How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.86 | 87 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 65 |
| Negatively | 11 |
| No change | 10 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 4.13 | 87 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.62 | 45 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.02 | 44 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 1 |
| 20 minutes | 8 |
| 25 minutes | 6 |
| 30 minutes | 27 |
| 35 minutes | 9 |
| 40 minutes | 11 |
| 45 minutes | 7 |
| 50 minutes | 5 |
| 55 minutes | 0 |
| 60+ minutes | 13 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 83 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 84 |
| In a group | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 3 |
| Closed file | 82 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.86 | 87 |
"Apart from science and art and helping people, why dentistry?"
"Ethical question"
"What made you interested in dentistry?"
"Where do you see yourself after you graduate?"
"Tell me about yourself. Why dentistry? What would you do in ... (a scenario)? (Ethics related)"
"why not dds+phD??"
"why here"
"What are your goals for serving your community as a dentist"
"community services"
"How have you acquainted yourself with dentistry? Why do you want to go to UCSF? What makes you a unique applicant and why do you think you'll fit in well with our class? Do you have any questions for me? Where are you from? So tell me a little bit about yourself."
"Tell me about your research."
"Why dentistry?"
"What kind of personality should dentists have?"
"Why dentistry (this was asked not by my interviewer, but by his friend who came by his office)"
"Why UCSF?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Tell me about yourself"
"Do you feel dentistry is a right or a privelage?"
"If you could not be a dentist, what would you be?"
"Education is a right or previlliage?"
"DDS interview: Why dentistry? Community Services? Leadership experience? Dental exposure experience?"
"community service and jobs i've had"
"tell me about your leadership"
"Why do you want to be a dentist?"
"Describe your leadership experience."
"Do you have any community servcie experience? (hint: You NEED to answer this well)"
"What do your parents do for a living? "
"What kind of research experience do you have?"
"do you have any leadership or extracurricular activies?"
"why not be a doctor?"
"what kind of community service have you done?"
"What would you do if you found out that a classmate was cheating?"
"Community Service."
"Don't worry about anything just be relaxed."
"Do you see yourself serving an underserved community?"
"Asked about my experience in a dental office"
"Why you want to be dentist?"
"What was your research about?"
"What do you do that doesn't relate to dentistry at all - what was the last book you read?"
"Why dental school?"
"Tell me why you are interested in dentistry?"
"Why did you choose dentistry?"
"What made you chose dentistry out of the entire health field?"
"What do you think about studying dentistry in a diverse environment?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"How do you think you will be prepared to serve the healthcare needs of a diverse patient base?"
"why dentistry"
"Tell me about yourself/your university."
"What is your gpa?"
"how do you see your instructors?"
"Tell me about your: research, volunteering, leadership, clinical experience. "
"Tell me about your leadership experiences"
"Tell me why you chose UCSF?"
"leadership, community, volunter, reseach experience?"
"What was your highest DAT score?"
"What is the best part about being a dentist?"
"What would you do if a patient was frustrated or upset?"
"Research experience"
"Have you participated in research? Volunteer activities?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Ethical Dillema"
"How is your manual dexterity?"
"Why do you want to come here?"
"Tell me what you would do in this situation? (an ethical dilemma)"
"why donot u want to be an artist? (I brought my sketch book)"
"What are your stats/ tell me about yourself/ how have these experiences prepared you for dental school? "
"what do you do to maintain good manual dexterity?"
"What did you do at X research lab?"
"grades and DAT"
"Have you have any leadership experiences? Did you ever do any community service?"
"How have you prepared for dental school."
"What volunteer work did you do? What dental experience do you have?"
"How would you like the curriculum/program while undergraduate?"
"How will you give back to your community as a dentist?"
"Why not medicine?"
"What kind of community service have you done"
"What are your plans after dental school?"
"What do you want to do with your dental career?"
"Why dentistry?"
"What are you planning to do in 5 or 10 years?"
"PhD? Why DDS/PhD rather DDS or PhD? Why not MD/PhD or MD? Talk about your research "
"Any shortage of dentists in your community?"
"why dentistry"
"What types of volunteer activities have you done?"
"What type of outreach/extracurricular activites have you done?"
"Describe your strengths and weaknesses."
"Do you have any leadership skills?"
"Do you have any siblings? "
"How have you acquainted yourself with dentistry?"
"Were there any downsides to your undergraduate experience?"
"Do you have any dental or research experience?"
"what kind of community service have you done?"
"Do you think that we have too many dentists, not enough dentists, or a misallocation of dentists?"
"What extracurricular activites did you participate in?"
"Extracurricular activities."
"Have you held any leadership positions?"
"Asked about extracurriculars, etc."
"Community activities?"
"Have you had any leadership role?"
"Any volunteer work?"
"How would you deal with diversity?"
"What leadership roles have you had?"
"What do you plan to do when you complete dental school?"
"How did you like shadowing for a private practive dentist?"
"why would do you want to go to UCSF?"
"Tell me about your research experience."
"Who is your role model?"
"What are your extracurricular activities/leadership roles?"
"Do you speak any foreign languages?"
"Why UCSF?"
"what do you do in your free time"
"Leadership/research experiences?"
"What are your research experiences/leadership positions/dental experiences?"
"Community and leadership experience?"
"What do you plan to do?"
"How have you demonstrated your leadership capabilities?"
"What community service activities have you done?"
"Tell me about your research experience?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"Tell me about research experiences"
"What kind of extracurricular activities do you do?"
"Why dentistry? Why UCSF?"
"What about dentistry appeals to you?"
"What is your GPA?"
"Tell me about your research? (published a paper in undergrad)"
"N/A"
"How do you manage stress?"
"Why dentistry? If you like people interaction why not business?"
"Why you?"
"Did you do research?"
"Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have been in and how did you deal with it?"
"why dentistry?"
"case scenario"
"Is there anything in particular you want me to tell the admissions committee"
"what do you do in your free time?"
"Stuff about my background, family, personal characteristics such as hobbies, interests, etc..."
"What are your top 3 choices? Do you have siblings? "
"Why dentistry... what intrigues you about the profession."
"Do you do research? Mostly questions that were already answered in my application."
"Tell me about the research that you participated."
"Thats all, we finished and did a little tour early. "
"Why will you be a good dentist?"
"Why dentistry and not medicine"
"Why are you interested in dentistry?"
"What is so great about this school?"
"Talk about ur internship experience."
"Parents background"
"What do you think we need to do to solve it?"
"explain your community involvement"
"Do you have any leadership experience?"
"What's your gpa? what was your worst subject?"
"Why dentistry? (Nothing unusual and no trick questions)"
"Questions about why I want to do dentistry, my extracurricular involvment, leadership experience, etc. Nothing hard. "
"Is receiving a college education a privilege or a right?"
"What kind of leadership roles have you played?"
"Tell me about your self"
"what can you do with your hands?"
"what are you doing now?"
"What are some of the social issues affecting dentistry? "
"Why UCSF?"
"What do you think makes a good dentist?"
"Why dentistry? Why this school?"
"How would you help the community in the future when you become a dentist?"
"Any experience in dentistry?"
"Why choose dentistry?"
"Have you done any research? And when (what month of what year) did you decide to become a dentist?"
"What about UCSF sttracts you?"
"Is there anything you want the committee to know that I have not asked?"
"Tell me about those research experiences."
"How many other schools did you apply to?"
"Why dentistry at UCSF?"
"What leadership positions have you held?"
"Why do you want to become a dentist?"
"What activities did you do in undergrad?"
"Who is your role model?"
"family"
"What do you plan to do after Dental School?"
"Do you like diversity?"
"Research?"
"If you want me to bring anything to adcom, why should u be selected?"
"Have you done for the community lately?"
"How have you demonstrated leadership skills?"
"" " volunteer experience? " " leadership experience?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"Your volunteer and leadership activities."
"How did you become interested in dentistry?"
"Your weaknesses?"
"Do you consider yourself an outgoing person?"
"Tell me about your research, community service, and leadership experience."
"Are you interested in research?"
"When have you put others before yourself?"
"What do you do to destress?"
"Do you want to specialize?"
"How would you handle a situation in which your patient couldn't afford the best treatment in your treatment plan? What would you do if they got upset about it?"
"How do you manage stress?"
"Why do you like UCSF so much over other schools?"
"Why are you so cheerful?"
"Tell me what you would do in this situation? (an ethical dilemma)"
"case scenario"
"gave me a scenario about if i saw cheating and how i would handle it"
"all were pretty straight forward."
"None"
"Why do you wannna be a dentist?"
"What kind of personality should dentists have?"
"What experience are you proud of?"
"Why not medicine? Why UCSF?"
"What about UCSF attracts you?"
"What book (excluding religous ones) has influenced you?"
"n/a"
"nothing really it was very general: why dentistry? coummunity service, leadership experience, work experience, dental experience, research etc."
"don't remember"
"Nothing really... the DDS interviewers ask questions directly from an evaluate form."
"What kind of fillings that your dentist does? I was surprised she wanted to know that detail."
"tell me about your leadership"
"Is education a right or a privilege?"
"Nothing that interesting"
"Is education a right or privaledge?"
"How do you think you can give back to the community as a leader/dentisit?"
""Why don't you want to go to UCLA?" My "faculty" interviewer was actually an endo resident who got his DDS/PhD from UCLA... I guess he really loved it there."
"all were pretty basic interview questions."
"why don't you want to be a doctor?"
"do you think education is a privilege or a right?"
"What would you do if you found out that a classmate was cheating?"
"Who has had the most impact on your life?"
"What medical issue is there in your community that you would like to address/change?"
"Who did influence you mostly?"
"Who's your role model?"
"Who has inspired me the most?"
"How is your role model?"
"None really. All standard questions."
"I was asked how I would "deal with diversity", which I think is a strange way of putting it. "
"A question about being culturally diverse."
"Why UCSF"
"I don't think anything memorable was asked. Just regular. Nothing weird was asked. Pretty standard."
"Nothing interesting asked. Much like the rest of the day UCSF didn't offer me anything interesting."
"What would friends or family members say to describe you?"
"If I were to trying to be your friend, what would you say about yourself to impress me?"
"Who is your role model in life?"
"Why don't you just go to UCLA?"
"Do you speak any foreign languages?"
"Do you like diversity?"
"Nothing really. The interview was pretty much predictable."
"who is your role model"
"what philosophies influence your life? "
"None really. They were all normal type of questions asked."
"She asked alot of questions about my background and how I grew up."
"What would your mom say about you if she were here?"
"Who are my role model in high school?"
"Give me an example of how you resolved a conflict in your work?"
"how do you feel about current issues in health care?"
"None impressed me, they were all standard questions. "What would your mother say about you if she were here?" was a little unusual."
"Without thinking, how would your mother describe you?"
"What do you think about UCLA dental school (probably because I am from LA)"
"what was the latest movie I have seen."
"How do you interact with people? (Shouldn't they judge that from the interview?)"
"nothing atypical"
"Do you think education is a right or privilege?"
"All questions were typical interview questions."
"For the essay question response to a quote, I gave a very personal response and did not mention dentistry or science really at all as I felt it did not answer the prompt well."
"N/A"
"Why do you think you're a good fit for UCSF?"
"Standard questions."
"Nothing in Particular"
"Did you apply to UCLA, if you got into both UCLA and UCSF, where would you go?"
"Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have been in and how did you deal with it?"
"The essay!"
"the writing sample prompt"
"do you think kaplan gives students an unfair advantage over those of lower socioeconomic status?"
"Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?"
"None"
"What would you think would be the most exciting thing and the hardest thing while attending here?"
"which school is your first choice?"
"How would you like the curriculum/program while undergraduate? (asked about your major and what did you learn)"
"What are three things you would like to change about yourself and why?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"The questions my faculty asked were not unexpected but it was the manner she asked them in (curtly and aggressively)"
"What book (excluding religous ones) has influened you?"
"How did you get interested in dentistry?"
"Why did u decide to go for dentistry?"
"What do you expect from school faculty and staff? "
"How do other people describe you? "
"tell me about your internship"
"Explain bad grade."
"How would you describe yourself to other people"
"Nothing hard at all"
"None. Nothing expected. "
"How do you think you can give back to the community as a leader/dentisit?"
"What are your weaknesses?"
"all were pretty standard dental questions... maybe how would you assist the community?"
"The dates. Since it was closed file, the interviewer asked for specific dates for community services and work experience. why's that important? its all in the file."
"do you have any questions for me? "
"What would you do if you found out that a classmate was cheating?"
"Same as above."
"Nothing"
"If I think there is a shortage of dentists in certain areas, if so, where, and what should we do to fix this disparity"
"Why you want to be dentist?"
"None really"
"The most difficult part was coming up with exact dates for everything I had done in the pretaining to dentistry, volunteering, and life. I kind of think that an open file would have made the faculty interivew more informative, because we wouldn't have had to go over all of that specific stuff. "
"Nothing, very nice interviewers, they just want to get to know you as a person."
"Why should I be chosen over somone else"
"Why do you want to go to UCSF? Had to give an half-hearted answer. That's why it was so tough."
"Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?"
"nothing mind-shattering"
"See above."
"What makes you unique and why should we pick you over other applicants?"
"None... all of questions were expected."
"What would your parents say about you if you were here?"
"=)"
"What is the name of the book you are currently reading(My mind went blank for a second and I almost forgot:)"
"Did I read? What was the last novel I read? Did I finish?"
"none."
""Why don't you want to go into medicine?""
"If I wanted to be an open person and meet new people so that I could have relationships (as in a friendly relationship), what would you tell me to do? "
"What was the specific vulenteer activity in the area of health that I have done?"
"What is your biggest weakness?"
"What did you learn from you observation at a dental clinic"
"Do you think education is a right or privilege?"
"What was your lowest DAT score?"
"SDN, read over my application"
"SDN and their webinars"
"SDN and dental student friends."
"Very well"
"Mock interview, SDN questions"
"Mock interview at my undergrad, SDN."
"SDN and friends"
"Practiced with my friends "
"SDN, school website"
"this website"
"SDN, advice from past interviewee, read over secondary"
"SDN, my AADSAS, met with students and former faculty to find out about what the school was looking for, school website"
"nothing really. i had already had a bunch."
"look at SDN interview feedbacks. mock interview. look presentable."
"Read my AADSAS app, secondary app, mock interviews, SDN interview feedback. Really though, I went in over-prepared because the interviews are really laid back. They genuinely want to get to know you as a person and whether you'd fit in with their class. So don't memorize answers and just be yourself. "
"websites, practice answering questions"
"SDN, student attending, UCSF website"
"Read thoroughly the personal information, school website, and SDN website. "
"Website, SDN, visited school previously"
"Had someone mock interview me. Also had a another interview the week before which got me into the right frame of mind."
"Mock interview, read over AADSAS application, personal statement, visited school website and got plentiful sleep the night before."
"SDN, school & friend mock interview"
"I read though my secondary app., my essay, and current event dentistry articles. Walked around the school and area the day before. Also made a list of all the questions that were asked on studentdoctor.net and talked through answers to each of them. Found aspects about the school that stood out to discuss during interview. (this was my third interview, so I had some experience to make it a little easier)"
"Looked at this website and the school's website."
"SDN, Personal Statement, Secondary"
"read my personal statement, secondary, SDN, school website"
"SDN previous interview and my personal statement"
"Reviewed primary and 2ndary application, and SDN feedback"
"Read the school website"
"sdn, ucsf website"
"Watched movies in my hotel room"
"SDN, website, previous interviews, secondary application."
"I had been to four other interviews, so I felt pretty comfortable"
"Read SDN and school website"
"SDN, my secondary, my AADSAS application"
"I researched UCSF, made a list of answers to potential questions, and read feedback on studentdoctor.net"
"I read all the brochures the UCSF rep gave our pre-dent club, went over my AADSAS and secondary apps, and browsed the latest news on the UCSF website."
"just slept a lot and read school web page"
"SDN, school website."
"all sorts of stuff: went over my personal statement; reviewed UCSF's secondary application; read up on my published journals; meditated "
"SDN, UCSF website, personal statement. Read some of my old essays to prepare for the writing sample."
"Looked at SDN and reviewed my AADSAS app."
"sdn, personal statement, application."
"SDN and my second application"
"I had previous interviews, so I was pretty confident and prepared. "
"Read the school website and this website"
"SDN"
"Reading SDN feedback, and going over school website briefly. I had had several interviews already, and I got accepted to all the schools I had interviews at. So I was confident and relaxed. Actually, I was not so prepared and so relaxed, I did not say a few things I should have said. It is so true that being stressed makes you perform better. :)"
"Just relaxed the day before and tried not to stress about it."
"I didn't really prepare - I think you have to be yourself, and I've already been accepted wuite a few places so I've had previous experience interviewing and wasn't very nervous either. "
"SDN, and other interviews helped."
"Website other students"
"Brochures from my college about UCSF and websites. Wish I knew about the student doctor network at the time!"
"Looked at UCSF brochures, website, and talked to many friends."
"Reviewed my application (essays, secondary, and website)"
"Re-read my UCSF secondary and application and my UCLA secondary."
"Looked at the UCSF website, read over my application, and the SDN."
"sdn, personal statement"
"SDN and researched the school's website."
"I looked over my AADSAS file again, read previous interview posts on SDN, and read material my undergrad gave me about the school. "
"read over my AADSAS and secondary application, personal statement, visit the UCSF website, talk to current students, and read interview feedbacks"
"read my personal statement and sleep"
"reread adsas app"
"I didn't really prepare for it. Since we were told that it would be a closed interview, I figured I would wing it and be myself. "
"Read over personal statement, secondary application questions, SDN..."
"Personal statement, website"
"Read my file and read the school info on the web"
"Website, reading feedbacks"
"Read my personal statement, AADSAS file, and everything I could get my hands on about UCSF"
"read website. attended an interview workshop offerred by the school last year."
"UCSF website, SDN, application, secondary app."
"Read over my application and just relaxed. "
"read over personal statement and application, read over FAQs from the university web site"
"Ask from UCSF students, read online about interview questions."
"SDN, secondary application, talked with former UCSF former students"
"read interview feedback at studentdoctor.net, thoroughly thought about answers to potential questions"
"Practice questions"
"They were extremely organized and helpful"
"City of SF! Attitude of faculty, staffs, and students. Research opportunities. Curriculum."
"Friendliness of people around."
"Location, clinical opportunities, opportunities"
"Friendliness of staff, beautiful campus."
"Campus was amazing, SF is the best city in CA, the staff and faculty are the nicest people."
"Great in all aspects. High specialty rate. San Fran is an amazing city."
"Brand new SIM lab and updated technology. The school is A LOT different from my first visit two years ago. "
"Pass/Fail, program has great reputation, students seem happy, you can get in state residency after one year, great location."
"Almost everything, even the view from the school out to the Golden Gate Bridge!"
"Staff are nice and try to de-stress us. James even introduced nice restaurants around the school ^^"
"research"
"It had the best of everything. Amazing faculty, high boards and tons of students specializing, P/F system, great facilities, the view is incredible"
"the buildings, library, and facilities were all very beautiful, with a great view of the city and pacific. the admissions staff were all exceptionally friendly and sold the school very well. The Pass/No Pass system seems great too."
"They aren't out to interrogate you or make your life miserable. They just want to get to know you and see if they like you. "
"The preclinic labs were a lot nicer than what the other SDNers made it out to be. We got to sit in on a lecture (which was VERY cool) and the students seemed happy...the lecturer was very enthusiastic and the whole class of 80-or-so erupted in laughter several times during the lecture. A lot of people specialize after getting their DDS since UCSF is such a prestigious school. The admissions people said over 35%, but the faculty interviewer that I talked to said that it was like 65% during his day."
"The school is very nice. The student interviewer and the tour guide were informative. "
"The location, the prestige, the P/F system"
"The school is definately number one dental school in the nation. everything was really impressive. Best dental school~!"
"Independent study options.. and the flexibility if I decide to do a joint program or research. Nice gym!!!"
"The presentation by the Dean."
"Everything. This is a fantastic school. The clinics and facilities were nice, the building has a great view of the ocean, faculty seemed happy, students were intelligent, campus is beautiful, curriculum seems thorough and well-planned. "
"Dean Bertolami was a genuine guy, as were the other faculty and students."
"Extremely cordial admissions staff, provided continental breakfast and paid for lunch. Ample time to ask questions and meet professors and current students."
"Facilities, location, friendliness of admission staff"
"The friendly atmosphere, the location, the facilites, the research, the staff, the clinics, the pass/fail curriculum, the essay question, almost everything. "
"The location of the school and how it was among other health professional schools."
"The school is not as out-dated as people talk about."
"Everyone is very friendly"
"Very strong faculty for the PhD program"
"the tuition and the diversity. the location as well."
"faculty was really nice and the students seemed happy"
"I like the pass/fail grading system. "
"The nice staff and the nice weather."
"They have a solid program with good faculty and ample opportunity for financial aid. Grades are pass/no pass and their curriculum focuses on multiple-faceted study of the body region by region instead of separately the courses into histology, bio chem, immunology, etc."
"The facilities were MUCH better then I had expected. They put a lot of $ into it and it shows. The faculty were real nice and the students, although very busy working, looked very happy."
"The dedication and professionalism of the staff and faculty. I like the fact that UCSF puts a lot of emphasis on helping the disadvantaged. There're a lot of volunteering, research, extracurriular activities. "
"The facilities and enthusiasm of the students I met, it suprised me, most people made negative comments about UCSF before I came."
"The school's great location; being in a great mix of pharm, dent, and med students; the prestige; the school gives you so many options about how you want to spend the 4 years"
"the interviewers were really nice and the location in inner sunset of S.F. is wonderful"
"Cost and quality of the education."
"the vibrancy of that whole campus -- seeing all the other students in one loosely assembled community "
"The school looks great!!! Nice view of Golden Gate Bridge from classroom."
"Lots of research going on in the school. Lots of specialty programs (I guess this could be a negative also)."
"That its pretty cheap."
"People were all nice."
"Many of my Asian brothers and sisters were there! Represent! I like the big campus atmosphere, even though you have to walk around a lot. "
"The classes are all pass/fail, the program is top notch compared to the other programs in the nation, there is a large campus with a gym, and indoor pool, etc."
"students seemed to be happy and I liked the clinical/Sim lab."
"Weather, environment, neighborhood, nice people. Emphasis on clinical traning -- almost 99 % go into practice (practice and specialty training) right after graduation. Emphasis on community service. Great fitness center right in front of dental clinic. Pass/Fail grading system. "
"That there was an inclusive Asian community. Many clubs and ways to get involved in the school. Research opportunities that I was interested in."
"I am amazed that so many people have come away with such negative impressions of UCSF I really thought that t was great. I thoght that the clinics were really nice , as well as the campus. I like the fact that it feels like a little "health care village", and I loved being surrounded by other people who have passion for science and health care whether it be medicine, pharmacy, nursing or dentistry. I also really liked the gym!"
"Everything. It really is an amazing school in ever aspect."
"THe cost and the school interdigitated with the other health profession schools on campus"
"Cost of education"
"The school is located in beautiful San Francisco and their Research opportunites. "
"The opportunities the school offers to its students."
"San Francisco is an awesome city. The fact that I already know a lot of the people that go to the school. The ticket price of going to school (but this has pretty much diminished due to tuiition price increase and living expenses)."
"The city environment and the fact that I would not have to own a car."
"The many opportunities in research the school had. Also, the school is pretty cheap even though tuition sky rocketed last year."
"Nice facilities"
"1) The great reputation the school has. 2) San Francisco is also a great city. 3) Low cost of education."
"I think UCSF has strong research. "
"The location of the school is excellent. SF is a beautiful city that has a lot to offer (food, scenery, diversity, etc.). The atmosphere and environment of the school is very professional and academic. The faculty and students are top-notch in the nation."
"I like the fact that all the staffs including the dean were very down to earth and helpful. "
"the school and its vast opportunities and of course sf itself"
"The new curriculum and the overall positive comments made by the dental students. "
"New curriculum for next year that is P/F to encourage less competition among students and it also gives more free time."
"The beautiful city, the facilities, the staff is soo pleasant and makes you feel like they would be lucky to have you and not the other way around. Dr. Bradshaw is soo great! "
"The campus was beautiful. It was on top of a hill in SF. The student interviewer was very friendly. I got to sit in one of the classes that day and it was very nice."
"Opportunities. You can do whatever you want after your training there."
"The recent upgrades to the dental labs and sim labs were very impressive. ALL students seem really happy to be there. Faculty members seem very nice as well. Research opportunities are plentiful. Proposed curriculum changes for next year seem positive."
"nice labs. nice pre-clinical labs with monitors."
"Facilities were nicer than I expected. Clinics are beautiful looking out towards the pacific ocean. The staff and students were VERY nice and accomidating. The school is top-notch for sure. I like that the dental school is attached to the med school/ hospital. It is a bustling, intoxicating atmosphere of academia and learning. Also, all the other applicants I met were quite nice and talkative. Overall it was a fun visit."
"The diversity, the clinics weren't half bad (better than what i expected), their research program, and the fact that they were consistently ranked 2 or 3 in terms of clinical preparation among all dental schools in the US. The students there were REALLY friendly and were very open to talk about UCSF's strengths and weaknesses. "
"student attitudes, lots of opportunities for students, labs, Dean was superb"
"The school is located in a good part of city. The labs are very nice and have great view."
"UCSF seems to have an endless amount of opportunity for their students. There seems to be a very good balance between clinical focus and research opportunities. "
"Rank top among expenditure on student. Excellent faculty. Great exposure to various field of dentistry"
"friendliness and enthusiasm of faculty and students "
"The many research opportunities, enthusiastic students, and the school's location."
"The school is very affordable, and seems to have a good cirriculum."
"I was confused as to whether my first interviewer was the professor or the student, so I let him introduce himself to figure it out. Might have been awkward if I asked the student professor questions and vice versa."
"cold weather. expensive housing."
"The students I talked to said that they had no personal experience placing implants, which made me concerned that more complex cases are not available to D4s."
"Nothing at all"
"Probably not going to get the clinical exposure of the school across town UoP, or the newest, best facilities but no school has it all."
"Can't think of any."
"noe...Best school ever visited!"
"facility"
"not a thing about the school, I just wish SF was cheaper to live in"
"i didn't get to talk with students at UCSF hardly at all! aside from the student interview, there was virtually no interaction with the students."
"The cost of living. I think housing in SF rivals NY! It rained really hard all day. Also, they don't really feed you that well so make sure you eat a good breakfast before you go. Lunch is cafeteria food. "
"The faculty interviewer. I was trying to make eye contact with her the entire time and she didn't look at me at all even when she asked me questions. She had some communication problem. Didn't know how to ask her questions. I felt like I was answering my own questions."
"the cost of the public school, my interviews"
"sim lab was a little bit old."
"$5 lunch voucher, when most items are $4.50.. no money for drinks! Labs look old. Closed-file interview."
"The SIM lab is not an amazing one as UCLA's."
"5$ for lunch didnt buy much. Also, some of the students seemed distant, others seemed stoked and totally friendly. The slide projector didnt work very well. Also, we sat for like 4 hours before we were allowed up."
"Nothing really."
"Faculty interview"
"The student who interviewed me did not seem to excited to be there and I did not have much clue as to how well I did when interviewing with him. UCSF was slower than most schools when it came to interview invitations, and acceptance notificiation."
"The school was old, seemed very competitive/cut-throat and the cost of attendance."
"None"
"how expensive the International Dentist Program is"
"Walking up the stairs... i guess i am getting old."
"it was raining...typical sf weather"
"The set up of the interviews was a little disorganized."
"The facilities are a little old and San Fran's a little weird. A lady next to the school tried to sell me some drugs."
"I can't say anything negatively impressed me. It's a great school!"
"The weather was terrible when I interviewed. It was raining like mad and so windy I felt like I was getting blown away. "
"The difficulty in trying to contact the admissions staff with questions prior to coming to the interview. All of my travel info on arriving at the school came from outside sources."
"The admissions/faculty interactions seemed somewhat strained; the medical students seemed to be friendlier than the dental students; it was confusing to find my way around."
"everything was pretty great"
"the disorganization of the admissions commitee."
"the area around the school is hilly "
"I don't like the idea of moving towards PBL"
"Lack of diversity. Many students in the clinic were complaining. My student tour guide even mentioned that he was bit put back by the arrogance of the professors at UCSF."
"Pretty much the whole interview process. Not organized at all. The interview was bad too. Its basically who you get. I later found out from a student that I got interviewed by a professor that nobody likes and the student called him " very weird." "
"facility is old"
"The clinic and there were only about 8-10 seats for students in their "sim-lab." I saw this as a pathetic attempt to keep up with other schools. The professors seems to be on a "high horse." While visiting the labs I stopped paying attention to the student tour guide and heard a student on the clinic floor complaining about how his instructor is biased and favors other students. lol. This is not a good impression of UCSF and it makes me wonder if students at other dental schools feel the same way. It's a pretty scary notion."
"The technology was not completely up to date, and the buildings looked a little bit old"
"it was raining..."
"UCSF medical campus is isolated in a residential area up on a hill. There aren't any nice restaurants or any college town nearby, although nice public transportation system takes you to the downtown in 15 minutes or so."
"The clinic and lab facilities."
"The pre-clinics are not that great, but everything else is top notch. Also, they speak a lot about diversity, yet the majority of students (and interviewees) are asian. There did not seem to be a very high number of underrepresented minorities, they just replaced all of the white kids with asians. "
"Nothing"
"the time it takes to get around on campus and the hills"
"Lack of modern dental facilities."
"Shotty facilities. The students at the other schools I interviewed at seemed a lot more happy and had more enthusiasm than UCSF students. I might be wrong but that's the impression I got. "
"The sim lab pretty bad but the clinic is nice. The school does not allow you to interact with many students."
"The dental facilities are pretty much crap and they are behind other schools in terms of modern teaching. For example, many dental schools have digital x-rays, but not at UCSF (just one of the MANY things I noticed). UCSF seems to be geared towards research."
"The labs and facilities were somewhat outdated. I mean you make the best of what you got, but not too many resources in terms of clinicaly oriented. Also, the cost is not that competitive when you consider living and equipment expenses. Especially the equipment. Also, they presented that about 20-23 students go on to specialty (33%), but the breakdown was weak. They had only five or six students in total going to ortho, omfs, endo and prosthetics. The rest went into AEGD (about 7), and several more going into GPR, and research which in my opinion should not be counted as specialties since UOP prepares its students really well clinically in three years. I am pretty sure that I wrote down about 14-16 out of the 22 students entering specialty went into AEGD or GPR:("
"The students seem to be pretty smug and unhappy. The overall feeling I got during my interview day was a depressed surrounding. My interviewer was nowhere to be found and even admitted to me that he almost forgot he had an interview to give. The buildings and facilities are old. Very unorganized looking school."
"The students and faculty do not make you feel wanted like other schools. I felt like I was being put on the spot at the interviews (both of them)."
"Hmmmm. Where do I begin? During my interview I made sure to ask other UCSF students who were NOT involved in the admissions process (ie. those not giving tours or designated to answer questions to make the school look good) what they thought about the school. 1)The students did not have any personality. During my tour I asked one of the 3rd year students if he liked experience UCSF he and he just put his head down. Overall, many of the students did NOT like where they were. 2) I asked another student what he thought a weakness of UCSF was and he said that the professors think of themselves very highly and are not helpful. For example, other schools call you doctor when you enter the clinic, but this is not the case at UCSF. 3) The facilities are OLD OLD OLD!! I can't believe dentistry is taught there! 4)During the whole interview UCSF emphasized diversity---they even devoted a 30 min video promoting it. That's great and all, but they really beat the topic to death thoughout the whole process. I was sick of hearing about diversity, when all I saw were a majority of Asian students. It seemed a bit contradictory on their part. 5) One of the most negative impressions I got was when one of the dental students who was apparently upset told our tour group, "DO NOT GO TO DENTAL SCHOOL!" I almost wanted to laugh, but after the interview day I could see why he hated dental school. 6) The school concentrates excelling more on research than they do on the clinic floor. Before I never knew why UCSF was a top ranked dental school or had a good reputation, but then I found out that the students they accept have excellent GPA's and DAT's and most importantly they are funded with a lot of research money--this is what contributes to their high ranking. This was a disappointment for me because even though research opportunities are helpful, I was looking for a program that emphasizes more clinic with better facilities. Where is all the UCSF money going? To the facilities?...I don't think so. To research? Most definitely."
"The day was not organized. Some of the students did not get a tour of the school. The building and facility are old."
"The students did not have much personality after going through the student interview and walking around the clinic observing students. The pre-clinical rooms and clinic were old and ugly."
"lack a good time table for the interview. several students were late or no show for giving tours or interview "
"parking and the fact that there were 20 other interviewees with ucsf havin an 80 person class"
"That the interview was 'closed' and yet the interviewer asked me about my GPA and DAT scores. Also, San Fransisco is a really expenisive place to live in."
"Cost of living!"
"The cost of living!"
"The SF traffic. I also heard that the students were very competitive. But, the school is supposed to go to P/F system starting this year. So, it may be better."
"Big name, so high expectation"
"Nothing. Great school."
"Just a wee bit unorganized. The man leading us to meeting room didn't know exactly where it was. During my interview, my interviewer asked me what my gpa and DAT's were even though I thought it was a closed file interview. Also, my faculty interviewer had the personality of a dead fish. He wouldn't really smile at all and he didn't give me much feedback on my answers to his questions. I asked him later why he became a dentist and he told me he was a researcher and then I was like "no wonder". i'm not saying all research people are boring and have no personality. it just made sense to me..."
"the weather was horrible, pourred all day long, parking is $18/day and they have no sutdent parking"
"The city is very expensive to live in and there is no parking for studnets."
"The interview process really stressed diversity in their class. However, I don't feel that UCSF's class is really that diverse. "
"The building is a bit old."
"facilities. not as nice as the private schools"
"The interview day was disorganized. My faculty interview took place at the same time as the school tour. I missed the tour, but my student interviewer was kind enough to give me a mini tour. The dental school looks old, and could benefit from some remodeling."
"No free parking, limit $5 for lunch. My faculty interviewer forgot he had an interview that day. We interviewed in the clinic while he was helping his students. The interview lasted 1hr and a half because of all the distractions. It seemed very unorganized. So consequently I missed out on the school tour. "
"That there would be no chance to ask questions"
"It is a very relaxed conversational interview. Also go to all their webinars, they are insightful."
"It gets very cold at night. Plan a trip around SF!"
"There was a short writing sample at the end of the day asking for your interpretation of a quote (quote changes with each day, and they ask for about half a page to a page of writing, giving you 30 min). I also wish I would have known that an option financial aid presentation would follow the interview day -- I would have liked to stay for that but could not as I had already scheduled a shuttle to take me to the airport."
"Writing prompt at the end of the interview."
"I shouldn't have stressed out so much because it was so easy going and relaxed"
"They had just received their 4th Nobel winner of the school the day of my interview. "
"You will have 2 different interviews, a 30 minute 1 on 1 with a faculty member and a 30 minute group interview with a current student (2 interviewees with 1 current student). Both interviews are closed file. Also, your interview time is not fixed nor back to back so you never know when its your turn to go."
"writing sample was way too hard for me...I bombed in that section ><"
"That the student interview was 2 applicants per 1 student simultaneously. There's also a 30 free-response essay"
"the quote i would have to write about. it was really abstract."
"Parking was $20 dollars! But seriously, it's not a big deal considering you are interviewing."
"new curriculum "
"That the interviews were literally right after lunch and you get assigned to the interviewers randomly, literally a few seconds before the interview. I had to cram my tuna sandwich down my throat and take a big swig of water to was it down. Also, the girl's bathroom down the hall has only ONE stall, so make sure you go before everyone else otherwise you're lining up behind like 6 girls after lunch when your interview is 5 minutes away."
"Older simulation and working lab. No Dean right now (they're working on that). "
"that i would be evaluated during the lunch interview with student"
"The "student-led tour and lunch" is actually a STUDENT INTERVIEW!! Very misleading. The student evaluated us at the end of the tour."
"The interviewers know nothing about you or your past, the are trying to gauge your personality. "
"Closed file interview (yeah, maybe I should have looked on here beforehand)."
"Nothing, I had researched this school pretty thoroughly before my interview."
"Eat before and wear comfortable shoes."
"Writing practice, write as much as u can."
"interviewers were really nice."
"more info about the OCS program faculty"
"i would be eating lunch while interviewing(kinda hard to focus on both things)"
"You can get in state tuition after one year. The writing sample is really easy--nothing to be worried about."
"nothing really"
"That the interviews were so layed back. My student interview asked me only one direct question. We spent the whole time just talking. They truley just want to know what type of person you are."
"Nothing. No surprise. We just had a little 10 minute essay on some question of the day. "
"How relaxed it would be, people and myself were making me think I was going to be interrogated heavily and given the cold shoulder by people at the school. Not so!"
"I didn't have to be so nervous."
"all was pretty much known"
"how UCSF views the writing sample: they correlate the writing sample you do on interview day with a dentist writing down notes in a patient's chart "
"It was a little disorganized. Housing can be quite expensive."
"Nothing."
"This school is pretty much balanced in every field."
"I wish I had known the interview was going to be a waste of time. "
"Wear more comfortable shoes because the campus is large!"
"I should have taken a shuttle to the school rather than Taxi. It would have been cheaper."
"That I was going to be writing an essay. "
"That it really is a great school. Make sure you don't take other people's opinions to heart too much. You really have to see a place for itself. "
"The walking...wear comfortable shoes"
"How much traffic there was going to be."
"Since I had gone to other interviews, I think I was pretty prepared for this one."
"UCSF is not just about research. They offer their students the chance to take part but it is not required. "
"nothing was really a surprise."
"Nothing bad. It was a nice day. "
"That the interview was going to be unorganized and you I was going to spend most of my time waiting. "
"1) There is NO parking anywhere. 2) During "lunch" you are getting your student interview done. Pretty awkward to be talking with a piece of lettuce in between your teeth!"
"I wish I had known that the entering class had already been full and that there were 20 other students being interviewed on this "last interview day" for the 2004 entering class."
"That my lunch time would also be my interview. I did not like talking while eating."
"I would miss my tour"
"That it was not going to be too stressful. "
"That even though the dental school itself is not really as diverse as they claim, the med, pharmacy, nursing, and hygiene programs are literally right around the corner and there are alot of student organizations that cross program lines. "
"It rained in SF. (In another word, nothing new)"
"none"
"there is a lot of traffice in SF"
"Nothing new discovered."
"The parking situation. I should have gone there earlier to find street parking few blocks away. I parked at the school parking. I ended up paying $18 for the day. "
"how laid back the interview would be"
"That there is no free parking. I received a letter on Friday to interview on Monday. I didn't think that was enough time for me to make plans, I had to rush to get there."
"This was a great low stress interview, wish we had a tour in person, but with COVID that is difficult"
"<3"
"Overall, I really loved the school... close call for me between UCSF and UOP if I were to be accepted!"
"Awesome school! Relax and be yourself, if you interview here they really want you (they don't interview that many applicants)."
"I can definitely see why this school is one of the top schools in the country. They have the campus, the staff, and the reputation to support that claim."
"Overall the school is amazing. It has been my number one school and still is. I am extremely anxious to hear back on the first and hope i receive good news. "
"Highly regarded school in a fantastic city. Of course, if you are interested in research, hard to find a better school. Overall a balanced program. Definitely one of my top choices."
"A great school, not only in research but also in clinical training. "
"I love the school!"
"staff were very friendly. two interviews, one with dental student, one with faculty. breakfast and lunch were provided."
"This was by far the most impressive school I interviewed at. I was really amazed, and I think that it made more nervous than I needed to be. Overall I thought the admissions faculty treated us like gold and the students seemed to love the school. I thought that closed file interviews were not very effective, and felt like I had a hard time getting all my points across in the 30 minutes because my interviewer had to get to know me from scratch. I came away feeling a little uneasy about the faculty interview, but it must have been fine because I just got accepted. "
"UCSF is a top tier school and lived up to and surpassed its reputation during my visit."
"The school is a maze! Don't get lost!"
"Everything were nice except the faculty interviewer. She asked me my grades and DAT even though it was supposed to be a closed interview."
"The interview day started at 8am in the lobby of the dental clinic and we all waited around for about 15 minutes before the admissions guy (Bob MacKenzie) comes and brings us up one floor to a conference room. Then we all get to have a continental breakfast (tea, coffee, muffins, danish, croissants, bagels, juice). While we eat, there's a bunch of speakers that come to give a talk (Director of Admissions, Associate Dean, Dean of Administration, Financial Aid, faculty member). Then we have lunch at 12pm (cafeteria food - sandwich, bag of chips, fruit, cookie) and around 12:50-1pm we get randomly assigned to arriving interviewers. There's 2 interviews, one with a dental student and the other with a faculty member. Both interviews were extremely laid-back. With the faculty interviewer, it was more of a conversation with only a few direct questions thrown in. The interviewer talked a lot about himself and his experiences. It was cool getting to know him, but we went waaay overtime because of that and ended up going for over an hour when it's supposed to be for 30 minutes. Not sure what that means. He wrote stuff down on a notepad the whole time until 45 minutes into it, then he put it down and just kept chatting. The dental student interviewer had a list and went right off the list (you interview with one other person at the same time). Right when we sat down, she told us, "Congratulations on getting this far because when you interview here it usually means they want you. We just want to make sure that you're normal." Lol. She didn't write anything down at all, I think she waited until the very end to fill out the evaluations so the whole time we were speaking she was listening and nodding her head. Afterwards we got a tour of the clinic and sat in on a really good lecture about the different types of crowns available. Each student had their own station, flat screen computer and mannequin, and shared dental tools with the person next to them. After the interview day, I wanted to go here even more than before! There are so many opportunities for the dental students (research, community service, shadowing dental specialists) and students here have no problem passing the national boards (I think it's like a 96% or above first time passing rate on the first boards). UCSF is no doubt one of the best dental schools in the nation."
"Overall it was great! I think I got lucky cuz everyone else there had 1 interviewer and two applicants, where mine were both one on one. "
"I really loved the school because it is all about opportunity. Unfortunately, my first interviewer seemed pretty curt and aggressive so it was hard for me to gauge my performance. I wish the student interview wasn't over lunch. It was difficult to enjoy the food. "
"UCSF is the best dental school in both research and clinic. everything during interview was awesome."
"Faculty interviewer evaluated me during the interview time. Interviewer had a list of questions to ask, all of which were already answered on the primary application. Interviewer was really nice, but had an accent! Also, the faculty interviewer was supposed to interview a DDS/PhD applicant, but the interview coordinator wrongly let me interview him. Seemed a bit un-organized."
"100% Positive!!! Professors, faculty, staffs and students all are great and nice. "
"I loved this school, and was convinved I was going to go there until I got into HSDM. It is a fantastic school. Be prepped for the writing sample and have good questions prepared. "
"While it seemed everyone else had a pretty relaxed interview, I got the hardest interviewer. But when that happens sometimes its the best opportunity to show them that you're a great candidate. I did my best to stay collected and did well enough."
"I wish I had as much time to let them get to know me as I got to know the school on the actual interview day. In general, UCSF seems like a great school that allows the students flexibility along with challenge."
"The day overall was good - a lot of presentations about the school, their vision, etc which was useful. However my faculty interview left me with a really poor impression. The person would ask me a question, I would start answering, then (s)he'd cut me off and as an unrelated question. The questions were also kind of weird - eg: I said I ran 3-4X a week, (s)he then asked, oh not 7X a week?? I said I organized an event, (s)he then said, were you just a point person or the overall coordinator? It left me with the feeling that I was constantly being tested, and after being interrupted the 5th time, I got really annoyed and said something like if you would let me finish my thoughts, I'd be able to answer that question. Not the best interview etiquette but by that time, I was pretty irritated! (S)he didn't seem interested in what I had to say. However I think I had a unique interviewed b/c other people said theirs was conversational and low-key. The students seemed nice, stopped to converse with us, and the location is amazing! Going in, this was def. my top choice and still is up there, but the interview left me with a bad impression I didn't expect. Guess I'll start scheduling my other interviews now!"
"The day was like my interview days. Everyone meets in the lobby and they take you to a room w/ breakfast where you get to know some of the other interviewees and get a slide show on the school itself. Then they gave us a ten-minute essay, which was pretty nerve racking being that it takes me forever to gather my thoughts and write an essay. I thought it was awful but I was accepted so it couldn't have been that bad. A financial aid slide show is given and then you are taken on your interviews. After interviews, they give you a coupon for lunch at the cafeteria (which is pretty good I might say). After lunch, you go on a tour of the campus, and then a brief closing is given and the day is over around 3 pm. "
"The school is great for research and dentistry. I did not feel like I fit in, but I think its a great school for others. Also, you have to talk about yourself to both interviewers, pretty much repeating everything on your application. You had to make sure to tell them the exact amount of information, it should have just been open file. I do not think they got a sense of who I was as a person, because I was too busy telling them everything I had participated in the last four years of college."
"The over all ecperience is great. No surprising Questions were asked. The interview process was very stress-free, and similar to chatting. However, the negative thing is since it's so relax and unformal, u don't know what interviers are looking for. "
"The school is GREAT! "
"I went to interview for the IDP program. It was stressful because of the practical and written exam but the interview was really enjoyable. Interviewers were really nice and we have an interesting conversation. "
"Introducation and tour took up the whole morning. I was a little wearied at the end of the day after 4 interviews."
"Not too bad. If your interviewer asks to walk up the stairs, ask to take the elevator instead. "
"introduced eachother, financial aid presentation, deans intro(done by dr. alexander), student interview, faculty interview"
"They told us about the school and we got to know the other applicants. Then we did our writing sample, went on a tour, had interviews with a student and a faculty member, and finally ate lunch."
"The entire day was very relaxed. We had a school and a financial aid presentation. Then we had a writing assignment. We then went to our interviews with a faculty member and a student (at seperate times). The day ended by having lunch with the other interviewees."
"Bottom line..UCSF is a great school! I heard that their facilities were old and outdated but I saw the exact opposite. Their sim lab and clinic were great. The entire building wasn't as new as the spank'n new schools like AZ or UNLV but the equiptment was top notch. Who cares if the walls are a little run down?? I mean, UCSF has been around for 125 years, what do you expect?? :)"
"UCSF is a great school in a great, festive city. But, I can't stand the wind and rain."
"Welcomed by a faculty member. Brief overview of USCF's SOD background, financial aid talk, while snacking on some nice brkfast treats (fresh fruits, OJ, H20, coffee, bagels, croissants). Introduce each other (fellow interviewees). 10 min essay write. Faculty/student interview. Student tour. Outro. I enjoyed the people I met, both the fellow interveiwees and students and staff. I like the fact that UCSF is in the middle of all this nice lil restaurants and near golden gate park."
"It was great and the interviewers were really great too"
"UCSF is a great school. The program is excellent and the cost is pretty low. But the admissions process was very dissapointing. We were told that seats were still available and not to worry, but a few weeks later i got a letter saying that my application had been suspended because all the spots were full. The whole interview and admissions process was disorganized and reflects poorly on the school. "
"waiting in a lobby with other interviewees -- tense, guarded listening to the different deans -- inspiring, ambivalent waiting around for your interviewer -- nervous, disappointed taking the tour of the entire campus -- inspiring visiting the cafeteria -- disappointing"
"Great looking school with renovated facilities. I hope I get in!!! Gym is awesome."
"I have to agree with a huge sentiment of interviewers this year about UCSF. I'm sure it's a great school for some, but it's definitely not for me. My student tour guide told us that UCSF dental students "see the best in each specialty perform their work." That's nice to see another doctor do the procedure, but when do those patients ever make it to the student's chair? The difference is that I learn by seeing AND doing."
"Didn't like the school, and the interview."
"I don't understand in what basis some of other guys say there is no diversity. 50% asian really means diversity and truely represent diversity of california. If one thinks Asia is just one country, he does not deserve to come to this school anyway. Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Philppinos, Vietnamese .... check the map dude. They are not same. Anyway, Dean and faculty members were nice(I couldn't find any rudeness from this nice people). They do not restrict you to ask questions to any student (people don't lie). We passed one lab, they were laughing loudly seems like they enjoyed a lot (it's not an act, since we didn't go into the lab and tour time was random to each person.) People, I personally don't like San Fransico, but UCSF is one of the best school you can be educated as a good dentist. Come and check. "
"The Dean claims that you'll have a "great education at UCSF," but from what I witnessed at my interview I saw nothing that backed that up. Instructors were rude and arrogant, the pre-clinic and clinic were terrible, and most importantly students were unhappy. Does research really give a school a great repuation? If so, then UCSF must be known for that only. But, I don't want to be a researcher, I want to be a dentist. "
"IT was a good experience. the typical questions. "
"Interviews were not very hard. They asked standard questions. Student interviewer was very happy to be there. "
"For the most part UCSF is a nice school with a good reptation. I would rate it average. "
"I think I've seaid enough already!"
"Very nice school, deans were great. Students looked happy and said they were happy."
"Great School! Despite the facilities, the reputation and the outstanding faculty members makes this a place to get your dental education."
"I think I'd make UCSF my back up choice. Cool school but nothing spectacular. I even think some other Cali schools are better like UOP or UCLA. "
"What's all the hoot about UCSF? It's a good school, but why are all these people blowing it out of proportion? I'm sure the education a student receive's is top notch, but I think other schools have more to offer in terms of clinical preparation. I suggest that if you want to specialize take a look at UCSF, but there are many other dental schools with better facilities and same type of top notch education that can help you get into a specialty."
"Meet in lobby. You are taken to a room where the dean of admissions tells you about your day. You break for a snack and a photo. Next you listen to the dean talk about the school and what it has to offer. You then have you faculty interview. I found you experience here depends on the faculty member that interviews you. After this you are interviewed by a student over lunch. When you are done you get the tour of the school."
"My interview experience was a pleasant one. The interviewers were nice and welcoming, but those antics weren't enough for me to see through the poor clinical facilities they had. The students looked a bit introverted compared the other schools I interviewed at. It appeared to me that UCSF students did not like where they were. All in all, I was looking for a school offering more in terms of clinical training."
"Had a really great interview process. I was taken back that they said they were looking for diversity, when about 57% of their students are asian--Go figure!. Faculty interviewer was not the best person to do interviews. Loved the library!! Nice weather, and had fun talking to the students there, but the students outside the interview process seemed to not be too happy to say in a way."
"I have to admit that UCSF used to be my 1st choice dental school, but after this interview I think I'd pick another California school. I too bought into the hype, but after seeing the outdated facilities and talking to students I definitely changed my mind. "
"UCSF turned out to be a HUGE disappointment. Don't be fooled by it's reputation! Think for yourself and ask many other students questions. "
"I think UCSF is a good school, but I'm not sure it won me over today. I'll probably base my decision on the school's good name more than anything I saw at the interview."
"UCSF was my first choice before the interview. After visiting the school, I was certain that I would attend the school if I were accepted. "
"Overall, I think that ucsf lives up to my expectation. "
"This is a wonderful school and the day was well organized. My faculty and student interviewers were great and answered all of my questions. I especially appreciated their frankness in their responses. After my experience there, UCSF jumped to the top of my list. "
"Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the interview experience. I thought the school was in a great location and I would love to spend the next four years living in San Francisco!"
"My experience at UCSF was awesome! After the interview, they jumped from one of my last choices to my first! Everything was laid back and everyone seemed liked they were really interested in what you had to say. The opportunities at the school are endless no matter what your interests are and the area is beautiful. I really feel like I will be getting an awesome education there as well as being able to do whatever I want to do post-graduation."
"The student interview was very comfortable. I felt like i was able to express my personality during this interview. The interview with the professor was pretty much reviewing my file. So I thought it was a bit more tough."
"I wish I could have been more calm. I knew the questions would be challenging. I guess I did okay. I am glad that my interviewer cares about me rather than just asking questions on the sheet. It then turned into a conversation rather than just a Q&A. BTW, there are two interviews. One by faculty and one by student."
"All in all, this is a great school for everyone, from general dentists to hard-core PhD researchers."
"the interviewers just want to get to know the student. No pressure. there is no right or wrong answers."
"The student interview was great. I felt we had a rapport withing minutes of meeting. Very laid back and relaxed. Told me up front that I shouldn't be stessed out that he just wanted to learn about me. Faculity interview was a bit stressful. My interviewer vollied question after question, some difficult some standard, one after another with little follow-up to each inital question. I wasn't asked to elaborate on any particular question but I couldn't get a good read on him because he didn't show any emotions really."
"Overall, it was a great experience. I was impressed by a lot of the stuff I mentioned before. I came out thinking that UCSF was a really well-rounded school. It has good research programs, a good patient pool, good academics (as displayed by their national board scores), and the people there were really friendly. I was told about one third of the students go on to specialize and for some reason I feel that that's how it should be. Not too many and not too little. "
"A little disorganized, but overall, everyone I met seemed really nice and happy to be at UCSF."
"Very positive experience. The school can provide dental school tons of opportunities: research, specialties, community dentistry... They will implement a new curriculum in 2004. It supposes to ease up some of the competition among dentals students. So that's good news."
"Since UCSF conducts closed file interview, it might be a little stressful since you want to impress your interviewer with what you look like on paper. However, this should not be the case. You start with a clean slate which means no specific questions about how well or terrible you did in ochem or the perceptual ability section on the DAT. The interviewer knows that you are more than qualified to be considered as a candidate at UCSF. UCSF faculty and students are different than other schools in that they truly want to get to know you as an individual. If you get an interview, be proud and go in with confidence. Its your grand opportunity to shine."
"The interviews were not intimidating and everyone was friendly. Everyone was given two interviews, one with a faculty member and one with a student. I only wish that the day could have been more organized. The "question of the day" was not difficult and only required about 15 min of writing."
"The facilities are really old, they haven't updated their labs in decades. Many students are not very friendly, don't have any social skills. The interview is supposed to be closed but the interviewer still asked me all my stats, it doesn't sesm closed anymore after you give them all your info right there."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 57 |
| Faculty member | 6 |
| Admissions staff | 18 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 32 |
| Neutral | 9 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.12 | 42 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 30 |
| Out of state | 11 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 12 |
| 2-3 hours | 13 |
| 4-6 hours | 8 |
| 7+ hours | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 22 |
| Automobile | 9 |
| Train or subway | 8 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 9 |
| $101-$200 | 4 |
| $201-$300 | 5 |
| $301-$400 | 7 |
| $401-$500 | 2 |
| $501+ | 4 |
LAX
San Fran International Airport
SMF
OAK
SFO
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 1 |
| With students at the school | 2 |
| Friends or family | 10 |
| Hotel | 14 |
| Home | 1 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.19 | 43 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.91 | 44 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.16 | 44 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.65 | 17 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.06 | 17 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.07 | 15 |
"Be clear on which interview is first for the student vs faculty interview."
"Nothing, they had everything under control and made it fun"
"Do not be nervous, staffs are super nice. I was impressed by delicious food and nice people there."
"Bob McKenzie should get a raise. Nicest guy in the world"
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?