The more you date, the more you realize the truth of the saying, "Every rose has its thorn." A new romance often brings with it the feeling that your newfound partner is perfect; they can do no wrong. However, as time passes, you each realize that the other person is only human. They have flaws, some big and some small. Some of their quirks will only bother you periodically while others can be dealbreakers. One of the interesting things about relationships is that we all weigh flaws differently. For example, some people simply can't tolerate dating someone who is sloppy and messy, while others don't even notice sloppiness or messiness. Thus we each have different tolerances for different traits, and that's a good thing.

Dental school is its own world; its own insular community with a unique vocabulary. If you aren’t familiar with this vocabulary, much of what is said at interview day (and in the student reviews hosted on this site) will go over your head. And because these words and phrases are simply whizzing above your cranium, you will miss out on the ramifications of what is being said. An example: you are at an interview for a program about which you know very little. The interview day has been pleasant and exciting, but similar to other program’s interview days. A student from the school starts to describe what makes this program unique. “This program is the best because our curriculum is all PBL. On top of that, you are in preclinic really early compared to other programs, though for the first few months in preclinic you’re just doing wax-ups. We also get into clinic really early, doing prophies in our first year.”

This article will define, demystify and clarify additional interview jargon to help you better understand what you hear on the interview day and read in GradSchoolGrades’ reviews. ## “Our school has every specialty program” vs. “Our school doesn’t have any specialty programs” It is certain that you’ll hear one of these two phrases at most interviews. Both statements can be pitched as positives of the program. Why does it matter as a student? Well, if your school does have specialty programs, that opens doors for great shadowing, mentorship and research opportunities. Not to mention, letters of recommendation in the field that you hope to pursue are an important part of the process to specialize. Along with that, it facilitates referrals and allows for opportunities to assist in cases that you wouldn’t otherwise see.

There are over 60 dental programs in the United States alone. Each program has unique strengths and weaknesses. To make things more difficult, applying to schools is quite expensive. This article will help you organize a system for deciding to which of the 60+ programs you should apply, and hopefully help save you money in the process.

The purpose of this article is to explain a little about how the rankings on the site are calculated and help users accurately interpret the rankings. The rankings are on a scale from 1-5, with 5 being the best ranking possible. So if a school has a clinical ranking of 5, that program provides one of the best clinical experiences in the country. A 1 would mean that program provides one of the worst clinical experiences in the country, compared to other programs. 3 is the average clinical experience. All the rankings are aggregate scores based on an algorithm that incorporates several different factors for each category.

In case you haven't heard, dental school is usually expensive. Very expensive. Of course there are a few exceptions and some schools offer a great price for the education they provide, but on the average dental programs saddle students with a serious amount of debt. In this article we look at the top 5 most expensive dental programs in the United States. The costs in this article include the total tuition and fees to complete the program, and DO NOT include cost of living, as those costs vary widely depending on individual situations (size and quality of living quarters, number of roommates, living with significant other, income, etc.). We also only included private institutions in this article, because all students at these institutions have the same cost; there is no in-state vs. out-of-state pricing. But keep in mind there are a few public schools whose out-of-state tuition can be just as expensive as the programs highlighted in this article. You can find out-of-state tuition costs on our sortable table of program data.

For dental school applicants, each interview invitation means they are more and more likely to achieve their goal of becoming a dentist. It is completely understandable for interviewees to be nervous, excited, and scared come interview day. They have spent weeks diligently preparing for this moment and their future can feel like it is hanging in the balance. As such, they want to make a good impression on their interviewers and on the school by asking thoughtful questions, speaking eloquently, and demonstrating that they are a good fit for that program. We want you to be able to fully experience those emotions while not allowing them to negatively impact your ability to focus on the little things. Here is what we mean.

Applicants are always asking, "If I want to specialize, what programs should I apply to?" or some variation of this question. I had this same question when I was applying. I knew I wanted to pursue a certain specialty and wanted to know if the program I graduated from made any difference in the process. I got the same answers over and over again, some of which were more correct than others.