BUGSDM and TUSDM

I find those two acronyms for Boston and Tufts dental schools pretty funny. They do not really roll off the tongue, nor are they that easy to remember. But, the fact is that they describe two high-quality dental schools, and trust me, I am not being biased because I interviewed at them.

I arrived in Boston Wednesday evening in preparation for my Thursday morning interview at Tufts. I was nervous because I had not done an interview in almost four months (UIC was November 3rd), but I still felt prepared. For the days leading up to the interviews, I practiced between 30 and 45 minutes a night with my girlfriend and room mate, answering a battery of every possible question that the interviewer could throw at me. Of course, I went over certain questions more than a few times just to make sure my responses sounded as natural as they could.

Tufts' routine was different from ASDOH and UIC in that the financial aid, facility tour, and program overview presentations of the day come before the interview, which happen, oddly, during lunch. The long wait before the single interview allowed me to brush up on some of the questions I anticipated on getting asked at lunch time. Of course, I was attentive and asked questions during these other presentations. I would hate the admissions committee to think that I did not have one question about a school that charges $80K a year!

I was able to scarf down a few bites of my lunch before I was taken out of the conference room for my one-to-one interview with a current dental student. She interviewed me in Merritt hall, the principal lecture room for the dental school. Although I cannot remember the majority of the questions she asked, I do remember being surprised by the nature of some of them. In previous interviews, I had never been asked if I felt okay working with the sick or studying for exams with a diverse student body, but I felt comfortable with my responses. The interview lasted about 45 minutes; typically, they last 20-30 minutes.

The beauty of having back-to-back interviews is that you never get out of interview mode - a state in which you are totally focused on the prize. I was not interested in watching TV, talking on the phone, or reading a book. Hell, I barely ate anything that night. Instead, I brushed up on a few of the questions that past interviewees for BU had been asked, looked at some website materials, and fell asleep around 10 PM.

I felt refreshed the next morning. For the past few nights, I had averaged 8 hours of sleep, and I was definitely feeling the benefits. After going through the morning routine, I grabbed breakfast and took the hotel shuttle to BU's dental school, which was about 5 minutes away.

Similar to Tufts, BU does the program overview and facility tour before lunch and interviews. The main difference being that financial aid presentation occurs after the interviews. I guess the total cost of tuition is a good thing to be left thinking about? I do not know.

I had my BU interview with a current faculty member, who does, among other things, dental policy research. The interview was open file, and she asked me questions about my various volunteer experience, research, and shadowing. Trust me, there is nothing better than being asked about stuff you know so much about. I guess the most important thing is that you do not talk too much!

Like any school, BU and Tufts have their ups and downs. For one, they are among the most expensive dental schools in the US, and unfortunately, they reside in the third most expensive city behind New York and Los Angeles. Tufts does have the advantage of having a brand new facility and, in my opinion, a better location, since it is in downtown. From my short time at BU, I enjoyed the faculty and students much more. Not to say that they were un-enjoyable, it is just that I felt that I connected with them better at BU than at Tufts. At the end of the day, I would feel privileged to be invited to either school, and I cannot wait to hear their final decision in the coming weeks.