How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.00 | 69 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 64 |
| Negatively | 2 |
| No change | 3 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.22 | 67 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.09 | 55 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.13 | 54 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 3 |
| Virtual | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 1 |
| 20 minutes | 4 |
| 25 minutes | 7 |
| 30 minutes | 33 |
| 35 minutes | 8 |
| 40 minutes | 1 |
| 45 minutes | 2 |
| 50 minutes | 0 |
| 55 minutes | 1 |
| 60+ minutes | 12 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 69 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 65 |
| In a group | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 61 |
| Closed file | 4 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.00 | 69 |
"Why are you interested in VCU?"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"Tell me, in detail, about a procedure that you witnessed as a dental shadow."
"Tell me about your sister"
"Tell me about a book you have read/what is your favorite book?"
"Will you be able to handle the stress of dental school since failure is such a big part of of learning dentistry?"
"What have you done in your gap year?"
"Mind elaborating about your withdrawals in undergrad?"
"How has your day been so far?"
"Give me three weaknesses"
"Tell me about yourself"
"The "tell me about yourself" question set the tone of the interview, all the other questions came from what I said from that."
"Name one of your strengths"
"Why VCU? Would you choose it over your in state school."
"What made you choose VCU?"
"What is your shadowing experiences"
"Why VCU? Why dentistry?"
"What do you not want in a dental school? [Basically, what type of dental school are you looking for?]"
"What do you want to get out of four years of dental school?"
"Why did you choose to dental assist during your year off instead of attending graduate school?"
"Since you graduated, what have you done to remain involved in the community?"
"Why dentistry"
"Why VCU?"
"3 strengths and weaknesses?"
"Tell me your strengths and weaknesses"
"what questions do you have for me?"
"Tell me a little bit about yourself. Name 3 of your weaknesses."
"Is public health important to you?"
"Tell about musical background"
"Why dentistry?"
"How did you get to this point?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs?"
"do you think you can handle the rigors of dental school? how/why? can you do it and balance it with your family life?"
"hobbies? "
"3 positive and 3 negative things about myself"
"Define "quality"."
"What is your greatest strength?"
"Why dentistry? Why VCU?"
"tell me three bad things about you"
"What would you want me to tell the Committee about you?"
"Same Old Questions"
"What are your strenghts?"
"Why Denistry? Why VCU? (Obviously)"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"who are you and what got you here?"
"There were very few questions, both staff interviewers just spoke and I nodded my head. Very little interaction."
"Tell me about yourself."
"What questions do you have for us?"
"How did folding laundry for a soccer team help you develop as a person and leader?"
"What did you observe while shadowing?"
"What are some of the positive and negative things you experienced through dental shadowing?"
"Why dentistry"
"Once you graduate, describe to us what you will be looking to do (where and what type of work you will be looking for)"
"Why I would like to practice in the area I desire and what challenges do I foresee in this environment?"
"Talk about shadowing experience"
"What led you to choose dentistry?"
"What is your biggest failure?"
"Why VCU? What is your favorite part about our curriculum? What is your plan to succeed?"
"How do you like richmond?"
"Why dentistry and not medicine?"
"Greatest strengths and weaknesses"
"Why did you decide to go back to your Histology teacher's lab instead of shadowing at a dental office during your year off?"
"Have you done any research?"
"3 Strengths, 3 weaknesses"
"Tell me about your research experience."
"Your academic performance was much better in grad school than in undergrad, why the change?"
"Name 3 good qualities and 3 bad qualities about yourself."
"We have a large and very diverse patient population. What experience do you have working with people of different viewpoints and backgrounds than yours?"
"What types of research have you been involved in? Tell us about how you contributed.."
"Tell me about yourself? (unique characteristics)"
"Explain this part of your essay"
"what has been your greatest challenge?"
"describe your leadership positions"
"do you have siblings?"
"Why VCU? Why dentistry? Why not medicine?"
"Have you ever been to Virginia before?"
"3 strengths and 3 weaknesses"
"What are you looking for in a dental school?"
"What will you do if you're not accepted?"
"Why are you interested in dentistry?"
"tell me about yourself?"
"life story"
"why do I want to be a dentist"
"What is the hardest class that you took this last year?"
"What is your weakness?"
"What was the worst thing that you experienced in the dental field that you weren't expecting?"
"tell me what is the greatest change you have undergone throughout your highschool years"
"What would you do if you didn't get in this year?"
"How could you give back to the community?"
"How do you handle stress? What do you do to relieve stress?"
"Tell me about your community service."
"What will you do if you don’t get into dental school?"
"Why VCU?"
"What seperates me from other candidates?"
"how is your manual dexterity?"
"Why dentistry?"
"What manual dexterity skills do you have?"
"What are you watching on Netflix?"
"What is the procedure you are most scared of doing?"
"What is a challenge in dentistry, what is something you don’t like about dentistry?"
"Tell me about your undergraduate research."
"What was the most difficult obstacle or hardship you had to overcome in your life?"
"Tell me about your research/ do you want to continue research?"
"What draws you to dentistry? How will you maintain ethical dentistry with all the debt incurred?"
"About my volunteering"
"Tell me about any experiences you have with manual dexterity."
"What do you like about Richmond?"
"Why did you stop ____ activity?"
"Tell me about some of your extra-curricular activities."
"What did you like/dislike about other schools you have have interviewed with"
"Why should we pick you? What will you bring to our class?"
"What is your proudest accomplishment?"
"What is your greatest fear?"
"Strengths/weaknesses?"
"What was the toughest time in your life?"
"Why do you feel dentistry is a good choice of profession for you?"
"What have you done to explore this career?"
"what other schools have you applied to?"
"Tell me about your astronomy research (from high school). I was asked very particular questions about this research...like how many years ago did the star explode?"
"tell me about your activities pertaining to manual dexterity"
"what do you like to do in your free time?"
"What do you like about volunteering/dental assisting? "
"What would make you happy in life?"
"Where else have you interviewed?"
"Tell me about (a leadership experience from my AADSAS application)."
"Why did you get a C in organic?"
"Can your husband find work here?"
"does your wife know how demanding dental school is going to be? is she ok with that?"
"all the questions were very simple"
"Do you have any children? NO!!"
"why dentistry"
"we talked about my application and things I talked about in my essay."
"Tell me why you have an 'F' on your transcripts?"
"Why VCU?"
"Why not med school?"
"if you could go to any college what would it be and why"
"Give me a biography of your life, hitting the highlights."
"Tell me about yourself?"
"What are your 3 biggest strengths and weaknesses?"
"Questions about my extracurriculars that they read about in my personal statement."
"What have you done recently? "
"What it takes to be a good dentist?"
"what have you done to improve your manual dexterity"
"What kind of manual dexterity activities are you proficient at?"
"If you could have dinner with someone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?"
"Do you think you will succeed in dental school?"
"Did you bring anything to show us your manual dexterity?"
"Did you bring a sample of manual dexterity?"
"What do you like about Richmond?"
"Do you have photos of speed-cubing rubik's?"
"They asked a lot about the activities I did throughout college."
"Why Dental school?"
"Is anyone in your family in dentistry?"
"Do you speak mandarin? Followed by interviewer whipping out his chinese vocab."
"How did your surgery affect your goals during your second year at college?"
"What is your proudest accomplishment?"
"Essay question pertaining to professional ethics."
"What is one goal you would like to accomplish before entering dental school?"
"I see your file in front of me. Tell me things about yourself that are not in here."
"If you were to specialize, which specialty would you choose and why?"
"My 2 interviews were very relaxed and more conversation style rather then QnA. The other one was mroe QnA, and had no interesting Qs in my address :)"
"What is your favorite procedure that you have watched/assisted? Why? Explain it in detail."
"Explain this portion of your personal statment"
"Your DAT seems low for your GPA. Care to explain (I did not think this was the case...)"
"what was the most challenging time of your life?"
"what questions do you have for me? "
"How do you handle stress?"
"Asked about my musical background"
"Don't you think you'll be bored in dentistry? (I'm changing professions)"
"So, the dean tells me you had an interesting road getting here, tell me about it."
"How do you deal with stress?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs?"
"asked me about my experience with photoshop and graphics design programs. was just a personal intrest of the professor. luckily i am know quite a bit about that stuff."
"Tell me your life story hitting the highlights. "
"Define "quality"."
"What do you think a Dental School should provide it's students?"
"what did you not expect to find in your dental volunteer experience?"
"What would you want me to tell the Committee about you?"
"Is VCU your top pick?"
"How could you give back to the community?"
"What was the biggest risk you have ever taken?"
"Same questions as I got at every other interview."
"If you were able to be in the meeting with the admissions committee, what would you want to tell them about yourself?"
"Tell me about one of your weaknesses."
"What is a time when you were ready to give up?"
"how has you r life prepared you to be here at this dental school."
"How would my manual dexterity skills help me in dentistry?"
"In the next three months, what would be one thing you would like to improve on in your life?"
"I was not really asked any specific questions. We mostly had a conversation with one another in which various topics arose, such as amalgam restorations, laser dentistry, DentSim advantages and disadvantages, etc. It was very enjoyable and informative. "
"What do you think will be the hardest part of dental school?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"What is a challenge in dentistry, what is something you don’t like about dentistry?"
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years"
"What questions do you have for us?"
"From the tour, what did you like best and least about our school?"
"Why did you decide to apply for the Army HPSP and not the other branches"
"None. All pretty much what I expected to be asked"
"Probably coming up with 3 weaknesses"
"Something about Health Care"
"Tell me your 3 worst qualities?"
"none. pretty standard"
"None, all were very straightforward, no out of the blue challenges."
"the one about other schools"
"Why dentistry? [The interviewer had a negative look on his face for this question, so I had to work hard to 'turn his frown upside-down']"
"What is your greatest fear?"
"What can you bring to VCU? What do you have to offer?"
"What was the toughest time in your life?"
"We have a large and very diverse patient population. What experience do you have working with people of different viewpoints and backgrounds than yours?"
"What makes you unique?"
"Same old same old..."
"Why did you goto dentistry? I was previously a completely different major (comp sci / engineering)"
"none"
"Tell me 3 of your weaknesses"
"tell me three strengths and weaknesses"
"they didn't really ask me any traditional interview questions, only natural conversation stuff. The students at lunch were the ones asking the akward questions-so be prepared."
"Dental school is hard. How do you think you'll manage?"
"Nothing was hard at all- perhaps what questions do you have for me?"
"Name 3 personal strengths and 3 weaknesses"
"What was the hardest thing you have to accomplish?"
"The interviewers did most of the talking, they only asked two questions which were no-brainers, one asked what I will do if don't get in, the other asked why did you get a C in organic. That was really the only two questions asked."
"What sets you apart from the rest?"
"What happened to your grades Junior year?"
"tell me about yourself? (only reason why it was difficult is that there was a weird pause after...i was like...hmm should i say more...or less? you have to just read the situation."
"What are the three worst things about you?"
"Why do you want to live in virginia if you live in a beatiful area?"
"I was ready for them all."
"Why do you think we should pick you over the other candidates?"
"Define "qualtiy"."
"I hate the weakness questions."
"situational question"
"tell me three bad things about you"
"Between D.5 and being on the waiting list, which one would you prefer?"
"Name five of your biggest weaknesses. (I was ready for one or tow but five.)"
"What is the hardest part of dentistry?"
"What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?"
"same as above"
"What do you want me to remember about you?"
"Are you sure you really want to be a dentist after I already elaborated on why. "
"None too difficult"
"What was my most impressing "chair side" experience?"
"No hard questions really..."
"None were too difficult."
"Nothing, I wanted to be myself."
"I read my personal statement many times, reflected on my past experiences, did several mock interviews, and thought about potential questions to prepare for (but did not memorize answers)."
"Practicing questions and reviewing my application."
"I re-read my personal statement/reviewed supplemental application questions and thought about my path to dentistry."
"SDN, researching the school."
"Reviewed my application a million times and used SDN"
"5 previous dental school interview experience, VCU website, SDN"
"SDN and school website"
"prepared common questions"
"SDN, google, brainstorming answers"
"SDN, school website, other students."
"I had mock interviews with my friends and a career advisor."
"Student Doctor, Self-Study"
"Read up on the school"
"First looking at SDN...then realizing I should just relax and that coming in calm and confident was the best preparation."
"this website"
"SDN Interview Feedback, Interview books, meditation."
"SDN, VCU website"
"Mock interviews, interview books, etc."
"Reviewed application, personal statement, common interview questions, notes from past dental experiences. Studied VCU Dentistry website in depth. Listened to Master of Puppets."
"Read my personal statement, SDN, talked to first year students I knew"
"SDN, supplemental materials, researched their website, and spoke with friends who are currently attending the school."
"SDN, talked to friend who is in D-School already."
"SDN website, news articles about the school, prep books for interviews and reviewed my essays and application questions"
"SDN, AADSAS application, friends who were admitted to the school, shcool's website"
"SDN, practice from other interviews"
"searched through SDN, the school website and practiced interviewing with friends"
"no prep besides buying a pant suit."
"Googled dental school interview questions and practiced them, SDN"
"practice interview questions, student doctor, etc"
"Read school's website, SDN, looked over AADSAS, watched Richmond news channels in the morning"
"Read this forum, read some potential interview questions, researched the school's DDS program"
"I looked at the interview feedbacks on this site. "
"Reviewed my past performance at other interviews"
"SDN, online sources, Barrons"
"www.studentdoctor.net, www.dentistry.vcu.edu, mock interviews (and feedback) with a friend that is in dental school...mock interviews are very helpful"
"Practice questions on SDN forums."
"SDN, Mock interviews"
"SDN"
"Read this website"
"www.studentdoctor.net"
"SDN, talked with other's who had interviewed there, and practiced with possible questions and their answers."
"this website, practice interviews"
"sdn and practiced answering questions that they were most likely to ask"
"SDN, practice answering questions again and again, recorded myself, mock interviews"
"SDN, Web, Other students"
"this web site, and the schools web site."
"Looked at others' posted feedback, read the forums, looked at vcu web site, practiced answering obvious questions (e.g. why denistry? why vcu?), prepared questions to ask interviewers"
"SDN "
"Not too much. I just looked at their website and looked at SDN."
"SDN, school website"
"Notes, VCU notes, SDN, Application reviews"
"Practiced answering obvious questions"
"looked at this web site. looked at there school and talked to friends in dental school"
"Looked up the school on the net, asked students"
"Read through SDN, thought about answers for common interview questions."
"Tour of the school, school web-page, SDN."
"Student body was very tight and diverse."
"The administration made sure to make the day as low-stress as possible. Instructors and students were very kind when passing by in the hallways. The operators were state-of-the-art, and we were shown all of the new innovations that the school has to offer. The amount of clinical exposure was very unique to learn about."
"The faculty is kind and welcoming."
"friendly atmosphere, faculty, great clinical curriculum"
"Student culture"
"How welcoming and friendly everyone was. Also, the new building that should be completed around 2020-2021 (I interviewed in 2019). They will be replacing the dent sim lab with digital dentistry as well, which is becoming the standard in modern dentistry. I’m glad they are welcoming positive changes that will ultimately help students when they practice in the real world."
"How not stressed out the students seemed to be. How VCU seems to really care about their students and is willing to change curriculum."
"Laid-back from the start. We had a normal conversation that just happened to involve a few of the common questions asked in dental school interviews. This interview experience was much better than many other schools who just happen to read from a list of questions and rate your answers - they truly seemed to care and were interested in what I had to say."
"How nice and welcoming everyone was"
"The dental students there were so down to earth!"
"Culture of the students and faculty. Everyone was really nice and welcoming."
"Instead of showing us the clinics, they let us experience them. So instead of seeing the specialty clinics, we shadowed in them. We also got to drill on a tooth on the dentsim. It was awesome!"
"The professionalism, technology used in the school and curriculum."
"Everyone was friendly, students were great to talk with, technology is good."
"How relaxed it was. Students are happy and the clinical experience is amazing."
"I love the location of the school. Dr. Healy was very friendly and the lunch was nice"
"The admissions staff does everything possible to make you feel relaxed about the interviews and to inform you about the school. You even get a chance to go into the clinic and work with D4 dental students!"
"the clinic, the friendliness of the faculty and students"
"Everything about the school was fantastic. The location, clinics, and DentSim (A HUGE plus)."
"SIM lab, clinical experience"
"How the students seemed to be one big family."
"SimDent, specialty clinics, facilities, student interaction, laboratory space and cleanliness, possible academic scholarships exceeding $10,000 annually"
"The faculty were amazing, very friendly, took lots of time to answer all my questions. Students were very happy. Early clinical experience of students. Wonderful externship and community volunteer opportunities. "
"The clinic and how soon students were able to have clinical experience. The staff/student relationship was amazing. Also, all the students seemed to love the school and get along, which made you want to be part of the atmosphere."
"Good facilities, friendly faculty, excellent clinical education."
"The facilities are nice and a new patient clinic building is being constructed and should be completed in May 08."
"New equipment and friendliness of staff."
"The sim labs and mannequins used, the overall advancement of the dental school, and the interviewers were very friendly."
"The closeness of the minority community"
"the upgrades to the facilities"
"EVERYTHING! especially the student-faculty relationships, the DentSim lab, and the GP clinics"
"THE FACULTY!!! they were very warm and inviting and pretty much told me that I was a shoe in for the school, so that gave me a lot of confidence during my interview. I have a variety of dental experiences so I think that helped. also i love the area of short pump to live in - very suburban, and not too far away."
"SIMS lab, great faculty, friendly/happy students, very nice admissions staff, thorough tour, and a VERY informative financial meeting "
"students seemed very happy, it was cool to assist with D3 students and talk to them one-on-one"
"Everyone is SOOOO friendly and supportive... the 4th years had just been notified of acceptances to specialty programs and walking through the halls they were randomly calling out to each other and congratulating their classmates on getting in! Also, admit rates to specializations are REALLY high compared to other schools. Students' clinical skills are superb by 3rd year and DentSim labs are very new and clean."
"The students absolutely love VCU. The facilities are brand new (the building itself is old, but there is a new one scheduled to open summer of 2009). And there seems to be plenty of opportunities for clinical work, starting in the second year."
"Both the DentSim labs and the clinic."
"You get to assist in the clinic"
"Everything. I really enjoyed the students and the staff especially. Everyone seemed really interested in helping and answering questions. The facilities are great, the location is great, overall I really liked it. "
"Dental school professionals and students"
"brand new labs, friendly students/faculty, 2-hour shadowing built into the visit, school's vision for the future is solid"
"Large dental building, love VA, remodeling labs, very friendly community... Free lunch!"
"Assisting the students with their patients, the DentSims, the facility."
"All of the people there (both faculty and students) were so friendly."
"They have just recently expanded their general dentistry clinic and that is what I want to go into."
"The close-knit feeling among the students and their professors."
"They are remodeling the D1 and D2 labs and everything looks really good"
"i liked the dormitories"
"I learned a lot from the students - got a lot of questions answered and the Faculty are so nice!!"
"They prepare their students to take the boards after the first year. Good facilities. All the students semed to really enjoy the school and were happy with the education they were recieving."
"the number of speciality programs avaliable and how kind the people were."
"The sense of community between everybody there. The students all seemed to know each other. The faculty seemed genuinely interested in getting to know everybody. I didn't get the vibe that anybody would be stepping all over each other to make the grade. Good facilities, very nice clinic."
"The faculty seemed really good, very concerned about the students. The students seemed to be very happy and glad to be there. I also liked Richmond a lot more then I thought I was going to. Very nice town, and the people there were nice. They are phasing in a lot of improvements to their facillities over the next 4 to 5 years. Appartments are more reasonably priced then I was led to believe by other people who had interviewed there. "
"I was impressed with the clinic, the faculty, and the students. The clinic was very large and each student was working on his/her own patients. The faculty all seemed nice. They treat the students as equals-in-training not as money trees. The students all seemed to be happy and focused. "
"Great clinical program. The students and faculty were all easy to talk to, and they seemed to have a great relationship with each other. Love the city."
"How nice the clinical faculty is"
"Great faculty, sense of family within each class, nice facilities, well structured interview"
"there positive attitudes and broad range of programs"
"Great lunch, all you can eat anything"
"The faculty! All of the faculty were SO NICE and helpful. You can tell that the faculty really want to teach. The students were very nice and were happy to answer any questions. The two female fourth year students that gave us the tour were really cute too. Okay fine, all is fair... I guess the guy was okay too, if you're into that sort of thing."
"The clinics, the student body, the faculty and staff----the whole shool impressed me!"
"I spent an hour in OMS observing a lib biopsy. the Dr. was way cool with me. Students seemed happy there."
"Very long interview day. I was on campus for 8 hours,"
"They did not discuss financial aid in great detail at my interview day. I got lost at one point on the way back from my interview, a sign or directions would have been nice."
"The student tour guide bragged about lying during his interview and barely passing his classes."
"The city is not the safest place"
"The two day interview process was unnecessary, one would have sufficed. Also, they put the financial aid PowerPoint online and did not touch on finance at all in person. Instead, a presentation was given on the cultural and clinical aspects of the school. I left with no concrete answer of how much tuition really was."
"Two-day interview raises costs of stay"
"Facilities are pretty old"
"Nothing. It was a solid school. I didn't get a chance to see the library so that might have been nice."
"surrounding neighborhoods"
"The admissions committee and students were not very friendly."
"Nothing, super nice staff."
"I didnt like that the lunch with dental students was a "third interview""
"The general area around campus...but shortpump which is not too far away is really nice. I should mention that this is only the second time that I have been to Richmond, so I am sure that there are nicer areas. People who live in the city seem to love it."
"Perhaps the only thing negatively to comment on is the area a little outside of the MCV campus; I am not from an urban background, so it was a little jarring to get around for me."
"Students have to work extra hard to pass the boards."
"Surrounding area, some awkward faculty interaction, out-of-state tuition"
"Absolutely nothing."
"The location and knowing how much out of state tuition is."
"The admissions office was extremely unresponsive. (Dr. Healy is actually great, but no one else returned calls or emails.)"
"The location of the school."
"The weather :) Great school overall."
"none."
"Boards didnt seem to be a tremendous factor for students nor the school. Students dont seem to need to do much in order to just pass Also, though it worked out in my favor, I was the only black and only female applicant interviewing that day, with 5 other night males. I mean it was no biggie, I can hold my ground quite well, but just something thing i made an extra mental note about"
"One particular interviewer asked questions about so called ''weaknesses'' in my application that I thought, at most, were a stretch...such as ''It seems like in most of your activities you do not interact with others. Care to explain?'' I teach, am the president of my dental club, and do a lot of volunteer work, so I found that question a little offensive."
"the food at lamarck...lol"
"THE STUDENTS!! some were very socially akward, others were big headed, and even others were shoo-ing me away while I was in the clinic because they were trying to complete their projects and didn't want to be bothered with advertising their school. if someone came to me interested in my school, I would be more than happy to talk to them - i was shocked to say the least."
"Lunch: conversation&company good; food, notso much. But hey, at it was all you can eat."
"LOTS of married students- lots have children too- I'm 21..."
"Richmond... I was not impressed with the lack of public transportation options (definitely need a car if you live there), and the "downtown" area is almost completely deserted and cab drivers advised against walking anywhere. Students remarked that VCU is very much a commuter school and barely anyone lives on campus."
"Downtown Richmond is pretty drab near the school, but I didn't see much else."
"The location is downtown Richmond, which looks as if it could be hectic if you're in a hurry (i.e.late for class)."
"Nothing"
"If I had to come up with something, I would say the only thing would be the fact that they are not yet using digital x-rays. But I hear that this will be changing very soon. I honestly cannot think of anything bad at all"
"Some older buildings"
"not much...if anything just how competitive other students can be. just relax and make friends with the other interviewers...they may be your classmates!"
"Richmond, the school is really all. The tuition is really high."
"The labs... but I hear they are remodeling. The interview was really long."
"Richmond"
"The freshman labs were old, but nothing too bad."
"Some of the facility is older, but not bad."
"the food wasn't that great"
"nothing really but the food suckeD!"
"Saw a roach in the lab, clean huh."
"The parking situation was pretty bad, everyone seemed to complain about that (although the interviewees were able to park in the hospital lot). A few things seemed disorganized throughout the day. There was down time when there shouldn't have been. Also seemed like there was a bit too much paperwork going around."
"Some of their current facillities were kind of old."
"There seems to be a general lack of faculty. The faculty they have are great but they definitely need more. The weather also stinks! I guess it is gray a lot. It rained the whole time I was there. "
"The cafeteria food was not all that great. Not that big of a deal, since I'm sure they have other dining facilities."
"Parking deck attendants are pretty harsh -- watch out for these people!"
"Lunch was in a loud cafeteria where it was hard to converse with the students."
"very, very unorganized and very unprofessional"
"Lunch... "
"facilities a bit cramped. The staff was pretty disorganized with the whole day but they had just gone through hurricane Isabel so some didn't even have power or water at their homes. Hard to say what was disorganized due to the hurricane and what was disorganized due to lack of preparation on their part."
"They provided breakfast!"
"That there would be two people interviewing me at the same time."
"I wish I knew the exact activities that we’d do during the day."
"I would have brought a water bottle."
"That there were 49 other people interviewing when I went to interview."
"How great it was"
"You are given names of your interviewers ahead of time so research about them. Complement their ego"
"It was not a high-stress interview"
"Cost of flying there"
"That there would be an ethics essay/discussion."
"about this interview reference page"
"There is a student interview that is "graded" which takes place over lunch"
"there is an essay portion. its really relaxed and you get a prompt on an ethical dilemma. I filled up about 3/4 of a page, but more space is provided if necessary"
"To RELAX -everyone there wants you to feel comfortable."
"That the mandatory essay in the beginning of the interview day is not as nerve-wrecking as people make it out to be."
"Students have to work extra hard to pass the boards."
"Richmond highways and outer-belt are a tad confusing around MCV"
"How relaxed and comfortable the interviews were."
"The interview was so laid back and not stressful at all! I wish I had known how relaxed it was ahead of time."
"The essay question I had to write about."
"That it would be so relaxed; I would not be stressing so much."
"Take advantage of every opportunity to ask questions from the seniors during lunch."
"get lots of sleep the night before, having to be there by 730am is no joke!"
"I wish I had read the SDN interview feedback more closely. "
"the essay isn't a big deal, and the interviews are completely non-stressful. the most stressful part is the lunch with the 4th year students, I felt like I was under a microscope being constantly judged (I however, did NOT get the same impression from the faculty). i had a lot of questions i wanted to ask the students but i didn't feel comfortable asking them because i knew they were part of my admissions process-bad idea on the part of the university. on the good side, they were my only interview that allowed us to go into the clinic and spend time there...which was a unique touch - it was unfortunate that the students were not very receptive to it."
"That we had to walk a few blocks to the dining hall. Had a known this, I would have brought my jacket bc it was cold."
"Richmond has very very little to offer "
"There is nothing to do in Richmond; I brought a family member with me who by 10am had been driven around the entire city on the "Richmond Bus Tour" and had nothing else to do coz everyone kept saying that it was too dangerous to walk around Richmond alone! Also, other students going on interviews at the med school were taking the shuttle in the morning; don't get off at the same stop with them (like I did) or you'll have to walk a couple blocks over to the dental school! "
"You can't get in-state VA tuition if you are out-of-state and just going there for school."
"Nothing really, the feedback from the interviews on this site covered pretty much everything that happened."
"No curve balls, nothing unexpected"
"That it was alot more enjoyable than I expected. It wasn't very stressfull. Oh, that and you have to write a short essay on the spot about some ethical topic."
"There is no break. My dad was getting some test results back the same day and I wanted to call to see if he was ok but had no time to. Everything was ok :)"
"i knew there was an essay...about honor code and how you would handle a friend whom you caught cheating. i wish i did not stress the interview as much as i did...they make it really comfortable."
"I didn't need to be nervous at all... VCU appears to be a great school."
"The essay "
"what a great program VCU really has. "
"I wish I had known how relaxed they would be in the interviews."
"The actual cost of attending school, I way under estimated."
"I didn't know what time the interview finished, which would've been nice."
"nothing, i pretty much knew a lot about VCU already"
"the essays are just for matching your writing sample with your personal statement to make sure you wrote it"
"Dr. Healy is a very nice and proper man, but very hard to read. Half of the time during my interview I was sure if it was going good bad or if I should just shut up and stop making a fool of myself. But over all when it was over I felt it had gone well."
"nothing."
"I wish I would have known the reputations of the interviewers. I had heard VCU's interviews were all chill, so I didn't think I would get anyone like Dr. Bui. It would have helped having that information, but that's about it."
"That I should have relaxed more before the interview. It really wasn't that stressful. It was stressful enough to keep you on your toes but not enough to make you sweat."
"Wear comfortable shoes."
"Nothing"
"What the essay question was going to be."
"they told me that i needed my hepatites shots and then they told me i needed saftey glasses and i did not need them at all. they had glasses for me."
"That, although they told us to be there at 7:30, they wouldnt start interviewing until 8:30 and I would sit around an office doing nothing for half of my interview"
"If I would have sent in my application with only my name, and a picture of Chuck Norris in a crouching attack position, I'd be in by now."
"Great school and cutting technology. All the students seemed very happy. Dean was awesome and they went all out for the interview (goodie bags, 2 meals)"
"Very relaxed and comfortable environment"
"I love this school, its culture, and it's history. Other than a few minor things that I thought could have been improved, the day was smoother than I had expected, and I am beyond excited to attend VCU!"
"The school is older and the facilities are definitely not as nice as other schools. They are building a new facility that will open in spring of 2021, which is nice."
"The tight knit family atmosphere between the students is a major pull factor of this school. Though I have to note that one student said, when I mentioned how close everyone seemed, that “we aren’t all that close”. I concluded that for the most part, everyone seems to get along well, but there are some students sprinkled in there who think different."
"What you will be asked is subjective to your interviewer and what gathers attention. Be sure to use STAR method to answer well the questions you will be given. Be unique, calm, and honest with what you have to say. Train and prepare at home with friends, ensure to sound articulate in your interview for a positive impression."
"This school went from being a good choice to a top choice with my visit. Students seemed very happy and they produce great dentists."
"good luck, keep your head up. don't set limits on yourself and aim high"
"Make sure you drive to the school the night before it is in a difficult location. Also give yourself lots and lots and lots of extra time because I was actually late because traffic was so heavy"
"Great school, they really want you to be there."
"the adcom is very friendly and they emphasize that the students are a family. I interviewed around halloween, and the school was having a competition between the clinics to see which group had the best decorations. it was nice to be in a such a relaxed atmosphere"
"Great school with great students and staff. It definitely has a family atmosphere."
"The school boasts a great success rate for their students being admitted into speciality programs across the country, and is your traditional dental school regarding the curriculum. The DentSim is a huge plus, as first-year students use this technology right from the start during their first week and provides real-time feedback on their handwork with drills so that they can improve their skills exponentially by the time they have their first patient in their second year. The buildings are very nice, and perhaps my favorite aspect is the low stress, family environment that everyone exudes. They take pride in the fact that all students support and motivate one another, and Dr. Healy is a fantastic admissions dean. Virginia Residents, don't take this school lightly; even if you consider VCU your "back-up" school, it has several impressive things to offer."
"Great clinically-based school!"
"Good reputation and placement, great facilities, layout and exceptional diversity"
"Interviews first thing are infinitely better than at the end of a long day. There were two, separate one-on-one interviews. By the second one I had gotten all the nervousness out of my system and as a result I felt like I could really be myself and left feeling confident. The school has a brand new dental building opening Fall 09. There were two tours, one by Dr. Healy and one by a 4th year student. You get to shadow a student in the clinic for 45min. This was a great opportunity to ask questions of students, faculty, and patients. "
"Dr. Healy is a cool guy. The students really seem to like the school. Students receive awesome clinical experience by participating in the "MOM" projects."
"Left the school with a warm welcoming feeling from friendly faculty and staff. Very important IMO in selecting school for next 4 yrs. Also the new building and new tech is a step ahead of many other schools."
"Overall, a very well organized interview schedule. Dr. Healy provided more than enough information for each step of the application process and a great financial aid lecture. Everyone seems to be very encouraging like we will all get in."
"GREAT PLACE!! VCU is doing a lot to change their currc. as well as the phyiscal building. Clinics and preclincs are beautiful. med school is close by, all around, just an awesome school"
"it was an unnecessarily long process. We basically ''shadowed'' graduate students for an hour and a half. One of my interviews was a ''grilling'' interview whereas my other was more relaxed. I think it depends who you get. It's a nice school, but I did not walk away from the interview feeling very confident about getting in."
"Amazing...I lost my heart to VCU dental school. The whole day was very well organized and everyone was friendly and respectful. The students that did the tour were hilarious and answered questions thorougly. "
"i found out i got in here, but chose to go to maryland because of the negative impression i got from the students here. i feel like students tell a lot more about the school than the faculty (even though i absolutely loved the dean and my interviewers...they were amazing!!). i wanted to be at a place where students are happy and had good social skills not just good grades."
"7:30 AM meet with head of admissions and go over your day; 8:00 Interview #1; 8:30 Interview #2; 9-11:30 Essay/Tour/Observe&Assist in the clinic with the D3-D4 dental students; 11:30 Financial meeting; 12ish: Lunch w/ dental students; 1ish: wrap up w/ head of admissions; "
"very relaxing. it was my first of 5 interviews and I was very tired and nervous but both faculty members were very friendly and encouraging"
"Extremely laid back; everyone on the admissions staff is super nice, warm, welcoming. Started with half-hour welcome by admissions coordinator, then 2 interviews back to back (though they said sometimes they switch the schedule around a bit) with no interrogation whatsoever... they really want to get a sense of who you are as a person and your character. I have plenty of C's on my transcript and came in totally prepped to defend/explain each one, and they were never even brought up in either interview. Then a short essay, shadowing in the clinics, lunch and tour with 4th year students (also laid back but keep in mind they will report back to the committee what you say!), final words/Q&A with Dr. Healy (NICEST GUY EVER!). They're a very strong clinical school and clearly proud of it!"
"You start off at 7:30 in a meeting with Sharon, the nicest woman you could ever meet. She goes over the basics of the program and the interview process. Then you meet the Dean of Admissions, Dr. Healy, and then you are assigned your interviewers. After the interviews (2 in a row, 30 min. each), you write a brief essay. Then you learn about financial aid from a woman who knows so much about finances it makes your head spin. Then you get to watch some students at work (I shadowed an endo resident for an hour). Then lunch and a tour with some 4th year students. Then a final briefing and you're done by 2:30. The whole time they really try to make you feel at home and like you are definitely going to get accepted (let's hope that wasn't a ploy!)."
"My interviews were probably different than most because the dean knew me and had already talked to the interviewers about me. There were six of us interviewing that day and both the dean and his assistant seemed to talk to me moreso than the others, I would think they were probably a little uncofortable with that, but hopefully it was good for me. "
"Great school, everyone was friendly, clinics were nice and they definitely made their point that they are a clinically based school"
"The faculty was great and seemed interested in learning who I am. It was very non-threatening, and even enjoyable. "
"1. 7:30-8:00 Intro, 8:00-8:30 Essay, 8:30-9:10 Interview 1, 9:10-9:35 interview 2, 9:35-10 Financial Aid talk. 10-11:30 assisting students in the clinic. 11:30-2 Lunch and tour 2-2:30 closing. It was a nice time. Very well organized. I was impressed."
"very positive. great school."
"A long easy day with friendly people."
"relaxed"
"It was very informal and both interviewers were very friendly. "
"This school was very accomodating and they had the interviewees spend some time in the clinic assisting."
"I love Richmond. I think there will be a good patient base, which would provide for good clinical experience. The staff and faculty made me feel welcome and the students who took us on a tour were very friendly (they were a third, more relaxed interview)."
"i was nervous even though i shouldn't have been. As long as you are prepared, you'll do fine"
"I really enjoyed it and its always nice when the school gives you lunch, added bonus. Just so you know if they don't tell the students who give you the tour are also evaluating you."
"Great interview experience. The students and faculty were all great. You will definitely learn a lot just by visiting. It was a very positive experience overall, but a bit long (7:30 am to 2:30 pm). I'm walking away knowing quite a bit about the school, the students, and the faculty. It wasn't an interrogation the in any sense (except for a little bit of the Dr. Bui interview), everyone just seemed to want to get to know about the applicants. They stressed clinical a lot more than research, although research opportunities are definitely available and are highly recommended for those wishing to specialize (about 50-60% of students are accepted into specialization programs, according to Dr. Bui). Great school, thumbs up! "
"Very impressed. I had heard some negative rumors about their program before I went, but all of them proved to be untrue. "
"Great school! Probably not my top choice but definitely a good choice. "
"Laid back, just like everyone has been telling me all along. Two 30 minute interviews, shadowed some D2 students in lab, assisted a D3 in the clinic, lunch with three D4 students (this counts as the student interview), and financial aid presentation. There is nothing to be nervous about. Just be yourself!"
"Laid back, just getting to know you and why you are at VCU and why dentistry/ Also there is an on site essay and 2 facutly interviews + student interview over lunch."
"Overall it was a positive experience. However, I felt the interviewers did not ask the hard hitting questions to really get to know me. If you want them to know something about you, don't wait to be asked, but rather tell them."
"This was a great and fun experience. I enjoyed every bit of it."
"VCU just underwent a change of office for administration. They are very unorganized and waste a lot of your time. I was there from 7:30 to 2:00 and literally spent half of that time sitting in an office without any communication with staff. I had three half hour interviews, two with staff and one with a student. I wrote an essay and had a tour. That was it. NO presentation on the school, no financial aid discussion, no question answer period. Overall it was a horrible interview. I dont think that is a reflection on the school because the students seemed happy, but it for sure didnt help my want to go to VCU."
"Orientation at 7:30am, 1st faculty interview at 8am, another one right after at 8:30am. Essay at 9, off to the clinics to watch the 4th years work on patients, lunch at 12pm with the 4th year students, tour, financial aid talk (the woman that gives the talk wasn't there, so we got the Cliff"s Notes version of it), and out by 2:15pm. I thought VCU was a great school. The building itself is pretty old, but they have brand spankin' new clinics that look awesome! The faculty were amazing, and all of the students we talked to were very friendly. This was the first school I interviewed at, so I don't have much of a comparison. VCU has always been my #1 choice. This was a VERY low stress interview."
"The interview was very organized. Hurricane Isabel kept us from observing the patient clinics in action, but my tour a couple weeks earlier fulfilled that. I was impressed with the rennovation currently underway, as well as their objectives for the future. The student who gave the tour was very nice and helpful. The faculty are very supportive of their students--this was observed during the tour and on passing. I truly enjoyed my interview experience! "
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 56 |
| Faculty member | 2 |
| Admissions staff | 9 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 45 |
| Neutral | 7 |
| Discouraging | 1 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.22 | 55 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 21 |
| Out of state | 32 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 10 |
| 2-3 hours | 12 |
| 4-6 hours | 13 |
| 7+ hours | 15 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 21 |
| Automobile | 27 |
| Train or subway | 2 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 15 |
| $101-$200 | 6 |
| $201-$300 | 8 |
| $301-$400 | 8 |
| $401-$500 | 3 |
| $501+ | 7 |
MCO to RIC, RIC to MCO
Richmond International
Richmond International Airport
Richmond
RIC
BWI
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 5 |
| Friends or family | 13 |
| Hotel | 21 |
| Home | 3 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.25 | 53 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.72 | 54 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.11 | 54 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.29 | 31 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.88 | 32 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.03 | 32 |
"Nothing at this time."
"Parking recommendation that accurately reflects how much it will cost to park there during day 1 and day 2 of the interview."
"None. They are very nice."
"They seemed very focused on research, in both interviews they grilled me on it. The essay and other questions were laid back"
"None, very helpful and hospitable!"
"Small, personalized interview event, Dr. Healy spends a lot of quality time with the interviewees"
"Return calls!! Especially from the students that you invite to interview. I had to call six times o"
"Nada."
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?