Who has most influenced your decision to pursue dentistry?

Your capacity for mentorship, gratitude, and learning from other people.

How to structure your answer

1Who they are and your relationship
2The specific thing they did or said
3What you took from it

One person, not a list
One concrete moment rather than general admiration
Name what you're carrying forward from them

A strong answer

What lands

My childhood orthodontist. I remember I did not want braces, I was scared of them. My orthodontist was great, he always told me what he was going to do first, then he would show me what he’s going to do by demonstrating on himself, and then would do the actual work on me. Once I was less scared, I became interested in the science, and art, and planning of what he was doing. It inspired me to become a dentist.

One person, one habit described exactly, and what it turned into.

A weak answer

What most people say

My grandfather was a dentist, so I grew up around it. I'd go to his office after school and he'd let me look at the models and hold the mirror while he explained things. He loved his job and his patients clearly loved him. Seeing that up close for years is a big part of why I want the same kind of career.

Explains how she was exposed to dentistry, not what changed her mind.

The trap

⚠Naming a family member and stopping there. 'My uncle is a dentist' explains exposure, not motivation. The influence has to be something they did that changed how you think.

Reading it isn't the same as saying it.

Most people can explain a good answer and still fall apart saying one out loud. Admitted asks you all 100 questions in a faculty voice, records you, and scores your pace and filler words.

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