absolutely great selflessness 2

Pacific – The great or so it is called.Very very very friendly! Very stress free though that day wasn’t good for me … you know one of those days where everything goes wrong! But they still made every effort to make it nice for me. The first day is orientation .. dress up like you are going to attend a fashion show... they are all so well dressed. Second/ Third day is your interview. Your time slot is given according to alphabetical order of your last name .. so if your last name is in S or V or so on expect it to be on the third day. The last day was the practical exam. They had as usual the Class II on lower molar and a PFM on a central incisor. The articulator was not equilibrated.. so don’t panic .. if you want you can tell them or write a note on the card they give you. But I didn’t. don’t think it was necessary especially when they give you the liberty to take the maxillary and mandibular typodonts separate when you work…. Again it’s your call.

Pros -
Friendly school
Everyone seems to be happy
Great/ huge alumni .. networking
Their mission – to make you the best general practioner you can
be .. and they work on it
They too offer dual degree programs .. correct me if I am wrong
State of the art technology
If ADA has accredited their regular dental program to be completed
in three years that means there is something commendable about
them.
They mentor you towards the Regional licensing exam you want to
take .. if its Wreb they will help you prepare for that. If it NERB
they will help you prepare towards that

Cons -
Expensive (most expensive second to NYU)
Not very high specialization rate
Not a lot of research opportunities…
Can’t really find anything wrong about this school… I think its more because their mission is to make their students to be wonderful GPs and they work on that! They don’t promise what they cannot do.

Edit - Some extra information from one of the students attending Pacific-
Well, about the clinical experience at Pacific ... I just don't know what to say. It truly is overwhelming. I mean just an example, my seniors have been in the clinic for only about 9 months now, and on average have been assigned 50-60 patients each ... so far ... they still have about 7 more months to go before they graduate.To get to your point, the clinical experience has been just amazing so far.
Faculty faculty faculty. They really make all the difference.
As for competency based learning, it is true that it is for the pre-clinical courses, but it extends into the clinic as well. No evaluation is based mostly on the competency feedback/assessment you receive. You have to "graduate" from one procedure in order to do the next, until you finally graduate. It is nothing too complicated really, just a more thorough evaluation approach. As a more simplistic example, you can not proceed to a Class II preparation on a patient before you have mastered a Class I. Makes sense ... and so on and so forth.
Clinical requirements are very demanding. I do not have specific numbers, but I am told that they are more than a hand (and mouth) full. If you are not in lectures, you will be in the clinic. If you are not in the clinic, you will be in the lab (doing your own lab work - aesthetic wax-ups, partial and complete dentures, mounting study models, ...). If you are not in any of the above ones, you are probably in bed recharging for the following day. They really eat, breath and dream about clinical work, deadlines and requirements.
As you mentioned also, Ortho and Maxillofacial being the only specialties, the students get to do the rest of the specialty work. Even the Maxillofacial guys are not even in the same building as us. They spend most of their time in the hospital miles away from us.
If you want to do impacted molar extractions, they will guide you. If you want to do perio surgery, they will guide you. Endo molars, implants ... it all boils down to how much you can handle !

USC – The interview was two days. The first day was three case based questions .. something along the lines .. your patient comes to the clinic with this problem. He desire esthetics and minimal tooth reduction or an amalgam restoration or so on. Determine the appropriate indirect/ direct restoration you could do and prepare the tooth accordingly. There were three questions and 6 hours!! That’s a lot of time! Second day was a PBL interview where they give you a case history in pieces of information (totally 4). Its not the answer they are looking for. It is how you get to the process of the answer. So forget the answer. Don’t ask me or anyone what it was, because if you do so you will end up in made up thoughts and that’s not what you want. It is obvious to the proctors whether you have the answers with you or not. So work your way through. Its nice .. it almost like you are a detective trying to find the culprit in team work.. and that’s really fun to do .. I would call it the dentistry version of the program HOUSE .. Hugh Laurie ( He is HOT!!! ).

Pros - Good school… simply love the PBL system. We all know our theory .. atleast most of us .. what we have got to know is how to solve a case. I think the PBL curriculum is very intriguing (maybe not the right word). I can’t say a lot about this school. Two reasons… I was too tired by the time I got to this interview and two I couldn’t talk to anyone really about this school. I am still doing my research on this school. As I find more I will tell you guys.

Cons –
From the interview I realized there was zero personalization (maybe not the right word again).
Also, heard some cheating was going on there with the proctors helping the applicants during the practical exam. I don’t know how much that would help but still gives a hand over someone not being helped… which I think is unfair.

All the best folks...

Absolutely great selflessness !

This is something from SDN, hats off to the writer i am posting it here for those guys who register on SDN but don read thru until its an answer to something they ask. The post was written by user g3k.
Let me begin by saying this is my second round of attempt to get into a two year program. First time I got one interview out of 10. Second time I got 8 out of 9 and out of the 8 - got accepted into 3, waitlisted at 2 and rejected at 2; yet to hear from 1 - well now I may not attend the interview at UMich .
What did I do? Improved my scores and added some work experience and modified my personal statement to fit the school; last but not the least got wonderful recommendation letters. I still made a mistake – I did not prepare for most of the interviews especially the California ones. I was the perfect candidate on paper (that's what got me so many interviews) but did not present myself so (that's what got me so few accepatnces). Please do not repeat it.
It is disheartening especially after all the hardwork. Make a list of possible questions and turn it into a conversation. Remember the way to prepare for an interview is for you to sit down write out the answers to all the questions and then for you to turn it into a conversation… so practice like it is a natural answer practice practice practice… remember you are being interviewed not your husband not your friend not your brother it is you! Also, if you want to be accepted at a California school, even considered – PRACTICE your hand skills! ]

I am writing this like a diary as every day, or I should put interview, goes by for two reasons. One, I give you an unbiased opinion of each school as I am not accepted into any school yet and two, I don’t forget what happened at each school. Remember, I am writing down what I see in each school as pros and cons, which, you might see the same pros and cons as cons and pros respectively. Also my concern is clinical experience. I am a relatively fresh graduate and do not have any clinical experience in my home country except for the compulsory internship. So, what I am looking in a school, is the best clinical education I could get, for the money I am spending. So no school is the best and no school can be ranked overall. It all boils down to what you want – cheapest? shortest? best preclinical? best clinical? specialization? research? and so on. And mine is best clinical education – maximum number of patients I can treat. So as per my rating of schools for clinical experience would be any of these five - UCSF, Pacific, UPenn, UMich and UMN - all have the best clinical education.

UIC – It was a good experience. School tour and interview that’s all.

The interview - I had two, one with an Admissions Committee member (15 minute completely personal interview) and the other with the directors of the program (1 hr dental related and personal interview). When I say dental related it was a series of tooth preparations that you have to evaluate and a case history that you have to solve.

Pros –
Not bad tuition
Down to earth people
Relatively good experience
Great for in state students
Real world situation/ experience in clinics
Excellent faculty
Good research experience
Lots of specialities - opportunities to do externships

Cons -
Not very good clinical experience – almost like a lottery system for patients
No graduating clinical requirements - depends on the group you are assigned to.
They don’t respond too quickly to emails even after you are admitted into the program.

Upenn – Awesome school, very friendly people. It was a day’s interview that started with some history and pride of
Philadelphia. There were three interviews all personal one-on one. Remember if they are picking at the faults in your application, they just want to know more about you. How you face criticism. Just answer those like you would to a friend. They are really nice people.
Pros – Awesome program.
Lots of opportunities to do research and externships.
You have two months off during the program to do what you want to – externships, research, vacation … whatever
Amazing patient pool
State of the art dentsim lab
Amazing faculty
Plus they have the ADLEX… So you could take your state licensing exam at Penn. You don’t need to come back home and look for patients and plus you can retake it if you fail it. So no after program time wasted!!
Cons - Expensive
The clinic and the preclinical lab are both suffocating. I felt like I needed some air to breathe.
You never know what they are looking for, so present your best self as your best package, if it is for you it will
happen!

---

UCSF( my school ) - Awesome school, very friendly people. It was 3 days interview that started with a written component that was around 120 questions .. study your prostho textbook and perio textbook. Look at all the diagrams possible… know the basic anatomy on a radiograph. Its very basic if possible go through your decks. The second day was the practical examination. We were asked to do an upper and lower molar gold crown preps. They give you all the details 1 month prior to your interview detailing every step in the procedure handout… read it in and out and know it like the back of your hand. I didn’t get to practice a whole lot. A friend of mine walked me through the steps and that’s about it. I practiced just one time before the exam. So if you can get some hands on practice that will help. During the exam do not use the hand instrument as a wedge… take it slowly you have plenty of time. Do not take any instruments. Use only that is provided. Whatever they give is more than sufficient. The personal interview was very nice … general question tell me about yourself, tell me about your family and they basically want to know your history. Tell me about yourself is a very broad question ranging from you as a person to your history. So if you are unsure about what to answer just start with yourself as a person and they will automatically say oh no we want your life history and then you can go to that.
Pros – Awesome program.
Lots of opportunities to do research and externships.
You have two months off during the program to do what you want to.
Amazing patient pool
State of the art dentsim lab
Amazing faculty
Excellent clinical experience with some extra experience at the Buchanan center .. sounds fun but don’t know how much in reality it is fun.
Lots of opportunities to do double degrees
Great specializing rates
Lots of opportunities
Cons -
Expensive
The lady at the dental bookstore is slightly rude… expect that. Otherwise everyone is nice esp. Mary Pham.

All the best folks...

An Idiot's guide to DDS-2

Well once a person is in USA what are the steps to be taken or for people coming on tourist visa what are the things they should get done to write the exam, am going to put those things today.

Ques: What is this ECE and how do i go about it?
Ans: ECE is short form for education credential evaluation that is in simple terms converting your marks from your home country into American standard scale of 4. The score out of 4 is called your GPA. It depends not only on your individual marks but also on the university ranking and credentials like a reputed university candidate with less marks is more likely to have a slight better gpa than some body with slightly more marks but not so good university. Anyhow....ECE is your first administrative kind of step towards your DDS. You need it to take your dates for NBDE exam.
and as for how to go about it?
Well start by going to site www.ece.org here you will find an option like start a fresh evaluation, start from there, dont forget to note down the application code provided on the same page for you to log in later. You will need a course by course evaluation.The purpose of evaluation is further education and desired institution are dental schools. Send one copy of report to ADA address of joint commision of national board examination, Chicago which you can find at "ada.org" , you can ask for extra copy for urself which may come in handy at time like when the deadline is close and you don have time to order a copy through ECE. Fill in the online application carefully. After filling the application print it out and then fill the credit card info to pay the fee and sign in original.

Documents needed to send along with the application form ( all attested by registrar of univ. or the Dean )
1. Copy of Degree certificate
2. Transcripts of marks and transcripts of study hours ( ask your college office about this they know what this is. )
3. All mark sheet copies for 5 years
4. Class 12th marks sheet ( well i did send it )

In the end wait for about a month if you are giving a USA mailing address or add 15 days more for outside. I am giving this time period so that you can plan accordingly for your exam date.

Ques: So whts next like once i have my ECE report in hand?
Ans: lol its not next all the time you have been doing this, you should be preparing for the exam too. Technically after ECE you apply to ADA for exam i.e NBDE. You go to ADA site and go in NBDE part 1 section and look for fresh application. their you complete ur application and pay the fees for the exam. ADA will send you by mail your eligebilty code which you need to fill in while you take the dates of exam. The exam date is taken on ETS ( Thompson Prometric ) site which is the same one you might have used for taking date of GRE

Ques: Ok now that you are telling me all this tell me how to go about studying too, what all material i may need?
Ans: See studying depends on individual capabilities and preferences. I might love a subject you essentially hate or you might be reading a book of which i don know even the name. All i can do is to tell you how i went about my preparation, what i studied first and what last, the plan which worked best for me. But i suggest you to stuck to your studying startegy if you have one that has never failed you.

All the best folks...

An Idiot's guide to DDS-1

For long time i have been bombarded with questions some silly and some really tough ones regarding how to get into a dental school starting from scratch...so i thought of finally compiling all the information i have and putting it here so that you folks read it and then i think would have essentially all the information to begin with. However the information i am putting here is for international dentist program in US dental schools for foriegn trained dentists.



so here we go....

List of abbreviations which i might use:


GRE- Graduate Record examination
TOEFL- Test of English as foreign language
ECE- Education Credential Evaluators
WES- World Education Services
NBDE- National Board Denatal Exam
ADA- American Dental Association
MPH- Masters in Public Health
MHA- Masters in hospital Administartion



So i begin with a scenario where people usually start thinking whts next the time somewhere during internship and thinking MDS or DDS ? The very first thing here is commitment ...be it MDS or DDS you need to be true to yourself for it is not an easy road and if you think you have seen somebody who told you this is very easy or that he or she was just average while in class but now studying in a dental school in USA its not a true scenario. Maybe the person hideen potential was not out in dental school back home. So for all those who think i will do DDS cos that other brainless fellow cud do it plz don even try.
Anyhow comin back to topic the time you decide yes its going to be DDS or DMD one starts with few basic questions which i am going to put as they come in my mind:

Ques: Which exam to give ?
Ans: The exam one needs to write and pass with good score to get into a dental school in USA is NBDE.

Ques: What kind of exam is this?
Ans: This is a multiple choice exam with usually 400 questions. Most of the schools need only NBDE part 1 exam for incoming candidates, only few schools need a candidate with both part 1 and part 2 score.

Ques: What all subjects i need to study?
Ans: For part 1 you need to study all the basic science subjects namely Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Human pathology, Microbiology and Dental Anatomy and Histology. Dental materials and pharamcology is not included here.
For part 2 you have ALL THE SUBJECTS LEFT OUT OF PART 1.

Ques: When is this exam held?
Ans: you can take this exam anytime in a year but the thing is that this exam is held only in USA so you have to actually be present here to write it.

Ques: Ah so now you telling i have to be there....and how i should do that?
Ans: Well this is a part where you need to sit and think cos it depends on number of factors. You can come on visitor visa and write the exam or you can go for a student visa directly by going for courses like MPH, MHA etc.

Ques: Ok how do i go for Student Visa? What are it advantages or disadvantages if any over tourist visa?
Ans: Well thats a big delimma i was in initially..but then i decided to go for MPH. 2 clear advantages...1 the ease of visa, you can stay and take dates for exam at ur ease and convenience.. you are there in US only when they call for interview and all sorts of thing...secondly the advantage of having a US degree behind u, also u can do some voluntary observership kind of things here.Of course its lil expensive for the part of livin here but then i feel these outweigh the benefits. Though you can come on visitor visa too but then remember you have to come back again for interviews etc when they call you.

Ques: let see i want a student visa then how do i go for this MPH thing?

Ans: Well for this you have to give GRE and TOEFL exam. GRE exam you can give in your country. It consists of elementary maths and english and there are lot of books available for prepration. I used Kaplan and Barron's books. You can prepare well in about 3 months for GRE and should take you around 15 days to go for TOEFL after your GRE.

Ques: and then what?

Ans: Then as you get both the scores you apply to various universities and wait for your acceptance and I-20 to come. Take visa and come over.

Ques: What various universities?

Ans: Universities which are popular are Eastern Tennesse state university, Western Kentucky State university, Alabama state, University of Albany, San Diego State university etc etc. You can join any one you prefer or whr it suits you financially.

Ques: Ok so visitor visa or student i take one and come to USA then how do i go about?

Ans: See now it depends when are you reaching, session starts in Jan and in August. I prefer you come in Jan cos if you come in Jan you will have time to settle down, get all the paper work done required and prepare to give the exam by june or july maximum.

All the best folks...

Hope....

Sometimes many things are running in ones mind and thats the time one feel like doing something he or she likes..this is one of those times where many things are running in my mind and i feel like writing it down. Why hope? well cos i have always had it...no matter what always had it..till today for things i cud not get in past or i want in future...but i am writing it here not for me but for my friend who has lost it all today. I rmember all the pains it took to make it till here....nothing is easy in this competitive world and journey till getting a seat in dental school is especially not easy...today first time in my life i came across a person who is going back after getting a seat...why... cos he has lost hope...hope that no matter what if he beleives in himself and the almighty...how much ever the things are difficult they will be solved out. I don say in a easy way, maybe a difficult way but..they will be solved out. The decision to go back...retrace the steps has not only baffled me but all other friends too....tried everything to pursuade but i cud see someone who is not at all willing to try. God forgive me if i lacked in my efforts but i tried my best. ANd i pray none of us wud ever loose hope.
All the best folks...

to think about !

Well guys this is an e-mail i got recently and i am putting it here bcos this one is so good at putting all the questions down which u have to prepare from ur application starting till the interview and acceptance into a school. Iliked this email especially becos it puts down clearly everything one has to know when they start preparing and as i said till the end so when ever you guys who are taking there first step get hold of somebody who is doing good and had gone past all these steps try askin them all these things, its gonna do wonders !

These questions might appear to be stupid, naïve, repetitive, but all feedback from you will be very appreciated.
Please tell me about yourself ( acceptance stats, where you applied, interviewed, accepted, reapplicant?)

IF YOU DONT WANT TO ANSWER SOMETHING...PLEASE IGNORE IT.

Stats - 1 and 2, GPA, Experience, Extra things (masters, certificates, teaching, research, dental hygiene, dental assistant, volunteer work, ce couses- online or person, observorship, externships, teaching, anything else ……) .
Please give me details answers of each question….so I get some idea of what I can do to improve my chances of admission.
The school you got accepted into – by now you must have an idea of what they are looking for?

What made you stand out?
What do you suggest - can be done to improve an application?Any tips? Any advice?

How did you figure out what to write in your SOP ? What are the most imp points in a sop? Who helped you with it?

Can you please describe what exactly happened in each interview you attended? Step wise? Parts?
Day 1-what happened?
Day 2-what happened?
How did you prepare for interviews?
Any books, videos, links, classes, websites, resources?
Who took your interview-names? How many interviewers were there? How many rounds?
One to one? Friendly/ tough?
What type of questions were asked dental or personal?
Some interview questions? Personal, Clinical, Ethical
How long was your interview for?
How many people interviewed with you?
What kind of stats did they have?
Same interviewers for all parts of the interview?

If you have a GPA below 3.0 -were there any questions about your low GPA?
How did you explain that?
If you had a gap in your education , how did you explain it?
For the question –what have you been doing since you came to the States-(I’m just sitting at home right now). What should be my answer ?
Some bright ideas/personal advice required?
If you have a non dental master’s degree from the States, do you submit the transcript with your application, or do you have to take it with you to the interview?
Do they discuss your Master’s grades/ graduate work/thesis/lab work/research?
Are they detailed or superficial questions?

BENCH EXAM
Do you have to take your instruments with you for the bench test?
Can you give me an idea of how to prepare for the bench test in each school?
A basic list of instruments which can kick start my practice (a) names, b) model number, c) source to buy from?
Do you have to buy a slow or fast hand piece?
Any instruments you recommend getting from India?
How did you practice?
How many times did you practice each type of prep?
Who checked your practical preps?
Do you recommend any prep course-Duggan’s course, any other course?
Any books, videos, links, classes, websites, resources?
If we practice on one type of typhodont, is it enough?
How did you equilibrate each time or did you just practice on single teeth?
Did you practice on ivory or real teeth?

FOR EACH SCHOOL INTERVIEW
Manikin or bench?
Rubberdam asked for?
Columbia or Kilgore?
Which tooth and what preparation?
If a restoration-only cavity cutting or filling too?
How much time for each part of the exam?
Is there a written component in the interview also?
How much time do they give you for this??
What do they test you on in that?Part1, part 2, or what??
Some specific subject-which one and which topics should be read?
Any suggestions from where to prepare for this component?Some questions?
Do you think passing part2 would help here?
Any x rays, spotters, instruments, casts (please identify this) type of thing?
Do they show x-rays and expect a diagnosis/treatment plan?
Do they test your clinical knowledge?


All the best folks...

Back again...

Well it has been a while and here i am back writing again ! What was the gap for? Well i had an all important trip back home before i continue my journey at UCSF. It was a period of fun and was so quick that i hardly could belive. Anyhow i think thats the way life goes. One good news i had was finally my room mate got accepted at BOston and what a big relief and happy moment that was

All the best folks...