How to Pick a School that Vibes With You: Part 3
My "Don’t waste your money" stories
Meharry University:
I interviewed at Meharry University, a historically black university. The purpose of Meharry is to serve the underserved black population in the surrounding community. While I was on my interview the faculty member asked me “Why does Meharry University want you? White valley girl from California, if you are just going to get educated and go back to to California?” Yes he called me a white valley girl when I clearly am ethnically Chinese, but my California smile and Saved by The Bell happy attitude lead him to this judgement. He had me nailed with his preconceived notions. It was a waste of my time and energy to prove myself to Meharry. In fact they rejected me at the end of the application cycle when their spots were filled with students that aligned with their vision.
I felt like a fake at Meharry. I wanted to help the underserved, but I could not predict if I would do it in the south. The interviewer put me in a privileged valley girl box once he heard me speak with my enthusiastic California accent. He knew that I would eventually run back to the sunny state. Twelve years later he was right. I will indeed return back to lovely California when I am finished serving the brave men and women who serve the US Army.
In the end I was not a good fit for Meharry, and I don’t think Meharry would have been a good fit for me. It was a good experience to interview at Meharry and understand that the student and the school have to share a common vision for their to be a match.
University of Minnesota & Reciprocity :
University of Minnesota is a public dental school. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin do not have public dental schools. University of Minnesota gives reciprocity to residents from these states. Therefore you can consider Univeristy of Minnesota as the public dental school of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. If you applied here, you would be competing with students from four states for a seat in a 98 size class. Remember what I said about public dental schools? Don’t waste your time applying if you are not a resident.
I interviewed at University of Minnesota and learned about the reciprocity rule when I was there. It sucks when you already paid $500 for a last minute ticket, $400 for a hotel, and took two days off work to interview at a school that considers you 5th pick. You are so busy studying for DAT and getting your application ready that you overlook details on the website.
It sucks to know that a state doesn’t want you just because you don’t live there, but this is the cold truth. Don’t your grades, DAT, and personality matter? Think Little Miss Sunshine when Grandpa tells Olive she is “...the most beautiful girl in the whole world...I’m madly in love with you and it's not because of your brains or your personality. It’s because you’re beautiful, inside and out.” Grandpa is the public dental school and he thinks that all his resident children are more beautiful than anyone else not living in his house.
You are at the bottom of the pecking chain after Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. I was waitlisted and didn’t get my rejection letter until June of the next year after all the spots were filled by residents. Don’t bother non residents.