Philadelphia, PA
Dental Schools | Private Non-Profit
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Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 13% of interviews, indicating it is highly regarded. They found the interview very impressive with a low stress level and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
SDN Interview Experience Score
8.5
Above Average
Higher scores indicate a smoother, more positive interview experience with professional staff, organized logistics, and a supportive environment.
Based on 649 responses
Score Reference:
9–10 Exceptional
8–8.9 Very Good
7–7.9 Good
6–6.9 Mixed
< 6 Needs Improvement
The SDN Interview Experience Score (SIES) is a composite metric that represents applicants overall impressions of their interview experience, based on multiple factors such as professionalism, facilities, responsiveness, and stress levels.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as average stress.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
Positively (85%)
Negatively (10%)
No change (5%)
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
Great (46%)
Good (39%)
Average (15%)
Poor (1%)
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally found the interview experience at UPenn to be relaxed and informative, with a mix of positive and critical comments about the school. Many appreciated the friendly atmosphere, informative presentations, and the emphasis on getting to know the applicants personally. Some concerns were raised about the high tuition costs, the school's focus on specialization, and the perceived emphasis on its Ivy League status.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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There are two interviews, one open and one close. Both are 30 minutes long. One will be with a professor, another will be with a non professor. You will also meet with the admission director to go over application.
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I liked how upfront they were about costs, knowing that their school is expensive.
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Loved the school, definitely in my top 3
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Awesome school.
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It is a fantastic school with a great academic program. They really do a great job of selling it to you. The atmosphere is very comfortable and the students are very happy and comfortable. I loved it.
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Tuition is SO HIGH!
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There are 2 interviews with one being an open-file interview and the other being closed-file. Interviewers are interested in getting to know you so just relax and enjoy your conversation with them!
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Not a bad school but seems to be in an identity crises regarding whether to be a clinical or didactic focused school.
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Penn is a great school if you want to specialize, and you will have to work harder at Penn than at other schools. If you want to be a general dentist, then Penn might not be worth all the hassle since you might get a better education elsewhere.
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Very good school if you know you want to go into specialty or even if you don't know whether or not you want to. Everyone is smart.
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Its a great program with an excellent curriculum. If it was located in California, I would go in a heartbeat, regardless of cost.
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Hopefully I get in XD
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Great school, great people. City/area and cost is questionable. If staying in a hotel, use priceline or hotwire. I got a hotel downtown. Bus system is very good -- I took a bus from downtown to the school and it only took ~10-15 min and took me within blocks of the dental school.
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UPenn is a great school. The 30 min. given for the self guided tour is insufficient. If you want to see the whole campus you will have to see it on your own time.
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Great interview experience, also lunch is VERY good! The area of West Philly did not feel like a bad area like other people said.
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Great school overall. The staff is very friendly and helpful
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Just be yourself and don't try to deliberately impress the interviewer.
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Great, prestigious school. i wish i would've had time to check out philly. Philly cheesesteaks are AMAZING!
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Excellent school, I think it would be one of the best if the facilities were upgraded.
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Penn seems like a wonderful school. While it may lack the top notch facilities of other schools, the history and well-rounded excellence in research and education will help you get into any field of dentistry you want down the road
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My interviewer went straight through my resume and asked me about each activity.
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Interview process was nice. Interviewers were nice. The tour guides seemed very unhappy with Penn. Makes you think.
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Awesome school. Arguably the best.
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I was very nervous going in there because I really wanted to get in. the interview was very laid back and the school is great overall. Don't panic if you are being interviewed by only one person in comparison to a dean of admissions and some other professor together. It didn't matter at the end as I got admissions to the school with only one interviewer. They give you an hour of a "free" time to go and explore the campus- I did it and think it was a great experience. Plus just as a general info, I would recommend Priceline to book a hotel as I payed $80 for a 4 star hotel
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Great school on a fantastic campus. The tuition is high, but the relatively low cost of living in Philadelphia evens it out.
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Stay at the Sheraton! cheap Penn rate (119$) and so close to the dental school
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If you're there, they like you. be receptive to how great this place is and everything it has to offer you!!
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I asked what he thought my chances at a scholarship were. This probably wasn't a good idea. It made me seem like I'd only go to Penn if I got a scholarship (which was kind of true), and might have hurt my chances at actually getting one. Also, make sure you go to the Archeology Museum if you have never been to it. It is truly a world class museum and shouldn't be missed!!!
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I love Penn Dental!! Very organized, far from slapdash. everyone was excited to be around us. encourage us to explore the campus, via the self guided tour. Great combination of didactic and clinical training
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Great
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The day begins with a presentation about the school, then a financial aid talk. There were about 16 or 17 of us, so they had to split us into groups - some groups get interviewed while others take a tour of the school. The interview, like I said, was very laid-back and conversational. As a matter of fact, I think I asked more questions than I answered. But my interviewer was very helpful and she answered my questions fully and honestly. The tour was nice too. Dent sim lab is amazing, the pedo clinic is very nice, and they are in the process of remodeling the endo clinic. After the tour, we ate lunch, then had a brief one-on-one meeting with Corky Cacas to make sure our files were complete and to address any questions we might have. They also give you a map of the campus and encourage you to walk around and see the university. I was tired and it was freezing cold that day, so my self-guided tour was brief.
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Awesome experience...Penn is the best dental school in the east coast.
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Very relaxed. No tricky questions.
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Great school with great students and faculty.
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Interview went really well. Penn is very impressive. The faculty are very friendly, the students appear very pleased with their experience. While the cost is high, the visit put me at ease and the financial alternatives I learned by the financial aid rep made me feel better. Penn is now at the top of my list.
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Relaxing, stress free, casual, interesting...I applied for the PASS program and it was nice to meet ppl from all over the world.All 3 interviewers were very nice and friendly.No one asked me any technical questions.I enjoyed the day at the school.
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We all arrived at a room with several tables/desks set up. There were about 10 of us. Ms. Cacas gave a thorough presentation about the school. Penn had one of the best financial aid talks I've heard (though they need it -- expen$ive). Then we went off to student guided tours, self-guided tours, or interviews. At noon we had lunch with several current students who answered our questions. We were all through by 2pm.
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Again, very positive; I don't think you need to read the rest of these feedbacks either, since they'll all say the same thing - very casual. I do wonder whether your time w/ Corky is also "interview" time. haha It was cool getting to know the other interviewees and take a tour of the campus afterward.
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It wasn't as top notch as I expected from an ivy league dental school. D1 and D2 work in a dungeon, D3 and D4 students kinda hog for available chairs for patients, you have schedule your own patients unlike at Case, you study from powerpoints just like undergrad, and students wear jeans and t-shirts to work on patients. There was no sense of real professionalism or anything special that stood out from other schools. But maybe I just had high expectations. The tour guide really laid out the reality and discouraged me to specialize by saying that everyone thinks they're going specialize and just end up doing general. The interview was very laid back. She basically let me talk the whole time about myself. The deans and faculty were super nice. They all did a good job selling the school.
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I had a great experience and felt like they really wanted me to go there. The interview was very laid back and the school seems great. They do make sure you know how great the school is in the presentations but overall it is a wonderful school and if I hadn't gotten into my state school I would have gone there.
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When I arrived to the interview I was taken into a conference room. We had breakfast and had a chance to get to know everyone (the other interviewees...there were about 11 other people there). Then the dean came and talked to us...he was incredibly laid back and funny which was very nice! Then we broke into groups, where half of us went for our interview and the other half were given time to walk around campus. After that we were given a in-depth tour of the dental school. Then we had lunch and after lunch the people who hadnt interviewed earlier had thier interviews. This whole day was very relaxed and organized!
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Signed in, watched a presentation by Ms.Cackas (she's really nice), then by the Dean, then had lunch, chilled with other applicants, had a tour, came back for the interview, then went home.
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I really liked the actual interview. It went very quickly, there were no toughies like at some other schools and I felt very satisfied with how it went.
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LOVED the school. A+++ The faculty and staff seem to really bend over backwards for the students and treat them as future colleagues who they're committed to help succeed.
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Very relax and all we did just random talk
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I loved the program, but you pay out the ass for it and the location is not the best. (Not bad, just not the best)
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Nothing much, just asked stuff about my childhood, hobbies and debated over my answers to their secondary application. I was reminded of possible problems with my application as well. Thought the interviewer was out to ruin me.
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The day started with an informative session about the school. Then a financial aid presentation. The interview followed and then we got a tour of the school. The day ended with lunch.
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Good. nice faculty. There are a lot of people being interviewed for very few places and therefore rember that your chances are very slim. It is a good school in terms of its name but I personally had a feeling that it wasd not a school which is run well. Very expensive summer program in addition to the added cost of tution. If you have a choice and have been accepted at other schools...stay calear.
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Overall, penn is a nice school. However, i am not so sure if i will choose it because of its location.
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The forums were very helpful, interviewers were not at all bad as told in some threads, to succeed, dont try to impress, dont tell a lie,
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Overall, my interview experience at UPenn's dental school was great! The interview itself was very informal. The students were very friendly and many of the applicants were friendly as well.
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People shouldn't worry about who they get as their interviewer. What I noticed is that they match you up with an interviewer who you have something in common with. For example, you grew in the same town or graduated from the same school. Mine went pretty well and we ended up talking about music, sports, Philly, food, etc.
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The presentations given were very informative .You can clear a lot of your doubts during these presentations as well as during interviews
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Interview went well, I didn't know that students there were that unhappy
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THe whole interview experience was really good. I reached 2 days before te intrvw.The day b4 te intrvw, went to the Univ. and asked te front desk person, to show me te room , where my intervw was to be held te nxt day.He was very kind enuf to guide us ter.Afterwards , got a chance to meet 2 senior PASS students , n got to talk with tem , tey were very kind enuf to stop n answer all our queries.Next day mroning , reached arnd 730am itself, n was too early I guess, slowly interviewees started comin in , n totally we were 8 , we wer taken to te room. We waited till 9, and ten Dr.Lopen came in, it seems te projector wasnt working for soem reason, ten she started asking us qstns abt Philly. Later it started working n after tis session , Dr.Uri Hangorsky came in to give a speech abt te Clinical Side @ UPENN , wich was very interesting.Followed by a speech on how to apply for loans, once accepted by Dr.Lopez, and one-on-one intrvws soon followed. All of us were interviewd by 3 faculties-Dr.Lopez,Dr.Hangorsky and te 3rd one differed for each one , I guess.. atleast for me ,, te name changed from wot was printed on my schedule . Mine took so long, since tey cudnt fidn a replacement for te name printed on my schdeule ,. so i had to wait without having te lunch . ie till 2pm , for my intervw to get over , meanwhile te enthusiastic senior (who was supposed to have lunch wit us n give us tour guide ) had already started her lunch n had to show us arond te school . Poor me, had to sit n wait till I received te call @ 2pm, te time wen we had to start te school tour. but te senior student was kind enuf to wait. Last interview went well.. she dint ask me anything , I had to tell her everything abt me. Thats it. Collected names of te interviewers to send a Thank you NOte to tem.tats it , done .
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I took the train, wasn't sure if there was going to be a lot if traffic. there was 13 of us at the interview. Since most of us had interview at other schools (except for me), we were just chatting it up asking about other schools. corky, the director of Admissions, told us that they only interview 360 studentsout of 2000 and the entering class is about 116. which gave us 1 in 3 to 1 in 2.4 chance to get in. there was a intro/overview form 8:45 to 10am. corky, Dr. DeRossi, and Sue(financial aid) spoke. Then there was a 30 minute interview and the school tour and a 5 minute thing with corky, to go over your app. I think that was an interview. Trust me. She asked me two questions, one, why I picked UPENN, which I had a beautiful answer for. I told her I checked if the school had more than 30% out of state students, 30% diversity plus high academic standards. Second question was about Underwater Hockey. I explained how we play it and that there is only one team in PA, which is at Penn State. That I’m planning on making a team here if a get accepted. Right after that was my second interview with Dr. Slaughter. She was awesome. We laughed so hard I dropped my donut on the way to the room we were having the interview. Looking back she made sure we discuss every part of my app. She asked about my shadowing experience, extracurricular activities with the Scuba club and the Pre-dental club, why I transferred twice in college, how I was a little rebel in high school, specializing after dental school, and again about underwater hockey. the zest of our interview was that I want to live life to it’s fullest, with no regrets and I will show my color even in hard times. It was hard to answer her question about shadowing, since I left a bit upset. But I managed to tell her the most impressive thing was the fact my dentist was humming at work and that is how I want to be at work. I also told her that at the moment I am not shadowing anyone. Towards the end of the interview she said that I was exactly the type of student they wanted at their school. But that didn’t help me from worrying for 2 full weeks. And now that I’m in, ahhh.. Such a relief. We had 2 student at lunch asking and answering our questions. I managed to con couple kids into skipping the self-guided tour of the campus and going to the Franklin institution to go see the Body World exhibit. We exchanged e-mail addresses which helped a lot staying sane the last 2 weeks.
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I enjoyed the interview, but i think i talked to fast, that’s the reason forgot to say some valuable points. I think if u r honest and be ur self u should do good. Dr Naty Lopez made me relax, i really liked her, and she is very caring and nice person.Dr Uri Hangorsky is a sweet person, so be relax. Dr Amir Barati was friendly, I went out of the way to show him a RCT on extracted tooth, I knew he is a Clinical Associate in Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences. So be relax and advices to foreign graduate talk slowly and clearly.
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It was very relaxed and positive.
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We talked about concerts and sporting events in the New England area (where I am from).
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Super relaxing interview! Tour of school was great, the new building looks great, the area surrounding school doesn't seem that bad as some other people said...
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Over all, the interview was okay. The interviwers just want to get to know the prospective students.
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Good
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My interview was....odd, actually. I had Dr. Rossman and he has a sort of wry, sarcastic humor. (The FIRST thing he said to me, as we were walking to his room was, "I have a piano in my office. Your entire interview is contingent upon a musical audition." I laughed and was glad he read my file, but it put me on my guard right away! haha). At first it almost seemed a big challenging and condescending...like when he asked what my "cons" were about Penn so far and then tried to convince me otherwise. But by the end I saw that he really liked when I challenged HIM, and we got this great sort of dry humor going on. But it was a different dynamic than the other schools. The questions were a little more...exposing (see below), yet the interview was very short. They'll probably be impressed either way, as long as you just relax and don't take it too seriously. It ended up being fun! As for the school, it seems to have a really great program, and if you get one of 25 dean's awards, you only have to pay half tuition. But I didn't like the exclusive view on dentistry (only America has it as a whole other "medicine", not treated as doctors of the oral cavity), and that they almost made it sound like you'd be an idiot to not believe they had the most amazing program in the country. They do encourage you to get a master's in something while you're there, the student tourguides were nice, lunch was good...the day was well organized. It seems to live up to its name and you're well-prepared for specialties (of which they have every kind and a high acceptance rate!). But I didn't see anything enormously remarkable to make it worth 72K a year. Oh, DentSim seemed like a great tool to make sure you sit right and use good ergonomics while using a handpiece! Why isn't it at other schools???
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I was interviewed by the Dean of Admissions, Dr. DeRossi, who is the most relaxed, fun-loving interviewer I have ever had (for any type of interview). We just chatted basically
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Was my very first interview.
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I probably had the most enjoyable time at Penn compared to other interviews. The feel of the campus is amazing in terms of culture and history. The interview process was highly informative. Students were very busy but happy. The interview was relatively short, but I felt that my interviewer really listened to me and wanted to answer my questions.
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The interview was very casual. i was only asked why dentistry and what are my hobbies. the rest of the interview as just casual conversation.
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Great interview, laid back environment, the faculty and interviewer very much cared for me as a person and applicant.
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The most RELAXING experience ever! Scott DeRossi, the dean of admissions, basically just chatted with me about his experience applying to dental school and asked me one or two questions.
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(In retrospect) Very bad. This was an interview for PASS program and we were not treated as qualified professionals. The whle show was mismanaged. We were asked to wait in front of X-room where some kind of repair work was going on. Well past the appointed time one of the interviewer appeared and almost stopped sort of blaming us for waiting at a 'wrong' place. The room where we were made to sit and watch video was freezing cold (with outside temp 29F). We had one tiny room heater for the whole room. Person responsible had no clue how to run the introductory video cassette. Kept asking for help from different people. In effect we lost time and not allowed to see the end of the cassette as we were due for interview. About interview....three/four interviewer didn't turn up so they were frantically searching for someone, anyone happy to interview this hapless lot. And probably for most of the candidates it was one of the very important interview and never allowed to reach that dimension. Level of alternate interviewer was farcical/appaling. My alternate interviewer had no clue about my file, probably never had enough time or never was interested to learn about the candidate. This person asked me to provide a document that was alreadt there in my file!! I think the admission committee already more or less decided who to select and went on pretending to be serious with all the candidates. Although I was impressed by the school the whole experience left a bad taste.
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It was extremely laid back and relaxed. We did it in that cafe/eating place, not an office so it was even more chill. Coming off my last interview, this was definitely 100 times more relaxed..one of those "conversation" like interviews you always hear about.
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I really enjoyed the tour- the Dent SIM lab was incredible, the students that provided tours and info were sharp and honest. It felt like a team.
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Intro by Admissions. Interview with Dr. Scott DeRossi--extremely relaxed, I was nervous, anticipating a difficult question. He had no hard questions for me, most of the time spent as a Q/A about the school. Talked about history. Tour was held by a student, was glad to see he was confident about his abilities & was able to describe what was needed to complete the clinical requirements. Lunch was great with 5 students Q/A--extremely friendly. Got accepted 2 weeks later. Good luck!
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I was amazed the moment I stepped through the door of UPSDM. The facilities here are one of the best I’ve seen. The people here are very welcoming. My interviewer was an old professor who even gave me a pat on the shoulder after a nice conversational interview. If there’s one thing that sets UPenn apart from other dental schools is their postdoc matching rate. It’s clear evidence that their curriculum is top notch but even if you don’t know whether or not you want to specialize, UPenn is still a great school to get your pre-doc training.
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Although I got admitted to UPenn, I decided to go to another school. Philly is not that fancy city relative to NYC and also slightly less famous than other top schools such as Columbia and UCSF. However, the atmosphere there is quite comfortable and decent.
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First, let me say that this interview was an extremely stress free experience. The interview was more conversation rather than question and answer. Be prepared, be confident, be yourself and you will be fine. Also, I have seen posts where people criticize Penn for thinking that it is lofty as an Ivy League school. I did not find that to be the case at all. Good Luck!
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The day began with a 2 hour long talk about the school its history etc etc. then there were 3 x 5-10 min interviews.A student took us around and then there were more talks about finance etc
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The interview experience was great. 80% of interviewees get in, so that is nice to know. There is a lot of debt that you will acquire if you attend U Penn so be prepared. U Penn's turn-over for students entering the specialized programs is through the roof!! They are an outstanding school if you are willing to sacrifice the 4 years of stress and discomfort.
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Seems like a great school with good facilities and amazing resources. The community also seems strong and supportive. Philly is a vibrant city that I would love to spend the next 4 years in.
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This was an interview for the PASS program. What negatively impressed me the most was the people who interviewed me hadnt even read my application & didnt know abt my experience/education at all. This was kinda annoying when they call someone for an interview & dont even know about them. It is a great school though.
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Good school. did not consider it before i went to visit, now is one of my top picks
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I really like the school and thought the tour given by the student was very informative. If only this school was cheaper.
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It's hard to say anything bad about this school because i really WANT to like it, but after my interview experience, i definately did not walk away with high spirits. THe only reason why I would go here is to raise my chances of being placed in a specialty program...other than that, the interview itself was quite annoying with my interviewer asking me questions trying to get me to explode with why i really DON"T want to pursue dentistry. he was definately a bit dry and not very personable. whatever, though. the student leading us around on the tour was about as enthusiastic as a corpse. ok, thats all i have to say! good luck!
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I was told that they dont want any prepared answers. they have an idea about everyone from their file and now they want to get to know each one personally by this interview. Be honest and tell about yourself. They also told that they are very friendly people and they expect the same from us.
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It was very laid back and enjoyable. Lunch was provided by the school and it was held in a conference room with three D3 and D4 students who were very friendly and candid about the school. The interview was very laid back. I peppered the interviewer with lots of questions and he said he loved being interviewed and preferred that a student do that then have him fire questions the whole time. Kudos, I guess... The interview with Corky was brief - she stated that my file was complete and wanted to know if I had any questions about Penn or Philly in general. The whole experience was less stressful than what I had imagined and it went very smoothly.
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It is a great school!!! My brother went to Penn dental, so I know that what they say in the information session is true. My interview was short because my interviewer had another appointment afterward. But we had a nice conversation. I asked her about her background and how she balances her work and family, and her answers were very honest and helpful.
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It was a little intimadating to be part of a 16 person interview day although the interviews were one on one. A tour of the dental school was given by an upper classman. He did a good job. Overall I think this was a good interview experience.
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Overall, interview was relaxing and school was very impressive. Never met the Nasty Lopez lady everyone talks about. Students were all down to earth and not snobs. Its reputation is excellent and you have great interaction with other Penn students from all the other graduate schools so you get to meet people outside Penn Dental. Honestly, don't sweat it and be confident in yourself.
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GREAT SCHOOL. I did not see anyone cocky about being IVE League, I don't know who Lopez refers to, but everyone I know seems so geniue, nice, willing to answer any questions. and the student louge is SUPER NICE (TWO PLASMA TV)!!! also Penn dental is on the main campus, so you get everything the school has to offer. but the traffic was bad, consequently the air was bad too. but overall, the best school I have ever seen so far.-
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Naty Lopez, is terrible.she thinks that she is the best thing that happened to the school, and she practically runs the whole show.She is not what she behaves to be.
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They provide a great education.
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Although most of the staff were friendly (again, except for Corky) and the students seemed happy, they can't seem to get enough of "over-emphasizing" that they were an Ivy League school. If that's the only redeeming factor, then I'd rather pay more to go to a non-ivy league school with quality education vs. a brand name or tag that patients don't care about as long as you are a competent and non-arrogant dentist. Man, I tell you, if you have to keep stressing that you're an ivy league (which people should already know about pre-interview), then maybe they're compensating for lack of better educational qualities. Going over the top with the branding means that other schools are more competitive in terms of getting students to go there. Before my visit, I was indifferent, but now I have changed my mind about going to Penn...(even if I hear back from them sometime this CENTURY that I've been accepted). I have better choices to decide upon---ivy league or not.
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The students seemed happy, approachable and friendly. This was true more so than any school I've been to. The students couldn't really justify the cost of the school unless you were sure you wanted to specialize. They have fairly good rates of acceptance to specialties. When you go in to speak to Corky at the end of the day, she is interviewing you, not just making sure your applic is complete.
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Everyone seemed very down to earth, and had a true concern for making our visit a memorable one. This school is my top choice, and after having received my letter of admission, I encourage everyone to not be discouraged for the cost of tuition, since the educational foundation that you will be provided far outweighs the cost.
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Was a very good experience .They are professionals ,well organised and take good care of us the whole day.The faculty was easy to talk to ,just be ready to talk about yourself.Be honest and frank ,they genuinely appreciate that.
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Don't worry too much if you're interviewed by a not-so-important faculty member. They probably want you anyway unless you show some critical physical defects like missing a finger or something. Your application looks so perfect that some interviewer who doesn't have much experience is asked to meet you while the other important ones meet not-so-perfect applicants.
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It was awesome, i had wanted to go to the school before the interview but after i really wanted to go.
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A very well managed interview session.
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Over all very good
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I hope I get accepted!
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Generally, they seemed to focus on more research even though they said they're balanced with clinical exposure. During lunch hour, one Penn student told that a certain state school can't even compare with Penn because Penn is an Ivy League school, which I thought he is full of arrogance and vanity. The guy also mentioned even Harvard dental school, well most of the dental school, is inferior to Penn. Other than that, the tour was great and had an wonderful great nice interviewer.
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I thought it was a waste of my time. there were 6 candidates, of which 4 had the opportunity to talk to the "important deans" and 2 of us talk to random professors who had very little influence in the dental school's adcom. It was a rather frustrating experience, especially after making extensive travel arrangements to the school for the day and then returning home for the night. The admission's staff was very nice overall and the student who lead the tour was incredibly informative.
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My interview was unconventionally casual. My interview time slot was during the time my interviewer was overseeing the 4th year student dental clinic. He pulled up two chairs in the middle of the clinic (no room) and we started talking. I was only asked one question, "why dentistry?". He asked me to put on a gown and we walked around the clinic observing the dental students. We joked, laughed....very cool.
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It's not bad at all-they just want to learn more about you based off your secondary and find out what type of person you are. Know your secondary application and be comfortable.
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The interview was cool.They want you to be yourself.They dig into each answer you give,so be careful with your answers.
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This was interview for the PASS program. Dr Lopez is not DDS, but has PhD in "Cultural Relations", so I felt like I was whached under a Microscope, when she was asking me a question "How do you think you have changed after you have come to the US", and "what do you think people like about you"... I mean it's tough to thik of something right a way... especially if not prepaired. The other interviewers were faculty, and they were cool.
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Good..because the faculty makes you very comfortable..
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I was defintely impressed with everyone I met at Penn. They seemed really helpful and very friendly. I also really liked Philadelphia. I was a little bit worried that the area around Penn was bad, and while it isn't the safest area, it didn't seem too bad. Also, the area around Center City (Rittenhouse) was really nice.
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I'm excited to be applying here. awesome externship programs, seems to prepare students really well for an overall dental career.
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I really loved the school and everything that they had to say was inspiring. Really makes me want to go there.
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Awsome. The staff was very helpful and truthful and wanted to make sure Upenn was the right pick for you. The interview was very casual, and the docotr (the head of endo) knew my file back and forth. We talked about everyrthing including how hot the girls are, as there was 30 of them standing there waiting for a class as I exited my interview.
-
The day was nice but naty lopez only looks for people who r experienced so i wud suggest u to lie n say yes i have been working all the time. being honest doesn't help at least it happened to me.
-
They seem to go out of their way to make you comfortable. I did not notice this in the other schools I interviewed at.
-
Consider the school as a dental school and don't pursue it because of its ivy league status. All in all, I would say Penn is at least top five dental school in the country!
💬 Interview Process ▼
Length, number, and type of interviews
🕐
Length:
33 Minutes Average
🔄
Number:
1.6 Interviews Average
👥
Interview Type (Interaction):
99% One-on-One
1% Group Interview
📁
File Type:
92% Open-File
8% Closed-File
💻
Interview Modality:
100% Virtual
0% In-Person
Penn-COMP interviews are an average of 33 minutes, with an average of 1.6 interviews. 99% of interviews are one-on-one, 0% are in-person, and 8% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about the applicant's motivation for pursuing dentistry, reasons for choosing the specific school, future goals in the field, and personal experiences related to dentistry or community service. Some respondents mentioned an MMI format with varied questions related to academics, extracurricular activities, and personal interests, indicating a structured interview process that may involve a nondisclosure agreement.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
Do you have any question for me?
-
Tell me about a challenge?
-
What questions do you have for me
-
What questions do you have for me? (opened with this question)
-
Describe one overwhelming experience
-
What are your hobbies?
-
Why upenn?
-
"I see you have a lot of _____ experience, why not then that field?"
-
Why dentistry?
-
Why dentistry - i see that you applied to medical school.
-
Why Dentistry? Why Penn?
-
Tell me about your research.
-
What do you want to do as a dentist with a honors in x or a masters in x?
-
There is one 30-min open file interview followed by 30-min closed file interview. The open file asks about stuff in the application and varies by the interviewer. My interviewer asked about my school, why dentistry, and some community service.
-
What would you do if you didn't get into dental school?
-
Tell me about your community involvement
-
Why Upenn
-
Tell me about yourself.
-
What class did you like the most?
-
The interview was more like a conversation where the questions went back and forth. The interviewer used my resume as a template to bring up topics ranging from certain classes I took to some of my extra curricular activities. Very relaxed atmosphere.
-
Why the health field?
-
Why Penn?
-
What extracurriculars?
-
Very laid back. It was really more like a conversation. Questions go both ways, so have some prepared.
-
What piano songs do you like to play?
-
They asked very general questions as why Penn, why dentistry
-
Do you have any questions for me?
-
Easiest interview EVER. she didnt ask me a single question. she just answered all my questions (so have some good ones prepared) and talked the whole time. amazing
-
Asked me about my research and why its necessary
-
What does dentistry offer me
-
Why do you want to be a dentist.
-
What other schools have you applied to?
-
What do you do in your free time
-
How do you think your work experience will prepare you for dentistry?
-
What motivated you to pursue a career in dentistry?
-
What did u do after coming to the US?
-
What schools did you look at for undergrad?
-
Why the change?
-
Tell me about what you like to do in your spare time.
-
Why not Canada?
-
So I see your father is a physician, was there any pressure to choose medicine?
-
Why dentistry as opposed to law (my mother is a lawyer)?
-
Why penn
-
So you're from Canada?
-
Tell me about volunteering at the dental office.
-
Your concerns about Upenn
-
Tell me about your most difficult , sad and funniest situations
-
How do you see yourself 5 yrs downthe lane?
-
How did you end up choosing dentistry?
-
Hobbies,work experience,how will you deal with stress
-
Why did you apply here?
-
Would you still do dentistry if it were not profitable?
-
Why many people from ur school, failed in Human Anatomy? ( I dint get the qstn first, since I was wondering how she got to know abt it ? ) anyways .. tat she shud hav asked our Anat Prof I guess, not me .. very bad ... qstn .. cudnt give a proper answer. te above qsnts followed afterwards.
-
Do you have any question for us? (i forgot my list of qestions but i managed to ask about the extern program)
-
What i do for Fun?
-
How would you feel about relocating to Philadelphia from California?
-
Tell me something that you couldnt do in India and you are able to do here?
-
What would your parents say are you two best qualities?
-
How/why did you choose your college?
-
So you play guitar?
-
Why do you want to be a dentist?
-
Why go from marine biology to dentistry?
-
Epiphany in entering the dental profession.
-
Jokingly - why certain bad grades?
-
What do you do for fun?
-
Where do u see urself in 5 years time and in 10 years time?
-
Why dentistry? Why U Penn?
-
What community service activities have you done?
-
Did you clear all your exams in 1st attempt ?
-
How did you like Penn?
-
WHY DENTISTRY
-
What was your favorite subject in high school?
-
About my home country.
-
What was the 'epiphany' which lead you to pursue a career in dentistry?
-
How is your brother doing? (my brother went to Penn dental)
-
What would your parents consider your two worst qualities?
-
Why did you volunteer
-
What was most academically challenging?
-
Why Penn? What do you like about our school AGAIN besides re-emphasizing that they were ivy-league?
-
Just general questions about me.
-
What got you interested in dentistry?
-
What are your future goals
-
What are u expecting from us
-
Please see above
-
Why dentistry? He mentioned my application was pretty complete in regards to academia, community service, manual dexterity, research, etc. so he didn't have many questions to ask.
-
What made you interested in Penn Dental to begin with?
-
Your future goals
-
How do u like US after coming to US? how do u change after coming here?
-
"How do you think you have changed after you have come to the US",
-
Why upen
-
I was only asked a couple questions in my interview (i.e. why dentistry? do you want to specialize?). The other half hour was spent listening to my interviewer tell me all about Penn and Philadelphia and how great it is.
-
Why Penn? How did you hear about it?
-
How do you like philadelphia so far?
-
Have you ever considered medicine instead of dentistry? Why dentistry? What have motivated you to pursue a career in dentistry?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine discussed a wide range of topics, including experiences in college, immigration background, hobbies, and hypothetical scenarios. The interviews featured a mix of standard questions, discussions on personal interests, motivations for dentistry, and reflections on past experiences, with some variations in questions based on individual applications. Some respondents mentioned MMI format, potential nondisclosure agreements, and typical dental school interview questions.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
What were your best and worst experiences in college?
-
Why did you immigrate to USA? What are your hobbies?
-
Tell me about this class you took
-
All standard questions
-
N/A
-
Name one experience that was life-changing and that you "kicked ass" in?
-
About my travels and my background - i am eastern european
-
If you had two free weeks and money wasn't a limitation, what would you do?
-
If you could only have dinner with five people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
-
If you could invite 4 living/nonliving people to dinner, who would you invite and why?
-
What is your favorite type of cuisine?
-
Wanna come to our school?
-
What do you like/dislike about dentistry (regarding specialties)?
-
How will you wife handle the move (we're from California)?
-
What other careers have you considered besides dentistry?
-
What about Penn would be most beneficial for you? What would be the hardest thing about going to Penn?
-
Why do you want to be a dentist?
-
Tell me about your research. are you interested in research?
-
Can you imagine yourself here at Penn and living in Philly?
-
Asked about how I became interested in quilting!
-
What do you like/dislike about the other schools you have interviewed at? (gave me a good chance to rant about why I didn't like Columbia or BU)
-
Do you have any questions for me?
-
What do you do (hobbies) that shows your manual dexterity?
-
?
-
If I had seen a particular opera.
-
Tell me about your home country
-
Tell me about yourself
-
If you had a class II amalgam patient how well are you prepared for that?
-
How do you think your work experience will prepare you for dentistry?
-
They told me they didnt have any questions for me and hoped I would choose their school over others
-
Is the tuition worth it?
-
I was mostly asked specific questions from my application.
-
None.
-
What kind of difficulties you faced after coming to the US.
-
What is Sleep Dentistry?
-
Just talked about the school, it's programs, my undergrad.
-
If there was someone in my practice that was causing problems with patients and other staff members, how would I react.
-
Nothing in particular, we just chatted. we sat down & the prof looked at me and said "well, you're different" - alluding to the fact that I had been a programmer for 7 years before applying. we just chatted about computers for a while
-
What do you like to do in your spare time?
-
All of the questions I was asked were pretty standard for dental interviews. I was anticipating being asked about specific things with regard to my application, but most of the questions were pretty standard. I have talked to others who have interviewed there, so this might vary however.
-
I wasnt really asked anything out of the ordinary..i was asked about my childhood which was interesting
-
You applied to U of Buffalo last year...why are you not there this year?
-
What will it take for you to come here? What are the chances of you coming here?
-
None, all standard questions.
-
What kind of art you do
-
Why not medicine or vet?
-
The difference between dentistry and medicine?
-
Have you bought something for yourself ever since you started earning more money?
-
Nothing
-
Rank your readiness to join this program on a scale of 1-10 and why?
-
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO ASK US?
-
What are your hobbies?
-
None really..what other activities are you involved in outside of dentistry?
-
What are some of the differences you have seen in dentistry as practised in the U.S compared to the way it was practiced in your country
-
If you get acceptances from upenn and another school, where will you take admission?
-
Not specifically a question, but my interviewer was trying to figure out if Penn was my #1 choice. He said, "I understand that not everyone accepts Penn's offer of admission. I don't understand it, but I accept it. I'm sure you'll have a large selection of schools to choose from." At that point, I think he wanted me to reassure him that Penn was my #1 but I didn't pick up on that until later.
-
What do you think about the future of dentistry?
-
So, in India, if the Parents are doctors, their children will automatically become doctors, huh ??
-
Why did you take all these non-science courses? (it ending up being more of a interesting answer than a question, this lead to my rebelious highschool era)
-
Why do u want an US Degree are u desparte to have it.
-
What I took away from my clinical experience working with special needs patients.
-
I was only asked one question - "why dentistry" I had Dr. Arthur Steinberg for the interview and he was fantastic! We bascially chatted about everything from my city, my experience, food, traveling..etc Very relaxing interview
-
In your opinion, what is the future of dentistry?
-
What kind of person are you? Are you a "nerd"? Are you nice?
-
Luckily, I didn't get any "out of the ordinary" questions. But when I told him that my questions were mostly for students, he asked me to ask him one of them and he would try to answer it.
-
Tell me about your muscial experience.
-
What did you like best about moving to Florida?
-
Why go from marine biology to dentistry?
-
What's difference you find after coming to US?
-
Standard stuff
-
Nothing fancy
-
Why are you interested in OMS ?
-
How would you like your children to grow up?
-
How are the Seattle Seahawks doing?
-
Where do you see yourself after 10 years ?
-
How did you adjust after coming to US?
-
I was asked one question: What do you want to do after you are done with dental school?
-
WHat was your favorite subject in high school...(?)
-
You have got A grade in everything can i see your transcripts.
-
How did you get involved in politics?
-
I was accessed about my journey to picking the dental profession since I was in another profession first.
-
If you could meet five people, dead or alive, who would they be?
-
The whole interview was very conversational, he jumps from topic to topic
-
Explain why we shoud choose you over all other students in 2 mins
-
Tell me about the country you grew up in and is your family supportive of your decision to go into dentistry?
-
Tell me about your last job.
-
All questions pertained to my file, and past experiences.
-
Are you a good cook?
-
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DENTISTRY AS A CAREER.
-
Tell me about your undergraduate school
-
What are your future goals?
-
What are you expecting from us
-
You are asked to treat a patient with no medical history who is in severe pain...what do you do?
-
Are you married?
-
How would you persuade a 7 year old child to go to the dentist?
-
Who instilled the strong interest for community service in your life? Is there a particular figure you draw inspiration from or is from your parents?
-
Any interesting or memorable incident in your life.
-
What do you miss most in your backhome?
-
If you weren't doing dentistry what would you be doing?
-
What is [insert study abroad country here]? How's the food?
-
How can you see your engineering degree being put to use in the dental field?
-
Didn't really ask too many questions out of the norm.
-
The organism responsible for juvenile periodontitis
-
You have been invovled with a lot of multicultural groups, fighting prejudice, etc. What do think when you hear songs like Afroman's colt 45?
-
All questions were from my secondary and essay. The interviewers just wanted elaborations of stuff I mentioned.
-
Nothing out of the ordinary, just normal interview questions. They just ask about stuff on your application.
-
Another question was how many or what are the schools have you applied for and interview with?
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by reading the school's website, reviewing their application materials, and utilizing the Student Doctor Network (SDN) for feedback and practice questions. Many also engaged in mock interviews with friends or family members to prepare for the actual interview experience.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
Reading UPenn website, reading about other students' experiences
-
SDN feedback is really representative, read over my supplemental essays and application.
-
Sdn interview feedback
-
Read over my application, researched the school on their website.
-
SDN, mock interviews
-
SDN, self practice
-
Researched on UPenn, read on here, reviewed dental school questions, focused on my application and what I said in it
-
SDN, school website
-
I didn't prepare.
-
SND, mock interviews with mom, practice in front of camera
-
Re-read AADSAS application and supplemental, SDN, looked through Penn's website
-
Re-read my AADSAS application and supplemental application.
-
Read the Penn Dental Journal
-
Well
-
Research. SDN. Ask friends who attend there.
-
I reviewed my AADSAS application.
-
Sdn
-
Read questions on SDN, reviewed my application
-
Practice with wife
-
Read the viewbooks that Penn mailed me, looked over SDN interview feedback
-
Figured out better responses based on where I messed up in past interviews (like ethics questions).
-
Reading SDN forums.
-
Read over my application and school literature
-
SDN, Penn website, mock interview
-
SDN; mock interviews
-
SDN feedback, pep talk in the mirror to increase self confidence =], PLUS we had probably some of the coolest people in our group to just ease people's nerves
-
I read through the Penn website, looked at the SDN questions, and contacted a friend at the school.
-
Went over my resume + essays
-
Pre-health professions committee interview; other interviews; researched online about school; stayed with current student
-
Read SDN and their website.
-
I read as much as I could about Penn and talked to one of my friend's sister (who is a 2nd year).
-
I looked through many questions on the student doctor network and actually copied and answered all of them.
-
SDN, school website and brochures, read my application, personal statement and UPenn secondary
-
Reviewed SDN feedback and their website and brochures. Also reviewed my secondary answers.
-
Studentdoctor.net, school's website and other random websites with sample interview questions.
-
Knew my personal statement, researched the school, positive attitude
-
Read stuff on SDN
-
Read SDN, read over supplemental questions, slept and prayed.
-
SDN, my app, penn website, students i knew at the school
-
Upenn website, sdn
-
Read SDN, reviewed my mock interview notes, looked at essayedge.com.
-
Reviewed supplemental application
-
SDN, mock interview, did research on the school via website and their information pamphlet, reviewed my primary and secondary applications
-
SDN, school website materials.
-
Sdn,school's website,mock interview with spouse,went thro my essays and sop.
-
SDN Interview Feedbacks - UPENN Brochures - UPENN website- My SOP and CV
-
SDN questions, reviewed my app, practiced with friends.
-
I read the questions on SDN, read their website, looked at my application, and talked to friends who had interviewed there.
-
Reviewed my personal statement, the secondary I had sent to the school, the booklet they had sent w/ the 2nd app, and browsed thru the website; tried to come up w/ relevant questions (which was much easier after having been to one interview)
-
Website and personal statement, know your extra curriculars!
-
Read pamphlet they sent me and their website.
-
Read over my personal statement and supplementary application as well as visited this site.
-
Sdn and studied the website
-
Read up on myself...nothing major.
-
Read SDN interview reviews, my application and the school website.
-
SDN, read website, compiled a list of questions to ask.
-
SND, school's website
-
SDN, interviewing book, school website
-
SDN, UPenn website and reread my secondaries again.
-
SDN, secondary, Penn website.
-
SDN, and books
-
SDN, and friends
-
This website. reviewing the school website.
-
I CALLED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE WH OATTENDED TO THE INTERVIEW, BEFORE, AND I WAS PREPARED WITH ANSWERS TO ALL THE QUESTIONS THEY WERE ASKING ME
-
Read the UPenn website along with some other sites online. SDN was a big help!
-
Sdn, penn site, mock interview
-
Penn website, reviewed my application, read brochures they sent me, mock interview
-
School's website,interview feedback,mock interview
-
Looking up questions on the internet
-
Interview feedback on SDN and looking through the brocures that Penn sent me to make notes of questions I wanted to ask.
-
Didn't
-
SDN,UPENN site,Internet.(Google)
-
SDN, read up the school site, ask my professor for advise, review my application, http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/about/31questions.htm
-
SDN and Upenn website Online
-
Looked at SDN website, also looked online, didn't have much time since my flight got delayed and I didn't get in til 2 am flying in from Boston and previously LA.
-
Reviewed my application
-
School website and SDN forum
-
School materials/website, SDN.
-
SDN, read the web site a small amount. Got sleep the night before.
-
SDN, read the brochures I had received from Penn
-
Other interviews.
-
This site, reviewed my application
-
Read up on the school, researched their website, used SDN, asked friends who go there about the school
-
Read over SDN feedback, school brochures and website information
-
UPenn Website, SDN interview feedback, SDN Forum
-
Read other feedback, my supplemental application & personal statement
-
Reviewed application, went over basic questions- why dentistry..etc
-
SDN, mock interview - be over-prepared and then just relax, be yourself.
-
SDN, reread my app materials, Upenn website,
-
Dental school website..
-
Sdn website, upenn website
-
Spoke with friends enrolled at the dental school and this website. :)
-
School's website, SDN, Career Office, going over my application essays, etc again.
-
SDN , School website.
-
Sdn, school website.
-
Sdn, past interviews
-
Read sdn. It was my fourth interview so I did not really prepare.
-
SDN, website, brochure, friends that attend UPSDM
-
School website, SDN and few books
-
Read the information in the UPenn packet, their website, and SDN.
-
School web; SDN; good sleep
-
Looked at website, reviewed application.
-
SDN, Penn Dental website
-
Asked other PASS students in Penn
-
SDN and website
-
SDN, Barron's guide to med and dent schools, other interviews (that are better organized and keep you informed on things)
-
Checked out website. I should done some mock interviews to be really polished with questions.
-
School website, and most importantly being my self, and honest.
-
SDN,SCHOOL WEBSITE
-
3 previous interviews
-
SDN,mock interviews
-
Visiting there site and sdn
-
Dr. Kanani's dental school admission guide from www.dentalschooladmission.com
-
Had some previous interviews. Read brochure surfed Penn's website
-
Read the school website. Reviewed previous interview experiences on the SDN.
-
SDN(always helpful), penn's website, other interviews reduced the stress level
-
Talked extensively with students
-
Visited SDN, looked at interview feedback, answered some typical interview questions and looked over school guidebook.
-
School website & SDN
-
Sdn, college website
-
Went over my AADSAS application and the material the school sent.
-
Read the school's brochure.
-
Previous q posted on forum and mock interveiew
-
Read the website
-
Read the viewbook and website, prepared answers to questions that I think they would possibly ask
-
Read through the informational packets they sent, sdn, application
-
Read SDN and website
-
Read up on the school
-
Sdn n upenn website
-
I reviewed my secondary. Prayed.
-
Mock interview
-
AADSAS application, secondary application, SDN, other schools career service websites
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine discussed a wide range of topics, with some mentioning standard questions about career choices and personal experiences. While the majority of responses indicated a relaxed and conversational interview experience, a few referenced technical questions, research projects, and inquiries into personal growth or career decisions, highlighting the diverse nature of the interview process.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
What makes a community truly diverse?
-
All general questions, very relaxed.
-
What was an obstacle you experienced
-
Talk about a time when you felt extremely overwhelmed?
-
N/a
-
Name one experience that was life-changing and that you "kicked ass" in?
-
Not really difficult - what is difficult is making sure you give an answer to a question that is succinct, but informative, unbiased but personal and reflects your personality
-
Have you had an overwhelming experience during your time in college?
-
If you could only have dinner with five people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
-
Explain a bad grade in XYZ
-
To compare two schools that I dearly like.
-
What question do you have for me?
-
What is your take on oral bisphosphonate drugs and the development of osteonecrosis of the jaws?
-
Do you really want to come here?
-
Why change careers?
-
Do you have any questions for me?
-
Say you own a private practice and you have an employee who has a bad attitude and isn't working hard - what would you do with this employee?
-
Do you have good study skills? How can you improve your study skills?
-
What class did you not like the most
-
Hardest thing I've had to face
-
They were standard questions...it was really a conversation, and the questions just came out while we were talking about a ton of other things. We just clicked, and we probably could have talked for hours.
-
None. It was very relaxed and conversational. Nothing to worry about.
-
If you got in here and your state school, which would you choose?
-
It is hard to say because the interview was very laid back and we just talked about general stuff
-
Nothing hard, just a laid back conversation, probably should have been more vocal about my interest in the school
-
What other questions do you have for me?
-
Most influential person in my life
-
None.
-
If accepted, will you come to Penn?
-
Would you want to stay in Philadelphia
-
None
-
If you had a class II amalgam patient how well are you prepared for that?
-
Same question. (I was only asked about 3 questions in all).
-
Why penn?
-
Nothing
-
What do I think about the future in Dentistry, and how do I think that I will prepare myself to by successful.
-
So why the change?
-
None were very difficult, but I was asked about why I chose to pursue dentistry over medicine.
-
They were all very basic questions, why dentistry, why not medicine, tell me about yourself..etc
-
What is the main issue about Dentistry?
-
None, standard questions.
-
Are your parents supportive of you moving to the east coast?
-
The difference between dentistry and medicine?
-
What is my concern about Upenn
-
On a scale basis of 1-10 how will u rank ur preparedness if u were to treat a pt right now?
-
Nothing is difficult. The entire interview was relaxing. by the way, unlike some reviews posted in this website, I did not have to know about the history of the school.
-
WHAT I WOULD DO TO THE COURSE WHICH I M PURSUING CURRENTLY AND AM HALF WAY THROUGH
-
None. Got the usual stuff I practiced for: Why dentistry? Why UPenn? Is UPenn your first choice?
-
Nothing really. It was very conversational. My interviewer was very easy to talk to. When he opened the door for me to enter his office, it took me a second to firgure out which chair I was suppose to sit in. We both laughed about it and he reassured me that it's happened with every applicant he's interviewed. I guess that broke the ice.
-
1)Why should we select you over others?
-
How do you rate yourself among your colleagues? why?
-
None of the questions were difficult
-
What is your most significant flaw?
-
Why two arrears? You were complacent both the times ??
-
What did you learn shadowing Dr. XXXXX? (my shadowing didn't end in good term, thanks to his wife who thought i was getting in the way of them makig money.)
-
Ther where no Difficult question
-
There weren't any.
-
If your favorite subject is writing, why dentistry then?
-
If you could have dinner with 5 people, living or dead, who would you choose?
-
No difficult questions. I was just asked how come I'd chosen Spanish as a major, but the question seemed to be more about curiosity than arrogance or anything negative.
-
What was the most difficult experience that you have had to deal with?
-
What did you like the least about the move?
-
Nothing really
-
Are you sure to go back to dental school?
-
Nothing really difficult
-
Give me a few of your weaknesses
-
Why do you want to be a dentist? I responded with a general answer but he reattacked me :(
-
Why are you interested in OMS ? well, to be honest I don't know why..
-
What will you do if u are rejected? this question really stumped me!!
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Why U Penn and not your state school?
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None, we just had a fun conversation.
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Which other schools did you apply to ?
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How did you pass all the subjects during BDS in first attempt?
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Nothing really hard
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No real hard questions...just quite a few of them
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No difficult questions here.
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No real difficult questions.
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Not really any tough ones. Only asked 3 questions, see below.
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None, GREAT interviewer
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What have you heard about Penn?
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What have you learned during your experience shadowing a dentist?
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All the questions were typical ones such as why dentistry, when did you first decide to be a dentist, etc.
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Why dentistry and not medicine?
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What is the most intresting thing about penn that u can't see in any other school
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If you got accepted to Penn and a neighbouring school, where would you go?
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Nothing really.
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Why did you switch from your field to dentistry?
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Nothing too bad-I guess just some questions about my research project.
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Technical questions by one of the interviewer
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A specific question about one of my research projects. I did not know the answer:)
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Are you sure you want to pursue dentistry?
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How do you think you have changed after you have come to the US
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No difficult questions just routine questions
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There were no difficult questions asked of me.
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How do you see yourself fitting into upenn's academics. (i wasn't too sure what he was asking for)
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Actually none
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Various versions of why dentistry questions has been asked in my interview to confirm if dentistry is indeed my career choice
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were overwhelmingly impressed by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the school, the state-of-the-art facilities, the high specialization rates, the integration of community service, the strong faculty-student interaction, and the campus's beautiful location in Philadelphia. Many mentioned the innovative curriculum, the abundance of research opportunities, and the unique programs offered by the school. Suggestions included enhancing the color-coding in the simulation lab and further highlighting the school's historical significance and strong academic reputation.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Student organizations, nice people
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The new renovations, the niceness in everyone.
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The brand new clinics
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It was a small group interviewing (only 8 people) so it felt a lot more intimate than other schools.
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Facilities, students, faculty
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Awesome campus, extremely friendly staff and students
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The friendly people, the great academically driven program, and size of the dental school, the new remodeling
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Faculty, research opportunities
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Very positively impressed by the professionalism of the school and the staff. the abundance of opportuntiies which offsets the high cost, as you get more bank for your buck, and the attitude of the students! they were very mature and informative and students i would want to have as my dentist!
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Very laid back and relaxed environment. Interviewers weren't trying to give you tricky questions or make you squirm. They just wanted to get to know you and make sure that Penn is the right school for you.
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Some of the top faculty in the nation.
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The informational session was very through.
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The name UPENN!
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The match rate is ridiculously good. One of the best place for specialty. The avenues of extending one's education is so varied that one has many choices. Though it's tough as nails, you'll come out prepared.
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The curriculum is amazing. There's great extracurricular opportunities. The mandatory externship is great. Interesting selective options. I like the fact that they have grades and rank their top 10 students.
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Faculties are awsome!
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Very friendly staff. Interviewers were very friendly and not intimidating - they really just want to get to know you. Very motivated class. High tech equipment. Beautiful campus, entertaining city. Clinic experience starts in first year, including working as assistant.
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Architecture around campus. Huge clinic.
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Students seem happy at Penn; Penn Dental is part of whole Penn campus which is historic and beautiful; opportunities in Philadelphia; school has changed curriculum so that 1st and 2nd years have more clinical exposure; students have a relatively good chance of being awarded one of the 25 half-tuition Dean's Scholarships; student tour guide seemed real, didn't hold anything back
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The friendliness of the interviewer. She interviewed me in her office just off of her lab (very casual).
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The campus, the buildings, the friendliness of the people I met.
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This school is rich with history and is well know for it quality in dental education. Of all the ivies you will receive the best clinical education at Penn.
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The interviewer, dental buildings, vicinity to other grad & undergrad schools, Penn's reputation
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The school really prides itself on its reputation; the clinics were nice; the sim lab has top notch technology
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Really nice main campus, friendly staff, lots of resources for research, sim lab, the proximity of dental school to campus, excellent lunch - I think it was the best lunch I've had at interviews! Also really easy to access via public transit
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The school is very well rounded and excels in research, education, and specialties. The curriculum is innovative and offers classes that focus on specific areas of dentistry. The student body is organized and there are tons of groups that range from community healthcare to cooking
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The school is a perfect fit.. love the atmosphere. I feel connected to the current students. I can totally see myself going here in the future.
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The location is not as bad as some people claim it is. It's certainly not a "ghetto", but if you go deeper into West Philly it gets a little shady. The environment is very collegiate (lots of restaurants, cafes and young people) and I like the fact that the undergrad campus and the graduate schools are all in one area. The students seem to have social lives.
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High caliber of students, faculty; clinics for every specialty
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Great facilities, beautiful campus. Friendly staff. Strong patient pool. Emphasis on technology.
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This school rocks. I really did like everything about this school.
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School, people there, downtown Philadelphia.
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-Dental school is located on same campus as rest of university<br> -Dedicated dental school faculty
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Campus was beautiful all staff and faculty were so nice lunch was delicious
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Very classy atmosphere and I'm sure it's great for specialty placement. Lots of funding for research as well. If you're qualified for it, the Dean's Scholarship is a great bonus, 1/2 tuition for all 4 years. The students I saw were overall pretty positive about the school.
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How welcoming and friendly all the faculty and staff were. The new dent-sim lab was amazing!
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The sim lab looked pretty cool and the dschool is on the undergrad campus and is really beautiful. also, there are 25 dean's scholarships which is nice. lastly, i like the idea of required externships for personalizing your education.
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Everything. greatest school i've seen so far. awesome clinically, awesome research-based too.
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The school is great!
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PENN is fantastic and very welcoming. The students want to do well but help each other as well. It is an atmosphere of professionalism and also enjoyment.
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The school thinks very highly of themselves, plenty of aboard opporunities, community service built into the curriculm, the rich grad life of upenn as a whole,
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The one patient one dentist concept
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Dent-Sim lab was incredible. Faculty, staff were very friendly, helpful. Learning about the WHO collaboration, international externship opportunities as a 4th year.
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Facilities, happy students, great reputation
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The 'Penn' atmosphere.
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The students and faculty were all very friendly and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Great main clinic. DentSim. Beautiful campus. Philadelphia is very cool as well.
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The virtual sim lab (only two schools in the US have this new technology, Penn being one of them).
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The main clinic.
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Philadelphia is an awesome city. The school has so many different clinics and I love that it has its own science faculty. The DentSim lab is also fantastic. The required externship is a unique and exciting part of their curriculum. It's also great that all the Penn schools are together - vet, med, business - so there are many opportunities for a well-rounded course of study.
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I liked the way that they new clinics looked. I liked the students who all seemed really happy.
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Dean DeRossi's opening remarks. pretty inspiring - esp in terms of offering all the "other" stuff you can do at UPenn - going abroad, taking educ, pub hlth, or business classes, etc
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Philadelphia's cultural and historical life!
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How nice my interviewer was and the clinic facilities.
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Enthusiastic students for the most part, location of the school, pretty decent facilities.
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How relaxed the faculty and students were. The interview was very well organized and it was very laid back. The faculty and students were very approachable! I was very nervous before the interview, however, after about a half hour of being there I was completely relaxed. Also the school is beautiful!
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Students were cool, and really enjoyed this school...if you want to specialize...u should probably go to this school (85% of the students who apply for specialization get it!)
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Very cool state-of-the-art simlab; my interviewer made me feel comfortable and like they wanted me; the UPenn campus as a whole is amazing, it was very nice that the dental school is part of the main campus; the main school building is a very nice historic building; they offered a nice breakfast, lunch was not too bad.
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I LOVE the environment. The professors have really good relationships with the students and it's open door policy (professors sometimes go drinking with the students too). The rates of specializations are ridiculously high, the flexibility of the program is also amazing. The sim lab is really cool too (it even checks your posture and ergonomics). LOVE the school.
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Area, School, dentsim
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The program is great, strong emphasis on clinical, basic science, academic and research. Also, there are 10,000 grad school students all part of the big community
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Robert Schattner Center is an unbelievably nice building. Their clinics are top notch and have Dentsim labs similar to Case. Research opportunities and ability to get a second degree.
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The facilities were nice and the buildings were very nice also. The student that gave us the interview was very nice and answered all of our questions. The staff was also very nice.
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The campus. Very nice buildings. A lot of history in terms of American standards.
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Dentsim Lab
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The introduction part was relaxing and it covered most of the doubts.the dent sim lab is really cool!!!
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85% of students specialize. the students were friendly.
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SMALL CLASS, NOS. OPINIONS OF STUDENTS CURRENTLY ENROLLED
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The students and faculty were very nice.
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The Dental simulation chairs were very impressive, so were the new clinics
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The new building; the introduction they gave about the school was very informative; dental school is part of main institution
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Food was great,everyone was courteous,our student guide answered a bunch of questions,student lounge is great.
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Robert schattner center
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Friendly faculty and staff, top notch facilities, high board scores
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Nice faculty and staff
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THe friendliness of the staff and faculty @ UPENN. Everyone right from the Front Desk to the Interviewers very friendly and made us comfy with the whole thing.
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85% of the graduates specializes so, pretty much anyone who wants to can!! the faculty
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Dr Naty Lopez
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The school's facilities were very impressive, the campus itself is also gorgeous.
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The facilities - separation of all the clinics
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Students seem to really enjoy this school. School offers well rounded education, Profs actually seem to care about you...
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The students. They really enjoyed being at Penn. The tour guide was enthusiastic and generally the atmosphere was friendly and relaxing. Their clinics were bustling with activity. The new clinics they are planning to add. Great staff too (Dental and custodial).
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Sim lab.there is lot of renovation goin on.over all it is impressive.
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Offer really, really good preparation with a variety of early clinical skill-teaching (DentSim), option of research, professors who really want to teach (sometimes rare in a dental school). Evans building is gorgeous, and everything you need is right there - library, all the clinics, etc. etc. Right in the middle of the city, if you like urban life!
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Everyone was really friendly, and the campus is awesome!
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Quality of students.
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The students were very happy with penn's effort to help them do well and get through the schooling. there are many social events, including a beer party that is thrown by the biochem faculty.
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The Dean of Admissions, he teaches at the school too and is an oral medicine specialist, the nicest guy in the world!
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Everything: the facilities, faculty/students, wealth of programs (research, community service, etc), city life
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The school, the ambience, the clinics, Dentslim lab etc
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Didn't know the specialization rate was so damn high
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Loved the staff, the person who interviewed me was fabulous and most of all the fact that specialty acceptance are quite high
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Beautiful clinic with vaulted ceiling & skylights. Most clinics had lots of natural sunight. Professionalism & friendliness of all of the students.
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Friendly faculty member, impressive facilities, the successes of UPenn graduate in matching post-doc programs, extensive academic resources
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New building complex was nice.
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Students seem very happy to be at the school. They were very honest and candid about their experiences at Penn. Their stats in matching their grads to specialty programs is amazing.
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How friendly the students, staff and faculty
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Good staff and friendly students, good reputation of the school
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The facilities were AWESOME!! The Dent. Simulator was pretty sweet. The students were really nice. The student lounge is fantastic.
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Clinical experience from Day 1 of the program, community service requirement/opportunities, research experience, high specialization rate, new parts of the building
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Great School.
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The faculty is friendly
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The facilities are very nice, very modern. students are cool. the city is much better than i expected.. there really seems to be alot to do there
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A lot of people get admitted into a speciality program after graduation, the labs, the students, the faculty, the area around campus.
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The area around the campus is really fun and bustling with students.
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The school was good, the patient pool is large. They have good SIM lab, they help the students.
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The many options of the program, the confidence of the students, the campus and opportunities to enroll in programs at Penn (e.g. Wharton business classes).
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Nice campus area; nice building; great faculty members and students; state of the art densim lab; awesome student lounge; curriculum well balanced between didactics and clinical training.
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Positive and honesty from both Corky and Dr. DeRossi. Also the fact the out of the 116 student last year 25 were awarded a Dean's scholarship to pay for half tuition costs.
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It has a Dent Sim virtual reality lab which was technologically advanced and uncomparable to anything I have ever seen at a school. It will definitely prepare you for clinical rotations. Penn has a great reputation to specialize (85% are matched to a specialization). However, if you don't want to specialze, go somewhere cheaper. It is right in the city, so you get a lot of patients, and Penn is known for its research if that is what you want (best of both worlds).
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Facility, location, faculty and virtually EVERYTHING!
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The dentsim lab was great
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They have some nice facilities. They don't share their professors with medical students.
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Everyone was quite friendly, with the exception of Corky Cacas. Like one mentioned in a prior feedback that she's an "ice-princess"---a perfect description of her! She was very unapproachable and misleading as far as telling us to contact the office ASAP should we have to make a decision on deadlines for deposits to other schools so that they can take that into consideration---knowing how expensive it would be to hold one or more seats.
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Their simulation facility was the best I've seen. Not all sim-labs are equal. Theirs has infrared LED lights attached to a handpiece and sensors located up above so that the position and orientation of the handpiece can be followed. A computer can then show you how you're drilling to remove a simulated tooth cavity in the manikin's head. The only flaw is that in the artificial tooth that you're drilling, there is nothing to show you where the cavity is. If the cavity where different colored this would be fantastic. They may get this enhancement in the future. Many of their facilities were fancy and new.
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The strength of their academic program, facilities, the number of students admitted to specialty programs, and the area was also nice, and the fact that some of my friends are attending the school and are very happy.
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Dentsimlab,the environment is well adapted to internationals and the staff is like family to them.Dr.Lopez may appear a bit intimidating but she is very helpul and friendly so dont believe all that you read here and go there with an open mind.Faculty is nice and friendly.
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WELL BALANCED SCHOOL
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The down-to-earthedness and professionalism of the faculty. High specialization match rates.
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Excellent talk given by the Associate Dean,Beautiful school
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The campus
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The school is very high tech. There are even plasma TVs in the student lounge!
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Both historical building and modern building.
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The staff impressed me a lot. They are very receptive. The faculty are down to earth. The facility was also very impressive.
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Brand new dental sim labs
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The Penn faculty and staff were extremely kind and friendly. After my interview, I went to observe my friend who's a 4th year dental student at Penn in the main clinic. While I was there, three of the faculty members came up to me and started chatting. We talked about everything and anything from my interview and what I liked about Penn to their ages and how young they still felt :) It was pretty funny.
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The school really caters to the dental students and does a lot for them-the students were very happy! The curriculum was also very well tailored to the dental students. I was also very impressed by the Oral Medicine Clinic because I believe they are the only people in the country that have one?
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The school facilities & it's location
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The way community service is integrated into the program and the opportunities to go abroad.
-
Nice facility. many specialty programs. in a relatively nice area.
-
Everything except the main clinic(which is a huge open place kinda crowded) college campus is good and safe unlike I heard
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Although everyone seems to think this is the negative aspect of Penn, I really thought the facilities were nice. I liked the balance between clinical and research at the school.
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Possibility of merit-based scholarships for 1st year students; prestige of school; enrichment programs of curriculum (study abroad, externships, selectives program, etc.)
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The faculty/student interaction. the professors were all really friendly and seemed very approachable
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Awesome facilities and very cosy atmosphere. Plus the UPenn campus is beautiful
-
Everything, facility is new and nice. Philly is a great city. The staff and students were all awsome and very helpful.
-
The length of the course, fees is less comparitively n good pt exposure
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Everything. Faculty. Students. Atmosphere. Close to main campus. Living, retail, etc was close by.
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Faculty were extremely friendly. They make you feel very comfortable.
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Friendliness of admissions staff, faculty members, and students; great campus and program;
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants commonly expressed concerns about the high cost of tuition, outdated facilities, particularly in the basement where D1 and D2 students spend much of their time, and a sense of dissatisfaction with the school's focus on specialization over general practice. Suggestions for improvement included modernizing facilities, addressing safety concerns in the surrounding area, and enhancing the overall student experience to justify the high tuition costs.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Nothing!
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The extreme cost
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Nothing
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Nothing at all
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N/a
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Tuition, Pre-clinic area
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Cost is high (Already knew that); safety level of the location - outside of university bubble can be a little "sketchy"
-
Nothing. One of my interviewers was very talkative but I enjoyed it because she was talking about a program at UPenn that I was really interested in.
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The majority of the facilities are very poor and run-down.
-
Smaller clinical areas, students have to share chairs in clinic.
-
The old facilities. However, dental education first needs a good curriculum and good faculty and UPenn has that.
-
I didn't like the facilities in the basement or the main student clinic. And I'm not a huge fan of Philly and the weather there. It's also expensive.
-
The basement...
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Classrooms in basement were kinda small but not too bad. At lunch, one dental student told us that there was a stabbing on campus and someone also got beat up behind the dental school. She said safety wasn't that much of a concern but this made me think otherwise. School and city are kind of expensive.
-
D1 and D2 students spend time in basement. Classrooms look old.
-
D-1 and D-2 lecture halls and pre-clinic labs are in the basement of the building which has no windows and no cell phone reception; tuition is one of the highest in the country; cost of living in Philly is higher than where I'm from (midwest); school seems to push specialization over private practice
-
The very old facilities, the heat wave in the basement, and how they kept talking up the fact that all the schools were located in the same area on campus and that doesn't occur too often...
-
Never liked Philadelphia...
-
The school is old. If felt like the facilities were sufficient but it seems like they could afford to modernize things a bit. It also seems like the school is in a little bit of turmoil with a new dean and heard several students complain about it.
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"The dungeon", mainly because it was so hot!
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Very few units in the sim lab (they did say they were planning to add more though); the BASEMENT that you're stuck in for the first 2 years - a heat wave hits you when you walk down, and you just feel clustered in it
-
The facilities in the basement, the claustrophobic feel complete with the cinder blocked walls, the feeling that dental school was not a high priority to Penn (as opposed to the Wharton bldg or even the library).
-
The facilities are a bit out dated when compared to some of the newer schools
-
The location.. i dunno if Philly is the place for me. School is great but do i really want to live here for the next 4 years? :?? My grandma was with me after the interview.. and we explored the city.. some dude tried to pickpocket her on the trolley.
-
The tuition and cost of living. 1st and 2nd year facilities are unimpressive.
-
When I interviewed, the students giving the tour had a very VERY negative attitude towards the school and towards the interviewees. One of them was a short korean girl and was a first year at the time. "Everyone and their mom comes here wanting to do orthodontics" she said. " You better hope you get a chair in clinic" "You have to find your own patients so you better start paying the bums off the streets" What a turn off!
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Not enough chairs for everybody. Hot basement where you live for the first two years.
-
Well nothing impressed me negatively but the tuition is awfully high.
-
Cab driver being late and bringing me to a wrong place...
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The tour guide seemed cocky (subtly), which rubbed me the wrong way
-
Cost $_$ not enough students to talk to (but the handout of email addresses they gave is really helpful)
-
The facilities were a mix of some brand-new and mostly out-of date clinics, beautiful museum-like architecture, and then there's the "dungeon" where they have their sim labs, preclinic, and lectures. The dungeon was a really big turn off and I would think they could afford to renovate it. I wasn't completely convinced their education was worth the high tuition, especially if you aren't committed to specializing. Students complained a little about having to find chairs for patients.
-
The school's facilities. The freshmen and sophomores basically live in the basement which is old and so hot! The pre-clinic is outdated. They are in the process of remodeling all of their clinics, but I was not even impressed by the remodeled ones. The main clinic is huge and so loud. It does not seem like there is any privacy and I was not impressed by it, despite its new look and equipment.
-
The student tourguide was "pessimistic," as he said. he was very honest with his opinions of the school and reaffirmed some of the things I had heard. for example, there aren't enough chairs in the clinic years (apparently a big complaint here). also letter grades are awarded (not P/F) and only the top 10 students are ranked in each class, which I found very strange and could foster a competitive atmosphere. overall, the class size seemed too big for the facilities, and i never got the sense that the students were all that happy there. lastly, philadelphia didn't impress me much.
-
Nothing. even the tuition seems worth it considering some of the other options out there
-
Nothing in particular
-
Students seemed to have had a bit of an ego
-
Very busy, fast-paced campus. I was expecting a low-key, tranquil ''ivy league'' experience with classical music playing in the background and surrounded by gothic architecture, but being on campus is like being in downtown Philly. Not a bad part of town necessarily....just busy and loud.
-
None
-
The classroom's were nothing special. They didn't really show us the clinic but ran us through it. It was hard to make a solid impression on the facilities.
-
Tuition is expensive.
-
Parts of Penn still look anitquated.
-
The rooms where they have lectures..looked very small and old to me...
-
The basement - the ceiling is so close to your head and it's made of big dirty pipes. I've also seen nicer (brighter, more up-to-date) first year clinic labs. They are renovating, though.
-
"The Dungeon" - Its everything that I have read it would be: dark and old. That being said they are supposed to be renovating it as well.
-
Facilities seemed a little older; students seemed slightly less than happy; but we caught them on a day they were having a practical so maybe that's why...
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The tour guide was very negative and discouraging I felt. Also students were stressed out and there seemed to be high level of cut throat competition among them.
-
The dungeon or where the D1 and D2 spend most of their time.
-
Not very much, but the costs might be a little high if anything.
-
The pre-clinic lab and lecture rooms are in the basement. Which seem to be a common thing among dental schools.
-
The interview didn't really answer my Q's, he just promoted the school and basically made me feel my questions were unimportant.
-
The presentations at the beginning of the day were a little off-putting... I was so taken aback that I started counting how many times they referred to Penn as "the leader," "#1," or "the premier dental school." It's an excellent school, but enough is enough. Some of the facilities are in the basement (apparently you spend your first 2 years down there) which was a little depressing.
-
They do not videotape lectures or podcast them whereas other schools do.
-
Tuition and cost of the school
-
Expensive, W. Philly is a bit sketchy, it was raining, and 1st and 2nd years spent most of time in basement
-
Realizing that 300k is gone. First years begin their life literally in the basement of Penn Dental. Got lost around the campus though.
-
The fact that some students don't graduate on time because they have not performed all of the required procedures.
-
The Facilities, clinics and equiptment are very old. The new clinal foor is very open and there seems to be no order in its layout.It looked very disorganised. There did not seem to be very many patients.
-
Very very old university, very bad location of the university,it is not worth to apply
-
Location of the school - the tour guide (a 4th year student) also said that because the school is located in a low-income area, the student don't get the best type of patients - patients have no shows sometimes. the lecture hall looks a little shady. the information session was not very informative.
-
Summer program fees 17 000usd
-
I learned that the first two years of dental school will be spent in the basement!
-
How they stick the 1st and 2nd years in the basement which has no windows...
-
Some old facilities
-
Facilities are old...
-
Management was not as organized as i thought it would be. students were stressed and very unhappy.
-
The tuition...but I already knew about that when I was applying
-
Dental students were not happy. They said faculty and staff sell the school very well but are not as nice once you are in the school.
-
Nothing as such.
-
$$$ it's a nit expenseive. but the good news was it's cheaper than Michigan out of state, and it's a better school
-
I loved the School, i want to be a part of Upenn.
-
The area is probably not one of the best as far as safety. Although not as bad as Temple Dental School. Center City was really nice though and the downtown area.
-
They have the new DentSim machine which seems really nice...but their clinic chairs and othe facilities seem pretty old - i heard they are upgrading soon though
-
Nothing really.
-
Location.some parts of upenn give an antique look.
-
They have the somewhat old-fashioned view that dentistry is for some reason its own science completely unrelated to the systematic body; dental school is away from med school, students stay in it all day, little scientific integration. Also, VERY expensive, but chances for a dean scholarship.
-
It costs sooooo much
-
Some of the clinics need some work. But, construction is being done. Also, the highest price tag on the planet.
-
We couldn't look at the main clinic in action because they were preparing the room for the NER licensing exam.
-
Honestly nothing
-
Hmm... price point?
-
The introductory video was not even played to it's full length & Made to sit in a freezing cold room with no alternative/ back up arrangement.
-
Nothing i didn't already know
-
Just the 12 interview-ees who were there with me were insanely- 'proper' with 3 masters a peice speaking way too seriously, using big words to impress the dental students who were so chilled. also, the administration flaunts the 'ivy league' aspect too much
-
$$$$$$$
-
Cold weather but it's nothing I couldn't adapt to.
-
The interviewer did not pay enough attention to my answers.
-
Cost
-
I did'nt like the old building alot..
-
Rough neighbourhood areas...although the staff did stress in their talks about the security features
-
I don't like Philly. No offence to the urbanites of Philly, but being in a dense city where 2 blocks in all directions around the campus is considered the ghetto isn't exactly my cup of tea.
-
The Basement! It really is as bad as people describe!
-
Neighbourhood around the school is unsafe.
-
The labs in basement are claustrophobic.
-
The interview is freakishly long
-
The basement is ugly ;P The tuiton =(
-
The clinic was crowded and individually sectioned off...so it seemed more like a zoo. THe DentSim lab was not very impressive..very small and clausterphobic.
-
Not much
-
Some parts of the school were a bit old and claustrophobic - although they said that they are trying to remodel and renovate the rest of the school.
-
Not enough chairs in clinic; high faculty to student ratio in clinical classes
-
Just the thought of having to move so far from current location.
-
COST!!! Penn is very expensive. The one pre-clinical lab is pretty crappy. You think Penn, with all of its funding, would improve this facility, but it is really old.
-
The traffic was BAD, suppose to be 5 min travel turn out to be half an hour!
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They kept saying that they were the best and that if we got rejected it didnt mean that we were bad, but we should try other schools.
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The possible neighborhoods to live in if you want to be close to campus. Adjacent apartments looked ghetto/unsafe, and I grew up in a low-income neighborhood so I was used to that type of environment but some places were extreme esp. the drive from the airport. Even some of the dorms looked like they couldn't pass city codes.
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The information session given by Robert Emling was "over the top". Could I have been the only one embarrassed to sit through it? He was so melodramatic about the school, that I'm glad I had a seat towards the back. I couldn't keep a straight face. While obviously not very bright, he is still probably one of the friendlier people you're likely to ever meet. Corky Cacas did a good job with her intro speech, but in person she is an ice-princess. Some of there facilities are oldish; check out their lecture halls and the preclinic lab. Their main clinical lab feels like you're in a gymnasium.
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As compared to any other school other than ucsf ,this is the best!!
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DENTAL CHAIR SPACE AND AVAILABILITY.
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Old look to the school but i didnt feel the clinics were as old as some people have made them sound on SDN
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Weather!!
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Cold
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Nothing.
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Old equipment, some very arrogant students.. but I guess every dental school might have at least one or two.
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Tuition.
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Some lecture halls and other labs were very old
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It hurts to even think about the cost of tuition. But during our lunches, the students were honest in staying they felt the tuition is worth a well-rounded education at Penn, especially if you don't know what you want to specialize in the future. Penn offers strong programs in general dentistry, specialty, teaching, and research. But they weren't able to agree on the fact that Penn's tuition is worth paying if you KNOW you want to go into general practice.
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The students were somewhat pretentious-they kept on mentioning how great of a name Penn was and how they were going to do so well in life because they went to Penn. Also, the tuition made my eyes pop out.
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Tution
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I felt the college is preety old.
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Some of the facilities are old.
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Equipment old.
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No clinical resurch is being conducted, mostly pre-clinical, so if you are intrested in that, UPenn is not the place:(
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Main clinic
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They seemed to be obsessed with the fact that they were an ivy league school. Multiple times throughout the info session they kept on harping on the fact that Penn had an excellent name because it was an ivy and that's why it was a good school. I think that a school with a good name shouldn't have to tell their interviewees that over and over again.
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Clinics are not modern -- quite old actually; size of the school; COST
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The main clinic seemed too open to me. everyone was thrown into one room, with no walls... if you go, you'll see what i mean
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Tuition
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The location was depressing n the biuding looks old
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Poor clinic and hot basement; letter grade system
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Applicants commonly expressed that they wished they had known ahead of time about the relaxed and conversational nature of the interviews at UPenn. They also highlighted the importance of being well-prepared, including taking notes during presentations, being attentive, and staying relaxed throughout the day.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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If you have enough questions to ask, you can spend the whole interview asking them instead of answering questions from the interviewer.
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The interviewers are so chill
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How relaxed the interviews would be
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How relaxed the whole day would be
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To be relaxed totally.
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Come prepared to your fullest; show them you are attentive and focused by taking notes during their presentation. I did this.
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When you first enter the interview room - everyone looks very intense, within a few hours, you realize you are all the same
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I didn't realize that there was a closed-file interview. Also, the guideline of 30 minutes seems really short--most of my interviews ended up being closer to 45 minutes.
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The school is not medically based in the way Columbia, UConn, or Harvard are, although they try and compare themselves to these schools.
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You need to mail your transcript and bring a passport sized photo.
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The rigor of first and second year.
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I felt like I knew everything I needed to know.
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That we don't get much food for our lunch
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Not much. Very laid back day. Small group of applicants (only about a dozen). Pasta lunch was very oily though -- would recommend a different lunch order if possible.
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Somebody was going to come in and interrupt my second interview.
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Previous respondents (like from 2007 and 2008) said the school plans on renovating the labs, well I can tell you I saw no renovations in progress and the admissions office did not give ANY indication they were planning to renovate (and it's almost 2011). Self-guided walking tour takes longer than the 30 minutes they give you.
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That it is SO COLD in PA. :P
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How laid back the interview process was going to be.
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Nothing.
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My interviewer was awesome, just had a little bit of difficulty understanding his accent
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First year students stay in the same lecture hall all day-- the instructors travel. Penn has the exams staggered so there is only one per week.
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Penn does everything by snail mail!
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How laidback the interview experience would be
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Get a cab at least 30min before the interview... I was almost late as my cab picked me up late and the traffic was huge too. That made me more nervous than I was before.
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Everyone's interview day schedule is different, you may interview at 10AM or 2PM!
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Everyone says the process is lax, but it REALLY IS!!
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Nothing in particular
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That the interview was not stressful at all.
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That the 17th street is not marked I went from 16th street to 18th street and walked back to discover that the 17th street wasnt marked:->
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That my interview would be so relaxed and conversational. I was literally only asked a few standard questions. Mostly, I felt like I was being gauged on my personality and my ability to converse. A very positive experience - I really enjoyed it.
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None
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VERY laid back, probably spent more time preparing than I needed to
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That we shouldnt stay in a hotel located in the downtown area becos i was up all night as ppl were making so much noise and their were cop cars with sirens and all...i was so tired the next morning!
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SEPTA schedules and routes - public transportation options.
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Taxis are only about $26 to and from airport & UPenn. Philly is great - I wish I'd stayed longer.
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Not to freak out before the interview, because it really wasn't that stressful.
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A little piece of advice: pay attention to how you "feel" about the place. i had a hard time deciding between here & another school and stats-wise, they were SO on par; it really just came down to "where do you want to live & be?" - but I hadn't been thinking along those lines when I was there. after the formal stuff is over, walk around the school, walk around outside; see how you fit in/feel about being there.
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D1 and D2 live in a dungeon.
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Although this is an ivy league school, the staff and students are very very laid back and that I didnt need to be so nervous before hand. Also, if you are flying to upenn, then make sure to call a shuttle ahead of time to take you to and from the airport in philly. The shuttle is a lot cheaper than taking a cab!
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The electives that they promote so much are actually nothing, and are only about 3 hours long for one session...they are not actually courses you take for a whole semester...at least that is what the students told me.
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They offer Dean's Scholarships which are half-off on tuition to their top applicants! They talk about a "One Medicine" approach, but it seems like it is just rhetoric. Whether or not that is a good thing is up to you... Of the three Ivy League schools, this is the largest and most clinically focused. You have to send them your transcripts from every school, seems a little redundant since AADSAS has them.
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Taking the SEPTA to the school is really easy from almost anywhere in Philadelphia and MUCH cheaper than a taxi.
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Rain...bring an umbrella.
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That my SDN is wrong and my interview ended up being stressful. Other than that, Penn was what I expected it to be.
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N/a
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High cost of the program about $200000. they will charge you for the summer program too, and it's not written on their website(about $20000)
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More about the history of philadelphia.
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Don't rely on mapquest. they already give out all their spots for merit scholarships
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They give prepferance for ethnic variety to merit, unless u r extremely meritorious, say, 300, 4.0, 99 is the only cake walk situation
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The first and second year students "live" in the basement.
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How nice everyone would be..
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Shouldn't have stayed in downtown Marriott. They had very bad service. Also the library where they gave the introduction and where we had lunch was a bit cold. I think they had the AC on because it was a bit warm that day.
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That you needed to take your original transcripts with you for the interview.Dr lopez is nice and not the way people make her out to be
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History of penn
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If you decide to stay in the suburbs with a relative or friend, leave 2-3 hours ahead of time. I left Collegeville at 7:30 and got to Penn Dental at 9:45. I completely missed the information session but was on time for the actual interview with Dr. DeRossi-an awesome guy! He was so friendly and relaxed. The interview was the easiest part of the trip to Philly, so I wish I hadn't worried so much!
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Unhappy students.
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To be less nervous and give proper reasons abt wot is written on my resume n SOP.
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That i was going to be laughing the whole interview.
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Read the history of Philadelphia
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I wish I was more hungry! They had wonderful lunch prepared for us. I wasn't that hungry, i wish i was...hmmm
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That there was some medical convention going on and all the good hotels were full.
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That there would be a public transit strike and cabs are expensive (lots of traffic)! Bring LOADS of money for your trip.
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Don't stress out at all
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That I could have taken the subway to downtown from the Penn campus.
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The amazing community service opportunities
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That this interview was going to be a very laid back experience
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All the amazing international research opportunities!
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There are lots of pretenses and arrogance about the whole place under the veneer of niceness.
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Where the parking lot was, i kept circling fresh grocer not knowing that the fresh grocer parking lot = penn parking lot
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That its way more intimidating. if you have an interview, it means you have a damn good chance of getting in- dont feel threatened by other students.
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How stress free the interview was. The professor who interviewed me was very friendly.
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Interviewer could be a science professor, not a dentist. Since I assumed he was a dentist, I made a small mistake.
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I really wish I knew how stress free it would be. I tried to think of every question in the book that they may have asked me. It wound up being much less intense than I had expected.
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Upenn was not my first choice before I had interviewed. Now it is my first choice...
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The population base and standard of living is painful.
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I wish I checked the weather..it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella!
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They ask you not to say the answers you prepared but "be yourself".
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Pitt has PBL in their 2nd year
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Nothing really just be yourseld and you'll do fine.
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Penn is much more academic than clinical....
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That the campus is so large.
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None really
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Nothing
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It took forever to get to penn campus
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Take every single original copy, including your 10th and 12th marks cards
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UPenn doesn't look unfavorably on people who have applied to medical school.
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That it would take FOREVER before you get any courtesy feedback regarding your application and post-interview status (i.e., whether denied, accepted, waitlisted, still in limbo, lost your file, etc.). It's been 5 months now and not even a postcard or letter indicating what happened to your file. My friend who interviewed early last year is also kept in the dark. Dog ate our files? Well, we're picking from a better set of schools to go to anyway (like Columbia or Harvard, well-known Ivy leagues that don't have to keep pointing it out) rather than wait on our bottom choices---besides we'd rather go to even non-ivy league schools that have their act together than Penn. Called several times and same story---the adcom hasn't met yet or made a decision yet, blah blah blah. At least other schools let you know what's going on! I wouldn't have wasted my time and money to go on the interview if I've known how scattered brain they were.
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Wow, it get's cold in Philly! I didn't feel particularly very stressed at this interview, but I must have been. By the end of the day, my palms were sweating worse than I've ever experienced. It was rediculous; I'd wipe my hands on my pants and they were immediately glistening with sweat a second later. I have to figure out how to relax more!
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That it was all going to be soooooooo laidback.
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How informational the interview would be. It was just a conversation where i answered a few questions and he actually answered more questions for me.
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I was well prepared. I read the information in Dr. Kanani's guide which covered interviewing very well. I also did a mock interview with Dr. Kanani to practice for the real thing. It helped a lot.
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Not stressful at all. Just be yourself and be confident.
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That it's on the undergrad campus and that the interview would be so laid back. I was very very very nervous going in, and my interviewer and I had a very laid back chat.
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They want you to know everything about the school ( in which year was it founded,who founded it etc )
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Center City is really nice but the part upenn is in is not so nice.
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School is very expensive. old equipment (that's what students there told me)
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Nothing i did quiet a bit of research before the interveiw
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That quite a few people specialize out of Penn. (40% specialize; 40% pursue an advanced education of some sort; and 20% enter private practice)
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The directions to my hotel through yahoo maps did not work... it told me to exit off an exit that no longer existed!
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I wish i was prepared to see the school surronding so bad coz it was totally depressing after which i din't feel like going there. if u don't expect u will find it fine esp with ivy league
🤝 Campus and Facilities ▼
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
How would you rate the Location and Cultural Life?
0 = Low, 10 = High
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggest that the admissions office should communicate more via email, rather than relying on traditional mail, and also provide clearer instructions and directions for applicants. Additionally, some applicants suggest improvements to facilities and interactions during the interview process.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Nothing
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I thought they did a great job of communicating with applicants and making the day run smoothly. Everyone from admissions was very kind!
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N/a
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Keep up the good work
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Save trees, use email
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Make it more clear that you are only corresponding via mail. Some of my fellow pre-dents had no idea that they got an interview invitation until weeks after it was sent.
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Directions to the admissions office, allowing students to confirm the interview via email since fax is not reliable.
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Please renovate pre-clinical labs.
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Please start communicating by other means than snail mail.
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Switch from using snail mail to phone call....
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Give 5 min. bathroom breaks!
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Very friendly, nice people
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No suggestions - just wanted to say a quick thanks for providing breakfast!
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I thought the self-guided tour was a little pointless.
-
When I interviewed, the students giving the tour had a very VERY negative attitude towards the schoo
-
None.
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Self guided tour in the middle of the interview day was kind of lameeeee
📍 Travel and Logistics ▼
Airports Used
✈️
PHL
62% interviewees used PHL (PHL), with 8% using Philadelphia (Philadelphia) and 5% using phl (phl) and 5% using Philadelphia International Airport (Philadelphia International Airport) and 5% using Philadelphia International (Philadelphia International) and 3% using Phi (Phi) and 3% using BWI (BWI) and 3% using Philadelphia international (Philadelphia international) and 3% using Philidelphia International (Philidelphia International) and 3% using Delta (Delta) and 3% using Philadephia (Philadephia).
What was your primary mode of transportation?
Most interviewees traveled by airplane to the interview.
✈️
63% Airplane
🚗
23% Automobile
🚆
9% Train or Subway
🚲
4% Other
Hotels Recommended by Other Interviewees
Most interviewees stayed at the Sheraton (average ranking 8.4/10), with some staying at Sheraton University City (average rating 10/10). (Top 3 displayed)
🏨
Sheraton
8.4/10
🏨
Sheraton University City
10/10
🏨
Courtyard Marriot Downtown
9/10
What was the cost and time spent traveling?
Cost: Low Cost to High Cost
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents are out of state students.
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either Hotel or at a hotel.
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by a Student
Admissions staff (2%)
Faculty member (2%)
Other (1%)
Student (95%)
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
Discouraging (7%)
Enthusiastic (77%)
Neutral (16%)
All Responses
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