Explore Your Options

Step 1 is about solidifying your dental school preferences, to help you to make confident decisions.

Get Advice

✓  For a little philosophy on hard decisions, check out this TedTalk about putting yourself behind your options, making choices based on your unique reasoning, and becoming distinctly you.

✓ Consider the advice of those with firsthand experience:

• Follow OzTREKK  on Instagram. There’s honestly no better way to explore this path than to hear from those who are experiencing it firsthand. Our students are always doing takeovers, so you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions along the way.
•  Hear why OzTREKK student Alannah choose Australia for dental school.

Understand Your Priorities

✓  Discover what’s important to you in a dental school.

Understand Financing

Step 2 is about financing your degree and getting comfortable with money talk!

Financing a dentistry degree is often a family matter and the following topics are for you to consider together. Taking the time to think about these items now can make for less stress down the road and will make you feel more prepared and confident once outcomes are issued.

✓ Start off on the right foot by asking the right questions!

✓ Understand your financing options.

• How do you pay for dental school?

✓ Have that financial talk with your family now.

How to Nail Your Interview

Step 3 is about how to shine during your dental school interview.

✓  Mark your calendar and ensure you’re available during interview timelines: Dentistry Admissions Timeline.
✓  Utilize OzTREKK tips and tricks to make sure you’re feeling confident going into your interview.
✓   No longer interested in a program? Tell us, so the university can offer an interview to another applicant.

Watch this clip from a recent webinar we held with Dr. Yasmin Samiee (University of Sydney, Doctor of Dental Medicine graduate) and Dr. Jhonna Collins (University of Sydney, Doctor of Medicine graduate). Here, Dr. Samiee chats about how you can stand out in your interview.

Prepare for an Outcome

Step 4 is about outcomes! Here you’ll find the details you’ll want to wrap your head around before outcomes become available.

Understand the Process

✓  Offer Prep Chart – Refer to this document for information about offer timelines, deposit amount, and how to secure your seat in a program.

✓  Read the Fine Print – Read and understand the Australian Government’s Release Policy, as well as university Refund Policies. This is a must!

✓  Get Your Finances In Order – Acceptance deposits consist of making a payment towards your first year’s tuition fees (see Offer Prep Chart), as well as paying for health coverage (aka OSHC).

✓  Know Your Payment Options – Be prepared to make a tuition deposit. Most universities have the option to pay via wire transfer or credit card. We recommend being prepared to pay via credit card. In the case that the offer you’re about to accept is first-come first-served, paying via credit card will save you time and a trip to the bank.

• Paying Via Convera – Most of our university partners prefer students to pay their deposit via Convera (previously known as Western Union). Understanding this process in advance will make for smooth sailing come offer time. (Seriously, read this one!)

✓  Read Carefully – Australia is several hours ahead of us, so you will likely receive your outcome directly from the university overnight, prior to receiving the news from OzTREKK the next morning.

Should you be the lucky recipient of an offer letter, it is your responsibility to read everything. Read your offer letter (in full). Read our email, which contains added guidance and answers common questions and concerns.

We can give advice and educated guesses in advance; however, what’s noted in these two items is the real deal. If you don’t understand something, please reach out.

✓  Remember, there’s no perfect place, but you can choose to bloom wherever you’re planted. 😊

Understand Your Post-dental School Journey

Step 5 is about understanding your graduate options, so you’ve got a clear outlook from the start.

✓  Check out our Practicing Dentistry in Canada page to further understand your pathways after graduation.

✓  Watch our Dentistry Students: My Dental School Journey webinar, and check out the highlights of another webinar, Careers in Dentistry, below:

• Finding a job in Canada after studying in Australia
• Does having student debt prevent you from owning your own dental practice?
• Why it’s important to be business-minded when running your own practice
• Study-life balance for dental students

Get to Know Your Uni Community

Step 6 is about becoming aware of the communities that make up your program, uni, and location—and starting to make connections!

✓  Get To Know Your City – Visit OzTREKK’s City Guides to familiarize yourself with your future city and keep your eye on the prize.

✓  Get To Know Your Campus – There are plenty of ways to do this. We’ve provided a few options here:

CSU Orange Campus Virtual Tour
Griffith University Campus Tour – By the Griffith Gold Coast Student Guild
JCU Cairns Campus Tour
University of Melbourne Virtual Tours
University of Queensland Virtual Tours
University of Sydney Virtual Tour
UWA Virtual Tour
University of Otago Virtual Tour

✓  Get to Know Your Dent Students’ Society

Charles Sturt University Student Dental Society (CSU SDA):  @SDACSU
Griffith University Dental Students Association (GUDSA): @GUDSA
James Cook University Dental Student Association (JCUDSA): @JCUDSA
Melbourne Dental Student Society (MDSS): @theMDSS
University of Queensland Dental Students’ Association (UQDSA): @UQDSA
Sydney University Dental Association (SUDA): @usyddent
The University of Western Australia Dental Students Society (UDSS): @udssuwa
New Zealand Dental Students’ Association (NZDSA): @nzdentalstudents

If you’ve accepted an offer, congrats! Your next resource for this journey is our Boarding Pass website. Here, you’ll find details about…

Steps to take after you have accepted your offer – Applying for your student visa, completing health exams, taking family, etc.

Financing tips – Costs of living, how to transfer money, etc.

Heading to Australia – Setting up accommodation, meeting clinical placement compliance requirements, etc.

Arriving in Australia – Packing tips, working in Australia, exploring your new home, etc.

Feel free to jump over to the Boarding Pass website now to get a feel for what will be coming next. However, please note that much of your predeparture planning won’t need to begin until the fall (and that’s when the site will be completely up to date!). Items like enrolment, program requirements (compliance checks), and applying for your Australian student visa will come later.

Eh to Oz Series – Starting in October, you will start to receive our Eh to Oz email series, which will let you know what predeparture steps you should be taking and when. We’ll also invite you to predeparture and accommodation webinars through the season, so you’ll feel fully prepared for takeoff.