What was it that made you match into OMFS?

[Concepcion10]

I am wondering what it was that made you match into your OMFS residency? Board score? GPA? Class rank? Stellar research? Externiship? ...other? I most curious to see what the road to OMFS is like before dental school.....during dental school.....and into the match season. Thanks

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[NYUDDS2011]

i would say all of the above

 

[FreeFlap]

I would say it was my good looks....

 

[OMSDoc]

If you feel like you are interested in OMS, then there definitely things you can do in dental school to increase your chances of being matched to a program.

You should take it upon yourself to get to know all of the OMS faculty and residents at your school. Let them know your are interested in oral surgery. You should ask to be able to accompany them on some morning rounds. You should ask if there is an OMS clerkship available to the students of your school (for example, time during elective clinical rotations that you could spend exclusively on the OMS service.

 

[Domtar]

bump

 

[live]

bump

 

[armorshell]

I don't feel like I did anything special. I got good grades, I got a good boards score, did some ECs and went on quality externships and worked hard. I don't think there's any mystery or secret needed to get into OMFS, you just have to bust a** for 4 years in dental school.

 

[1992Corolla]

Just trying to get to 2,000

Mine was hard work mingled with some good old fashioned luck.

 

[smogdodger]

duplicate post

 

[smogdodger]

Conepcion10,
In my opinion, one of the worst things one could do is enter school enamored with the idea of a single specialty. You can get burnt out if you are always reaching out for the unattainable until you have the stepping stool to reach that goal.

Just like Armorshell and 1992Corolla, I believe that hard work is the route. No shortcuts. This means, for example, that you really shouldn't do research just to put it on a resume or you will hate it. Aspire to become good at everything you learn/practice and it will shape you into a fantastic OMS candidate. It is very wise to talk to residents at your school because they can help you create the foundation that you will one day stand on when you apply for residency. Your classmates will not hate you for wanting to do OMS. They will hate you for thinking that you deserve it before you have done the necessary preparation, which includes (but is not limited to) busting your a** for three solid years. Nobody likes their "pre-specialist classmates", but they do like/respect a classmate who has a dream and is working towards it.

 

[Concepcion10]

SmogDodger. Thanks so much I appreciate your guidance. It looks like I have my work cut out for me. Keeping an opened mind and working my butt off i look foward to the future in school. Good luck to all those who matched!

 

[fjk]

I would say it was my good looks....

2x2" photo is key. What most people dont realize is that they're not asking for a head shot in that 4 square inches, its the full frontal. Head to toe.

No need to thank me.

 

[OMSDoc]

I am wondering what it was that made you match into your OMFS residency? Board score? GPA? Class rank? Stellar research? Externiship? ...other? I most curious to see what the road to OMFS is like before dental school.....during dental school.....and into the match season. Thanks

When I finished my residency, I stayed on the staff at my institution. The program director asked me to help him the next two years pore through the applications, and we interviewed about 8 people each year. All of the above are important for getting an interview, but particularly rank-in-class and board scores. Most of our interviewees were in the top three-to-five rank in their class.

However, I think that it is the interview that really decides the final ranking on the match form. They want to know if you fit in at their program and in their culture. For example, some double-degree programs frown on applicants who are also interviewing at single-degree programs.

The most important thing during an interview is to display a confident humility...sort of like taking the oral boards.

I will say that a number of the residents that we matched (and therefore were ranked higher) had done an externship at our institution while they were in dental school.

Good luck!

 

[shabu2]

What got me in was my first place in the national underwater basket weaving competition.

 

[servitup]

The most important thing during an interview is to display a confident humility...sort of like taking the oral boards.

Perfectly said.

 

[prOMFS]

Hard work, humility, honesty, courteous, no shortcuts, and......hard work

 

[anonymousername]

I got good grades, I got a good boards score, did some ECs and went on quality externships and worked hard.

1) what kind of ECs?

2) what did the unsuccessful dental students do that prevented them from matching or even being competitive for other specialties?

3) how long before you apply to the match do you have to decide OMFS?

4) are there certain prerequisites (like for dental school) that OMFS applicants need to complete?

5) what percentile should a dental student be to be competitive?

6) what board score...to be competitive? is it hard to get that score?

7) what % of ppl that apply actually get matched? how many ppl is that?

 

[280040]

I had decent scores, grades, rank, EC. DECENT, not great. I interviewed around and most importantly, matched at an unbelievable place.

I think luck has a huge factor in it and how you carry yourself when meeting people. Not only on the interview when you 20 minutes to convey who you are, but how have you behaved over the past 3 years to your faculty mentors. I am 100% positive I got to where I am due to my mentors. I provided the leg work and put in the hours, and they put me in touch with the people I need to know.

Given the fact that my on-paper stuff is so average, I can only assume that part of my success in matching is due to the previously mentioned mentor help and how I represented myself on interviews. I would spend some serious time on some self improvement in regards to how you carry yourself because I'm pretty sure that was the only reason I got in where I did. Previously people have mentioned 'confident humility' as being important. Maybe I demonstrated that, maybe I didn't.

The ONLY people I heard that didn't matched had great stats but were damn annoying just to be around. When you're interviewing, you are happy and excited....so for me to be annoyed by said individual, they must have been bad!