Admitted

Would you be willing to practice in an underserved or rural area? Be honest with me.

Honesty under a question with an obvious 'right' answer. They can tell when you're performing.

How to structure your answer

  1. 1Answer honestly
  2. 2The reasoning behind it, including the constraints
  3. 3What you have actually done
  4. 4What would make it possible

A strong answer

What lands
Yes. For two summers I volunteered at a free clinic in a farming county on Saturdays, mostly extractions. I liked that work more than anything else I’ve done. I’d like to work in a setting like that as a dentist. But the constraints are real. My girlfriend has two years left on a PhD, so we’d need to be within range of a university. And I’ll be carrying a lot of debt, which is why I’ve been reading about the National Health Service Corps repayment program.

A yes with named constraints, past behavior behind it, and the mechanism that makes it possible.

A weak answer

What most people say
Absolutely, yes. That's honestly a big part of why I want to do this in the first place. I've always wanted to work with underserved populations and I think that's where dentists are needed most right now. I'd love to end up somewhere rural where I could really make a difference for a community that doesn't have many options.

The obvious right answer, delivered without a single constraint or commitment behind it.

The trap

⚠An unqualified 'absolutely, that's my dream' with nothing behind it. Faculty have heard it from hundreds of applicants who went straight to the suburbs. A qualified honest yes beats an unqualified hollow one.

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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