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Preet’s Guide to getting into Dental School!

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Reply 20
Thanks for this Preet, its really useful!
Reply 21
Original post by Indeterminate
Congratulations! :hugs: :party:

Nice to see you sharing your experiences with others as well :h:

And London is an awesome place to study :yep: so you're certain to have a great time! :ahee:


Thanks Interdeterminate :ahee:

I'd never even been to London before yesterday (other than for my interviews but that doesn't count :lol:), had my first walk around and I was really surprised how content I felt, considering I'd usually be stressy or anxious in that kind of atmosphere. And I really do hope I'll have a great time haha


Spoiler

(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 22
Original post by AKK6199
Thanks for this Preet, its really useful!


No worries :smile:
Reply 23
@preetg97 Boss :cool:
Reply 24
Bump as I know many of you will be preparing to go through this very soon :h:
Hello Preetg really love this blog, as I’m going through the same thing. I just need some advice on how to get those A*.
And how to secure a place at Kings College for dentistry what are they looking for the most thanks.
Original post by preetg97


Preet’s Guide to getting into Dental School!



I figured many of you will start preparing for your applications to Dental Schools over the summer, so I thought I’d create a thread to give you a little guidance and share my application experience because I find myself answering PM's very often. I’ll be starting at Kings’s College this coming September (which is funny because I always said I’d never go to London :shh:), but I’m actually quite looking forward to being in a new place and meeting new people, and it’s not very often I say that :lol:.

So as many of you may know, the application process is very tedious and lasts a very long time. It was around 6 months of stress for me, with the UCAS application, waiting to hear back, attending interviews, then awaiting the result of the interview (which was just greaaaaaaat for a stressaholic like me).

I’ve tried to divide the process into its individual stages and just throw in some information and any guidance or tips that came to mind, purely because I was looking for a resource like this but there wasn’t one:

1. UKCAT
2. UCAS application
3. Interviews
4. Which university shall I go to?
5. Alternative routes


1. UKCAT


Remember you need to book your UKCAT or else you cannot apply for the coming academic year. If you’re in year 13 then it might be best to look at dates in the 6 weeks holiday, so you have as much time to prepare and practice in the summer holidays as possible. As a gap year person, I booked my UKCAT for the last possible day, and at the earliest time available purely because I find my brain works better in the morning (I started my test at 7:45am, which sounds insane, I know).

Remember that it’s not the quantity of preparation that you do which could dictate your result, it’s the quality! I know people who started preparing months in advance and averaged 600, but I began prepping perhaps a week in advance and I was proud of my result!

Being useless at maths but a naturally a fast reader, my starting point was recapping GCSE maths on Bitesize. I focussed my attention on fractions, percentages, decimals etc. so I could quickly answer those questions. I also tried to work out how to solve simple problems in my head because the onscreen calculators are awful! I then did the online practice tests on the UKCAT website, and found that Medify was extremely valuable for their practice questions and explanations. If I have any tips, they would be:

- Eat a good breakfast
- In the quantitative reasoning section, jot down any numbers that you feel are important. They could be part of the next question.
- In decision analysis you should have time to write out the sentence on your whiteboard, which will make the codes a lot easier to decipher.
- If you’re offered ear plugs or headphones prior to starting, use them! There’s nothing more distracting than the sound of the people next to you furiously clicking on the mouse in their driving theory test. :lol:
- Always make sure you understand the solution to a problem if you get it wrong. The chances are you’ll get a similar kind of question in your official test.
- Stay as calm as possible and don’t panic if you see a question and pull a face vaguely similar to :lolwut:. Just flag questions you don’t have a clue with and return to them at the end.
- Figure out what works best for you, which can only be achieved through practice!


2. UCAS application


As you all probably know, dentistry is a competitive course so you need to make yourself stand out from the cohort! The first step in doing this is through your personal statement, but there’s many other considerations you need to be aware of. I’ve tried to summarise them below in the best way that I can:

1. Make sure you properly look at the university entry requirements, and make some phone calls or emails if you’re uncertain about anything. Do not waste a choice applying to a university where you do not meet the minimum GCSE or A-level requirements because you will not be considered!
2. Take a look around some universities and apply to your strengths, but it’s also vital to consider your happiness.
3. Make sure you communicate well with your referee, and if there’s anything important that you want jotting down in your reference then ask for that. It’s highly likely that your reference will be read and scrutinised.


Personal statement:

1. Work experience. It’s a good idea to try and get some experience in a private practice and a GDP, because they have their differences (such as the kinds of patients, the procedures you can see etc.), and it’s good to talk about in your interviews.
2. Extra-curriculars. Extra-curriculars are important! It’s a good idea to be part of a group or a team were you demonstrate great interpersonal skills, such as teamwork or communication. I’m not at all a sporty person so for me I was able to demonstrate this by being a member of a tech team for several years. It would also work to your benefit if you have a hobby or a job which involves working with people, so doing some work experience in a care home etc. I worked as a care assistant for quite some time.
3. Manual dexterity. I expect that universities are aware that most people lie about this, hence why they don’t ask. I was asked at one of my interviews however, so just be weary, and if you have an MMI interview then this can be tested.

Whatever you do, don’t lie on your personal statement! Interviewers like to grill you sometimes in an attempt to get more information out of you or test your knowledge. If you’ve lied on your personal statement then your interviewers could question the credibility of what you’ve said, in which case uh oh.


3. Interviews


Interviews for some are the most stressful part of the process for some. Admittedly I started crying immediately before my first interview, which put me in a really negative state of mind, which is not ideal! Try your hardest to be positive and preoccupy your mind, whether that be by reading, listening to music, having a chat with the other students waiting for their interviews, whatever works for you. I usually went for a walk and a coffee with my mom and listened to some music before my group was called up.


1. Preparation

Personally I wouldn’t recommend dishing out over £100 for a training class, because every resource you could ask for can be found online if you look deep enough. If however you feel that it would work to your benefit, or you are feeling extremely anxious about the process, then it may be helpful. My tips in preparing for your interviews would be:

- Know whether you'll be having a traditional interview, or an MMI, and what both entail.
- Ensure that you know your personal statement by heart, and you can answer questions on anything relating to it.
- Be prepared for everything and nothing. Practice as many questions on as many websites online as you possibly can. Here are some that I found online: http://career.utk.edu/CS/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Dental-School-Interview.pdf, http://student-resources-uk.com/index.php/dentistry/getting-dental-school/guide-dental-school-interview/, http://crushthedatexam.com/dental-school-interview/.
- Read, highlight and annotate the Guidelines from the General Dental Council website. You will undoubtedly be tested on these by means of an ethical scenario (or several) in your interviews.
- Practice the obvious questions on people. I felt more comfortable saying them through with myself in the shower or in my bedroom when I had time just because I get embarrassed going through them with people.
- Make sure you write a solid answer to the questions that you will without a doubt be asked. This includes why you want to study dentistry, why this particular dental school, your work experience.
- Buy yourself a smart, suitable suit or dress.


2. During your interviews

- Eat a snack and have a drink before, or take a water bottle inside with you. When I’m nervous I physically cannot eat food and I gag hysterically lol, so for me I had to just have a little snack when I had calmed down. Try to have a good breakfast too to get your brain into gear.
- Stay calm if you’re being grilled. This happened at every single interview of mine, and in that situation just take a deep breath and try to answer the questions to the best of your ability.
- Take a few seconds to gather your thoughts before you answer their question, particularly the ethical scenarios.
- Pay close attention to the body language of your interviewers. This will help you determine whether you are on the right tracks, or when you've said enough.


4. Choosing where to go


Receiving my first offer from QMUL was a huge relief and there were literally waterfalls of tears after the agonising wait, knowing I had my place at university. But after my second and third offers I was left feeling a little overwhelmed, and stressed because there was a deadline to make my decision.

Remember not to select a particular dental school solely due to its prestige. Your happiness is more important, and you want to be somewhere where you will have a comfortable 5 years. There’s several things you need to consider when deciding where to go:

- Location, location, location. Choose a place where you will be comfortable and happy, taking into consideration the area, people, and atmosphere of the place.
- The academic and emotional support available. This is relatively important in such a demanding course, and it’s likely everyone will experience some emotional upset at some point and it would be useful to have emotional support mechanisms in place.
- The facilities, which you should be able to check out on open days, offer holder days or tours after your interview.
- Accommodation. I know it sounds a bit trivial, but be weary that at some universities you will not be guaranteed campus accommodation (say Kings for example). I have been allocated accommodation on another campus so expect a 40 minute commute one way, but you gotta do what you gotta do right :smile:
- Links to hospitals, or having the opportunity to travel out to do placements.
- Distance from family/home - for me this was quite important. Although my firmed uni is 120 miles from home, it was half the distance as some of the others I had applied to and the cost of travelling back and forth is not nearly as substantial as not being in the capital. It might help to make some comparisons using http://university.which.co.uk, but I would take what it says with a pinch of salt.


5. Alternative routes into dentistry


If you get an offer, happy days! If not, I know it’s disheartening but there are alternative routes to reaching your ultimate goal.

If it doesn’t go your way you can consider an alternative, like Biomed then Graduate entry dentistry. I know it’s disheartening to get a rejection, but it’s not the be all end all by any means.

Another option is to take a year out and reapply! There are some dental schools which accept resits, Plymouth for example. Having a year out isn’t all that bad! I had time to really relax in my year, which was great after 7 years of gruelling school and I was given the time to learn how to deal with some personal issues which had arisen over the past 2 years, and I finally feel ready to take on university and give it my best shot.




I hope this has helped some of you who were asking for help and/or advice :smile:


What do you mean by GDP and ethical issues?

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