Applicants generally found the school to be great with positive comments about the curriculum, faculty, and facilities. Some mentioned concerns about high cost of attendance and interview structure, with suggestions for interviewers to read applicants' files and for applicants to be prepared for situational questions.
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Great school! Wish the COA wasn't so high
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It seems like a good school but what it lacks in luster is made up with the curriculum and faculty.
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Great experience, great food, nice faculty members.
Then interview itself is structured and not conversational but they manage to make it chill
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I really enjoyed my interview day, I really like the school and the public transportation in the area is magnificent!
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A relatively comfortable day with a great informational session.
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Amazing school!
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Interviewers were very friendly, all the students were very willing to help answer any questions I had.
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Good school. Memorable time. Good luck to future interviewees! Hope this helps y'all.
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I would be happy here.
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I love this school and everyone is so friendly! Beautiful city also and a lot to do around here. I also have friend as dental students and they are all so nice and helpful. I get a very good vibe every time I interact with someone there.
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Overall I have to say that the University of Minnesota is a great school. The faculty and administration really care about their students. The school has fantastic facilities, incredible technology, and a good focus on research.
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UMN is a very good school and your impression of the school will only get better once you visit the school yourself in person. Other than the horrible weather in winter, UMN is the way to go.
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I am not much of a city dweller, so I am not excited at the prospect of commuting by bus, or paying huge sums of money for apartments close to the school.
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Be confident and God spede !!
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Go prepared. I met many students who were reapplying for the same school. Expose yourself to many situational questions. Show enthusiasm and be true to yourself and you should be fine.
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Looks like a great school, in a great location.
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Its a great school
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Seems like a nice school with plenty of resources but the area makes me feel a bit claustrophobic!
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Do not get me wrong. This is an excellent school. I am just slightly frustrated with the admissions planning and execution of the interview day. Still my number one choice.
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Definitely surpassed my expectations. Didn't think i'd like it as much as I did. I would now rank this school above Harvard and Columbia as my top choices (in terms of cost/facilities)
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Not impressed. Their interview made me feel uncomfortable, not welcome. Their financial situation makes me feel uneasy. I about large tuition increases and faculty salary cuts when I would be handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars. When I am paying that much, I really should only have to worry about my next exam.
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Great school, clinical exposure and only 10 students in your class , which makes more emphasis on the students.
by the way i got acceptance from this school too.
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Be prepared to have at least 10+ life experiences to draw from to answer the questions in the interview. They ask almost all situational questions. Its two on one as well as closed file so they (the interviewers) don't know anything about you. They are looking for people who are mature, have life experiences and lots of experience working in a team and with people.
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The IV process is smooth but the day is longgg indeed. There is nothing to be apprehensive about three interviewers! Just be yourself and earnest.
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Great interview, really loved the school!
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They are also letting applicants test out the sim clinic on interview day. For our group, the study coordinator was absent to we get to schedule a later day to do this.
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Very short interview, took a tour of the school, watched a student work on patients, then had a lunch.
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Very friendly and relaxed. Definitely a ''get to know you'' (as opposed to interrogation) style interview.
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Arrived at the school. Went to a room for interviewees. Sat there waiting to be called by my interviewer. My interviewer came and we went to her office to interview. Came back to room, went to lunch, went on tour, dismissed for the day.
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My interviewer sat at his desk with his back/side to me. i was put in a chair in the ''corner''. the questions were highly redundant it was obvious that my file had never been read (although most other interviewers at the U of MN pre-read the students' files). at one point, my interviewer made (not took) a personal call - which took 10 minutes of our time. by the end of the interview, i didn't know if the U of MN was the place for me and i couldn't think of any convincing reasons why i wanted to go there
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One on one; my interviewer had my file handy and referred to specifics several times; questions focuesd heavily on public health issues/empathy
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Interview was a little tough, the rest of the day was great.
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Awesome. Loved the school. Interviewer was great.
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The interview itself was quite straightforward and had a very relaxed feel to it. The tour guides were very helpful and the school did a very good job at selling itself. Definitely my #1 choice, should I be accepted.
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The day was well planned by the admissions staff. Although they asked some pretty difficult questions, the overall experience was very laid back. I got the feeling students are genuinely happy here and the profs really want students to succeed.
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Overall it was positive. I really liked the school and met some really cool people (mostly other interviewees.) The sim-clinic is brand new and looks awesome. No one said anything negative about the school, they all said it was great. There was ample chairs for everyone. Great school.
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The guy interview me, Dr. Raj, was very laid back and I was comfortable talking to him so that helped a lot.
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The visted lasted an entire day. After the interview, I went to lunch with the other students and faculty, asked many questions, and then went on a tour of the Dental School.
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Great school, everyone seems very glad to be there, everyone was extremely friendly and willing to answer any questions
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I had a great time and met a lot of cool people. Basically, I listened to the faculty and staff in regard to the school and asked a few questions.
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My interview was a bit different than other people, it did not seem like a conversation no matter how hard I tried, the interviewer was set on the question and answer system. She read off a list and whenever I answered the question she moved on.
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It was must less intimidating than I prepared myself for....just remember,don't crack bad jokes
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The interview was not intimidating. The lunch they give is good and all of the people you come in contact with are very nice.
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Overall I thought the interview was great, very laid back, I was nervous when I first got the invite but was quite calm when in the interview.
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Postive. What a great university. The d4 I assisted with was very enthusiastic and pleasant. All the students were very upbeat and glad to be there.
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Overall the experience was positive, I was just a bit rattled that the interviewer hadn't read my application. Had I clarified that early in the interview, I probably would have answered questions differently. I felt they could have gotten MUCH more out of the interview and a much better comprehension of me as a person had we NOT spent 15 of the 30 min interview rephrasing rote answers that my application paperwork addressed. Minn Supplemental is LONG.
My advice for interviewers: Read the kids file.
My advice for interviewees: Don't worry about the pace with which you answer questions. Some will be slow, some will be fast. What's important is to be considerate, thoughtful, and measured.
Minn/StPaul is a beautiful part of the country if you like msquitos and snowballs.
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Interview was laid back and generally easy, trying to find out who you are as a person
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This was my first interview; so I didn't really know what to expect. I also didn't know what to expect about Minnesota in general - it wasn't one of my first choices before I visited. I stressed out about the interview way more than was necessary. The interviewer basically only asked me one question, and then we just BSed the rest of the time. The students who were involved with the tour were all ridiculously friendly, and I suspect honest - with the exception of the student I observed in the clinic who, although honest, seemed to hate his life. One thing that really pleased me was that they gave us the tour before we had to interview. Though not getting the interview over with early was stressful, it gave me the chance to really see what I liked about the school before I had to go in and talk about why I would want to go there. Also, it seemed like the students really had a sense of community - everyone knew everyone else by their final year. I didn't really meet any faculty, but the one research professor I met was amazing - I imagine she teaches too.
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The interview itself was not as intimidating as I had worked it up to be in my head, but I had an afternoon interview and I was nervous for the entire morning and afternoon. The tour guide and admissions office staff were very friendly and the interviewer was friendly as well. It was a conversational style interview and slightly awkward at times so I don't know if that's bad or normal.
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Laid back, friendly interviewer
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I felt that the interview went well. Minnesota does have more prerequisites than any other school I am applying to, which means a few classes next spring which I am not excited about (namely psychology!)
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It was good; it was a very casual conversation between the interviewer and myself.
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It was my first one, so it went well, but there was room for improvement. The lady after the interview said, quote, "Well, keep shopping!" Gee, thanks.
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It was good, but I really overprepared. They only asked me one question then the rest of the time was alloted to me asking them questions.
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My interview experience was in between "no change" and "positive." I had been told that the interview was very conversational, but sitting in there I wouldn't say it was easy by any means! The interviewer basically just went down a list of questions, each one being a pretty in depth question. It wasn't grueling, but just not as easy as I'd heard. Just being honest...don't worry if you know yourself and prepare for the interview on this website you'll do fine!
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See above
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All interviewees shadowed a 4th year as he/she worked on a patient. this was a great and informative. i had an opportunity to chat with one of the dentists who was helping students out and he seemed really, really caring, patient, and helpful. it would be great to be surrounded by faculty like him, and according to students, 90% of the faculty is fab. the interview was stressful in the sense it wasn't conversational. it was question then answer. new question then answer. new question then answer. not really my cup of tea, but i imagine some students prefer such a format.
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I think that I observed a bad apple in the program during the observation part of the tour. The student did not have anything good to say about the program or the school. But he also didn't seem very intelligent. This could have lead to the negative experience. I do know that they produce very excellent dental professionals
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I did the Early Admissions Program. I think they will only let you into it if you are a resident or from a neighboring state with a contract. Do EAP if you can, it will really help your chances at getting in. During the interview they just asked a list a general questions, nothing to personal.
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Overall, not very impressed with the school.
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I had a really wonderful time. The faculty and students were all very nice. We started with a comprehensive tour (with clinical observation), followed by an information session about financing dental school. We had lunch and then had the formal interview.
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Overall, it was positive. The interviewer was an older professor that makes you think of one's grandfather. The interview was relatively laid back...not as formal as I'd anticipated. At times, he'd say "I see you've done alot of research..." and then he'd pause and not say something like, "So tell me about that" or "What did you do" so I just would start talking about it even though he didn't necessarily ask...I assumed that was what he wanted with the pauses???
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Ok, nothing impressive, in one of te administrators office around a table.
