I am visiting Colorado for the weekend, and being a sentimental person, I can’t stop thinking about how my life has changed since the day I came here for the interview. I was living in Vietnam at that time, coming here on a tourist visa, making around $1000/month practicing over there, and hoping for a career in the U.S. I actually never expect myself to become a dentist here. All I knew back then was working as hard as possible toward that dream but should not expect too much due to fear of frustration. Before my first trip visiting the U.S, I would think my profile was not bad at all, but after the trip, I couldn’t stop asking myself how I can ever stand out among thousands of international dentists hoping for a spot at ANY dental school.
Here was my stat:
- GPA 3.2/4
- TOEFL 104
- NBDE: pass
Simple as that. I went to studentdoctornetwork forum, looked at people’s stat and thought “oh, mine is average, I’m not too bad so that’s good”. I still see people asking each other’s Stat right now in so many Facebook pages. The question can be like “Can you share with me your stat?” or “My stat is this low, do you ever know someone with the same stat getting accepted?” Here is my two-cent of thought regarding STAT.
1)Why does everyone talking about STAT?
1st reason: STAT is probably the only numeric criteria that can be put in perspective order. GPA 4.0 is obviously higher than 3.2, and 3.2 is higher than 2.0. TOEFL 104 is, of course, better than 94 – which is the bare minimum to apply for dental schools, but not as good as scoring 114. That’s why people keep asking STAT to compare themselves with others to see where they are standing.
2nd reason: maybe they think STAT is EVERYTHING or don’t know what else to ask.
2) Is STAT that important?
STAT is important, but not EVERYTHING! Let’s take TOEFL as an example. If someone gets 105 and another person gets 104, person A is not necessarily better in English than person B. What matters is how you communicate with other people and make them understand what you try to express. Personally, I think once you reach TOEFL over 100, you all are at the same level of proficiency. I met one person with TOEFL 95 got accepted in a heartbeat because they have shining personality and a glamorous profile, and I met so many candidates speaking fluent English but still need a bit more luck to get accepted. Let’s talk about GPA. We all know if you have a 4.0 GPA you have a better chance of getting accepted. Generally speaking, dental schools want to see GPA 3.0 and above. If you have less than 3.0 than you have to work exceptionally hard to prove yourself. I have a friend with less than 3.0 because her previous dental school is extremely strict about score and she got accepted. Dental schools are aware that different schools will have different ways to score students (at least Colorado is aware of this) so they don’t consider GPA as the SOLE predictor of a candidate’s ability to learn.
3) If everything is only relative, how do schools evaluate candidates?
Well, I don’t know exactly how they rank candidates, but I know for sure they are looking at a bigger picture of a person. Does the candidate show commitment to dentistry? Does the candidate sound like a good person? How’s the candidate’s experience? How are the recommendation letters? Each school has its own formula in choosing students. Some may choose competitive students. Some may value grit and perseverance more. In general, they want to look for well-rounded competent candidates with some specific traits.
4) What should I ask then?
Well, you can still ask around for other people’s STAT but instead of thinking “I am good enough” like me before, you should ask yourself “What else can I do to make me a well-rounded competent candidate. What else can I do to prove it?” Remember the international dentist program is so competitive at any school. CU chooses 40 students a year for ISP class among 800 candidates. That is 5% acceptance rate. Analyze what is good or bad about your profile and make it better. If you have GPA around 2.0? Considering joining a post-grad program to increase the value of your GPA. If you don’t have any experience working as a dentist, considering working for a dental clinic as a dental assistant or at least at the front desk. If you don’t practice dentistry and also don’t have any research paper, volunteering for a research or shadowing a faculty will be some good ideas.
The conclusion: everyone knows being a doctor in the U.S is a very big deal. I’ve heard this statement from a faculty before an ISP interview, “we potentially change someone’s life today, so consider it seriously and evaluate candidates wisely”. No one wants a “good enough” person. The spots are limited, so they would rather save it for someone who desires the opportunity and would do whatever it takes just to have a better chance. Are you that hungry person?