the story.

i thought of a lot of things i wanted to write about during my 16 hour drive. maybe i'll retro-post later.

sarah, i'm a terrible friend. i'm disoriented and disconnected. so for you, and posterity, here is the story...

i got to the school at 7:30, introduced myself and chatted cordially with the guy at the front desk (which proved to be a good move because he was the student who sat in on my interview). we went upstairs, heard a short talk from the dean, and then were presented with a dexterity test. on the first trial, i beat the other 7 interviewees by about 5 points, and immediately felt relaxed and confident. the doctor that was running the test, dr. creech, made a smart alec remark about everyone waiting on me to clear my board for the next trial...and i knew i could joke with him from then on. so, i did.
after the dexterity test, we did a group survival exercise. i tried my best to play the role of middle man/mediator, and was met with approving nods from dr. creech each time i threw out an idea.
then, came the interview. my panel consisted of dr. creech, the guy from the front desk, and bad cop dr. zais who had been a major asshole the entire day (everyone was muttering under the breath that they hoped he wasn't an interviewer). i was asked the standard questions about why i chose the profession and school, a couple of ethical questions, and then 6 "general knowledge" questions:
-name the bones of the upper and lower jaw
-how many teeth are in a standard adult human jaw?
-who were the last two supreme court justice appointees?
-in what country was the first image of muhammed printed?
-how many dental schools are there in the us?
-what are the three branches of government?
i answered the first 5 quickly and correctly (i guessed on the muhammed question and accidentally guessed a country that bordered the answer,denmark, and they gave me credit), then blurted out "executive, judicial..." and went blank on the third branch of government. "i know this," i sputtered, "it contains congress, i know what they do, i'm just drawing a blank here. this is 8th grade government material..." and dr. zais coldly responded, "yes, it IS 8th grade material." i laughed it off and we moved on.
the last question was one about whether healthcare should be a privilege or a right, and what we can do as individuals-not just health professionals-to change the problem. i blabbed about how large scale change happens at the group level and argued from a political standpoint.
dr. creech, "wow, i've never heard anyone get political with it."
dr. zais, "well, that's the perfect answer. it IS political...(winks at me)."
i asked a few questions of my own, we chatted about amarillo and the big texan, and it was over.
after everyone had their interview we were told that if we were a no, we would receive a letter in 2 weeks, and otherwise, no news was good news. the admissions counselor said that they had already filled 42 of the 54 slots and had offers still pending. things didn't look good. we took a group tour of the school and the clinic. we were about 20 minutes into the tour when dr. zais came in and said, "terra, after the tour i need you to come back over to student services. we need some information from you." i guess i looked worried because he added, "it's nothing bad."
when the tour was over, i jogged back across the street to the school and went up to the student services office, where i found 5 D2 students and the whole admissions board having lunch. dr. zais tossed me a chocolate chip cookie and said, "terra, i don't like many people...and i don't rave about any. but i raved about you. so we're offering you an acceptance. unless you have a flight to catch, we'd like you to wait a few minutes while we put your packet together. we didn't want you to have to wait for it in the mail."

so, that's the story. then dr. zais cornered my mom and told her he was 'very impressed with how i conducted myself and how she raised me'. so i'm going. and i'm nervous. and i wish the boy i'm dating hadn't made me feel childish about being nervous.