We will be interviewing many top notch candidates for our oral surgery residency. What makes you stand out from other dental school graduates with the same qualifications?
The interviewers of the oral surgery residency program you are interviewing with are in a great spot as they consider the best of the best among graduating dental school graduates. All have stellar grades and the potential to be renowned alumni of their university. This is your chance to persuade the interviewers that you are the best candidate for their program.
"Over the last two years of dental school, I've worked very hard to prepare myself for admission into a great oral surgery residency like yours. I've done this by excelling in the oral surgery rotations during my program and have stellar reference letters provided for you. As you'll see, I also have two different one-month-long externship experiences with great OMF surgeons in upstate New York. These experiences have set me up to succeed from day one with your program."
This question is your golden opportunity to show why you are the top candidate for this program, so take advantage of the opportunity by pointing out something unique about yourself. Some things to consider discussing that oral surgery programs look for in their top applicants include intelligence, interpersonal skills, and experience in the form of externship and internship opportunities.