The AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) is the application service for the majority of dental school applicants across the U.S., and it is administered through the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Applying to study dentistry requires a lot of time, thought, and effort, with an admissions process as robust as any professional program. If you’re considering a future career as a dentist, you’ll want to have a good sense of the application process well in advance of compiling your application materials, crafting your essay(s), and logging into the AADSAS website to get to work. This blog will help you understand the AADSAS and the application timeline, help you navigate the various sections of the application, and will provide you some tips to ensure you’re on track with all of the application’s various components.
What is the ADEA AADSAS?
The AADSAS is the primary application service for most students applying to dentistry programs in the U.S., and is administered by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA – you will often see this application referred to as the "ADEA AADSAS"; though it is sometimes simply referred to as the AADSAS). There are some exceptions, but most dental schools require students to submit their applications through AADSAS. Note that dental schools in Texas are a big exception here, as medical, dental, and veterinary school applicants in Texas use the unique TMDSAS application. As well, foreign-educated dental graduates apply through yet another system, the ADEA CAAPID (Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists).
Each year, the AADSAS opens in early-June
tags: ADEA AADSAS, AADSAS, dental school application, apply dental school, dental school application process, dental school, dental school personal statement
We'll first dive into some dental school personal statement examples then we'll go over our proven strategies to help you create your own from scratch!
If you like us to help you make your dental school application stand out, click here.
Dental School Personal Statement Example #1
"In the final moments of a key game in a hockey tournament, I jumped over the boards and onto the ice without putting my mouth guard back in place. It was attached to my helmet, but I had a chance for the puck, and I took it. Moments later, an opponent’s stick caught me in the face, knocking out my front tooth. Play stopped, and my team found my tooth on the ice. I looked to the bleachers. My mom was already on the phone getting initial instructions from our dentist for saving the tooth. Within 15 minutes, we were outside the clinic as my dentist unlocked the door, despite it being a Saturday night. As I was treated within half an hour, my tooth could be saved by stabilizing it as it healed. Until that moment, I thought of my dentist as someone I only saw every six months; I hadn’t seen her as a critical part of my healthcare team.
tags: dental school, dental school application, dental school personal statement, dental school personal statement examples, sample dental school personal statement
It is imperative that you begin your dental school interview prep as soon as possible. One useful way of preparing for this important step in the application process is to review sample questions and expert analysis. This will help you understand what makes for an ideal answer, and how you can build such ideal answers using your own ideas and insights.
In this post, we'll cover 5 of the most difficult dental school interview questions (panel/traditional and multiple mini interview), each followed by expert responses and commentary:
What is the one detail in your application you would like us to overlook?
Discussion:
This question asks you to face head-on and talk about something you’d probably like to avoid discussing, if possible. It might also be thought of as a limitation question (e.g., “What is your greatest limitation?”), or a question about your challenges (e.g., “Tell us about a time you failed”), and, as such, may be something you’re understandably hesitant to address. No one likes to talk about their weaker spots, particularly in a high-stakes, high-stress situation like an interview! However, it's best to own up to the low grade, or the gap in extracurriculars, or whatever that weak-spot might be, by re-framing it with a growth mindset. Think of this question as an opportunity to show how you have developed grit and determination to overcome academic disappointment, or to focus attention on the transferable skills you’ve developed from your experiences. As long as you are able to learn from the experience, no loss, misstep, or set-back is truly a failure.
The responses to a question like this will be highly individualized, but let’s walk through the process with a few examples, which can help you work on this in the context of your own life and experiences.
Strategy: Accentuate the Positive
tags: dental school, dental school interview, dental school interview questions, dental school interview questions and answers, hardest dental school interview questions, mmi dental school interview questions
How should you effectively deal with collaboration/group/team work multiple mini interview (MMI) stations?
During my third multiple mini interview (MMI Interview) - the one that finally got me into medical school - I found myself in a debate station with one of the fellow interviewees. He started to politely present his argument to me while two evaluators observed. He presented a weak argument but didn’t actually stop talking. There was no natural break around the three-minute mark for me to start presenting my arguments and I knew we only had a total of eight minutes, including giving each other feedback.
tags: medical school, multiple mini interview tips, multiple mini interview, multiple mini interview collaboration stations, multiple mini interview team work stations, multiple mini interview group stations, dental school, pharmacy mmi
The Ultimate Collection of Multiple Mini Interview Tips to Help You Ace Your MMI Interview!
I was pathetically nervous for my first multiple mini interview (MMI). It was 2007. I was interviewing at a med school. They asked me a question about breast-feeding. I do not know what the question was. I do not recall my answer. I do, however, recall the intense corporeal anxiety associated with me fumbling for an answer to the question. I was so focused on figuring out the correct answer that I did not spend any time telling that interviewer about my relationship to the topic, how I think, the way I problem-solve, or who I am. I did poorly on that interview. I was not accepted that year.
Since 2007, I have participated in three MMI interviews as a candidate and two more as an evaluator at McMaster med school. Of the dozens of MMI questions I have encountered since my first MMI experience, I only felt very well prepared – substance wise – for a handful. I only had pre-designed answers for those questions that had to do with me and my life.
There is no use trying to pre-design your answers for the majority of MMI questions. There is a lot of value, however, in MMI prep that allows you to reflect on the various experiences that you’ve had that lead you to the moment of the interview. There is also a lot of value in reflecting on your own opinions, your moral persuasions, your own biases, and your own view of the major issues facing our public today.
tags: multiple mini interview, multiple mini interview tips, mmi, mmi tips, mmi prep, medical school, dental school, pharmacy mmi, mmi interview tips, multiple mini interview preparation, mmi interview
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