Get Accepted to NYU Dental School| ADEA CAAPID 2025

Dr. Nafes Singh and Dr. Benny, they are both from India. Both have been accepted to NYU. Dr. Benny is in the second year. Dr. Nafes is starting his first year now. And I was fortunate that finally, we were able to find a time. So, first of all, thank you to both of you guys. I, you know, you're doing the shifting, you're moving from Canada to New York. There's a lot going on, plus with the flu season. So, taking out time, so I'm grateful for your time. First of all.

And the second thing is, we're going to talk to them about their, uh, process of getting accepted to NYU, which is a big school, big place. Living in New York, um, a dream for a lot of people. And then also discussing about their journey because both of them, as a couple, they are a married couple. Both of them were specialists in India. Nafes was an endodontist, and Dr. Benny was an orthodontist. And then they moved to Canada, applied to CAPID. It took them both a couple of years to get accepted. And I was fortunate that I got to work with them. So, we will talk to them more. So, hello, both of you. How are you guys doing?

Hello. Do, how are you?

We are good. Hi, Dr. How are you doing? Good to see you after such a long time. First of all, thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to be here. And, uh, if we can be of any help to our colleagues, thank you so much.

Thank you, guys. Uh, so I'm, so I would like to ask you. I personally work with a lot of people who are coming from India, migrated to Canada. Some of them migrated like an year ago, some people have migrated two, three years ago, doing dental assisting, doing masters, doing jobs. So specifically, if I ask you, first question now, that you are accepted to NYU, people who have just migrated or migrated an year ago and trying to build their CAPID, uh, profile, thinking about pursuing dentistry in the US. Is it doable? And what things should they do so that they can get accepted to an American dental school?

Uh, so, I, I would like to go first. Uh, so, uh, I would like to start with, um, our own journey first. So, we moved to Canada in 2019, and we already had a successful running dental clinic in India. I was a faculty, even Benny, both of us were faculty at a dental school. And we had, initially, we had no plans of moving to Canada. Uh, but once we decided, uh, we moved to Canada in 2019. Uh, so my first piece of advice is always be flexible. Uh, so when we moved here, uh, when we took a look at the finances, everything looked good on paper, you know. Uh, we could have not worked for one or two years and we could have gone through the dental or dental equivalency program or an American university. That's what it looked on paper. But as you know, life has other plans. You know, COVID came and, uh, paperwork got delayed. Benny got stuck in India in COVID. Uh, so my first piece of advice is always be flexible. Always be prepared for the worst. So, it delayed our journey a little bit.

And the second piece of advice I would like to give is always plan ahead. Always plan ahead. Uh, so, uh, for example, when you are giving exams, plan ahead how you are going to give INBDE, with TOEFL. Know about when the cycle opens. So, for example, the cycle opens in March. Make sure you have everything ready two months in advance, at least two months in advance. For example, you have, you should have everything ready by January. You know, everything, TOEFL result, your INBDE result, now SOPs, your LORs. So, be prepared. Plan ahead and be flexible.

And second thing, uh, about the, uh, the Master's thing. As I said, if you want to pursue dentistry in North America, uh, you don't need a Master's in my opinion. Because we did Master's because our plan was to stay in India at that time, but our plan changed later. Uh, so sometimes we used to think it was a huge investment of time and money, but it helped us in the longer run. The skills that we learned in our Master's, the hand skills, the people skills, it helped us a lot in our dental journey in North America, a lot. The, the exposure we got in our Master's, the publications, the research work we did, the, the amount of patients we did, everything improved our profile. So, uh, as they say, God has a bigger plan. And even though sometimes when we were really low, we had no hope, we could not see any light at the end of the tunnel. We would like, you know, your Master's and, you know, your colleagues are trying to question you, your family is trying to question you, you know, you have Master's, why you, you know, starting again from zero? But at the end, I would like to say it's worth it. And excuse me, uh, nothing is in vain. Your hard work is never in vain. At the end, it is going to help you. My Master's helped me a lot. Ben's Master's, Ben's education, I think it helped her a lot also.

I would like to add. Yeah, go ahead. I was just going to ask you this because I personally think both of you guys already had done a Master's or a residency in India when you applied to dental schools. They already know that these guys are more qualified than an average BDS. So, if anybody's coming from India who's a fresh graduate, like I have a couple of people who are 22, 23 BDS graduates, and when I compare them with your application, for those kind of people, getting more experience in Canada or Master's would make sense. But in your case, I think because you had that postgrad education, you were teaching and practicing as specialists, the schools had some kind of like guarantee like, okay, this person knows how to work clinically. Yes. Dr. Ben, you were going to add something?

Yeah, you asked about like, like I would say it's definitely doable. Also, regarding the CAPID profile and the application, this process is not easy, I would say. But if you are consistent and, uh, if you are determined, then yes, definitely you can do it. Also, I would like to add that, uh, your help, like, it, it was a great help for both of us. I, we took your help in all the paperwork regarding CAPID, the SOPs, the LORs. And, uh, if anybody can take professional help, I think that makes a big difference in, in, in profiles like for me and for Nafes, personally, your help mattered a lot. Like, it was all together a big help. And, uh, I think yes, it's doable and we can definitely, uh, everybody can do it. Regarding Master's, and if anybody can just come, if, if anybody can would like to come after BDS only, they can come. But our plans were different and it changed later, as Nafes said.

So, here's the question because now you've been living, you've been studying in NYU, living there. And you've been, so you came right before COVID, then COVID came in. And I know that everything, no plans were working out for anybody. You were stuck, as he's mentioning. And then you must be looking for a job, Nafes, most probably at that time, and surviving and all of that. Like, financially, over the, now it's 2025 almost, like financially, it's a big stretch. And even though, like, I help them, but I charge for my services as well. At that time, you're applying for CAPID, you have to figure out your tickets, even visiting back home if you need to, paying rents. And even now, of course, you're going to be, you're taking loans and taking, like, doing your DDS, which is fine, it will pay off. But how, Nafes, both of you, like, how, what would your advice be from the financial standpoint? Because there you were making money as specialists, and now you're losing money, and you don't even know where you're heading. And then COVID is there. So, what's your advice on that to people?

Uh, so I would say, so I've met a lot of people, you know, who are always trying to save money. I would say, save $5, $100 here. So, as I said before, plan ahead. You need to be, plan, you need, you need to be prepared to spend in this journey. You need to be prepared financially. Uh, uh, so, like, both of us, we were a dentist couple, you know. But, and the piece of advice I got when I came to Canada was, you know, hey, you know, you don't need to work. You, if you have this much money, you know, you can get through, you know, you can clear your exams and everything. But be prepared financially. Uh, you always need a good mentor in this journey, as Benny said before. So, our struggle was, we were brand new. We did not have any connects in North America. We did not have any family when we moved here. So, our struggle was getting misguided by a lot of people. A lot of people are just trying to pull you down, I would like to say, or not give a correct piece of advice. So, there's a lot of, try mentors who try to be mentors in this, uh, dentistry field, who just got into, let's say, we got into a dental institute here, and they would try to mentor other people. But my piece of advice is, find a good mentor who has experience, who knows the drill, who knows the ins and outs, and who is ready to be there. It's not just the paperwork that you'll need help with, you're going to need help emotionally as well. You're going to need somebody to keep you motivated in this journey, 'cause this journey is tiring. Yeah, financially and emotionally.

Can you, do you think, like, just asking from both of you, I, and my journey was different, yours is different. Approximately, both of you, I could be wrong, must have spent like $20, $30,000 just to get accepted to schools, right?

Oh, no, no. $20, $30 is nothing. So, our struggle was, we were trying for the Canada schools as well. So, the mistake that we made was, we, so Canada, the first exam is AFK. So, I, the piece of advice I can give to someone right now is, when you are giving AFK, you should be giving INBDE together. Like, if you're giving AFK on the fifth of Feb, plan INBDE. That was the mistake I did. That was the mistake we did. Even though Benny told me, you know, like, we should give the exam right now. So, just because we gave AFK and then we had to study again for INBDE an year later, then we had to again go through the whole process. So, that's what wasted our time. $20, $30 is a lot less amount. I think we spent more than $100K, maybe, just because, Benny, yeah, Benny got accepted in, Benny got a call from Western University in Canada. And just for the, just to sit for that bench test, you have to give a $10,000 deposit. Application fee was $10,000. And apart from that, to appear for bench test, that was a different amount. So, so our struggle financially was because we were, we were not being guided by our peers, and we were, uh, making a lot of mistakes. We were going through the Canada pathway, and we were, then later, we realized, you know, we need to be flexible. You know, we need to, uh, reach where we want to. We need to be flexible. Also, then I found you on Facebook. That's what I was going to say. I remember when you called me, I was working in a corporate office early morning, and I would wake up at 6:00, and I, I used to be very grumpy. And you messaged me, "Doc, I need some help." And then you told me about a coaching that you took from somebody, and it didn't work out. And I was like, "Fine, you can do this." And then after, later on, you guys, I, we did a complete fellowship thing. And these are people who are watching. This is what the fellowship is, where I work with somebody, whether it's a resume, personal statement, supplemental application. And some people get accepted right away, some people take a little bit longer. But I try my best to continue to work with them in whatever way possible. But when you say about a $100K, $80K, and of course, there's a lot of miscellaneous cost, like going for bench exam to Colorado or other places or stuff like that. I, I know how the life is after postgrad, but after DDS. But my question is, at this point, both of you having acceptances, and one of you studying in already in DDS, do you think it is, it was worth it?

It is worth it. Yeah, I think so. That's what I would like to say. At the end of the day, it is worth it. Okay. All right. So, if you're watching this, this is what I tell people. Like, one of the things I'll tell you, when I used to talk to them, Nafes was working very hard, making sure everything's getting done. When and whenever I used to talk to Dr. Benny, she had this determination. Like, one of the key things, to be honest, I'll give you as a compliment, like, whether whatever the situations were in Canada or things were going on, whenever I, she was like, on high octane, like, "I want to get it done. I'll get it done. We'll get it done." And even when she got accepted, and Nafes was getting interviews, and I personally know this is a very difficult situation where one spouse is in a different place, and the other one is struggling to get there. Just like how you came to Canada, and she must be in India. So, it's a difficult situation. But you guys hauled it through. And I, I would say it's a lot of, it's like literally manifesting your dream about that. So, my, my question is, uh, if amongst, because you applied to several different schools, you gave bench exams and interviews, writing personal statement, resume, all of that is one thing. When it comes to bench exam and interview prep, what were the things you would advise people to look carefully? Even in the personal statement, like, in detail steps, which things do you think are the most important ones when you're filling your CAPID application or when you're preparing for interviews and stuff?

Uh, so I would like to have a start on. So, as I said before, uh, you need a good mentor, you know, and you need to be honest. So, the admission committee in any university, they go through thousands of applications every year, and they can tell right away, you know, if you're lying or if you're using AI, ChatGPT, you know, to fill out your application. So, everybody's journey is different. So, my advice is, be honest. Write your own SOP. Write your own resume. And when I say a good mentor, just have a mentor double-check everything for any additions, any deletions, but be yourself. That's what I would like to say. Yeah, it should sound original because, yeah, like my journey might be still, you know, we went to the same university in India, we graduated from the same university, we did postgraduation from the same university, but still, our both, both of our SOPs will be different because she has a different childhood, I have a different childhood, and it shows on the paper. Your, your struggle shows on the paper.

So, here I would like to add, so Dr. Before we met you, uh, we had, we tried with other mentors, you know. I would like to give an, I would like to share an example. So, I sent my resume, you know, to, uh, a mentor to for any improvements or any deletions, you know. I was charged the money, and I was sent the same resume back saying, "Oh, it's, it's a good resume." Yeah. And this was, how much did you pay for this? Uh, like, $1,000 maybe for the SOP and resume, I think approximately both of us.

Okay, that's the, okay. Yeah. Well, this kind of crap happens. It's everywhere. People, when I know, coach people for CAPID, people don't know that I actually, I have been over the past years, have been spending thousands of dollars just to get coaching in dentistry. Like, what kind of dentistry should I be doing? I get a lot of stress and anxiety and dealing with patients, dealing with, like, talk, like, corporate dentistry in the US is very toxic, dealing with a lot of things. And people might see me on social media and think, "Hey, he has everything figured out." But I, I look for coaches when it comes to clinical dentistry. I've been paying coaches on YouTube to figure out how can I make my YouTube more visible. So, everybody in the system has needs guidance, to be honest. And maybe I'm able to do it because I went through it. And the same goes for anybody else. Maybe in future, Dr. Nafes would be doing something similar too. But one thing I'll tell you, this is something I've learned from a coach where I paid about, will be paying about $2,300. But if you're somebody who's a specialist, who, well, who knows the skill of a specialist, for example, ortho in the US right now, there are different models on how you can make high production or high profitable practices. And I'm giving this for free. But the information is, if you're an orthodontist or an endodontist, you start a clinic, you start a GP general dentistry clinic, even though maybe you don't like to do surgery or you don't like fillings and prosthos, but you started. You have your hygienist, things started to go well, you hire an associate, and you let them have all the GP work. And what you do is, you market just for ortho. And then people would start coming in for ortho, and you will only do ortho three or four days a week. And you let the GP associate do all the general dentistry. That way, most associate problem is that somebody hired me, and when I got in, there wasn't enough patient for me. And the owner, like, he was stealing my patient. Does that make sense? And then the associate is like, "I'm not making money." And he hired me, and now he's taking all my patients because I'm treatment planning implant, and he's the one doing it. And then associates hate it. So, people who actually have one specialty, like specialists, who can work as a specialist, what they can do is have multiple practices, have associate work there, and you only go around and do deep, like speci, like, now I mostly, the person I'm working with who owns the clinic, he and I just go and do sedations and do full mouth extraction and wisdom teeth. So, no hygiene, no fillings, nothing like that. So, the reason I said it because you will be paid more in one hour because you're doing ortho. And in the US, ortho is very, if you train your staff, they do it for you pretty much. You only do treatment planning. So, I think physically it's very relaxing. And for you, endo, endo, BG, if you can tell your surrounding offices, Medicaid patient, like, if you want to get endo done, I can, you can send it to me. Maybe some insurances, the endodontist don't want to take, they refer it to you, and you'll only do endo every day. So, it's a very profitable model. But that's something for future, you can look into. But, uh, now, the next question is, once you're going to be, so this is a little bit, Benny might tell, like, how's the trans, one thing I've learned when I was in your phase or even before that, applying to dental schools, I would email to dental students or message them, and they will say, "Let's talk over the weekend." And I would say, like, "Who are they? The Prime Minister of India or what? Like, they need seven days to talk to me now." And then when I became a dental student, I like, "[ __ ] this is crazy. I don't even get time to breathe now." And life gets crazy. And most of people who reach out to you or talk to you, they think Dr. Benny is very busy, but they don't know the dental, the life of a dental student is like living in a mental asylum. So, what's your suggestion to people who are getting accepted or planning to get accepted? What's the life like? And how can they mentally prepare themselves to deal with all the havocs and family life, and people have kids and loans, and what's your advice on that?

Yeah, I would say all these things are not easy. But if you plan ahead, like Nafes said, and also if you have a routine, you should, you should have a schedule for the day. And also, if you follow that, keeping in mind, also, I like that matters. And second thing is, you should have a family support. Your family should understand that dental school is definitely not easy because you need to devote your time for your studies, for your school. And also, when you come back from the school, you have tasks for another day. So, family support, you should have a strong mind. And you should be planned ahead that yes, all these things will come up. We have to have a schedule to follow. And, uh, if we implement that, and, uh, with good family support and your friend support, I think it's doable, and everyone can do it. Yes, it's, it was, uh, if I have to talk about myself, when I joined dental school in January 2024, it was not easy for me. I left my husband, I left my younger brother in Calgary, and I moved ahead. So, initially, I was like, uh, where I lagged was, I did not have a routine. So, I was, it was all chaos at the start. But then when I made a routine that now I have to follow, like this, this, this, so that, that worked out for me.

Also, do you use a journal? Do you use a Google Calendar? Like, what?

I used a Google Calendar. I used a Google Calendar. Also, I, I had support from my family. My husband was very supportive. My family was very supportive. My in-laws were very supportive. Sometimes I don't find time to talk to them as well. My parents used to call me, and then I would like, send them gifts when you become a dentist, for sure. That, that's for sure. Yeah, it's not easy. But, uh, I would say that, uh, if you go with your plans, if you implement, implement them, then it's doable, and everybody can definitely achieve it. Because if you reach that step, right, getting into the dental school itself is not easy. But if you reach that step, I think, yeah, we all can do it. And, um, but yes, we have to be strong mentally as well.

So, Nafes, I'm going to ask you two questions. So, number one, that when you mention about planning ahead of time, you, you guys said it a couple of times. Can you break down a little bit in detail like what do you mean by planning? Like, I'm living in Canada, I'm trying to see, I want to apply to CAPID. How can I plan? When you say plan, it's a very big thing. Can you give a little bit component, one thing? And the second thing, I would like to ask you, when Benny got accepted, you were applying to CAPID again. I remember you were getting interviews, but you weren't getting accepted. You were going to New York, other places. How do people, and you were doing jobs, which is, which is what you were doing, job, which is stressful. You're managing a lot of your financial aspect, family life, which requires a lot of resilience and strength, strength. So, what do you recommend people when it comes to hope? Because to be honest, if I'm one person and not getting accepted, that's fine. But if you're one person whose spouse or whose friend was working together, and one got ahead of time, and now you're waiting for your turn to get that acceptance, it's a difficult phase. As I was talking to them, I was talking about Three Idiots. This is a wonderful movie. If you haven't watched it, and it said like, failing is not difficult, but it's more difficult when your friend passed and you failed. So, we'll talk about hope and resilience. What helped you go through this time? And the breaking down of the planning parts.

Okay, so I'll start with the plan ahead thing. Uh, so I would like to start with Benny's example. She's already in a dental school. So, when she says plan ahead, she's not planning for tomorrow or day after. She's planning for next week. If she has an exam on Friday, she's not going to study on Thursday. She's going to study one weekend before. Because she's a girl. Dr. Nafes, we don't do that. So, what she's been trying to tell me, it's going to be the same for you, you know. See, she, what she's trying to tell me is, if you don't do it, you're going to be in trouble. You can be in trouble once, twice, you know, how many times do you want to be in trouble? I, I've been there. And for, there were a couple of things that, uh, I was lacking, you know. As you know, I was, I'm very shy to talk on phone. I don't, on phone, I don't like like talking on phone. And Benny handles a lot of that part of my life, you know, communication department. Yes, you can say, communication department. So, when we were, like, uh, connecting with you also, as you know, Benny was handling most of the conversation. And you, at one point, you were like, "I want to talk to Nafes. You know, this is Nafes' profile. His question. Let me know when he's free. I want to connect with him only." You know. And there were a couple of things that I lacked personally. So, when, you know, when you have a good profile, or you think you have a good profile, when you have so much on your resume, sometimes you think you deserve it, you know. That's where I think most of us lack. Sometimes you think you deserve to get in because you are so good on paper. That's very important. What you said. Yes. But it is not the case. I think everybody's journey is different, and everybody deserves to get in. So, what we were, I was lacking was, I was working hard towards the application, but I was not going the last mile, I would say. Where you motivated me, doctor, you know, to follow up with the university, to go visit them, to go talk to them, even after you have applied, you know, you need to have that passion. The university needs to know you have that passion. Let's say for NYU, you're passionate about that dental school. You need to attend the, uh, seminars, the courses, conferences. You need to, you need to have your name, your face up there in front of them, you know. They should know there's this guy who has been following up. You need to be persistent. Yes. Sorry, Dr. What was your second question again?

The second question was breaking down. One was the plan, like how, when you say plan ahead, one was this person breaking it down. How would you describe it to somebody who's living in Canada and I want to apply to the 2025 CAPID cycle, 2025? How should I break it down practically? What step would you advise? The second is, this journey is not easy. How do you, what do you suggest? What people don't understand this, they won't understand this. I, if I was Nafes, I think if I think I have resilience, but I give Nafes would have 10 times more than I did because the jobs he was doing, the hard work he was doing, seeing your spouse living in other cities, still trying. He went to, and I know his profile, he has a goddamn good profile. This person was a specialist and going through this hardship and staying resilient in getting accepted is, it's not easy. I, I was actually, I was waiting to see how it goes and hoping for the best. But he made it, and I actually kind of impressed. And I'm asking him, what suggestion would you give people for hope? Like, who are going through it, having, and everybody has different kind of hardship. Somebody might be having problems with health, somebody with money, somebody with family life, marriages, immigration, visas. But everybody needs hope who's going through this process. So, what's your suggestion on that?

Uh, so, uh, with hope, I would like to say, have a positive set of friends, a positive set of people surrounding you. Especially when you move from your country to North America, you leave everyone behind. You're going to meet all kind of, every kind of people. And there's going to be people who have been down this path before, they didn't get in, and they're just going to, you know, it's not possible, it's very expensive, it's not worth it. You can do dental hygienist, they're earning well, you know. And we had the same discussions. You know, there was a point I was, you know, uh, telling Benny one day, "Hey, Benny, you know what? What if I do the hygienist thing? You know, I have a friend who's earning well, he has a Mercedes car and everything." And so, I remember Benny told me, "You're a specialist, you know. It's not about the money at the end of the day. It's about your mental peace as well. How would you like to feel if you're not able to do a root canal?" You know, how would that, how would that make you feel?

I will feel happy. I'm joking. That's like a. I personally love root canals. Like, it's like my passion. You know, when you finish DDS, come to Ohio, please. For sure, doctor. So, yeah, I would like to say, have yourself surrounded by a positive set of people who are always there for you, who always, you know, who always try to push you. And with the plan ahead thing, you know, the journey. Know when I, when I'm telling you, hey, you know what, give AFK and give INBDE together. I'm not saying this in a random conversation way. Know the AFK, know the Canada journey, the equivalency, the admission pathway. Read about the INBDE pathway. Read about the universities. Know about their requirements. So, uh, in here, I would like to add another example, the bench test prep. You know, we asked you for advice, we asked so many people for advice. So, both of us have different hand skills. I might be good in something, and Benny might be good in something else, you know. So, but still, we were on the same page. We needed professional coaching for bench test. You go for bench exam. So, we went to Duxens. It's in Southern California. I think Duxens or Stevenson are the best option, and they are recognized by schools too. So, they know. Yes, yes. It was like, so how that was a different experience was, we got to interact with like, 10 people who were in the same boat as us, you know, who are going through the same journey, who had faced rejections. Because, like, normally, when you're applying to schools, you're sitting in your own home, you know, you're applying on a laptop, and you are just by yourself. When you go out, when you sit with 10 people, you are in a coaching class. They share their journey, you know. We met someone like a therapy session. Alcohol, like, therapy session. Yes, exactly. Dr. And that gave us that exposure, you know, had opened like a whole new window for us. The, the dentistry options in America, the, and the motivation, you know. So, Dr. Duxen, he's a gem of a person. He's so professional. He's so, like, he's such a wonderful guy. It was like one of the best teachers I ever met. A person. Yes. And he, the even though sometimes we think we know everything, you always need professional help just to polish your skills. And, yeah, so that the planning ahead thing is, know about the journey. Know about.

Here's a question. I, so for the CAPID people, if you want to know more about the journey, I post a lot of YouTube videos. You can see those. That can guide you a little bit. Reach out to me. But when you talk about a, uh, what's the Canadian exam called? AFK. AFK. How do, if people want to read about that, where do they read that?

Uh, so, uh, I would like to share the Canada thing. So, Canada has an equivalency pathway where you clear three exams: AFK, ACJ, and the last is a practical exam, the DECE, and then you give the OSCE, and you get a license. It sounds really good when I say, you know, free exams, you get a license, you're good, you know. Or you give the AFK and you apply to the six, seven Canadian dental universities. Your percentage, the number of marks you got in. But the challenge, but the challenge with Canadian universities is the rules were changing every year. Especially in our case, let's say University of Toronto, they, they want AFK. Next year, we are applying, DECE wants a that as well, you know.

One thing I'll tell you, I'm sorry, cutting you on the long term, to be honest, by the end of the day, it's all business, right? It all these dental licenses allow you to practice dentistry and have your own business or make money. And I think being in the US and being a US, obviously, in the start, you have visa issues again, because now you're on work authorization again in the US. But on the long term, I think being a licensed dentist in the US is a higher return for your time as compared to Canada.

Yes, I agree. So, I have friends who are dentists in Canada, in America. America. And it depends. People, it depends where your family is. For some people, it depends where you like the weather, you know, the traffic, everything. But comparatively, yes, US has better, more opportunity.

Yeah, more opportunities. Yes, it's, it's obvious. Like, that's what we learned when we visited last year. Yes.

So, last, last question. I want to ask you for people who are applying to NYU or live in New York and want to go into NYU for some reason. I've seen Pakistanis, maybe Indians too, they just, the word NYU makes their eyes go bright. When I tell them I got accepted, I didn't go, and they're like, "Why? NYU is so big." I'm like, I'm like, at this point in my life, doesn't matter if I. But because it's a dream school for a lot of people, it's 28 months long. And I say, New York, NYU is one thing, but living in New York City is a whole different animal. That's a crazy city. A lot of crime, but a lot of fun, food, different diversity, all of that. So, people who are very much focused towards going to NYU, what would be your advice? Both of you, what things do you need to put into your application and do while you're applying to increase your chances of getting accepted?

Okay, for NYU, it's a very competitive school. Every school is a competitive school, I would say. So, there are various factors. Our GPA counts, our TOEFL score counts. At this point of time, I would say nobody can change their own GPA, right? But we can definitely score better in TOEFL. We can make our profile, like, not look better, it should be original, I should say. As I've, uh, said before, we should have a mentor, like we had you, to be honest. It's not that, today you are interviewing, that's why I'm saying this. I'm really thankful to you from the bottom of my heart for being such a kind human and for being a mentor. Well, because apart from all these help, we were always there, always motivating us, always. And and whenever we were low, you always motivated me and of that, yes, you're going to do it. So, just be original. And you helped us in all the ways possible, you could help us. So, I would say, um, all my colleagues who would want to, like, apply to NYU, they should focus on all of things which are in their hands, like the TOEFL score, their extracurricular activities, like if they're doing any shadowing, any observership, or if they're working in a dental clinic. Also, volunteering matters because me and Nafes, we volunteered for so many dental camps. Also, I was volunteering at other NGOs as well, and I was volunteering at YMCA as well. That matters as well, apart from your, uh, own dental experience. Because, uh, yes, also, like, everyone should be, like, it comes from within, I feel, right? If you are, I feel that if you are, uh, determined to get in somewhere, I think all the powers are with you for that. Then, as you, you have said to me before as well. So, yes, that would be my advice. And living in New York City is like, all together, it's, it's a beautiful place to be. I personally love New York City. Being in New York City, I was afraid at the start, to be honest, that I'm going to survive here. But, um, I, I learned a lot from this city in this past one year. And I believe that I'm going to learn so many new things in the coming, in the coming year. So, just work towards your goals. And also, I would say, always take, because, like, as we say that, for example, if I'm writing my SOP, right, I can, I can write in my own layman language. But if you get some professional help, just redefining it or rewriting it in a professional manner, I think that matters a lot too. Because if you helped me, you also asked for my experience, why I wanted to pursue dentistry, right? But the way you reframed, uh, my SOP and my resume, the way of writing it, we are not familiar with the North American standards. So, because, so I think all these things matter. Also, if you, if you have a good mentor who's a nice human being, who always keeps you, like, motivated, so that matters a lot. And we both are really grateful to you, Dr. Adriel William. Thank you so much for all this. We owe this to you as well. I'm, I'm, I'm going to be sending you some gifts after this one.

Okay, to add to the New York thing, you know, so all the videos that you see on social media about New York, sometimes, you know, New York has rats, the subway system is crowded. But, so New York University is in Manhattan, in mid-Manhattan, to be exact. So, like, Benny lives like a 10-minute walk from NYU, and it's like one of the most beautiful places I've been to. She lives right next to the East River, and there are like helicopters flying in the morning. Such a, such a nice place. And the city is like alive, you know.

He has to start. This is so funny for me. I'll tell you my experience. So, when I got accepted there, I was like, "No, I'm not going back." Like, I lived. It's when I came to the US, I came to Maryland, DC. And after one week, my cousin, who I was living with, he gave me a, he said, "Let's go get a car for you and start driving because otherwise you won't survive up here." And I, I had a Honda Civic, and I started driving in DC, and I would get stuck for five hours on 995. And this was new. I didn't know anything. Navigation was a whole new thing, like traffic light cameras. And you're broke, you're a student, you're stressed, you're worried about the cops pulling you off or something like that. And so, after that, I've been, like, I lived in Philadelphia after that. But now in Ohio, I'm scared of living in big cities now, unless I'm at the level of Trump, where you actually live on the Trump Tower and fly in helicopters. But it's just, I feel like, with so many people around, I, my mind doesn't work. That's why I live in the middle of nowhere in Ohio now. But it's actually good. I, personally, feel a lot of students, like when I was in Colorado, Denver, 95% of our time is just our, our apartment and campus. Apartment and campus. Like, people would ask me, "Did you go to for skiing in Colorado or Aspen?" I said, "I hardly had time." Like, you're in the SIM lab all the time. So, all you would do is eat within the five-mile radius and come back. Your life is just in the school because they keep you busy till 7, 8, and you have to do homework. So, it's not like you're going on Long Island beach on the weekend because you're in the SIM lab working. But, that is true. That is totally true.

Any advice before we finish this up? I know your time is valuable, and you have other things to do. You guys are moving, there's a lot of planning that you guys have to do and move, do things. So, before we finish or wrap this up, any advice for people who are applying for Canadians, for Indians, for people from other parts of the world who are applying to CAPID, who have a dream to get accepted, not have much hope, or trying to struggle to plan? What are the last piece of advice you would give them?

I would say, just stay hopeful and stay determined. Nothing is impossible if you have that determination of achieving it, you will definitely achieve it. Just have that. As I have said before, have a plan. That yes, I'm going to apply to Canada because that, what I did. I tried for Canadian license exams, but then due to COVID and due to other factors, I could not go ahead with the last exam. I cleared the first two exams, but I couldn't go ahead with the last exam. And then I started applying from years. As if you would like to ask my perspective, I think US is a better option. It's, uh, convenient to just give one exam. And if you work hard towards your profile, towards your goals, I think it's doable. Because, uh, Canada was taking too long for me, and it was taking a toll on my mental health as well. When I applied for, uh, INBDE, I gave the exam. Both of us cleared the exam. And in the first cycle itself, like, I got in. But Nafes also got in the very second cycle. So, it's just that I, I feel it's more convenient. But yes, it depends upon person to person as well. If, uh, one would want to go ahead with the Canadian license exams, it's also doable. I would say, just be patient, keep working hard, follow a pattern. And always, I would say, take help of your mentors because, like, you are also taking time out of your such a busy working schedule to help students like us. And that's a big help, sir, to be honest. And, uh, yes, everyone should be consistent, should be determined, and should work hard towards their goals. And definitely, it's doable. It might take some time. It took me five years to reach here. I came here in 2019, but I was working towards Canadian license exams. COVID happened, so many things happened. But in the end, yes, it's worth it. And, um, I would like to say thank you to you one more time. Stay the same, sir. You're a very, and keep helping.

I doubt people would agree with that. I doubt. But, uh, thank you very much for your kind words. Dr. Nafes, any, uh, piece of advice? Because you had a different journey, a little bit. But what's your advice from your experience to people who are going through the same phase or applying? What's your advice?

Uh, so I would like to say, know your path. You know, what universities you're going to apply to. Read through their websites. Try to connect with the university. Know their criteria. And as Benny said, be motivated. So, when I'm saying be motivated, I'll give you an example. If you're not getting, let's say, 100 plus, you're getting 97 in TOEFL. You're getting, next time, you're getting 98. Don't let go. You know, it's worth it. You can give TOEFL as many times as you want. Give it seven times, give it 10 times. Have that number you are aiming for, 100 plus or 110 plus, whatever gives you satisfaction. But be motivated. And know what dental schools you're going to apply to. Know their criteria. And, yeah, be surrounded by a positive set of people.

I, I would, I would just, in the last, would tell people, what you said about, which was a very important thing, where Nafes has a wonderful profile. He's a hardworking man. Uh, he was a specialist. He did pretty good in an endo. When I looked at his resume, he has done a lot, a lot of research. He wasn't just like an endodontist, he was teaching in the faculty, running a practice. So, a lot of things. And even later on, working in Canada, one of the key things he said in the last, what he felt like really made a difference was reaching out to schools. He's, he's a person who's kind of like an extrovert, doesn't like to be in the front of camera and people. But finally, I felt like that was the push where he kind of had to tell the schools, inform them, "Hey, this is Nafes. I'm highly interested in your program. I want to be a part of it." And I personally think that's a very important thing. And you have to do it in a professional manner. Some people are, that's where you helped me, sir. So, that's where, like, you, I still remember, "Why not going to Colorado University? Why are you not visiting N?" I still remember, sir, you telling me, "Why are you not, what's stopping you from going there and meeting them and letting them know, hey, I'm the, you know, I'm applying to your university?" I think that's what I lagged in my first cycle. Put myself in, in front, you know. And that's what I learned. Whenever I visited the US, I connected with other people in the same boat. And I think that's where you pushed me, like, "You need to go that extra mile. You can do everything. You can clear all the exams, but you need to go through that extra mile." Yes. Yep. In your case, that was very important. On the other hand, I meet people who are very much, they would like email schools 10 times a day, and they will annoy them. So, you want to find a good zone where you're doing it professionally. You want to reach out. Dr. Benny, or you guys will get a lot of messages too. "Hey, I want to be in NYU. I don't want to be like you guys." And all of that stuff. But you want to reach out to them, but you want to be professional too. It's always good to knock a door, but you don't want to slam it with a hammer that the school gets annoyed. So, find that professional spot where you're showing that I am somebody who's a good team player and want to be a part of you. So, that would be a really important thing. So, I'm grateful for your time, guys. It was lovely talking to you. Hopefully, if you guys visit Ohio, I visit and New York, I'll see you in person. Love to have you. All right. Thank you, guys. We'll see you soon. And hopefully, this video helps people. Take care. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Bye-bye. Have a great day. Bye.