Home > For Prospective Students > International Dentist Program > Frequently Asked Questions
We are sorry about this but we needed to have a standardized process for evaluation, and for future school accreditation purposes. The evaluation services look at the transcripts differently. Same transcript evaluated by different services may have different outcomes.
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It is better for the applicants to send us the scores themselves. Numerous evaluations come in much later than the applications, are occasionally delivered to the wrong address, or may not reach us at all. We also have had applications with a different score on the application form from what is on the official evaluation document. Our decision to invite an applicant for an interview is based on submitted material. If a score is different from what is listed on the form and we do not yet have the original confusion may occur. An application is not complete unless an original E.C.E. evaluation or a notarized copy has been included with the application. You can always request more than one original from E.C.E.
You may submit a plain, not notarized copy of the TOEFL score with the application. If you are called for an interview you must bring the original TOEFL report as well as all other originals.
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I am sorry but those grades do not count. We will not look at High School scores even if you submit them.
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No, you do not need to retake the examination.
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Before you call us with a question, you should study our website. The answers to most of your questions are on the website. Also, we encourage all applicants or those who only want some further information to use e-mail. Write down your questions and e-mail them. Someone will get back to you usually within 48 hours. During holidays and weekends, it may take another 24-48 hours before we can get to your e-mail and send an answer.
If you have left a phone message and nobody is returning your call, you may wonder what happened. The fact is that sometimes it is very difficult to hear the messages. Your name and your phone number are often unclear. Speak slowly and clearly repeating your name and phone number twice. Remember it is not a race who can say a phone number the fastest. We commonly have to listen to a message 3 or 4 times and we still cannot get the complete message. Hence we cannot return your call.
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This program, as well as many other similar programs, is competitive. Thus it is the applicant pool that will tell us what scores that are needed. This means that we cannot set any definitive level for NBDE I scores. However, scores below 84 for NBDE Part I are seldom competitive. That said, it is not only scores that count. All applications are carefully read and evaluated on their own merits.
The TOEFL iBT test (Internet based test with a spoken language section) is mandatory. You will need to have a minimal total score on the iBT test of 94, and a minimum of 20 in each one of the four sections. Please remember that your application will NOT be processed if your score is below 94 and/or 20 in any subsection.
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In a recent article in the Journal of Dental Education (Lisa E. Itaya, David W. Chambers, and Patricia A. King. Analyzing the Influence of Admissions Criteria and Cultural Norms on Success in an International Dental Studies Program J Dent Educ. 2008 72: 317-328), data was discussed that stated that one of the more predictive admissions criteria for success is the TOEFL score or language skills. By being strict with the language requirement, we indicate that it is important. The better your English communication skills are, the better your chances to do well are.
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Please see answer above. Also, since this is a competitive program the higher your score on the NBDE I examination is the better it is. A higher score definitely increases your chances to be invited to an interview. But as said above, it is not only scores that count. In the name of fairness to all applicants we do not do pre-evaluations of scores and/or CVs.
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We are trying to be as fair as possible so we do not meet with any future candidates until they may get an interview. This is a state school so you would not be stopped, if you wanted to see the school. However, you cannot enter any of the clinical areas. It would not be fair and our time does not allow this.
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It does not automatically increase your chances. But there could be a situation where this education is valuable for your ranking.
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It might increase your chances.
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Scores (NBDE I and TOEFL), previous grades (and calculated GPA), your personal statement, and experiences in your new country and home country are the most important parts for the initial review and to be granted an interview. The interview is very important and it is mandatory to present yourself for an interview if invited. Remember that you must bring all original documents to the interview.
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Yes. We have a test on mannequins in the preclinical laboratory. It may or may not take place at the same day as the oral interview.
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We have many applications and it takes some time to review them and to discuss them in the committee. We are trying to review the applications as fast as we can and make decisions on interviews. Applications received earlier in 2009 will be reviewed and discussed by the committee during the summer of 2009. Interviews may start as early as September 2009. Please allow us about 6-8 weeks to respond to your submitted application.
Please, see the application form and/or the website for the application deadline in 2009. Our goal is to have all responses sent out by the end of February 2010.
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We have combination of both these processes. That means that some individuals may be offered a position earlier than others. We will not fill all positions before the end of the application period and not until after the last interview.
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No your chances are not gone. Applicants that are not among the earlier admitted students will still be on the list of possible students. Look at it this way; the first groups of interviewees may be very good. That does not necessarily mean that the next groups will be the same. In this situation your application may rise to the top.
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All financial information that is available will be given during the interview day. However, the cost is about the same as that of similar programs across the country.
Here are some details to consider. Schools report the cost in several different ways. This is because the cost is divided in tuition, school fees, university fees, and health insurance. In addition there are costs for books, transportation and living costs. A state school is also dependant on the legislators' budget allocation to its universities. This will have an impact on how much a university might increase the cost. We do not get this information until rather late and the University fees are not always decided on early. The cost for the Summer Course is always set a year before since it falls in the previous budget year.
A common way of reporting the cost is tuition plus "kit". Kit is rarely, if ever, defined but usually includes instrument rental or purchase. The current tuition is $20k for the one time summer program and $60k for the Junior and Senior years (each). In addition, there are other school and University fees. Health insurance is mandatory but can be waived, if a spouse has insurance that covers the student. Living cost is an individual choice that will depend on area and size of living quarters.
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A spouse will not automatically be accepted if the other is accepted. It is a competitive program and each person will be evaluated on his/her own merits.
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VCU does not have any scholarships for IDP students. You might be eligible for federal student loans pending your visa status. US Citizens and Resident Aliens (permanent residents), commonly called Green Card holders, are eligible for federal student loans. Permanent residents may have to meet some additional criteria that will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the government.
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Yes, but you must be eligible for federal student loans. If you are accepted, you must pay most of the summer education cost in advance to secure your position. These payments are spread over several months. Applicants accepted in the latter part of the process will have shorter time for these payments. Eligible students can apply for loans and be reimbursed once school has started and even before that. You get all information in the interview sessions. If you decide to accept another school's offer, the down payment will not be reimbursed for any other reasons than personal hardship including sever illness and death in the family. Those situations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
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We request a down payment from you to hold your seat. We have had students forfeiting several thousands of dollars when they were accepted at the school of their first choice. If a student drops out late in the process, we may not be able to replace that student. Unfortunately, if we cannot replace someone who withdraws late in the process, we may face a financial deficit. It also leads to a lot more work to finalize a class. That is why you have to submit almost the entire Summer cost over several months before classes start.
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We strongly advice you not to make plans to take off time during the Summer session. You will have mandatory course work and attendance. You will have a certain amount of leave time that you can take during the Junior and Senior years. We recommend that you either take care of any personal issues before you start or after you have graduated, if this is at all possible.
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Unique training opportunities attract many, many applicants. We regret that we cannot possibly interview each and every applicant. We focus our interviews on the strongest candidates and we base that decision on our review of the submitted applications. We look closely at each and every application and consider a combination of factors, including GPA, TOEFL, and NBDE Part I scores; personal statements; and applicants' personal and professional experience. This thorough procedure allows for an effective admission process. We are keeping down travel and housing expenses for candidates that we deem non-competitive at this time. It is the profile of the total applicant pool that determines an individual application's competitiveness.
We do realize that this can be disappointing and a hardship. Experience tells us, however, that each year brings new opportunities. You can increase your chances in the future by taking a critical look at your application and start working to strengthen it. Generally speaking, higher test scores increase an application's competitiveness.
Our program's policy is not to discuss further the specific reasons an individual candidate was not invited for an interview or was not accepted after an interview. Our criteria and a description of the process are listed on the website and on this page of FAQ's.
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It really means that your application was not fully competitive at that point in the process but it was very close. There are always competitive applicants who either decline an interview or who do not proceed to further consideration. There are also those who will withdraw after being offered acceptance. Under those circumstances your application may move into the group that will be called for an interview.
However, once we send out a decline letter that application is closed for the year.
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No, we will not re-evaluate an application. We base our scoring and evaluation on the first application we receive.
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We will acknowledge receipt of the application within 48 - 72 hours via email. If you are invited for an interview, we will inform you at least two weeks before the interview whenever possible. Most correspondence will be via regular mail or in important situations by express mail (e.g., FedEx). We may use email in some situations.
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It is always a good idea to submit your application early. We received a large portion of applications during the last 10 days of the application period. Since you know how we handle the applications and admissions process, it is clear that it is better to submit earlier than later. However, if you are taking or retaking an exam you should wait until the application is complete.
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One might think that if you are accepted, you will never give up your seat. However, life situations change. Since there are more programs available today, many students will change their minds during the process when other options become available.
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No. Go to the VCU Office of International Education for more information.
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It takes time to process a change of visa status, or transfer of a visa (F-1) from one school to another. Thus you should apply as early as possible to give maximum time for the admissions process, visa request and/or a change of status or school, if you are accepted. In some situations you may have to return to your home country and request an interview at the embassy and then apply for a student visa.
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It certainly does. However, there might be other visa stipulations with the J-1 visa that might make the situation difficult or even more difficult. Please, check with your current employer and/or the state department what stipulations there are between your home country and the US regarding J-1 visas.
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The most important time is in the beginning of the program and that cannot be missed. Also, if you have started another program it is a good idea to finish it. A degree will always be more valuable than leaving a program without finishing it.
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No, you do not. We strongly urge you to take a good look at your application if you were not called for an interview, or if you did not receive an acceptance after being interviewed.
You should look at your application as if you were on the admissions committee for a competitive program and you had to make the often very hard decisions. We strongly urge you to improve your application and that can be done in many ways. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Why is my application (and/or interview) not competitive?
- Is my NDB PI score good enough?
- Could my TOEFL score be better?
- Did I fully understand the interviewer?
- Did I answer the interviewer's questions, or did I just say what I had prepared to say?
- What have I done since I came to the US?
- What will make me stand out above the others?
- Is my personal statement telling about me or does it make me look like all other applicants?
- What can I do to make my applicaiton look neater and better?
- Do I have additional credentials since my last application?
It is important that an application looks neat and is well prepared. Your application is a reflection of you, the applicant, for a profession where neatness and details are important. Do not submit an application where your handwriting is not clearly readable. Type the application or print neatly. Follow the instructions. Don't scratch out some writing and add something else. Start all over instead.
Do not cut and paste your statement from other documents using different fonts or font sizes. When you write your statement, always use the checking and grammar functions on your word processor. Make sure it is set for English spell checking.
There are a few things you should not do: Do not call us or email us and request that we re-evaluate your application, do not call any of the interviewers and tell them that you are much better than they think. Finally, do not request reasons and explanations for why you were not interviewed/accepted. Our policy is that we will not do this for anyone. Also, we will not preview any applications or CVs. And do not just show up to argue your case.
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Don't get fooled. We will find out. We keep very good records.
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We receive many incomplete applications and we will notify you if it is incomplete. You need to submit the missing documents or information immediately. We will not wait for weeks. We do not want you to think that this is a way to be able to retake an exam and later submit a better score.
If the scores on the application form do not match the submitted documentation or documentation submitted a week after you having received the notification that your application is incomplete, the application will not be processed. We will not return incomplete applications even if you never submit the requested information. To keep complete records we will archive those applications with all other applications after a year.
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Yes. We need both sides of the TOEFL form. The backside is often missing.
Certificates of internships are also often missing. Some countries with a 4-year dental education have a mandatory one-year internship (houseman ship) before a final diploma will be granted. Other countries will grant a diploma even if an internship has not been completed. Applicants with a 4-year education need to show proof of completion of an internship after graduation. A year's private practice is not acceptable.
We do not accept provisional diplomas.
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Yes.
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No. You should not call or email us until after 72 hours, if you have not heard from us before then. We will contact you and let you know that your application has been received before 72 hours after we received it. Also you have a tracking number so you can look up on the Internet exactly when it got here.
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From the pool of applicants, competitive candidates are selected by invitation only to interview. An interview is mandatory for acceptance; however, an interview does not guarantee that a candidate will be offered a seat in the class.
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The VCU School of Dentistry IDP interview process begins in September and runs through the following February. There is a break for the Holidays from the second week of December until the first week in January. The days of interviews have not been determined yet. Each candidate will receive two (2) individual one-on-one interviews. Each interview lasts approximately 30 minutes. The set of interviews is followed by a presentation on our Financial Aid process. Additional activities are planned for the candidates, such as a bench test and writing an essay. Several senior dental students are assigned to the group interviewing for that day and take the candidates on a tour of the campus and dental school. This is considered a part of the candidate's interview day. If time is available, the candidates will spend time observing a senior dental student administering care to a patient in the Dental Clinic. The interview process usually concludes before 4:00 PM each day.
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No. The candidate may be accompanied to the School of Dentistry but their visitor will not be able to participate in ANY of the day's activities.
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Since a dental school is a professional environment, candidates should dress accordingly. Men should wear suits or sport coats with ties and women should wear suits or dresses. Attire such as blue jeans, miniskirts, shorts or Bermudas, flip-flops, and tennis shoes are not recommended.
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Modified with permission from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry web site. Special thanks to Dr. Peter Berthold, director of PASS.