University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Individual responses

⭐ Overall Impressions ▼

How did the interview impress you?

Negatively

What was the stress level of the interview?

5 out of 10

How you think you did?

No responses

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

No responses

💬 Interview Questions ▼

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

What was the turning point in your life that led you to pursue dentistry?

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Why dentistry and not medicine?

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Why Penn? What do you like about our school AGAIN besides re-emphasizing that they were ivy-league?

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What was the most interesting question?

Tell me about the country you grew up in and is your family supportive of your decision to go into dentistry?

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What was the most difficult question?

What have you learned during your experience shadowing a dentist?

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🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

1

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

📍 On-Site Experience ▼

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

No responses

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses

✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

SDN, Barron's guide to med and dent schools, other interviews (that are better organized and keep you informed on things)

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What impressed you positively?

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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What impressed you negatively?

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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What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

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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What are your general comments?

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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What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

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