 Hello everybody, Andrea Trosky here with Dental Little Tutoring. Somebody had asked me a question last week about how to prepare for the interview process when you are being accepted into either the dental hygiene program or the dental assisting program. I had to go through this as well but I went to a private college. So back when I applied, if you had gone to a community college or a university, you didn't have to have the in-person interview, but now things are changing. But I went to a private college so things were a little bit different. Honestly, if you had the money to attend, your marks in high school didn't really matter and I'm saying that because my marks were horrible. I remember for dental hygiene going for my in-person interview, you have to obviously show them your marks from high school but then you also had to take a test based on math and sciences and some English too. And that's not something that you can study for. At least I didn't really know how to study for at the time so I didn't do a very good job. And I remember going in for my interview and I'm surprised that I even had one because apparently I did not do well on the test at all. But they had said to me, you know, we do not have a lot of applicants at the moment. I think I was just lucky. So I did get in for that personal interview and obviously I was accepted so I must have done something right. So depending on where you live, marks may make a big difference. But where I live, if you go to a private college and you do not have the best marks in high school, it's okay. Like I had maybe a 60% at the most for my math, sciences, and English. I just was not a very good high school student. You know, I was a good student but I didn't get very high marks. But it was because I wasn't interested in what I was learning. For the application test, I didn't do well on that either because it was math and sciences. But for the interviews, I just kind of know how to talk to people I think so that helps a lot. I'm just going to move my webcam for a second here. There. How does that look? So what you have to remember is just honestly be yourself. Okay? Try not to be, try not to look obviously nervous because there's nothing to be nervous about. Honestly, there's nothing to be nervous about. Think about it as if you're just talking to your mom. I'm talking to your aunt. You know, I had two people in the room each time when I had my interviews but sometimes there's one person, sometimes there's more. But just talk to them like they're actual people and they will appreciate that. Like I remember being in for my interview and I said, you know, hey guys, like, oh my gosh, it's pouring outside. I almost got lost coming here. I aimed to be a half an hour early but I'm only 15 minutes early. But I guess that was okay. You know, just come up with something light to talk about initially because it kind of helps make the room less nerve-wracking if that makes sense because that will make them laugh. That will make them start another conversation about the weather or whatever. But that's just something that I like to do is I just sort of add in like, oh my gosh, I just moved here. Sorry, it took me a while to get here. But I'm early at least, thank goodness, because I didn't want to be late. Or I'm sorry. Or talk about the weather. Honestly, just talk about something else. Some of the common questions that they like to ask you is always, why do you feel that we should accept you into the program? That's an honest question that they do ask all the time. And you might be thinking, well, because I want to take the program, you know, how am I supposed to answer that, right? Come up with something original. So I will give you guys a couple things, you know, say something like, well, actually, I've been wanting to be a dental assistant since I was 10, even before I knew what a dental assistant was. I had such an amazing experience when I was a kid, probably because I didn't have any cavities. I had no, no issues. So I think I was just lucky, you know. But I always remember seeing those, you know, happy people at the dental office all the time. And I thought, well, if I have to work all day every day, I want to be happy like them too. Plus, I like teeth, you know, I like teeth. I've always taken very good care of my teeth. I like talking about teeth. I don't understand why some people don't brush twice a day. Like, oh my gosh, you know, just come up with things like that. Add a little bit of humor into it, you know, say something also like, yes, I know that my high school marks were not very good. I worked hard. I can't honestly say why they were so poor because I did work very, very hard. It could be because I just didn't find it all that interesting, but I am so excited to take the dental assisting program. In fact, I've even already purchased a textbook from Amazon just to look through it. So then that way, I do have a head start. I've been asking people questions. I'm talking to my neighbor who's a dental assistant, you know, just come up with things. I'm not saying lie, but, you know, come up with things that just make you sound more appealing. And then that way, they will remember you, you know, you have to think about things like that. Simply saying, well, I really would love to be a dental assistant. I've always wanted to be one. I want to make some good money. And yeah, that's it. You know, that is not the same as having a little bit of energy. I understand that you may be nervous. I think I was just always lucky because I'm just not nervous about things like that. But have energy, try to add humor and do not sound like monotone. You know, do not answer things like, mm-hmm. Yeah. I want to be a dental assistant. I like this school. It looks really nice. You know, don't answer like that. Answer as if you have personality. Even heck, ask them questions, but not until the end I find. Like, it's okay to ask them questions, but if you start off with asking them questions like, so do like your job, you know, they might be like, pardon me. Like, no, don't ask questions like that. If you have questions about the appropriate questions to ask, then feel free to comment. But I think it's also kind of common sense too, right? But that is the most common question. They always like to ask about you too. And I think it's just because they don't know what else to ask. And they're trying to pick apart the right students for their program. So they might ask you something like, so tell me about yourself. And that's always been a hard one even for me, because I don't know what they want to hear. You know, I'm also pretty boring, like I'm not that exciting. And that's what I will say to them. Like, I will say something like, well, I'm not really that exciting. I was one of those students who was always, you know, trying to get her projects, tests, assignments done early. I stayed in a lot of nights because I would prefer to stay at home. I always knew that I want to be a dental assistant. So I did try very, very hard in high school. So I was always studying for something. I have a very close group of friends that like, we don't really go out too much like, like our idea of a fun time is sitting at home eating pizza and watching movies. So I'm not really that exciting. I mentioned some of your hobbies, you know, to say, well, I like to do crafting, I make outfits, I sell makeup on the side, you know, come up with something like that too. There's no right or wrong answers for talking about yourself. But try to avoid things like you like to go out every single night, you can easily drink 10 alcoholic cocktails, and it doesn't, it doesn't affect you, you know, don't say things like that. Try to be professional at all times and think of professional things that kind of they would want to hear if that makes sense. Again, I'm not saying lie, but if you like to go out every night, maybe not mention that because they're not going to want a student who wants to go out every single night and then doesn't show up for classes and then they have issues there, right? I'm trying to think what other questions would they add? They like to say things like, Okay, this is a very tough program just so you know, how would you handle if you had three tests, two exams and one project all in the same week? Do not say, Oh my God, are you serious? Don't say that. Say something like, you know what, that's a good question. Well, I would first look at when my tests are due, you know, projects do assignments do and then I would try to prioritize my tests that way. I would want to get things done first that were due first and then study for things that I needed to afterwards. For a test, I like to study at least a week in advance because I'm not the type of person who can study for two hours the night before and get an amazing mark. So that will not be me, you know, again, try to add humor. You know, something like that. They have asked that question before. And if you have taken the interview, please let me know the types of questions that they are asking so that I can sort of help everybody else and how to answer them. What else I'm just trying to think guys. Yeah, you know, I can't think of any other questions. Those are honestly the main ones just always try to add a little bit of humor. Try not to sound too nervous and always, you know, thank them for their time afterwards. If they ask you if you have any questions, think of something like, well, how many students do you normally take in? You know, even if you know the answer, it does help to just kind of ask the questions so that they know that you're not afraid to ask that you're paying attention even. Or if you just just honestly have any questions, you know, ask. So when will I find out if I'm if I'm accepted? Because if I am, I want to get a head start with everything. You know, like even say to them that I I'm already looking into a tutor to help me with my program so I can make sure that I am amazing. Okay, even say that because I can help you guys, right? I can help you guys online. Even if you don't sign up for a course, I can just help you guys through through here. So that tells them that you are serious about doing a good job. So whether it's for dental hygiene, for dental assisting, that will show them that you are serious. So I hope this helped. If you guys have questions, let me know. And I will see you guys in the next video.