Senior Year
Complete Secondaries if You Already Haven’t
• To reiterate from the “Junior Summer” page:
• Return quality secondary applications by the end of September.
Okay, so the school has shown interest enough in you to ask you to complete a secondary application, MAKE SURE YOU GET IT BACK TO THEM before they start reviewing applications. Also, if you wait, and school starts, it will be significantly more difficult to develop a polished secondary that you are proud to submit, and at the same time maintain a competitive GPA.
• Develop CLEAR, THOUGHTFUL, AND POLISHED RESPONSES.
Timeliness is key, as is quality. I feel as though I took too long to return the secondaries, and because of it, risk not getting into my target school. You see, before the school can invite you for an interview, it first must evaluate your responses to its secondary. If you hesitate, and submit the secondary while schools are scheduling interviews for October and November, you most likely will not be invited for the first round of interviews -- even if the school receives your responses in October. Not being among the first round of interviews generally makes it harder to be admitted, since one is competing against more people in “rolling admissions.”
Attend Interviews
• Prepare your presentation:
Wardrobe:
Your physical appearance must convey confidence, cleanliness, professionalism, and respect. It is recommended to dress conservatively, in a dark gray, blue, or black suit with a tie for men. Women are expected also show conservative business attire, however, they generally have more leeway stylistically. Personal hygiene is of utmost importance -- clean hair, face, body, clean teeth, and breath laking halitosis is especially noticed in the dental profession :-) . Attention to your appearance conveys your maturity and devotion to becoming a part of the dental profession. It is better to be over-dressed than under-dressed, but men, leave the three-pieced suit and cummerbund at home -- a suit and tie will suffice.
Follow Up:
Toward the end of your interview, ask if you could have the interviewer’s contact information, explaining that it’s, “just in case I may have any more questions for you after the interview is over.” Requesting a business card can say several things: (1) that you’re sincerely interested in your interviewer and the school, (2) that you are consciously building useful contacts for the future, (3) you are a pro-active person. Even if you don’t have any more questions after the interview is over, use the contact information to send a hand-written thank you card to your interviewer. Be sure do follow-up quickly, within 24 hours if possible, so the memory of you will still be fresh. It usually isn’t advisable to have the card received on the same day of the interview, however. A hand-written card can help to build a relationship that will make you more memorable and make you stand out from the rest of those interviewed. Consider saying something like, “It was wonderful talking to you. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and consider me for admission to your school.” It’s great if you can reflect on something that you talked about in your interview in a short sentence or two -- even better if it was something that the interviewer talked passionately about.
Responses:
The key to a successful interview is practice and preparation. Attend interview workshops at your career center, video record yourself answering interview questions, and role-play with your friends and family.
Interviewing for Admission to Professional School
http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/PInterview.shtml
Commonly Asked Questions For Health Professional School Interviews
http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/PDFs/CommonlyAskedInterviewQuestions.pdf
Professional School Admissions Interview
http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/Handouts/Adminterview.pdf
Apply for Financial Aid
Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You’ll need your parents tax information.
Federal Student Aid
