How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
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How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
No responses
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read over this website and McGill's website. Practiced answering questions. (I wasn't as prepared as I would have like, however, I found out about the interview last minute)
What impressed you positively?
I was impressed with the clinic's facilities (they weren't as old as I'd been led to believe). Also, everyone I met was extremely friendly and positive. They really make a huge effort for the process to be as un-stressful as possible
What impressed you negatively?
I agree with many of the dental students I talked to: spending your first year and a half in med school is a little much. Yes, it's important to understand the whole body as a dentist, but surely they could offer classes that cover medicine but from a dental perspective.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
A comment on this website led me to believe that the odds of getting in were greater than they actually were. It was a shock when I got there to find out that out of 150 out-of-province/international students, 50 are interviewed, and only 10 are accepted.
As well, I'd been led to believe that there would be no hypothetical questions (they kept going on about how they didn't do CDA format like Toronto and Western) and yet I ended up getting 3 hypothetical questions.
What are your general comments?
Montreal is as cold as they say it is.
The night before the interview, the Dental Student society holds a dinner for all applicants. This was a great way to ask questions of dental students from all years. Remember, you're there for 2-3 hours, so have lots of questions. Also, keep in mind that some of the students there will be carrying out the interviews - I ended up meeting and talking with the two students that interviewed me.
The day of the interview, they offer tours of the clinic in the morning and afternoon. The clinic at the hospital is a fair ways away from the school, but they explain that they schedule so that you're not constantly going between the two. The clinic itself is pretty small - there aren't enough chairs for all the students. Again, it was pointed out that at any given time there are students doing paperwork etc, so there's always room at the clinic. The pre-clinic is in the main school - there's flat screen t.v.'s at every row so that every student can get a close up live video of what the instructor is doing.
After the tour, I had lunch with all the other applicants. There's again students and professors to chat with. When you are called for your interview, a student will go with you and wait outside the door with you to help you relax and keep you company. The interview itself is very layed back. I was interviewed by a professor and two students (always at least one professor, and usually a student or a dental professional). I sat on a couch with the prof, and the two students on another couch across from me. It was more of a conversation than anything. The prof did most of the asking, although each student asked two or three questions at the end. Everyone was extremely positive and if this wasn't my very first interview, I would have been much more relaxed. They tell you that you should hear back from them in about a month's time. I was called by the Dean himself, 3 1/2 weeks after my interview. Although I didn't feel my interview went the greatest, I held my own, and I was accepted. I was told that the mark you recieve for the interview is just thrown into a calculation along with your marks and DAT scores, so, if you have the marks, then the interview isn't as important. Also, I was told that in a typical year, 2 to 3 people are accepted from the wait-list for out-of-province applicants.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
No responses
