To whoever is reading this article now, I understand what a challenging journey you must be going through or may have gone through in the past year, to improve candidacy in CAAPID and to get accepted in a good university in the US as an international dentist. But before I give an insight into my success story, I want to share one thing; I have been exactly where you have been, and the only key is to be CONSISTENT. Here are some tips for success in CAAPID as an international dentist in the US from my personal experience.
Getting Accepted to the International Dentist Education Program
I have been accepted to the University of Texas, San Antonio, for the International Dentist Education Program beginning 2021. But it hasn’t been a comfortable journey, especially with COVID-19 playing a special appearance this year. This is my first cycle applying to CAAPID, and it did come with its share of mistakes and confusion. I graduated from dental school in 2014 and completed my residency in Pediatric dentistry in 2018. In December 2019, I moved to the US, and by January 2020, I began preparing for NBDE part 1.
I had always dreamed of dental education in the USA since my undergraduate days. But due to various reasons, it never came true. In a way, I have been preparing my profile for the last two years by planning my publications.
- My dental school GPA was 3.8, and I have practiced as a pediatric dentist in private practice over the previous two years in India.
I have no USA experience, including any volunteer work or community service, except four months of dental assisting experience.
- I firmly believe that working as a DA gave me a peek into dentistry conduct in the USA and helped me during my interview. It requires no examination to work as a DA, and as long as you have the resolve to be learning in a dental office, it is the best pre-school job you could be doing! Through real-life experience, I learned about patient management, operative dentistry, and specialty dentistry through the clinic. Most of us are new to dentistry in the USA when we give interviews. Having experience as a DA builds absolute confidence in you that transpires in your interview as well!
When I decided to start my journey of DDS finally, one thing I was certain about was that I was going to give my best in this cycle without having to wait for another one.
At the beginning of the year, I was prepared to study and to give my exams in the next six months because I knew that would give me enough time to pass NBDE and TOEFL exams and prepare my applications. But like we all know, COVID hit, and all plans went down the drain. The most challenging time I faced during this crisis was that NBDE exams kept getting rescheduled with no dates. By the time I could give my part I, it was May, and I knew if I stood a chance at this year’s application, I would need to apply fast and hence, I ended up giving my part II in June, within three weeks of my part I results.
- I also gave my TOEFL sitting at home, which was a different experience since I had only three weeks to prepare for this exam. Listening to many audio tests on Youtube, which are freely available, and practicing with my husband at home gave me confidence, and I scored 109 in the exam.
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Believe me when I tell you to trust yourself with the examinations. It would be one of the best best tips for success as an international dentist in the us. There were terrible times when I wondered if I was doing the right thing? What if I fail? What if three weeks is too little of a time to prepare for this massive test? But I also had a little angel sitting on my other shoulder asking me the opposite question – What if I Pass? The sole reason that kept me going was that I wanted to apply in this cycle no matter what! A super supportive husband and family kept me motivated and never let me lose focus. Due to COVID, I did miss out on applying to many schools, but in the end, I interviewed at four schools for DDS and two for residency, and now I am excited to start school in San Antonio.
I firmly believe that being consistent and doing that little bit every day is essential; however, you may feel lost at times. There are many great courses to help you out here and in the process, and I found the International Dentist Central courses helpful.
Related Courses on International Dentist Central:
Tips for Success in CAAPID as an International Dentist
Here are some tips for success in CAAPID from my personal experiences as an international dentist in the US:
- Be consistent from day one. Remember, ‘Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success’. This helped me even on my difficult days, just staying consistent and following through with my plan.
- There are many groups on various social media. Most of them are useful but do not fixate people’s opinions and advice in the same boat. You can certainly learn from someone else’s experience, but it is not necessary that you may also have the same experience.
- In your CAAPID application, be sure to include every experience you may have had in your home country dental school, from dental camps to teaching experiences. Never underestimate yourself. You will never know what aspect of your application interests the admission committee. Every school scans through applications with your name and home country hidden; scores each element of your application before finally calling the candidates with the highest marks for the interview. So, include every little achievement in your application. This is something I learned through the interview process this year. As an international dentist, assume this as one of the top tips for success in CAAPID
- Interview processes are all about the admission committee getting to know you. Remember, if they need to remember you after interviewing many candidates, you need to stand out, not so much with your existing profile as much as with your personality. To cite an example, it is pleasant to interview someone who has a smile on their face and is proactive in their replies. In the interview with San Antonio, the program director asked everyone to state one fun fact about themselves. Instead of replying to something obvious, I shared that I love to juggle tennis balls in my free time! The interviewer burst out laughing and looked amused, which I believe was a significant ‘breaking the ice’ moment.
I wish you and everyone applying to the programs and following the IDC courses for well-rounded guidance and great luck and as a result success in CAAPID!
Interested in getting help with your SOP, bench test, and interview? IDC has been helping candidates for several years now. Click below to learn more:
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University of Texas, San Antonio is NOT on the CAAPID list… How this “story” is possible ?
Hi Bakir! These words were from her, and we did not edit them to maintain authenticity. It seems like for convenience, she used the word CAAPID to mean her applications to Advanced Placement Programs.