USM DDS interview 2013/14

Time flies. Juniors from matriculation edi graduate and they already get selected for interview for USM d.
Imagine one year ago. I'm like one of them. nervous and in dilemma. But now, I'm going to finish my first year already.

Time really flies!

So
here are the messages I wrote for my juniors from KMM.
hope it helps
(i lazy to reedit it already, just abstract the info you need. Hope it helps! all the best in the interview ya! )

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Hi, nice to meet u. Congratulations on getting the interview for dentistry usm. One big step closer to your dream. =)

about kubang kerian:
I know u r nervous as this is ur very first interview. But no worries, with correct mindset and preparation, you will pass the interview in no time. Before this, i would like to tell u sth about usm health campus. Did you know tat dentistry in usm only available in it's health campus which is kubang kerian kelantan. It's a peaceful town. opposite it got some shop lots and mydin for you to get your household stuff. within 30 minutes of journey, there is kb mall and tesco and parkson too. there're a lot beaches nearby too. i suggest you to go around the beaches like pantai cahaya bulan, bachok or tok bali after the interview session. it'll be a very nice memories no matter you get the offer or not. for me, after nine months staying here, except the sad fact that there is no cinema and no ktv and a lot of traffic jamming during certain period of time, the life here is still enjoyable.
So after getting know about usmkk, i would want you to reconsider before you come for the interview. not reconsider la. just got some mental preparation. if you get the offer, this will be the life you will be having for 5 years. (dun forget that if usm chose u for dentistry, you will not getting any other offer from other university edi. and if you are given interview for dentistry, you wont have the chance to get medic or other courses that need interview oso. meaning that if u pass the interview, you will get the offer for dentistry. if you fail (touch wood), you will not given the chance to get other courses like medic that require interview) it's not that bad as you imagine. so far, i hav had a very busy yet meaningful first year.

new syllabus:
so, come back to the main point. Did you know that 2012/13 usm have New syllabus for dentistry courses. before this, our seniors all will be having classes with medical student for 3 years. Meaning that they need to attend for classes same as them but at the same time they have to attend classes for dental oso. and when everyone is having long holiday, they need to spend another extra one month to study oni dental things. so it's quite busy and heavy for seniors. imagine our seniors even have to know and exam about labouring which is somehow pointless for us to be a dentist in future. I think that is why usm is having a new curricular syllabus for dental student. meaning that we dental student will be having our own class in our own faculty, and the lectures that teach us will be most of them are dentist be it a master or phd. this is very new, as they can filter the knowledge which is important for our future career. before this, our dental and medic seniors will have classes using "block" system, whereby like everything related to respiration will be collected together (anatomy, physiology and biochemistry that about respiration) and teaches on that particular weeks or months. but in dental new system, we will be having "gnt" system, from gnt 101 to gnt 106. you just imagine it's like spm where u study kh, sj, chemistry, biology, sth like that. they classify the knowledge that we need to know into subjects. for example, for gnt 101, it's craniofacial biology, so basically all those anatomy and physiology that related to head and neck (which is important for dental student) will be cramp in this subject. then gnt 104 will be oral biology (our bread and butter) will gather all the knowledge about our oral cavity and teeth. and during exam, we will be having 5 days of exam (since gnt 105 is professional development that include the communication skills and others that doesn't require much exam), and each subject will be having 2 or 3 paper. ( it's almost same style as spm) not much ppl know about this, cuz it's the first year they using this system. we also get through first year without really knowing anything initially, and without senior guidance since they also dunno how our system run. as a pioneer for this, of course there will be some flaws since this is the very first year but after the review and feedbacks that we gave them, i think they will update and improve for the next batch. by using this system, i think we focus more in dentistry and we have more sessions for carving teeth and this surely helps in improving our skills. (i think that the interviewer might ask u anything about the syllabus for dental student in usmkk, so do some research for this, it's a bonus for you)

interview:
for Interview session, i think there are some document or photo that mentioned in the letter that need you to prepare, rite? remember to certified all those photocopied one and bring the original sets too. during the interview, you'll be having 3 sessions.

1. interview sessions
there will be 3 professors interview 1 students. they are all the professor that might teach you if you get into usm. so get prepared. dun panic first. greet them and before this, please wear formal cloths or baju kurung for a good impression. during the interviewing, please be confident. most of the time, they look at your personalities and how much you prepare and how much you wanna get into usm. so it doesnt matter if you are not good in english (just assumption), dun be nervous. just be prepared, do some research about usm: what is apex university, what is the mission vision, who is the dean for dental faculty, it will be nicer if you can recognise them, cuz they might be one of your interviewer. know basic knowledge that what a dentist do, what is the further studies after finsih DDS (doctor of dental surgery) in usm, how to take good care of your teeth and anything that might related. the interviewer may ask u all sorts of random questions, so you have to be really alert and response very quickly. if you dunno the answers, just say you dunno, dun talk craps, but tell them the things u know. for example (my fren kena): do you know how to sing? haha. if you say yes, they might ask you to sing on the spot, just sing. even if you dunno, u just tell them you dunno but you have other talent: musical insturment? sports? anything will do. then surely they will continue on that particular topic instead of singing d. haha. this means you have to know how to direct them to aspect that u know, let them know u are better than others and that's y they should choose you. imagine there are 240 ppl get this interview and only 50 will be chosen. furthermore oni 20 chinese get the offer in our batch. it's really competitive.
the killer question will be:
tell me why i wanna choose u as a matric student but not from stpm student since they study more than u
last time i answered: although matric study less things but we are exposed to many subjects: all 3 science subject, it's our advantages, and we ed away from home and ed get use to hostel life so very easy to adapt to uni life, and u know so many ppl from diff race and diff place, u know how to interact with ppl, better than stpm student that still stay in home with family, u r more independent. sth like that. just focus on the benefit as a matric student.
and you will be given a situation and you have to give your opinion and responses. the question i get last time was:
your fren are having too much stress and she tell you that she wanna suicide, tell us how you gonna help her.
so just state your opinion and how you gonna help her. there're lots of other question too. so, just be prepared la. not very tough one i guess.

2.personalities test ( i dunno what they called it)
it's some kind of test that you do with your counsellors in secondary school. to know your personalities and whether you are suitable for the course ( i think u ed did it before you get the interview rite? if not mistaken) so i dun talk much about this.

3.wire bending test
in this sessions, you will be given a wire (which is used for orthodontics/ braces) and some tools. then u will get to watch a video on how to use them to make a shape. last time mine is a ohm shaped but in rectangular form. just make sure u measure the length for each side correctly (no zero error) and after finish bending, make sure the thing is flat on table. if they think yours is not gud enough, you might required to redo again. those technicians are very nice. you can ask help from them and they will teach you on how to do, sometimes they might even help you do oso. dun be sad if u fail the first time, show ur effort to learn and you r interested in this. i failed for the first time, and i redo it again, but still i get manage to get the offer. so dun be sad or disappoint ok? relax =)

advices:
1. be humble and polite. behave nicely throughout the session even during the resting and waiting time. maybe there are someone observing you? who knows.
2. get to know as much frens as possible, dun stick with your own gang or keep quiet alone in the corner. maybe they will be your coursemate in future? from my point of view, knowing more frens sure benefits u in many ways. maybe even you guys will not be in the same uni in future, but still, you guys can exchange info about events or other things. so, get their fb name and add each other! hehe =)
3. after interview, go around kelantan for sight seeing and enjoy those famous food like nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, nasi kukus and others. trust me. you will not have much chance to come kelantan in future except you get into usmkk or umk. so, why dun u make this interview as a 3 days 2 night trip?
4. Book hotels. google the hotels and make reservation asap. since there will be very very many ppl coming kelantan, it'll be very hard to be a walk-in guest for the hotels. early reservation will make your day easier. just opposite to our campus,there are some hotels d: prima inn, avee budget inn. if u wan nearer to kb mall, there will be tune hotel. renaissance hotel, grand river view hotel, pacific hotel, dynasty hotel, crown garden hotel are more expensive than others la. depends on u. got some homestay around kebun sultan too. u can call taxi to fetch you from ur hotel to usm.
5. be punctual, or early a bit, better. since the traffic here will jam at the morning. so dun take the chance to get late for the interview ya.

so, this are the things i manage to think of for now. feel free to ask me anything via here. most of the time i'll be onlining. and im having break from 1/5 to 7/5. so i will have ample time for you. after that, my busy life will strike back again. haih... so anything, just pm and call me 0179469450 too. share the info with your other fren too. sharing is caring ya ^^ good luck with the interview and get up and prepare now! hehe!