Interview

[bcdentalgirl]

I got one!!! I can't believe it. I'm so excited, my cordless phone died form calling everyone I know.

[dentalangel]

Hey BCdental girl, congradulations on your interview :) and good luck I hope you get in :)

[Shahenshah]

do u mind saying where u got the letter from i.e uoft, ubc etc...thanx

[bcdentalgirl]

It's from UBC.

[shrimp]

Can anyone kindly tell us what kind of questions they will ask in UBC dental interview? I heard that it's very different from UBC medical interview. Thanks!

[bcdentalgirl]

this might be helpful...

pub125.ezboard.com/fpreme...D=37.topic (http://pub125.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm33.showMessage?topicID=37.topic)

[tantastic]

Hi BC Dental Girl:

Firstly congratulations on your intereview, I wish you the best of luck :D


I am actually considering Dentistry as a possible career, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about your background (ie, your majour, your "story" about what you did in your life before applying and your stats GPA etc.

Thanks very much I really appreciate your insights and assistance.

Once again, Good Luck for your interview, Go get 'em tiger !:)

Tara

[quebecboy]

Congratulations!

[bcdentalgirl]

Wow guys, thanks so much!

As for my stats, they aren't nobel prize material, but hey, they're obviously enough to get an interview:
78% average (I'm not sure what that translates to in GPA, I don't think it's more than 3.4)
PAT, 20; Sciences, 17; Reading Comp 19; Carving, 28

I had three really solid refs (one from a dentist I shadowed this past summer, 2 from profs) and my autobio was checked and double checked by a copy editor, friends, family, and the afor mentioned dentist (who knows how much this counted, but there you go).

My major is Biology with the Cell biology/Genetics option. I hope that helps.

bc(dentist?)girl

[shrimp]

Thanks! BCdentalgal

Do you know if most interviewers will allow the applicant to think 10s to 20s before answering each question?

[dentwannabe]

Congratulations on getting an interview bcdentalgirl! I applied to dentistry at UBC also, but I haven't heard one way or the other, so I'm guessing that's a bad sign....Would you mind telling me when the interviews for dentistry are at UBC this year.
Thanks

[bcdentalgirl]

For the first q, I'm really not sure of the details. I don't think they time people on how quickly they answer questions. The advice that has been given to me has been to take a moment before answering, to avoid rambling.
For the 2nd q, the interviews are on Feb 8th and the 22nd. Good luck!

[toothy]

seeing that 28 score on carving made me drool uncontrollably. I know I don't have to do the DAT any more but just out of curiosity do you have any insights as to what kinds of things you did that separated yourself from the rest of the pack?

[bcdentalgirl]

I'm not sure. I practiced a lot. One thing I did do was know when to stop carving. I don't know if anyone else had this problem but I often wanted the figure to be perfect (like in the picture) and in aiming for that, I would goof up. So I tried to stop at what I considered the best job that my human hands could do in 1/2 an hour (which is not perfect). Sure I could have shaved off another 1/8 mm but I would risk breaking of a corner or something.
I suspect that "knowing when to stop" is key to beating this exam...
On the other hand I got a 15 in chem (supposedly a walk in the park)!
Thanks Toothy, your insights have been really helpful to me!

[dentwannabe]

Thanks for the info bcdentalgirl. I really appreciate it. I hope you get in!

[toothy]

hi bcdentalgirl, thanks for the info about your carving success... you may find it useful in dental school as well. I think that in operative dentistry it's pretty easy to just have a "bad drilling day" and not do a perfect job, and it would really help to just leave it in decent condition and move on to the next tooth. And that's just for plastic practice teeth. In clinic sometimes the patient's attributes are such that not even an instructor can do a truly ideal prep. You just know it's useless tio try for top marks in those cases because it's just plain impossible. On the same vein of "knowing when to stop", are you one of those people who finish written exams really fast and then leave the room? There's quite a few of those in my class. I wonder if they leave so early because they are really smart, or just totally bombed and have given up :)

[bcdentalgirl]

I have definitley left exams early for the very same reason; I have done the best I can do and waiting out the clock isn't going to change anything (although this is rare, I'm usually the one scribbling madly til the last second).

I guess that 50% of the people who leave early have aced it and the other 50% have hit the wall.

BTW - I heard a study once that showed that the majority of changed answers by test-takers were either neutral (wrong to wrong) or negative (right to wrong). Food for thought.

[toothy]

For me, deciding how long I should stay for an exam is often a major dilemma. While you are right to point out that chances are right answers will be changed to wrong ones, there is also the possibility that maybe I missed a section, or read the instructions wrong, or gained new insights during the course of the test (I have done these foolish things before :) ). So, I tend to be one of the middle of the pack, re-reading several times but not quite staying until the bitter end. As far as "scribbling madly" goes, that's a tough one too. Some profs will tell you not to re-print the textbook in paragraph answers to demonstrate "profound memory skills" but to my surprise in some instances it's the "regurgitators" that got high marks.

[peachy]

Interesting discussion - I'm at the other end of the pack. I always, always stay until the test is over no matter what. I figure that if, in the entire year of school, I get one or two more points on one or two tests then it's worth it :)

People who are grading always prefer to read short answers - right or wrong. But it's way harder to mark down a long answer then it is to mark down a short answer... Cause if you take off marks you have to be able to justify where the marks have been lost, and it's easy to scribble down what's missing in a short answer, and harder to scribble down what's unclear on a long answer.

Okay, that was incredibly off-topic. :p

[bcdentalgirl]

I remember walking out of a final feeling pretty proud of myself only to learn I had not turned over the last page. I learned this on my way out of the exam so I raced back in and explained what happened to my prof. She may have been lenient if I hadn't done exactly the same thing on the midterm!

[dentalangel]

Hey guys, just following up on what is posted, lol, irrelevant from the topic however, recent research on the contrary from what was mentioned before is that you have more chances of changing from a wrong answer to a right answer on multiple choice exams. We obviously would remember changing from right answers to wrong answers more frequently then changing right answers to wrong answers. Moreover, there is a first hunch, going with intuition bias taking place, so think twice on those multiple choice exams, going through them again is an advantage :)

[kkarebear]

Hi everyone!!
I am a 1st time user and I was just wondering if anyone would mind sharing their interview questions at any dental school in canada since I've heard they all generally have the same format. Your help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[ubcdent]

Hi guys,

I'm a new user here...should have found out this website way earlier...anyways...i heard that for ubc...as long as u are the top 40 b4 the interview...u are most likely to get in considering that u didn't screw the interview...i just had my interview on feb 8th...and it went ok...not bad not good...

i'm a 3rd year student...and i heard they take like exceptional students only...so i guess my chance is not that high...

[vic chick]

That sounds good... but how do know if you're top 40 or not?

[ubcdent]

you never know if u are the top 40...but i heard they give your percentile in the rejection letter...
some info from Dr. Lowe...this year there are 211 applicants...i thought there would be more since so many ppl missed out the deadline last year...but i guess not...
anyone who had the ubc interview already?? and how did it go?

[kkarebear]

Hey... I really hope your interview went well. I heard that the interviewers really want to see that you are confident and are able to gather your thoughts well. UBC dent.. did you have 2 dentists and 1 student interviewer? Did you have any moments where you had no idea what to say? Did you spend much time preparing? Thanks for the info :)

[ubcdent]

I have to admit I was quite nervous during the interview...even the interviewers noticed that and told me to sit back and relax after i answered my first question. Ya...the interview comprised of two dentists and one student. this dentist who was sitting right in front of me had these stoic expression during the interview, which I suspect is a trick. I had moments where i didn't know what to say...like they asked me to give a particular situation...and i thought about it for like 30s and they asked me if i have been in such situations b4...and honestly...i didn't, so i just said no and they gave me an example of such situation and asked me how to handle it. So, I think it's ok if you can't answer it...they can totally tell who's lying and who's not...so don't lie. For one of the questions, I actually had to go back and answer it at the end and i know someone who has done that b4 and got in. Anyways, that's my experience...the good thing i like about the interview is they provide u w/ a cup of water...which helps my dry mouth a bit during "sympathetic" times. ;)

[shrimp]

I also had UBC interview on Feb 8 but I didn't have a cup of water!! :eek

All my three interviewers were very nice but my interview was quite short. Just 30 mins. I thought I was the first one to come out among the six or seven interviewees!! But i think it's ok. Length is not a matter....quality is! :) Right?

And I have to say one more thing: the projected costs for first year dental student is $36,333 for the first year!!!!! That's too expensive!! I heard a friend from U of Alberta....their total cost is around $20,000. :( If I get in, I have to start worrying how much student loan I have to borrow!!

[kellyl20]

why such a big jump? did they add new cubicles or renovated recently or have plans to?

[ubcdent]

my interview lasted exactly 45 mins...including 5 mins question period...when i came out...there were about 4 other candidates who came out already...i felt that some questions were quite simple to answer, but it's not like there's a things to talk about it...and they kept asking me for more :rolleyes

shrimp, what time was your interview? Mine was at 2 and my interviewers were Dr. Salo and Dr. Brymer. Do you mind giving me your stats??
mine is just avg...83% avg for my two years undergrad...DAT: 24 carving, 20 Academic, 21 PAT
and my major is pharmacy...not sure if they like pharmacy students... >D

[kellyl20]

fear not as they had admitted someone from pharm last year who only had 3 yr of university and the gpa was only average

[shrimp]

Shrimp's stat:

GPA 82.5% got my B.Sc. last year.

My DAT is similar to yours, ubcdent.

:( The tuition fee will be $10,000 for first year and $17,000 per year for clinical leases cost. That's so expensive!!! I think it's due to the large clinics with lots of computerized dental stations. But seems like all the students have to share the burden of the high clinic costs. I guess they think we can pay back our student loan after several years of practise. But we have to pay lots of interest to the bank!!

[ubcdent]

Ya...i heard from the scotia bank person that it takes an avg of 7 years to pay back the tuition fee...and then u start to buy your own practice...another 10-15 years to pay it off....and what if you specialize.....sigh....

[toothy]

hmm I wonder if those who got in before the tuition went up are also subject to this sudden increase? Or does it just apply to new entrants?

The ability for a graduate to pay back their loan greatly depends on how hard they work when they get out, and if they are always "rewarding" themselves. Buying luxury items and taking exotic vacations early on certainly will have an impact on loan repayment :lol

ubcdent, nowadays in canada many grads do a few years as GP before specializing, for economic as well as practical reasons. Specialists earn more on average, but if you want to have $ flowing out your ears you'll also have to be a great business person.

[bcdentalgirl]

well, I figured I should also report on my interview. In my opinion it did not go well. I rambled, stuttered, used lots of eloquent words like "stuff" and "thing". I can't believe I actually told them that I tend to get choked up if people raise their voices at me! Real smooth! Oh well, at least I got a glass of water out of the deal!

Good luck to you all!

[kellyl20]

or you can start your own practice with $250th and work for the next 5 years in the red

[bcdentalgirl]

By the way, dentistry hopefuls,
I had been told bey several people that they never ask "why do you want to be a dentist" anymore. However, I had also been advised (on this board) to always always always have that one ready. Good thing. It was the first Q they asked!!!
Good luck!

[kkarebear]

Wow.. it seems like everyone has had their interview already.. except me!! I really wish you all the best of luck! I am just wondering if anyone has any tips for how I can prepare? I have no idea what to do and the waiting is killing me :) Does anyone know what percentage significance the ubc interview has on admission?????? Thanks guys!

[ubcdent]

at ubc...interview is worth 30%, marks-30%, DAT-30%, references+letter of intent+extracurricular activities-10%

there's really not a way to prepare for hte interview....again the first Q is why do u want to be a dentist...just a question to get you relax...then it comes the situational Qs...

did you go to those interview preps?
i think it's a waste of $$...they change some of the Q's this year...so...pretty much it's useless...i heard some dental students got into trouble for helping pre-dents out on interviews...the best tip for u is to wait for 15s-30s b4 answerign the Q's...try as best as u can to put your thoughts to can and answer it.

Good Luck! Are you going to the financial info & dentistry builiding tour on 22nd?

[kkarebear]

thanks for the info ubc dent :) I wish I had known about those interview preps !! I had no idea....... nor did I know about the financial info. and tour... it's on feb 22nd????? That's the day of my interview! Please tell me about it ! Thanks!

[ubcdent]

Wish u good luck kkarebear...

The financial session and dentistry building tour is at 12-1...You should be able to make it since there are no interviews during that time. There are two sessions...one was on 8th and the other one is this sat, 22nd. but i couldn't make it to the 8th so i'm coming on the 22nd. just wait outside of Macdonald Building (dentistry building) at around 12...someone will be there to lead the tour...apparently, i heard the tour was quite informative.

[kkarebear]

I don't think I can make it......my interview is at 1pm!! Do you mind sharing how many questions you were asked? Do you think everyone is asked the same list of questions? I heard there is a book of standardized questions and the interviewers choose what to ask. Have you heard that as well........ thanks again!

[ubcdent]

yes...there's a booklet of questions and each interviewer picks questions from there...i think i was asked 7-8 Qs.
sure...i'll tell u how the tour goes...good luck!

[kkarebear]

Wow... I am soooooooo relieved... it's finally over! I don't know if anyone feels the same way, but it's so hard to tell how it went. I think it was just ok... but I really don't know what kind of answers they were looking for! Also, I had this interviewer who really didn't seem to like any of my answers.. is this a trick... you think?????????? They said we find out in march......... so does this mean March 1st??? Does anyone know? How was the tour ubc dent?? Thanks :)

[ubcdent]

Hi...

We would know by 1st week of march which is two weeks from now :eek and i heard they notify ppl by email w/ a subject of Congradulations! so look out for that...it's not junk mail!!! :rollin
Put up a posting if any of you gets the acceptance and Good luck!!

Ya...i have to say mine went ok too...not good/bad...some of the questions i didn't really know what they were trying to get at...

as for the tour...it was quite good...it was led by 2 dental students in 3rd/4th year. They gave a really good detailed description of what it's like during the clinical years. We visited the clinic, the dental lab, and the student lounge, the lecture rooms. I have to say the dental clinic is quite old, seems like they haven't renovated it in years. As an aside...a squirrel came into the clinic from one of hte windows during the tour...and we had to call the plant operation to get it out of hte clinic....:b

[kellyl20]

dental clinic is from the 70's!

[bcdentalgirl]

Hey, ubc dent
were you the one who was trying to corrall the squirrel with the lady form the school?

[toothy]

the ubc website has got something on the proposed new clinic. do you guys have any insider info as to when it opens? We got 60's cubicles at UWO, but the endo clinic is brand new and has got state-of-the-art stuff like digital radiography and a few operating microscopes. There's also a plan to refurbish the existing clinic in the coming years. I guess when you're payin' thru the nose you gotta expect some goodies in return!

[ubcdent]

no...i'm not the one who was trying to corrall w/ the squirrel...i had nothing to do w/ the squirrel...so keep guessing who i am?! :b

[vic chick]

kkarebear: you said that you had one interviewer that seemed disinterested. Do you remember who it was? Just wondering cuz I had one quirky interviewer too.:rolleyes

[kkarebear]

Yup.. her name was Dr. Bradey. At the end of the interview she seemed to ease up a bit though.

[kkarebear]

i forgot to ask......... did you have her too vic chick?

[vic chick]

no I had Dr. Brymer (i think that was his name). He was really nice and very talkative, but I could see how someone might think he was aloof.

[vic chick]

no I had Dr. Brymer (i think that was his name). He was really nice and very talkative but I could see how someone might think he was a bit aloof.

[ubcdent]

I had Dr. Brymer too. He was nice but i saw some stoic expression occasionally during the interview.

[kellyl20]

ubcdent: where is this booklet with the interview Qs available at?

[kellyl20]

ubcdent: where does one find this booklet you got the Qs for the interview?

[ubcdent]

u can't find the booklet of interview q's ...it's the property of the admission committee... and it changes from year to year....

[kellyl20]

thanks for your answer ubcdent. Wish you the best in getting into UBC dent. I hear that UT and McGill are excellent dental schools, so if not UBC perhaps others then.