New Orleans, LA
Dental Schools | Public Non-Profit
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Outstanding interview experience: exceptionally organized, highly professional staff, strong communication, and very low stress.
What was the stress level of the interview?
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
How did the interview impress you?
How you think you did?
What are your general comments?
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Very good school
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I arrived about 20 minutes early and waited in the administration lobby along with the other 5 interviewers. Dr. Weir came down to greet us and brought us up to our home base for the day. It is a medium sized conference room with a table that seats about 12. Dr. Weir spend about 20 minutes reviewing the different events that will take place throughout the day and goes over some financial aid information. He then briefly explain the chalk carving test, and then you begin carving chalk. Note: make sure you are well prepared for this, and be ready to overcome any discrepancies. For instance, I found that the chalk I practiced with was much easier to work with. Maybe it was older or stored in a area of high humidity. I don’t know but the chalk used during the interview was much harder and more brittle than the stuff used to practice with. When marking with the pencil on the practice chalk, a small indentation was formed from drawing my lines. Not so on the real stuff, the chalk had no give when drawing my lines. Also, the week leading up to the interview I practiced carving two pieces of chalk per day with no problem. After carving the one piece during the interview, I felt like my thumbs wanted to fall off. Next, I went on my 1-on-1 interview. This was a structured interview with 40-50 questions asked directly from a list. 90% of the questions are listed on the LSU pre-dental society website (predentlsu.com). Other questions asked included; have you ever felt guilty? Are you a perfectionist? Next, I was taken on a tour of the dental school. The faculty member giving the tour guide was very friendly and down to earth. We got to see floors 2-8, because the 1st floor and basement are under construction. don’t be afraid to ask questions. Then we had lunch with students at the dental school, one from each class level. Again, it was a relaxed atmosphere and the students were there to answer any questions. Finally, one by one we had our 3-on-1 interviews with the committee. This interview was less structured and more personalized, but still it felt relaxed. Be prepared to answer why you want to be a dentist. They may also also ask you to explain bad grades, what exposure you have had to dentistry (shadowing, working), and how you think you did on your chalk carving. Once you are done the 3-on-1 you are free to go. The main things are to stay relaxed, be honest, and practice your chalk carving.
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LSU is a great school that not many people know about. it has top notch facilities for a very low price. it is located in a great city with great culture and everyone is amazingly friendly. geaux tigers!
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I arrived at the school about 25 minutes early, which gave me time to introduce myself to two students who arrived before me. As the 25 minutes passed, the other 4 students arrived (7 total). Dr. Weir came out and introduced himself and started telling us all about the progress the school has made (which is evident while walking around). It didn't seem like two minutes had passed by the time we walked into the room where our chalk-carvings would take place. Dr. Weir briefly went over loan information, gave instructions on the chalk carving, and we began. I had practiced plenty of times before, which made this part a lot less stressful. Immediately following, 3 of us went on a tour while the 4 others were individually interviewed (1 on 1, structured interview). We came back from the tour and the other group left. The 1 on 1 was very structured - the professor read his questions right off the sheet he was given. There wasn't much communication between us other than his brief responses to my answers. I'm glad I prepared, though, because he asked me at least 50 questions, the vast majority of which are on the LSU Predental Society website. We returned for lunch, where 1 student from each class (D1 - D4) came and spoke with us. They answered our questions, but for the most part, they just hung out with us and told us to ''relax and be yourself.'' Once this hour was up, it was around 1:00 p.m. At this time, Dr. Weir walks in and lets us know the order in which the 3 on 1s will take place. Luckily, I was 2nd! I'd have volunteered to go first, though, because I HATE WAITING. There were only 7 of us, but I still felt bad for the last one! In no time, it was my turn and I walked into the room with the 3 interviewers. It was very businesslike, while not too stressful. This was unstructured; they asked me a couple of questions, most of which were personalized (DAT score, what I do with my free time, etc.) I expanded upon my answers and tried to bring a little bit of humor. Within no time, I was done!
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LSU interview 3 of every 4 Fridays starting in November, until the 60 spots are filled. Up to (and usually) 8 at a time. Dr. Weir sits everyone in a room and explains how the day will go. First a 20 minute talk about how you'll pay for dental school. They've never had a student drop out due to financial need. LSU is one of the most affordable schools in the country even for out of staters. Average graduating debt is high 70s - low 80s and gets paid off within the first couple years out of school even though they are low interest loans. 35 minute chalk carving. Practice at home for this with a thin pocket knife and triple sized chalk (available from OfficeDepot.com) - picture of carving on LSU predental society is a little deceiving. Google ''LSU chalk carving'' for a better picture of the shape to carve. Took about 10 minutes just to calm down during the carving test. Students split to tour the school (all 8 spacious stories of it) and do the 1-on-1 interview before lunch. 1-on-1 interview is with a professor and as mentioned, they grill you on every question found on SDN and LSU predentals website. Lunch lasts an hour and D3s and D4s come and hang out to eat with you and answer questions. This was very valuable, interesting, and encouraging. All that remains after lunch is the 3-on-1 interview, where Dr. Weir and 2 others sit on three chairs perched around a low lying couch and talk with each person for ~20 minutes. Every else just waits in the conference room and it sucks to go last. I got the feeling that the decision had already been made in my instance, cuz my 3-on-1 was hardly 10 minutes and they didn't ask me about the weaknesses in my application like I was expecting. The 3-on-1 is open forum and they ask whatever they want unlike the 1-on-1. My 3-on-1 felt like Dr. Weir was just bragging to the other 2 guys about me, which was great except that I didn't feel as in control of the room as I had syked myself up to be. Dr. Weir is one of the best things going for the school. You really get a feeling that the professors are not there to run a dental factory, but to help the students along. No hospitality like the south.
Length, number, and type of interviews
LSUSD-COMP interviews are an average of 40 minutes, with an average of 3.3 interviews. 48% of interviews are one-on-one, and 10% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
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The total time for interview was 8 hours including the chalk carving. There was both styles. A one-on-one and a three on one. On the one on one I was asked at least 30 questions. These question were given to me before the interview. Ex. If employee came in late how would you address him/her?
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See comments
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Why dentistry?
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Can you handle the same career for 30 years?
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Why do you want to be a dentist? Expect this to be the first question of the 1-on-1 and maybe the 3-on-1.
What was the most interesting question?
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What makes you mad/upset?
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What was the last idea you had?
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Can you make it through Dental School with a family?
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All interviewers seemed very interested that I played the cello. Probably just cuz they were board of the typical interview questions.
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Most of the questions asked are on the LSU pre-dental society website. One of the ones they asked that wasn't is when was the first time you had to take responsibility?
How did you prepare for the interview?
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Answered the questions before hand that was provided to me. The question where slightly altered. The is a chalk carving you must complete during the interview, so I practiced it before hand.
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SDN, practice chalk carving, check out practice inetrview questions on LSU pre-dental website predentlsu.com
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LSU predental website, SDN interview feedback, LSU SOD chalk carving webpage
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SDN, LSU Predental Questions, chalk carving diagrams
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SDN questions. LSU predental society website questions.
What was the most difficult question?
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What do you do when you are upset?
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What was the last thing you made with your hands?
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What is your purpose in life?
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A time that I have shown opposition the the cause of a minority.
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I didn't find anything difficult.
What impressed you positively?
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Faculty, staff, students, and the school itself.
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The whole interview overall was relaxed.
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The school seems very economically sound due to strong backing by the state. It has a very spacious, state of the art building, yet one of the lowest tuition pricetags out of any school. there are many renovations (and repairs) still going on (new $2mil auditoriums), with talks of a new bldg for research and a faculty practice. it has several branch clinics throughout LA where students rotate through during clinical years. The atmosphere was very laid back, the faculty seemed exceptionally friendly, and they are making a lot of positive changes. the curriculum is being revamped to reflect a more clinically relevant didactic education with a critical thinking focus. in the next few years a grand rounds type event may be implemented, which seems pretty cool. students also get a huge amount of clinical training here, starting in the 2nd year
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Everyone's enthusiasm and willingness to help. There is an obvious sense of community at this school. Also, the parts of the school that have completed construction look awesome.
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The amount of brand new equipment at the school and the heart of the professors wanting to help their students succeed.
What impressed you negatively?
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None
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Understandably, there is a lot of contruction going on. The 1st floor and basement of the school was flooded from hurricane katrina, so there is still work to be done. The 2nd floor and up is in great shape with renovations underway to some of the classroom auditoriums.
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There is a point system for clinical requirements, but it is equivalent to the market value of the procedure. so in essence, you can't graduate until you earn 30,000 points aka make $30,000 for the school. i find this very strange and exactly opposite of what the educational focus should be for a school. patients should not be viewed as walking dollar signs. students should not be encouraged to recommend more procedures than are necessary in order to get graduation requirements, just as a dentist shouldnt recommend an unnecessary more expensive procedure just for the cash. patients first. also, there didn't seem to be many opportunities for community service, which is surprising given the amount of severe need in the state.
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There are still areas of construction, but this is something they're actively working on.
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Massive reconstruction on nearly every floor. Located in an iffy part of town.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
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I was well prepared.
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Nothing that hasn't been mentioned already on SDN, or the LSU pre-dental website.
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Just more in general. there isn't much information about the school online
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Just how intense the 3 on 1 is! They aren't out to get you, but don't think for one second that they're not trying to see how you handle stressful situations!
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I wish I had known that every single question (~90) would be asked. There's a 1-on-1 interview where a random faculty member goes down the list of questions one after the other for about an hour. Every question I had found on SDN in regards to LSU was asked.
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Airports Used
100% interviewees used MSY (MSY) .
What was your primary mode of transportation?
Most interviewees traveled by automobile to the interview.
Hotels Recommended by Other Interviewees
Most interviewees stayed at the Parc St Charles (average ranking 10/10), with some staying at Marriott (average rating 10/10). (Top 2 displayed)
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