What has been your ultimate motivator for pursuing acceptance into dental school and a career in dentistry?
With an acceptance rate each year of around 55%, getting into dental school is a competitive process for applicants every admission season. As dental schools consider a great pool of applicants each year, they need to understand each candidate's true motivation for entering the profession, as prospective students all have unique motivators.
During the MMI process of your dental school interview, it's important to know that your interviewers in each station will be asking the same questions/scenario of all candidates they are considering. With a question like this on what has led you to pursue dental school training, you want to make sure that you are not giving a canned answer and that your response will be unique and memorable to your interviewer after they hear from all people they are considering for enrollment.
Before your dental school MMI, reflect upon your true motivations for pursuing this career path and come prepared to expand upon the factors that have led you to this point in your academic career. If you have a personal story or a particular person that was your most profound motivation, explain how the situation or person made such a profound impact on you and this decision. If any skills or abilities you possess are your motivating factors, explain why you feel they will lead you to a prosperous career and positively impact the lives of the patients you care for.
"In all honesty, several things have led me down this path, and I sit here 100% confident that a future as a dentist is the best career path I could take. First, the sciences have always intrigued me from a young age, and as I grew older, my success in biology and chemistry made a future in some sort of healthcare profession very obvious. I'm always fascinated by the human body, and I look forward to helping to advance science in this area. During high school, my dentist was such a great person and helped me through some tough things during those years. I developed tooth decay and faced some ridicule in school. Through education and a kindhearted approach, I was set on the right course to great dental health. As I entered college, I knew I could help others as they helped me develop self-confidence and self-worth by simply doing what they know. I want you to know I'm so excited about this opportunity to train with a great program like yours."
Unlock all 25 Dental School MMI questions
Unlock expert responses for every MMI station format dental schools use.
Get Started