How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.79 | 39 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 40 |
| Negatively | 1 |
| No change | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.90 | 39 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.19 | 31 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.74 | 31 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 4 |
| Virtual | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 13 |
| 15 minutes | 20 |
| 20 minutes | 2 |
| 25 minutes | 2 |
| 30 minutes | 0 |
| 35 minutes | 1 |
| 40 minutes | 1 |
| 45 minutes | 0 |
| 50 minutes | 0 |
| 55 minutes | 0 |
| 60+ minutes | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 39 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 16 |
| In a group | 21 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 13 |
| Closed file | 25 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.79 | 39 |
"What is something not included in your application that you would like the admissions committee to know about you?"
"Tell us about yourself and why dentistry"
"Tell me a time when you failed."
"Tell us about yourself"
"Why dentistry and what have you done to explore it?"
""Tell us about yourself..." "
"Tell us a bit about yourself."
"Why UT?"
"why dentistry and what have you done to explore dentistry?"
"Why do you want to be a dentist?"
"Why dentistry? "
"Why do you want to be a dentist and what have you done to investigate the field."
"Why dentistry and what have you done to investigate the field?"
"Why do you want to become a dentist"
"Why do I want to be a dentist?"
"What do you do on your free time?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"What are your hobbies?"
"Name a book you've recently read and what you've gained from it. "
"Why dentistry"
"Why do you want to be a dentist and what have you done to explore the field of dentistry?"
"Why did you really choose dentistry?"
"What are some of your strenths?"
"Why dentistry?"
"What are your goals outside of dentistry? "
"What would you do if you received a low grade on an exam or practical?"
"If you didn't get in this cycle, what would you do?"
"how do you handle stress"
"Tell me a time when you struggled with your leadership skills."
"What was your most challenging subject?"
"Why UT?"
"Do you have any questions for us?"
"do you have any questions for us"
"Tell me about your volunteering experiences"
"Tell us about yourself."
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"What have you done to explore the field of dentistry?"
""...and why dentistry?""
"How will you stay motivated to work hard and keep up your grades here?"
"Describe yourself?"
"What did you do to explore dentistry?"
"What have you done to investigate the field?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"What do you like to do in you're spare time "
"What did I do on my free time?"
"Why dentistry?"
"What are your strenghts/weaknesses?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years."
"Did you observe with other dentisits in specialties or just the one dentist?"
"Why did you choose Washington University (my undergrad school)?"
"last book you read and it's influence"
"What do you do in your free time?"
"Do you do anything that involves your hands?"
"Play any musical instruments?"
"What manual dexterity skills do you have? "
"What would you do if you were really struggling in one of your classes here. How would you remedy the situation?"
"How do you plan to balance your personal life and academics while in dental school?"
"What 3 qualities should a dentist have?"
"how do you stay organized"
"What are some characteristics that you believe a dental student should have?"
"Tell us more about ____________."
"You just finished a PAR exam, what do you to relax?"
"What are your hobbies"
"Tell us about your shadowing experience."
"In one sentence discribe yourself."
"What do you not like about dentistry? (Something you learned maybe through Shadowing)"
""What did you do to explore dentistry?""
"Why dental school instead of med?"
"Tell me about what you have done to explore the field of dentistry."
"What do you do in free time?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"What do you bring to the table?"
"What is one thing that you don't like about the profession?"
"I had taken the MCAT two years before I had taken the DAT, but I didn't decide to pursue a MD career (for various reasons, like I talked to some MDs and they told me to get out while I still could). So the interviewers asked my what was the deal with that. I just told them the real reasons for wanting to take the MCAT and then why I wanted to take the DAT. I was honest about my reasons and the interviewers seemed to like my responses. "
"What have I done to improve my manual dexterity?"
"Can't think of a 3rd one."
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What book have you read recently."
"Asked about volunteer experiences."
"what did you do to increase manual dexterity."
"Why did you choose the University of Tennessee?"
"Tell about your best quality."
"Why dentistry?"
"What do you do for rest and relaxation?"
"How do you relive stress?"
"Tell me about an ethical dilemma you experienced."
"Have you ever felt you were treated unfairly, and how did you overcome?"
"(regarding my app) How do i handle difficult situations with a person/customer when there is conflict?"
"What's your favorite dental procedure?"
"What do you do to relax. For me, after a big test like that, I would isolate myself for around 30 minutes to gather my thoughts and then go out and celebrate that we're done with it. They seemed taken aback by the thought of a person doing that and I imagine they expected "go out and party it up with the group" or something along those lines."
"It was more just a conversation. We talked about animals a lot."
"So you play (insert instrument here)?"
"Discuss a failure of yours."
""So how did you end up in Tennessee?" "
"What did you encounter in the field of dentistry that you did not expect during your exposure to the career of dentistry (ie. during your time shadowing, assisting, etc)?"
"describe yourself"
"I was asked only three questions... Why do you want to be a dentist? What did you do to explore dentistry? and What do you do for fun?"
"Nothing besides the usual..."
"I was asked about my hand-eye coordination in regards to my current job and sports background."
"It was totally laid back. They just opened the floor up to me and asked me to discuss why I want to be a dentist and what I've done to investigate the field. They also asked me what types of work and activities I like to do with my hands."
"How do you approach adversities?"
"Why I wanted to be a dentist, and what quality or characteristic I would most like to change about myself."
"Had I ever considered medical school in the past?"
"Tell us about your life experiences."
"No questions were unexpected. They were all really straight forward and easy!"
"None. They were all basic questions.. Where do I see myself in 10 years, Why do I want to become a dentist.. Nothing I haven't heard before. "
"How did you come top choose dentistry as a career?"
"What do you like to do in your free time?"
"Have you shadowed general dentists because you will likely not have high enough grades to specialize and will end up a general dentist."
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"I majored in a technical field- explain what your major is."
"Tell me about a book that you recently read and how it affected you as a person."
"One of the interviewers asked what the last book i read was."
"Tell us about the time you spent on a nuclear submarine while you were in the U.S. Navy."
"What was the last book you read"
"The interview was very straight forward. No crazy questions. "
"What are three qualities of an good dental student."
"n/a"
"Do you feel ready for dental school?"
"Do you have any questions for me? This was the most difficult for me because I went in with around 15 questions I wanted to ask, but he answered over 12 of them before the interviews started. I was fumbling for the 3 remaining I had but it turned out alright."
"nothing really difficult"
"None. Easiest interview i've had."
"Is there something about dentistry you do not like?"
"What do you like to do for fun."
"What do you not like about dentistry?"
""Tell us about yourself" is so open-ended... I had a hard time with it. "
"Why dental instead of med? Dr. Coleman really grilled me on this one because I had previously taken the MCAT and applied to med school last year. But I gave them an honest answer. They just wanted to make sure I had made up my mind on which career I really wanted."
"describe yourself"
"None of the questions were difficult"
"No difficult questions :)"
"nothing"
"What quality I would most like to change about myslef."
"They were all really easy to answer questions...The committee already thinks you have what it takes on paper, that's why you were asked to interview. The purpose of the interview is really just to get to know you better and see if you would be a good fit for their program."
"None"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
""Tell me about yourself." Be prepared to talk b.s. for couple of minutes describing yourself. "
"What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?"
"last book I read and how it influenced me. It was a question that caught some people off guard."
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Not really any difficult questions."
"There really weren't any. Tell me why you REALLY want to be a dentist....they didn't want you to be anything but totally honest."
"None of the questions were difficult. There were just the run of the mill questions."
"What are some of your best qualities? (it's always been hard for me to say stuff like this)"
"Nothing difficult. What are your interests? How do you have fun. simple stuff."
"Mock interview questions with a partner, read SDN, spoke to several current students and alumni"
"SDN, practice questions, other interviews"
"Read SDN, practice basic interview questions, watch videos on tips/advices"
"Read the website."
"Reading SDN, www.reddit.com/r/dentalschool, and other interview prep forums"
"mock interviews at the school I graduated from"
"I read my PS and SDN."
"SDN and Practice interview questions."
"SDN interview feedbacks and DMDstudent.com interview questions"
"Minimal preparation for the interview. I rehearsed sample answers in my head, but none of the questions came up. I made sure to prepare a question to ask them during the interview, and they had great feedback to my question."
"SDN interview feedback."
"website and other predents and dental students"
"Books and other students that had been interviewed."
"SDN network, talking to other students, writing out the answers to typical questions, going to an interview coach"
"The same way you are preparing right now."
"Looked at this website--SDN, talked with a dentist that graduated from there a few years ago, thought about my responses, etc."
"SDN, looked at website, talked to students who previously interviewed there"
"Went to my school's AED mettings, this website."
"I used this site, and friends from undergrad that go there."
"SDN and with the help of friends."
"I looked at this website and wrote down answers to possible questions. Not anything crazy"
"This site. Fellow pre-dental students and dental students."
"Other interviewees and this website."
"Though about how to answer common questions."
"looked at this website that Alan T. Mann showed me and had interviewed once already."
"Reviewed the schools and this website."
"Thought about possible questions the night before."
"I had taken an interview class to ease some fears in undergrad; once I had gotten the letter inviting me to the interview I looked at some facts about the school itself."
"I didn't prepare at all."
"Reviewed the UT Memphis website, thought of answers to potential questions, and reviewed SDN."
"I just read some prior interview experiences on this site and I thought of how I would answer potential questions"
"I didn't "
"How kind, relaxed, and friendly the staff and students were during the whole process."
"How kind and encouraging the interviewers were, as well as the director"
"how friendly everyone was"
"Friendly staff and faculty"
"Everyone was very direct yet very relaxed. They didn't do anything to try and cause people to be anxious. The Dunn building and the dental sim labs are awesome."
"The friendliness of the faculty was very well appreciated! The DentSim Lab is the largest in North America and very impressive, the enthusiasm of the students was also nice too. They genuinely like their professors and said, and I quote, "if you're struggling and ask for help, it's almost like they drown you with all the help they give." I've personally never seen profs do that, so this really looks good to me!"
"the state-of-art facility and the sincerity and kindness of everyone I met"
"so laid back."
"Admissions staff is super friendly! They are going to basically "gut" their facilities and have them completely redone and state of the art by the time my class is in clinic. Plenty of patients!"
"Alumni"
"The clinic"
"Everyone was very nice and extremely encouraging. The interviewers did not know my GPA beforehand, which I appreciated. "
"Clinical experiences"
"The fun atmosphere the staff created and low stress level. Also the lunch provided was great!"
"The school's support system is out of this world. Their quote is ''If you fluck out of dental school, it is because you did it.''"
"Everything. Awesome facilities, staff, students, matriculation stats, etc."
"The admissions staff was very nice and down to earth. They made you feel very comfortable and welcome with breakfast foods and coffee and a lunch provided with the opportunity to talk to 1st and 2nd year students."
"The school is very technologically advanced, great diversity, an underground tunnel to other buildings, curriculum, the dental students were enthusiastic, dean has an open door policy, big sib/lil sib program, 100% national board passing rate."
"The technology at UT Memphis is incredible. The simulators really impressed me. They admissions faculty also stressed the student oriented nature of the school, describing an atmosphere were dental students are encouraged and helped."
"The whole interview process was incredible. Dr. Coleman was the nicest man and really made you feel comfortable. All the staff and students there were so nice and were real with you. The labs are absolutely incredible (both first year lab and new virtual sim-lab). The clinical floor was packed with patients and students; it just made me real excited to go there and be a dentist. The also have an awesome pediatric lab. The school is also located in a medical community (the med, optometry, pharmacy, and nursing schools are there too), so you are not just around dental students all four years. Oh, and the rec. center was awesome too (including climbing wall), and free for students. I have been to several other schools for interviews, and this one (hands down) impressed me overall the most. They portray a real desire to have you at their school and to graduate you the best dental professional possible!"
"The Staff and admissions committee, esp Dr. Coleman. "
"Dr. Coleman is so passionate about dentistry and his school. He is so funny, and so much fun! The D-1's and other years that ate lunch with us were so friendly and helpful, and genuinely cared about us."
"Relaxing atmosphere. Dr. Coleman appears to be helpful to his students to the fullest. "
"How personable Dr. Coleman was and how student-centered the program and faculty are."
"Dr. Coleman, the Dean of Student Affairs was awesome. He really cares about the students."
"very laid back and informative. they also actually acted like they wanted you rather than the students just trying to impress the school admission board."
"The virtual reality and sim labs are state-of-the-art. Dr. Coleman was very reassuring and positive about the school."
"Very nice facility, school/faculty seems to be student-oriented."
"Wow. The head of admissions is amazing. Dr. Coleman is his name, and he really helped us feel at home. They had a whole information packet there for us, and really put us at ease about the whole process."
"The Dean of Admissions sold the school very well. He made you feel at ease. "
"The whole interview experience. Dr. Coleman, the dean of admissions, spent the entire day with us. He was very professional, kind, and made all of us feel welcome. The pre-clinical facilities, clinical facilities, and the Virtual Sim lab at this school are exceptional."
"Everything! The dean of admissions spent the whole day with us and was very laid back. The sim lab was unbelievable and the students were very friendly and complimentary of the school."
"The pre-clinically facilitied are very nice. Best in the nation."
"They asked me 14 interview questions in total, and I wasn't prepared to be asked that many. At most, I was told I would be asked 6-7."
"The ego in some students I met were surprising, as well as many students complaining their cohort's culture not being very collaborative/toxic level of competitiveness"
"nothing really"
"I do feel that they didn't get a good look at me personally. We had our little "conversation interview" but there is so much more I wanted to say to them in order to convince them to accept me."
"the parking lot"
"Memphis isn't the safest place in the world, but if you're careful and aware I think you'll be fine."
"Facilities need repair, but that is underway now."
"An interviewer's cell phone went off twice during my interview! It was a little disconcerting at first, but it actually eased my stress a little, so it wasn't really that much of a disruption."
"Nothing"
"Facility is a bit old...like 30 years old. "
"The school is the oldest dental school in the southeast which means it has great history but could also use some modern updating...but the technology and program itself are awesome which are the most important things anyway!"
"only that it was raining that day."
"Nothing had a negative impression when I toured UT Memphis. I can out of there completely sold on their school."
"Nothing."
"Nothing, the location of the school is not good, but they reassured us that it is okay to go there at night if you go in groups and that the school is generally safe."
"Their facility (aside from that 3-D stuff) appears ghetto as hell. Patient area was not the most comforting place in the world. U of Tennessee is not an ivy league school. I felt they portrayed their school as if it was one of them. Believe whatever you want to.. "
"The secretaries got to the stickybuns while we were on tour (Dr. Coleman DID warn us it might happen)."
"Its in a downtown setting, I would have liked to see a few more trees."
"We did not get a chance to visit any dorms or housing around campus."
"The surrounding couple of blocks aren't that nice, but downtown Memphis is great."
"School is in the very middle of downtown Memphis."
"Absolutely nothing."
"I had no negative impressions about the school at all. compared to my interview at Ole Miss it was a world of change. I don't think that it could have gone any better."
"Absolutely nothing. The campus is a typical downtown campus, but I was impressed by the lengths that they go to for excellent security."
"That their interviews were not as "chill" as many people have told me it would be."
"It was open file when I assumed it was closed-file, and they had a recording camera facing a few feet away from me I was not prepared for"
"that there wasn't much going on besides interviews, i had mine first so i sat around for 1.5-2 hours after then went on the tour"
"That it was going to be so relaxed. Everyone there just wants to make sure that you know how to act in a professional environment and that you can interact."
"I wish I had known there were 9 other candidates being interviewed with me. They sat us in a large meeting room and pulled us aside one by one to interview. I was wondering how they could stretch it all into a full day and waiting on 9 other people to finish 15 minute interviews definitely took around 2 hours of the time."
"It is closed file, but I know they read my PS because they asked me questions out of it. Also, no questions on Healthcare reform!"
"I wish I would have known if they had or hadn't read my essay before the interview... I didn't know whether to just rehash details from my essay, or if they already knew all that stuff about me. In the end, I forgot to mention several things that would have really helped my case."
"I would be so nervous"
"Don't freak out at all just be yourself and have fun with it."
"Low stress interview. Mainly informative and personal."
"It's nothing to be nervous about! Be prepared but also relax and enjoy the experience."
"it gets a little muggy when it rains."
"The interview at UT Memphis is really directed toward the interviewee getting to see their campus and facilities. I was as if they were trying to sell their school to me and not me trying to sell myself to them. So I was really nervous before hand becasue I was so worried about trying to put up a good front, when all I had to be worried about in the end was to enjoy what the interview process had to offer."
"Not to sweat it...it was the most laid back and informative interview I have been to."
"None."
"How laid back it is. It is really nothing to stress over!"
"They only have 80 seats available b/c of the 'lack' of practice area. "
"They are very laid back. No need to be stressed at all."
"That the school was better than the other dental schools made it out to be."
"This site and the school's website provided all the info I needed."
"Not to be nervous for interview - if that's possible."
"How amazing the facilities at this campus really are."
"I just wish I hadn't stressed out so much about it. It was no big deal at all."
"To relax instead of worrying about the interview, because the entire admissions staff made us feel very welcome."
"nothing really, just not to stress out so much I guess."
"That the interview was so laid back, and that I didn't need to be nervous"
"It is a great school that cares very much for their students, many of the students had only positive things to say about the school and the program."
"They sold the school well, but the students sharing their negative experiences was a bit of a red flag"
"n/a"
"Everyone said it was very conversational and relaxed, but I had a different experience. I think it depends on who will interview you. Be prepared and don't rely on it being chill like others said"
"Outstanding facilities and really down to earth people."
"Dr. Covington is a really nice person. He kept it really light in the interview. I also had Dr. Umsted, who barely said anything during the interview, and Dr. Smith, who would pitch in every so often to comment on something. The campus was really nice and I can definitely see myself practicing for hours on end in the DentSim lab and studying in the lecture hall. The way it looked on the day I interviewed was like there wasn't too much stress getting your clinicals finished up. Overall, I'm very excited and hope that I get in!"
"Great school and great people."
"I don't know if I "sold myself" well enough during the interview and they were so super-nice that I wasn't able to get a good reading from them. "
"They do not look at your "stats" till after they meet you. They literally want to just talk and get to know you. So dont worry about coming up with a reason for why you failed a class. You wont have to explain it!"
"great school to attend!"
"Dr. Coleman talked about the greatness of UT then everyone had a 10 minute one on one interview with the committee then we took a tour and ate lunch that was it. A very relaxing enjoyable day."
"Very relaxed environment....good food....nice conversations with dental students...informative tour guide."
"Great experience. It was what I expected."
"It went extremely well! There were 4 dentists in a cozy little office. One of them was a recent retired dentist of 34 years! They were all very nice and just wanted to get to know you better as a person rather than a bunch of information on paper! They were mostly taking notes the whole time which made it more comfortable....so you didn't feel like you were in the spotlight."
"They invited your family to the visit which was really good. They have an excellent national boards passing rate, and a great curriculum. DentSim labs are state of the art and the classrooms were very cozy. The area is not to expensive to live in and lots of things to do. This was an overall great experience. "
"Enlightening (you get to see all that the school can afford you), completely not as stressful as I had anticipated, pleasant"
"Basically, I loved it! The best program (national school rating, top in board score ratings, #1 virtual sim-lab in nation, ect.) of all the schools I have applied to. It was the best interview experience I could have asked for. This is by far my top choice!"
"Perfect. Very laid back and no stress. The admissions committee were very friendly and eager to know about the students during the interview."
"The interview was great. It was really easy and everyone was so laid back. It was great to see how proud everyone was that they were associated with such a great school."
"It wasn't that bad but nothing impressive. Facility was old and needed some renovation. Not a place for non-southerners, especially for minorities. Good value of the education for the cost. This should be the only reason you should consider this school - it's damn cheap.. but it's a ghetto school. "
"Positive overall and very informative, exactly what I had hoped to receive."
"I was very impressed. They went great lengths to make the experience memorable."
"Some people will act like it is not a good school because of the low admission standard, but as I learned when transfering from Ga Tech to Auburn that it is not all about academic perception and rather it is important for them to treat you like a human being."
"The interview was very positive. It was a small group and we ate lunch with first-year students to gain more insight regarding the program."
"The interview is so short, which sounds like a good thing, but it makes you feel a little rushed. Overall, the visit was excellent. Dr. Coleman seems like a great guy."
"Anyone who has the opportunity to go to an interview at this school should do so; other dental schools should take a lesson from UT."
"They called us into a room by ourselves to be interviewed by the Dean of admissions and three other faculty members. It was very layed back. There were not trying to catch me off guard at all. They asked why I wanted to be a dentist and what the last book i read was. It lasted about eight minutes."
"UT Memphis uses the committee interview style which can sound intimidating. However, the interview was a two way conversation with about 4 faculty members present. They were all very kind. It seems that they just want to get to know you as a person and see if you fit in at UT Memphis. My advice is to prepare for potential questions, spend some time thinking about why you really want to attend dental school, and just be yourself."
"This interview was probably one of the most laid back atmospheres I have ever been in. Dr. Coleman is such a nice and friendly person and he was very quick to let us know that his number one objective was to let us in to school, keep us there, and graduate us as the most clinically prepared dentists possible. The whole day was mainly for our benefit so that we could see exactly what the school was like. The actual interview part was very brief with about 4 faculty and 1 student. Each basically asked one or two questions and that was it. They really want to let you into school, they just want to make sure that you're there for the right reasons. With this school there was really an atmosphere of "innocent until proven guilty" instead of the other way around."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 15 |
| Faculty member | 6 |
| Admissions staff | 18 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 27 |
| Neutral | 2 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.57 | 28 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 19 |
| Out of state | 10 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 6 |
| 2-3 hours | 7 |
| 4-6 hours | 9 |
| 7+ hours | 7 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 1 |
| Automobile | 28 |
| Train or subway | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
MEM
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 0 |
| Friends or family | 5 |
| Hotel | 13 |
| Home | 0 |
| Other | 2 |
Marriot
Red Roof Inn (very close to interview bldg.)
Hampton Inn: Medical Center
Hampton Inn
My House!
Red Roof Inn
Marriott Downtown
at a D1 student's house
Yes
No
Marriot
Red Roof Inn (very close to interview bldg.)
Hampton Inn: Medical Center
Hampton Inn
My House!
Red Roof Inn
Marriott Downtown
at a D1 student's house
Yes
No
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 6 |
| $101-$200 | 5 |
| $201-$300 | 4 |
| $301-$400 | 3 |
| $401-$500 | 1 |
| $501+ | 1 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.57 | 30 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5.74 | 31 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.90 | 30 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.75 | 20 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.45 | 20 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.83 | 18 |
"They did great! I wish they had a smaller group of applicants, where we all got the tour and presentation before the interview."
"they were all amazing!"
"Keep doing what you do."
"Nothing. An info packet was given that had plenty of information about the school and surroundings."
"N/A"
"keep up the great work!"
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?