Harvard School of Dental Medicine Individual responses

⭐ Overall Impressions ▼

How did the interview impress you?

Negatively

What was the stress level of the interview?

3 out of 10

How you think you did?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

3 out of 10

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

5 out of 10

💬 Interview Questions ▼

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

On a scale of 1 to 10, are you a lamb or a dictator, with 1 being the lamb?

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What are your hobbies?

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Why Dentistry and not Medicine?

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What was the most interesting question?

Why Dentistry and not Medicine?

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What was the most difficult question?

Why Dentistry and not Medicine?

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🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

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?

Neutral

How do you rank the facilities?

3 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

Out of state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

4-6 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

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?

Hotel

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

3 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

no

What is your ranking of this school's location?

5 out of 10

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

6 out of 10

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?

Website, SDN, talking to various people, ADEA booklet.

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What impressed you positively?

True Pass/Fail system

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What impressed you negatively?

Arrogance of majority of people, excessively small class size, weak dental curriculum

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What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

No responses

What are your general comments?

I went on my interview thinking that HSDM would actually be on par with the Medical School for which it is so famous for, but I am actually quite disappointed. The school itself is located in a very small, old building, its clinics tiny, and I am also not really too attracted/impressed with the PBL approach of the program. What really turned me off the most was the sheer arrogance of the majority of the folks there: when the admissions director first entered the room, the first thing out of her mouth was ''You should be proud of yourselves; you are actually at Harvard.'' I can't speak for others, but I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way, and the rest of the day was of a similar vein. The interviewers, the staff, and a lot of the students seem to have their noses pointed towards the sky. Not the kind of environment that I would feel comfortable or happy in. About the only good thing I can say for HSDM is that, because it does have ''Harvard'' in its name, you are pretty set for specialization. However, I found that the perception that HSDM trains weak clinicians to be quite accurate as well, because looking at their course schedule I can't see how one can learn that much clinical dentistry given that you don't pick up an instrument until your 3rd year and that actual clinical work seems minimal. Socially, whether or not Boston is an enjoyable place is entirely subjective. I personally am a warm-weather, mellow person, so I find a place where it can get so cold in the winter and so hot during the summer to be unbearable. Living in Boston will be expensive, and most of HSDM students appear to live in the Vanderbilt Dorm next to the school. It's convenient, but the rooms themselves are tiny, bee-hived, and are share-bathed. Living off-campus will be more expensive, and I suspect not much better. Overall, I'd say that this is probably most overrated dental school I have visited. For the price it's charging and the actual dental education one's getting, I just don't see any comparative advantage over any state school. It just seems too much of an after-thought of its med school brethren. Other than the name, there just really isn't much to it.

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What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses

Harvard School of Dental Medicine

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