPA, DAT scores, etc. that they should accept us. SO, best of luck to everyone here, regardless of where you got an interview or where you didn't. Keep moving forward.

[AlexMH]

jokes man, i am pretty sure Canada is the only place in the world where 10 years (assuming that one has to do masters) of education is necessary to become a dentist. what's so special about having masters degree? you are essentially becoming a ***** to a random person for 2 years and you get nothing out of it in the end. Plus, research is not even strongly emphasized in the field of dentistry. Schools should be accepting younger students as they will most likely work longer and pay more tax by the time they retire. Also people can still apply for osap when doing masters and osap funds come from our taxes... I am regretting my decision to ever immigrate to this country, this winter was **** cold too

 

Aside from the language and hyperbole, I agree with this. Ontario is the only place in the world where you would have to go to such drastic measures to become a dentist. It's either 10 years or a 4.0 GPA at this point... neither of which makes much sense. 5 years ago, the standards were much more reasonable. What will happen 5 years from now? It is getting the point where 10% on one final could hurt you in getting an interview. Our neighbours to the south have much different standards when it comes to dentistry and are doing just fine! The rest of the world (England is what I specifically have in mind) doesn't even require 8 years - more like 5 or 6 and the grades required for even their best programs would be laughed at by UWO and U of T.

 

And if that doesn't make anyone incredibly confused, look at the other provinces in Canada. Even though the standards they have put in place are high, they are no where near as high as Ontario.

 

Nice to know that after working my ass off for 4 years for a 3.91 that would have gotten me in just fine last year or the year before, I now have to work on getting a MSc... by the time I get it, there will probably be a PhD requirement in place to get in to U of T dental school... (Meanwhile, people who think that the abbreviation of U of T is UFT are being handed interviews. Yes, I'm bitter.)

 

As a disclaimer, I think it's great that they take students with masters. I don't care who they take. I'm just saying if you contrast Ontario's standards for dental school admission, they are VERY high compared to other English speaking countries. It is disturbing.

 

I'm not saying that dental schools in Ontario should take the approach of med schools and completely disregard GPA in most cases... perhaps if there are so many overlapping GPAs, they should allocate more funding and resources towards interviews next time, interview more people and decide from interviews if those people have what it takes to be a dentist. I hardly think it's a healthy system to be disqualifying people who happened to have a a GPA that's 1% than another applicant's, especially when they are all very high...

[vmflapem]

Nice to know that after working my ass off for 4 years for a 3.91 that would have gotten me in just fine last year or the year before, I now have to work on getting a MSc... by the time I get it, there will probably be a PhD requirement in place to get in to U of T dental school...

 

Yea It IS crazy how even a GPA of 3.94 isn't going to get you anywhere these days. But I highly doubt that there is ANYTHING they can do about this.

Well the US has a lot of med & dental schools so they tend to give people more chances.

Canada, unfortunately, doesn't have that many med/dental schools and yet TONS of people walk out of university with >3.95 GPA.

[jsl90]

It's ridiculous how good your marks have to be to get into dental school in Canada. Even as somebody who made it through and is currently a dental student at UWO I completely disagree with the process. The interview should be worth way more as it demonstrates your social and communication skills, as well as your likeability and composure...all of which are extremely important in a patient-interaction based profession. Anyone with decent grades can learn the skills to become a dentist, you have 4 years to perfect your motor muscle memory and learn the academics. In my opinion, the character of the applicant needs to be taken much more seriously into consideration. It's a shame the system is the way that it is but it's what we're stuck with.

[AlexMH]

Yea It IS crazy how even a GPA of 3.94 isn't going to get you anywhere these days. But I highly doubt that there is ANYTHING they can do about this.

Well the US has a lot of med & dental schools so they tend to give people more chances.

Canada, unfortunately, doesn't have that many med/dental schools and yet TONS of people walk out of university with >3.95 GPA.

 

Sure there is. Allocate more time and resources to interviews. Place a higher importance on interviews. Do what UWO Med does and interview anyone who falls into a certain threshold (something reasonable for dental like 3.90? I don't know.) Place a much higher emphasis on interviews. It's just beyond stupid to throw out dozens of applications because their GPAs are 1% lower than the cut off... that's like one letter grade on a mid-term. It's nothing. Interview them like you would for any other job where you see that a person has credentials on paper. See what they have to say. Then make your decision.

 

Of course, this would mean someone taking a teeny-tiny pay cut. So it will never happen.

 

I've given up on dentistry in Canada and will probably be pursuing it in the UK since I am an EU citizen. I absolutely refuse to agonize over 0.005 of a GPA or wait around and see what happens 5 years from now when you need to have five Nobel prizes under your belt to even submit an application...

[jameskim9]

Sure there is. Allocate more time and resources to interviews. Place a higher importance on interviews. Do what UWO Med does and interview anyone who falls into a certain threshold (something reasonable for dental like 3.90? I don't know.) Place a much higher emphasis on interviews. It's just beyond stupid to throw out dozens of applications because their GPAs are 1% lower than the cut off... that's like one letter grade on a mid-term. It's nothing. Interview them like you would for any other job where you see that a person has credentials on paper. See what they have to say. Then make your decision.

 

Of course, this would mean someone taking a teeny-tiny pay cut. So it will never happen.

 

I've given up on dentistry in Canada and will probably be pursuing it in the UK since I am an EU citizen. I absolutely refuse to agonize over 0.005 of a GPA or wait around and see what happens 5 years from now when you need to have five Nobel prizes under your belt to even submit an application...

 

For UofT, isn't interview worth a lot though? It's 30% so it still counts... would you want interview to be worth 70%???

[vmflapem]

I think 30% interview is good the way it is now.

Speaking of social skills.. I hate it when dentists make me talk when my mouth is wide open

[AlexMH]

For UofT, isn't interview worth a lot though? It's 30% so it still counts... would you want interview to be worth 70%???

 

Exactly. What is the problem with that, besides deterring people who are clearly unfit to be dentists? A 1-2% difference in grades doesn't make someone a better dentist. It never will. Nope. Maybe dentistry isn't 100% about charisma and social skills but there sure is more to dentistry than being able to get good grades. Learning about their business sense and problem solving skills face-to-face is a much better representation of how they would bode as a dentist.

 

If you have a lot of applicants in the same grade range, instead of throwing half of them out, interview them all. They're all equally deserving. Don't try telling me that someone with a 3.95 will make a better dentist than someone with a 3.94. If we were talking about people who were getting rejected with 3.85s I might agree with you, but the differences here are meager at best and just increasing year after year in a disturbing trend.

 

If something is broken, it needs to be fixed. Something is clearly broken. Make the DAT worth more, ask for personal statements like McGill and other universities do, make the interview worth more. Forcing people to hole themselves up for 4 years to get a 4.0 is not the way to make good dentists.

[jameskim9]

Exactly. What is the problem with that, besides deterring people who are clearly unfit to be dentists? A 1-2% difference in grades doesn't make someone a better dentist. It never will. Nope. Maybe dentistry isn't 100% about charisma and social skills but there sure is more to dentistry than being able to get good grades. Learning about their business sense and problem solving skills face-to-face is a much better representation of how they would bode as a dentist.

 

If you have a lot of applicants in the same grade range, instead of throwing half of them out, interview them all. They're all equally deserving. Don't try telling me that someone with a 3.95 will make a better dentist than someone with a 3.94. If we were talking about people who were getting rejected with 3.85s I might agree with you, but the differences here are meager at best and just increasing year after year in a disturbing trend.

 

If something is broken, it needs to be fixed. Something is clearly broken. Make the DAT worth more, ask for personal statements like McGill and other universities do, make the interview worth more. Forcing people to hole themselves up for 4 years to get a 4.0 is not the way to make good dentists.

 

so how do we go about fixing the problem, if there is?? Is there even a solution to this problem?

[Guest qwertyy]

Exactly. What is the problem with that, besides deterring people who are clearly unfit to be dentists? A 1-2% difference in grades doesn't make someone a better dentist. It never will. Nope. Maybe dentistry isn't 100% about charisma and social skills but there sure is more to dentistry than being able to get good grades. Learning about their business sense and problem solving skills face-to-face is a much better representation of how they would bode as a dentist.

 

If you have a lot of applicants in the same grade range, instead of throwing half of them out, interview them all. They're all equally deserving. Don't try telling me that someone with a 3.95 will make a better dentist than someone with a 3.94. If we were talking about people who were getting rejected with 3.85s I might agree with you, but the differences here are meager at best and just increasing year after year in a disturbing trend.

 

If something is broken, it needs to be fixed. Something is clearly broken. Make the DAT worth more, ask for personal statements like McGill and other universities do, make the interview worth more. Forcing people to hole themselves up for 4 years to get a 4.0 is not the way to make good dentists.

 

Walk into a first year bio or chem course and ask any random person what he/she wants to do. Any guess how many people will say that they want to be a dentist?

There are thousands if not tens of thousands of people who major in science to pursue a future career in health related services.

What else can they possibly do other than use GPA to sort people out?

[mike100]

What else can they possibly do other than use GPA to sort people out?

 

GPA does not tell you everything about a person. There is a lot of applicants that don't have any substantial experience in life. All they did was study. I think there should be a threshold for GPA that is valid to be successful in dental school and look beyond GPA and DAT. That's exactly what U.S dental schools do.

[mrewmrew]

GPA does not tell you everything about a person. There is a lot of applicants that don't have any substantial experience in life. All they did was study. I think there should be a threshold for GPA that is valid to be successful in dental school and look beyond GPA and DAT. That's exactly what U.S dental schools do.

 

Haha, I'm pretty sure people with really high GPAs aren't stupid enough to do 0 extracurriculars or character building activities