Dental School Mock Interview

Prepare for your dental school admissions interview with 40 questions covering clinical judgment, ethics, and patient care scenarios.

Question 24 of 40

When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Example Answer
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Community Answers

Nisha Yadav

Nisha Yadav is a Talent Advisor & People Specialist with a focus on global talent attraction. Her earlier career experience includes HR and recruitment roles where she specialized in contract and permanent IT recruitment opportunities.

Everyone handles the stress and disappointment of setbacks differently, and a few are sure to come your way during the next four years of attending dental school. Your interviewers ask this question in hopes that you would come to their program with the ability to put your head down and get to work harder when you face a setback or challenging time during your time with them.

Nisha Yadav

"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing and can be very disheartening, especially when involving a project that I have put a lot of time and effort into. I understand that setbacks happen often, and to everyone - despite their level of expertise or years of experience. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to internally debrief, get some fresh air if possible, or discuss what I could have done differently with a mentor. Then, I move on. Rather than dwell on my mistakes, I choose to learn from them."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

Discuss with the interviewers how you typically cope with setbacks in your work. That can include both your classwork and your on-the-job work throughout your past. If you give an example, highlight how you powered through the situation with a positive attitude and came out stronger and better in the end. Reiterate to your interviewers that you are ready to tackle any challenge that will come your way during your time in their dentistry program.

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Anonymous Answer

It bothers me at first, but I quickly talk myself out of the situation and see how can I improve from that setback. I learned in the past to not dwell too much on what happened but come out of that setback with a lesson learned. It is important to learn from your mistakes so they can be avoided next time.

Rachelle's Feedback

It sounds like you are great at adapting to setbacks and recovering from them! One suggestion is to avoid 'You' language and use 'I' language, which will make your answer feel more personal and less like a lesson you are teaching the interviewer. If you have an example of a time when you overcame a setback, it would be great to provide a story-based example using the STAR framework. I've provided a starter for you below.

"Setbacks can bother me at first, but I quickly talk myself out of disappointment and look for ways to improve from the setback. I have learned not to dwell on what went wrong but to come out of that setback with a lesson learned. I must learn from my mistakes to avoid the situation from happening again. One example of a time when I overcame a setback was when...(give your story-based example using STAR)."

Anonymous Answer

I learned to view and accept setbacks as essential to professional and personal growth while working in the F. lab. I could see that dwelling on my mistakes and hyper-analyzing each decision and step could thwart future success. The best way to approach a setback is to step back, recalibrate and always be open to seeking help from team members/ mentors. Thus, having a sober tack to setbacks can lead to new approaches and perspectives in one's work.

Marcie's Feedback

Excellent! The interviewer will be pleased that you view setbacks as opportunities to learn and improve. To further strengthen your answer, can you give a specific example of a time when you encountered a setback and discuss how you successfully handled this? Adding specifics will make your response more impactful. Great job!

Anonymous Answer

Even though my initial reaction is disappointment. I would try to shift my outlook to see failure as lessons waiting to be learned rather than just failing to get end results. I would reflect and see what I could have done differently in order to succeed and to be better prepared the next time I have the same encounter. I would ask for feedback from trusted peers and superiors. And I would make an effort to move on rather than dwell on something that has occurred.

Jaymie's Feedback

Excellent! You covered all aspects that the interviewer would be looking for in the answer; acceptance, acknowledgment, a desire to grow and learn from mistakes, to seek feedback, and to move on and not dwell.

Anonymous Answer

When I suffer from setbacks, I usually examine them carefully. By reflecting on the experiences, I can figure out what I did wrong, how could I do it differently, and learn from my mistakes. Also, as long as I believe that I gave my best shot in my current situation and ability, I would not let the setbacks put me down but will instead learn the lesson and move on.

Marcie's Feedback

It's great that you emphasize how important it is to you to learn from your mistakes. The interviewer will be pleased to hear this. Can you provide a specific example of a time when you successfully navigated a setback?

Anonymous Answer

I sometimes tend to be hard on myself, so suffering a setback can be disappointing. Regardless, I use setbacks as an opportunity to better myself and my work and persevere through them.

When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

40Dental School Interview Questions & Answers

1.At our university, we seek students with a true passion for dentistry. What appeals to you most about working in the dentistry field?

2.It is important that our university exercises great discernment when choosing applicants. What is your plan if you are not accepted into our school of dentistry this year?

3.In your opinion, what is the most concerning topic facing the dental industry today?

4.Dental school is expensive. Have you made a solid financial plan for tuition costs at our university?

5.Tell us about your overall academic performance through your undergraduate program. Where did you excel and where could you have improved?

6.Why should we accept you over another dentistry student with the same qualifications?

7.What do you feel is the single most important quality a dentist should possess?

8.We believe in the continual development of our students, both professionally and personally. What is your self-development plan?

9.Talk to us about your current GPA.

10.What questions do you have for us about our dental school program and university?

11.What do you know about our university? Why do you feel this setting would be a great environment for you?

12.Tell us about an area of weakness that you would like to improve on while attending dental school.

13.What research did you conduct before applying to our university?

14.Tell us something that we would not know about you from reading your CV.

15.What achievement are you most proud of so far on your path to dental school?

16.What are you reading right now?

17.Talk to us about your experience and thoughts on handling blood and saliva. You will be subject to difficult scenarios in your role as a dentist. How do you feel about this?

18.What other dental schools have you applied to? Where does our university rank?

19.Which dentistry related newspapers, journals or publications do you read to stay in touch with new dental discoveries, and current events?

20.How does your family feel about you attending dental school? Do you have a great deal of support?

21.How do you respond to feedback and criticism? Describe a situation where your work was criticized. What was your immediate reaction to the situation?

22.Who in your life mentors or inspires you?

23.How well do you think you have performed in this interview today?

24.When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

25.Many dentists have an area of specialty in which they work. What area of dentistry interests you the most?

26.Have you ever had significant dental work? Tell me about your experience as a patient. What made it memorable?

27.Do you have aspirations to own your own practice in the future? If so, what appeals to you about business ownership?

28.There is a high suicide rate among dentists. How do you feel about this fact, and how do you plan to remain grounded during your career?

29.What was your DAT score? Are you happy with it?

30.Are you aware of cases of medical malpractice in the dentistry field? How will you cope if you are faced with one of these situations?

31.Do you feel that your manual dexterity skills are suitable for a career in dentistry?

32.Do you consider yourself technologically advanced and capable of working with new technologies and equipment?

33.How would you rate your ability to adapt to changing conditions and environments?

34.What leadership qualities do you possess that you feel will be important for you to have as a future dentist?

35.How will you handle working under very close supervision as a dental student with our program?

36.How do you show your student colleagues the importance of communication in the team efforts you take part in?

37.Why do you believe it is important to embrace diversity and inclusion efforts as a dental student?

38.Talk about a time you had to work closely with someone who had a problematic personality.

39.Would you consider yourself a creative person?

40.What advice would you give to a fellow dental school colleague who was stressed out?