How To Get Into Harvard Dental School

I sat down with Michael Chen, a second year dental student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He’s going to talk to us today about what it’s like to be a student at the school, what it’s like getting admitted to the school, and what Harvard can offer you as a dental student and beyond.

Joel:
So we’re going to hop right into it. Michael, before we get into Harvard specifically, what made you decide that you wanted to go into dental school?

Michael:
So I entered college originally as an engineer, and after some reflection and looking into dentistry, ultimately I realized that I could engage more directly and serve my community with the skills and knowledge from dental school. Additionally, I saw a lot of opportunity to innovate in how dental care and oral health is delivered.

I’d like to think that I keep a lot of those engineering principles with me. Going into college, I was doing a lot of applied mathematics, and I would never imagine myself in the healthcare field. But as I started college and just explored more of it, it kind of drew to me, and some of those problem solving skills and traits from my engineering, I think those stick with me today in dental school.

Joel:
It’s a very classic question for anyone that’s applying to dental school or going into dentistry, how did you narrow it down to dentistry specifically? Why not medicine, for example, which is a very similar career? For you, what made you choose dentistry ultimately over medicine?

Michael:
Yeah, for me, I was interested in medicine as well. I think in medicine, you can change lives and there’s a lot of great good that is done in medicine. But I also think dentistry is sort of under appreciated. Here at HSDM, a lot of talk is about oral health and overall health. I thought that there was a lot of work that could be done in connecting the two and improving health overall.

Joel:
So let’s assume that you’ve got a great GPA and a great DAT score, taking that out of the equation as somewhat prerequisites, what goes into making a great applicant that stands out to the Harvard admissions committee?

Michael:
I look around at my classmates and some faculty and the mission that they try to instill on us. One theme that stands out is just the idea of serving and leadership, so serving your community and being able to be a leader in it, I think those are key. So being able to get involved, no matter what you do, I think is crucial to being a great applicant.

Each person’s journey to dentistry or healthcare is unique. So if you find that experience, that place in your community, that you really care about and have legitimate reasons to care about, that will stand out more than anything that you do, just to put it on your resume.

Joel:
What were some unique experience that you had that helped you stand out with the admissions committee?

Michael:
I think overall, I was a well-rounded applicant. In college, I tried to take different classes. I went to a big state school, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and there are a lot of different types of classes we could take. I took classes about public policy, dove into some public policy around food insecurity a little more, and was able to tie that back to some of the basic science research that I did. I think being able to cover that whole spectrum, from the small detail, basic science, all the way to the public policy that affects large communities, I think that made me stand out.

Joel:
Can you go through what a day in the life of a dental student is like at Harvard. And obviously this is going to vary year to year, but maybe we can talk about a typical day for the first two years and a typical day for the final two years?

Michael:
Right now, I’m a second year and with COVID-19, I’ve been in online class since March. As a current second year, in our classes, we start at 10:00 AM. We go from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, lunch break in the middle of the day. Classes range from endodontic immunology, to the anatomy of local anesthesia, and we also have classes on LGBTQ health, and how to write a scientific paper. So we have a pretty broad range in our second year.

In our first year, we’re completely integrated with the medical school. So we join the 130 students roughly in that class and we learn the same things they do, covering all the systems, the heart, the kidneys, psychiatry. We also enter the hospitals alongside them to practice physical exams and patient interviewing skills. We completed that whole first year pre-clinical education with them before entering our second year, strictly into dental school.

Joel:
So that’s pretty unique in terms of dental school education. How do you think that having that pre-clinical, medical education now as a dental student, is going to help you later on in your career?

Michael:
Yeah. A lot of times people ask why are we doing this, and what’s the benefit? Overall, I think an understanding of the big picture of health will help me be a better clinician. Oftentimes, in the dental office, you may see patients maybe more frequently than some people go see their primary care physician. So being able to understand some things have a broader perspective on overall health, and how oral health plays a role into it, can help bridge some of the disconnects that exists between oral and overall health.

Joel:
So Harvard is known to have a very high specialization rate out of dental school. Why do you think that Harvard has such a high rate for getting students or helping students into specialty programs, and while you’re in dental school, how do you think that Harvard positions you well, to be successful in those residency and specialty programs?

Michael:
Yeah, so just for reference, in the recently graduated class of 2020, out of 35 students, 29 went into some form of specialty training, five went on to a general practice residency, and one went into private practice. These are high percentages. And I think that we have a lot of interaction with residents in our postgraduate programs here at Harvard, and there are a lot of different specialties that we interact with throughout our four years.

I think what speaks to the high acceptance rate is a combination of just the education that we receive. It’s pretty well-rounded from the medical side, so we have a lot of oral surgery residents or applicants, and then the research side. We have a research requirement, that we all have to engage in a research project. Those are some key components to the residency process.

Joel:
Yeah, and just for some context, typical dental schools, including mine, about 10% of the class will go on to specialize, so 29 to 35 is quite something. That ties into my next question about, besides dental school specific activities, what else does Harvard offer you? So doing research as part of a dental curriculum isn’t typical. Maybe you can talk about that, and also just what other benefits do you find that you have as a Harvard student, outside of the core typical dental curriculum?

Michael:
Yeah. So being here in the heart of Boston, there’s a rich intellectual ecosystem. There’s so many colleges, different schools. We have two other dental schools within Boston, and it’s a great way to network with fellow students and future colleagues and also develop any passions you have outside of dentistry.

For instance, I am interested in being a clinician scientist in the future, and the opportunities to do research are not limited to just my school, but I can do it at any of the surrounding hospitals, any of the surrounding schools, or even some of the biotechnology startups that are in the Boston area. Outside of that, if you don’t know anyone who’s doing anything that you want to do, chances are you can talk to someone who can direct you to that person.

Joel:
You mentioned interest in being a clinician scientist. What are some of your longterm goals post-graduation?

Michael:
I envisioned myself being a clinician scientist because I like the idea of taking technology, some research, some scientific finding, and being able to take it from the bench, all the way to the bedside. So not having a research be published in a paper and be buried forever, but being able to help patients. As a dentist or healthcare provider, the direct care that you provide to patients is really meaningful and impacts so many people throughout your career.

For me, I am interested in how technologies or science can impact so many more people. Alongside that, I’m interested in dental education. I’ve had some incredible mentors along the way, and I feel that I want to pay it forward to the next generation as well.

Joel:
Being where you are right now, there’s a lot of people that would want to be in your shoes. What advice do you have for someone that wants to eventually one day go down Harvard Dental School?

Michael:
I think my biggest advice is to talk to any student that you can, no matter which school you’re interested in, but especially at this school, because it is so small, we only have 35 students per class. Talk to a current student or talk to an alumni. Everyone has a unique path. I’m sure that everyone wants to do something different.

I may want to be a clinician scientist, but another person may want to be an oral surgeon, so with everyone’s path being so different, everyone has something unique to offer. So if you talk to a student, you can learn how they got to where they are, and see how that reflects on your own journey. If you want to know more, they can direct you to another classmate who can give you some more advice.

Joel:
All right, well, this was awesome. Thank you so much, Michael. I really appreciate it.

Michael:
Thank you, Joel.