Passing The CDA Interview For Dental School Acceptance

By Kelsey Martin


Getting admitted to a dental school in Canada, a candidate must first submit to the CDA interview. It is too easy to bungle this key step on the road to acceptance after striving so adamantly for excellence to get there. This very particular set of structured questions are designed to assess a student's aptitude and personality for acceptance to dental school.

Commonly heard on the internet by students who have already passed as well as by counselors is that people don't take the resources available seriously. Some simple information examined early on could be the crucial difference to aid a candidate. In particular, it will shed light on the overall structure of the interview and formulation of the questions.

It is a structured interview. This means that whether it is conducted by a panel or by an individual, there will be definitive questions that were written to show the most of the whole person of the interviewed candidate. When the student is sitting on the opposite side of the table during the interview, the purpose is not just to review the student's knowledge of dental information or science, but to assess the whole student. Interviewers want to understand the student's thinking processes, how he or she learns, how he or she learns new things in a different environment and how new knowledge is incorporated and assimilated.

There are three basic kinds of questions to answer. They are written with particular types of answers in mind, but in many cases there is no one right answer. The interviewer has a set of protocols to follow when conducting the interview. Again, these questions represent a deeper inquiry into the mind of the candidate, not just the surface answers that can be tossed off lightly.

The first type of question is the behavioral question. This question looks for answers and feedback that show the kind of action a person takes in situations. This will mostly pertain to character and soft skills.

Situational questions are more about day to day activities. These apply to the activities in a dental office. Considerations of what it takes to be in dentistry will aid the interviewee most during these questions.

Traditional questions will be about knowledge. Looking into knowledge of dentistry and the science behind it, they will inquire after the type of information necessary to thrive in a dental school scenario. The answers to this will probably be a little more traditional in format, as well.

There are so many resources available to students looking to do the CDA interview. There are websites and forums where actual students who have already passed discuss the process and give pointers. There are several books and guides available individually and through online booksellers enumerating student experiences. Look carefully and discover the books that have actual questions from prior years available.

Some basic web searching will yield a number of resources on the CDA interview. The best thing to do is look for and find good sources of information and then compare them, selecting the best. Study them carefully and reveal the whole candidate who wants enter dental school. Even when being genuine and honest, preparation is the best tool for securing a seat at a good school.




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