Meet Dr. Madhu Who Garnered 11 Dental School Interview Calls!

I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Madhu who’s been accepted to the Ivy League University- the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine for her advanced standing program. It was truly an inspiring story as she managed to garner interview calls from 11 dental schools in the CAAPID cycle.

During this interview, we talk about

• Madhu’s success story – a periodontist from her country, as soon as she enters the United States starts planning for the CAAPID cycle, finishes the exams to rush to meet deadlines in her first cycle to apply to a couple of schools. With the experience of the first cycle and gaining knowledge about the process, equips herself with a well-rounded application and applies to maximum schools during her second cycle and gets calls from 11 dental schools.
• Her experience of putting together a well-rounded application.
• How she gathered information to learn about the CAAPID cycle to present a well-rounded application.
• Her thoughts on how important it is to apply early.
• Her message about rolling admissions.
• Her advice on how to master interview skills.
• Her thoughts on how important bench exam preparation is.
• Her suggestion about choosing methods to prepare for bench exam.
• Her experience practicing for the bench exams
• Her advice for those just starting out, or those who don’t know what to do
• 3 things she wished she knew when she was just starting out

About Madhu

Madhu graduated from a well-known private dental college in Chennai, India in 2010 and continued her education with a 3-year residency (Master of Dental Surgery) in periodontics. She gained teaching experience as Assistant professor in periodontics, clinical experience in both general dental and periodontal practice and one-year USA experience shadowing implantologist and general dentists. She applied with NBDE part 1 & 2 pass and TOEFL score of 113. She has research experience and has awards, gold medal in academics, conference presentations and publications to her credit. Since recording the interview with Dr. Alyssa, she has joined the University of Pennsylvania.

Note: This conversation was recorded and released under Madhu’s permission.

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