is this bad ? 4 interviews out of 19 applied

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hunterx2

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OK guys I'm getting kind of paranoid right now. I applied very early (second batch) to 11 schools and got 3 interviews quickly, but then I didn't hear anything again for weeks, so I freaked out and added 8 more schools to a total of 19 in mid August. I got another interview in the last month from the additional 8, but haven't heard anything else. Is this a bad sign that I'm only at 4 out of 19 ? Most of them, I think 17, have already offered several rounds of interviews, so it looks like I was skipped over without being formally rejected.

Granted, I have a big red flag on my app (quit a graduate program first semester and left with nice looking WF's on my transcript), but I have very good numbers to make up for that. 3.9 ugrad GPA, 25AA/24 PAT. Average EC's. Am I still in the running for more pre-december interviews? I feel that I need to have 6-7 to be comfortable, but I don't want to get interviews in February where I'm fighting for waitlist spots. Thanks.
 
Take a deep breath and relax, 4 pre-december interviews before the end of September is a good sign. Try to be patient and I'm sure you will hear back from other schools. Good Luck, don't make an already stressful cycle more stressful before it really needs to be.
 
hunterx2 said:
OK guys I'm getting kind of paranoid right now. I applied very early (second batch) to 11 schools and got 3 interviews quickly, but then I didn't hear anything again for weeks, so I freaked out and added 8 more schools to a total of 19 in mid August. I got another interview in the last month from the additional 8, but haven't heard anything else. Is this a bad sign that I'm only at 4 out of 19 ? Most of them, I think 17, have already offered several rounds of interviews, so it looks like I was skipped over without being formally rejected.

Granted, I have a big red flag on my app (quit a graduate program first semester and left with nice looking WF's on my transcript), but I have very good numbers to make up for that. 3.9 ugrad GPA, 25AA/24 PAT. Average EC's. Am I still in the running for more pre-december interviews? I feel that I need to have 6-7 to be comfortable, but I don't want to get interviews in February where I'm fighting for waitlist spots. Thanks.
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Withdrawing from any program mid stream may leave one with a bitter taste.
 
bro stop complainging. there're ppl who applied to 30+ schools and didn't hear back from a single one of them. so shut it. no offence.
 
hunterx2 said:
OK guys I'm getting kind of paranoid right now. I applied very early (second batch) to 11 schools and got 3 interviews quickly, but then I didn't hear anything again for weeks, so I freaked out and added 8 more schools to a total of 19 in mid August. I got another interview in the last month from the additional 8, but haven't heard anything else. Is this a bad sign that I'm only at 4 out of 19 ? Most of them, I think 17, have already offered several rounds of interviews, so it looks like I was skipped over without being formally rejected.

Granted, I have a big red flag on my app (quit a graduate program first semester and left with nice looking WF's on my transcript), but I have very good numbers to make up for that. 3.9 ugrad GPA, 25AA/24 PAT. Average EC's. Am I still in the running for more pre-december interviews? I feel that I need to have 6-7 to be comfortable, but I don't want to get interviews in February where I'm fighting for waitlist spots. Thanks.
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Oh goodness, you're JUST FINE. From the prospective of someone who applied to 23 schools and only has 2 interviews, you're in a great spot.
 
It just seems very deflating going on interviews and talking to other applicants. I've met people with 6, 7 or even 8 (!!!) interviews already, and it's still September.
 
hunterx2 said:
It just seems very deflating going on interviews and talking to other applicants. I've met people with 6, 7 or even 8 (!!!) interviews already, and it's still September.
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Maybe they're better applicants than you.

Just wait like the rest of us.
 
If the neuroticism that drips through this thread made its way into your application, the somewhat lackluster response from schools is unsurprising. That said, I'm not sure why you're down on your luck, many folks would be elated to be in your situation.
 
OK I'm sorry if I sound like a douche, I don't mean it at all. Yes I know lots of ppl are still waiting around and would be happy to have anything, if you are in this situation I really hope you will hear something good soon. I just figured that 4 out of 19 is not a great return given the scores that I got. Yes I know I have WF's and it looks bad quitting a program, but I studied my butt off to compensate for this. When I first started out ppl were telling me that I only need to apply to 5 or 6. If I did that I probably will have 0-1 right now.
 
hunterx2 said:
It just seems very deflating going on interviews and talking to other applicants. I've met people with 6, 7 or even 8 (!!!) interviews already, and it's still September.
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....they're lying to you :annoyed:
 
4 interviews is a good start. I got 1 interview of 11 applications, and guess what..I got accepted. The girl that was in my interview sessions had already been to 5 interviews, and my jaw dropped. In the end, it doesnt matter how many interviews you get, its the acceptances, and you will surely get one!
 
ur weren't honestly expecting an interview at every single school u applied to, right?
 
You're overreacting and being insensitive to those who have gotten zero interviews. Just because you weren't the king of the crop doesn't mean you won't be given an interview based on your grades. Relax, for your sanity.
 
I just get so paranoid over this whole thing. It's not like the DAT's where I 100% know if I study hard then I'll get the results I need. Actually applying is so random. Many of the schools I've yet to hear from are supposedly less selective, and yet I've gotten interviews at places that are quite selective. I haven't heard anything from my own state school, which interviews at least 50% applicants from in state, but I get an invite from a OOS school halfway across the country that rejects 90+% of OOS applicants without interview ??? Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
 
The process is the process. Your level of understanding of it is irrelevant.

Your posts and this thread are douchebaggery of a high degree. Put your big boy pants on and realize 4 interviews are not only 4 more than many get, but more than enough chances to get an adcom to take a chance on you.
 
hunterx2 said:
I just get so paranoid over this whole thing. It's not like the DAT's where I 100% know if I study hard then I'll get the results I need. Actually applying is so random. Many of the schools I've yet to hear from are supposedly less selective, and yet I've gotten interviews at places that are quite selective. I haven't heard anything from my own state school, which interviews at least 50% applicants from in state, but I get an invite from a OOS school halfway across the country that rejects 90+% of OOS applicants without interview ??? Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
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Actually, the DAT is also a crapshoot. Some people study hard and get a really hard version of the test and end up doing bad.
 
Mathematically, the chances of being accepted is extremely high. If for example, the four schools accept 50,40,30,20 percent of their interviewees, you have a 83.2% chance of being accepted by at least one of the schools. However, iirc doc's spreadsheet showed that most schools hover around the 50% range which boosts your chances to 94%.
 
Datooth said:
Mathematically, the chances of being accepted is extremely high. If for example, the four schools accept 50,40,30,20 percent of their interviewees, you have a 83.2% chance of being accepted by at least one of the schools. However, iirc doc's spreadsheet showed that most schools hover around the 50% range which boosts your chances to 94%.
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I don't doubt hunter will be starting D1 next fall, but this is an oversimplification.
 
Datooth said:
Mathematically, the chances of being accepted is extremely high. If for example, the four schools accept 50,40,30,20 percent of their interviewees, you have a 83.2% chance of being accepted by at least one of the schools. However, iirc doc's spreadsheet showed that most schools hover around the 50% range which boosts your chances to 94%.
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So you are saying I will be a dental student in 2014? I have 5 interviews🙄
 
free99 said:
I don't doubt hunter will be starting D1 next fall, but this is an oversimplification.
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AVB2104 said:
So you are saying I will be a dental student in 2014? I have 5 interviews🙄
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Like I said, this is based *only* on the math. Obviously, there's more to it than that. If you suck at interviewing, you're not going to get accepted.
 
...Isn't your score based on how everyone else fared on the same test?
 
Eastcoast24 said:
Actually, the DAT is also a crapshoot. Some people study hard and get a really hard version of the test and end up doing bad.
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I really don't get the people that complain that they got a harder version of the test. it really doesnt make sense for people to put blame for their own scores on anything but themselves.

Just look at the DAT validity/stats PDFs on ADA. The numbers speak for themselves. I call BS on anyone that says they got screwed by a hard DAT. It really is just insensitive to the people that worked really hard to get their scores. It's like saying high scorers didn't deserve it but just got lucky.


Illfavor said:
...Isn't your score based on how everyone else fared on the same test?
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I completely agree with this. the DAT exams are scaled so that applicants can be fairly compared to each other. it's in the DAT examinee guide.

Really makes no sense that some would think that all of the D-schools would use a "crapshoot" exam to judge their applicants. LOL. 🤣
 
From what I understand, the scores are based on how many questions you have it correct, and percentiles are the part which lets you compare to others.
 
sjv said:
The percentiles listed on your score sheet are for that specific exam only, not for all test takers.
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You just proved my point. If most 21's are around 90 percentile, I should have received a 22 or 23. I made my original post to show that not all tests are equal on difficulty level.
 
Soleus715 said:
I really don't get the people that complain that they got a harder version of the test. it really doesnt make sense for people to put blame for their own scores on anything but themselves.

Just look at the DAT validity/stats PDFs on ADA. The numbers speak for themselves. I call BS on anyone that says they got screwed by a hard DAT. It really is just insensitive to the people that worked really hard to get their scores. It's like saying high scorers didn't deserve it but just got lucky
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Yeah sure..
 
Last edited:
Jaesango said:
You just proved my point. If most 21's are around 90 percentile, I should have received a 22 or 23. I made my original post to show that not all tests are equal on difficulty level.
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You seem to be lacking an understanding of how the exam is graded as well as what the percentile mean, not to mention that your numbers are way off.
 
I think it works like something to this degree:

1. Percentile: how you compare to everyone who took that test
2. Actual Number: takes into account the difficulty of exam to compare to the rest of the test takers who take other exams, so your exam was probably easier than other exams.

Just my thoughts.
 
From the ADA:
How is the test scored?
DAT scores are based on the number of correct responses; therefore, examinees are not penalized for guessing.
DAT results are reported in terms of scale scores. The scale scores are neither raw scores (number correct) nor percentiles. Using scale scores it is possible to more readily compare the performance of one examinee with the performance of all examinees. Scores used in the testing program range from 1 to 30. There are no passing or failing scores; a scale score of 17 typically signifies average performance on a national basis.
Each test includes certain questions that play a special role within the testing program. Some questions enable us to place different forms of the test on a common measurement scale, thereby adjusting the forms for any differences in form difficulty level. Because of these questions, examinee scores have the same meaning regardless of the particular test form that was administered. Other questions on the test are experimental and are not scored. The data collected on unscored questions is used in later test construction processes, to ensure that these questions are appropriate before they are included among the scored items.

Is the DAT scored on a curve?
DAT performance is based on an ability-referenced system and reported in standard scores. The test is not scored on a curve. Standard scores provide normative information about examinee knowledge and problem-solving skills, allowing a direct comparison of an examinee's ability with other examinee's abilities.

Seems like your score is converted to a standard score (based on your performance on certain questions) and then compared to everyone else. So...
 
OK sorry for sounding like a douche earlier I was stressed out for no reason. Some places are just slow for whatever reason getting back to me, and I am up to 6 today 🙂 You know what I realize now is that quality is much more important than quantity. If you have only a single interview but you are confident, personable, and articulate, then that is much better than fumbling through 8+ interviews.

Never refer to yourself as hunterx2 again and you should be fine.
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Thanks for the tip I will change to hunterx3
 
AVB2104 said:
It's not all the about the grades....
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Best statement I've ever read on here. Think ab the most successful dentist where u r from. What was his/her gpa/dat score? Rank in class? Doesn't matter bc it's the intangibles and big picture that makes a great dentist.
 
quackwhacker said:
Best statement I've ever read on here. Think ab the most successful dentist where u r from. What was his/her gpa/dat score? Rank in class? Doesn't matter bc it's the intangibles and big picture that makes a great dentist.
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👍
 
I'd argue that with the amount of applicants applying to dental schools, why should a school limit themselves to students that have these certain "intangibles" but lack academic qualifications? In my opinion, the ideal candidate for dental school is someone that is well rounded. This is someone that has these qualities you speak of, in addition to academic success. 👍
 
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