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Committee won't write letter until August?
Started by BoomerSooner-ang
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Just get individual letters ASAP.
Yes it's normal. Happened to me. Not a hinderance at all. If any of your schools have "recommended deadlines" (I think Marquette does in like July), show your committee head and ask if they can expedite the process so as not to hinder you. Don't skip the committee. It might make schools question why you didn't use it, which is way worse than being a couple days into August. Assuming you submit early and have your GPA verified before then, you're okay
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@hellofuturedentists I've been reading your name as "Hell to future dentist" the whole time 
Screw the committee . Get the individuals.
More often than not, they think they're more important than they are. For all you know, August turns into Sept. An undergrad should have everything ready by application open date if a student gives ample time, such as what you're doing right now. No school is going to frown upon you not having a committee letter.
More often than not, they think they're more important than they are. For all you know, August turns into Sept. An undergrad should have everything ready by application open date if a student gives ample time, such as what you're doing right now. No school is going to frown upon you not having a committee letter.
Lol someone's told me that before. Didn't realize you could put a space in your username when I made one. Oh well@hellofuturedentists I've been reading your name as "Hell to future dentist" the whole time
You never know. Multiple places I applied to said something along the lines of "we want a committee letter. If your school doesn't have a committee, please get the following letters: X, Y, Z".
Which is completely normal. Every school would prefer that, but its not the end of the world. I personally wouldn't wait until August out of principal alone. After having my grades done, my DAT done, you want me to wait +2 months? Those people aren't that busy.
I think hell to future dentist is more funny. Please switch your name 😉
My school is doing something similar with a late committee release (I'm applying this cycle too).
I have everything else done- DAT is ready, personal statement is done, etc. etc. I called and spoke to admissions officers at my top three choices in dental schools and they told me it's not a problem at all.
I have everything else done- DAT is ready, personal statement is done, etc. etc. I called and spoke to admissions officers at my top three choices in dental schools and they told me it's not a problem at all.
And August isn't that late. My school had a ton of letters to write. Some were done by June, but all were done before August. Waiting until August (and maybe even sooner) to have the letter in isn't the end of the world either 🙂
Lol I'm too broke to donate to SDN and change it. Sorry!
A
akog
So, they see you in August. How long does it take them to write it? How long does it take them to mail it? How long does it take AADSAS to process it? How long till the schools receive it?
Don't assume your committee understands the process. I did my prerequisites at a huge state school in TN where the head of the committee used to even be a microbiology researcher at UT Memphis. They had no clue. I went into his office in February of 2015 about seeing the committee for the cycle that would open in June, and he was confused as to why we weren't scheduling a committee letter so I could start dental school in fall 2015. He didn't even understand that that cycle for fall 2015 was closed. When he heard I was applying to start in fall 2016, he said I should come back and see him in August. I even went to a different committee member who was equally clueless. There was one person in the professional advising office who knew how dumb it was, but she retired out of the blue in the middle of my stint. So I just went to my professors individually, got letters, and got into dental school.
If anyone wonders why you didn't use the committee (nobody ever asked me at UT and they're the ones who know my committee personally), then you can explain that they wouldn't see you until August--which is irresponsible on their part given the changing application dynamics.
This might come across as a little ranty, but I almost did not get into dental school this cycle because, ironically, my application was late for a different reason. Even though I got all my letters in on time, my DAT was late because I kept delaying until I was ready. So my scores weren't reported until September. According to the dean of admissions at UT Memphis, they filled up all their regular interview dates by August this past cycle. (They don't do post-dec interviews.) I only got an interview because they added a few special dates for a handful of students they wanted to see, and I was lucky enough an interview on the last day and and get my only offer because of it.
The number of dental applicants keeps going up every year. August may not have been a late application a few years ago, but it's slowly getting to be that way. My app was complete on Sept 10. All my prereqs were done in 14 months with a 4.0, 23 AA, science and music degrees, average ECs... and I only got 1 interview out of 11. I'm not saying I would have been accepted to all those schools, but if I had hustled more and done my DAT in July, I think I would have gotten more than 1 interview.
One of the reasons I didn't hustle was because I assumed all the "early app" proselytizers were being alarmist. They're not. Don't let the date of your application be compromised by your committee. It's their job to help you get into school, and when they schedule meetings in August they're doing you a disservice in my opinion.
Don't assume your committee understands the process. I did my prerequisites at a huge state school in TN where the head of the committee used to even be a microbiology researcher at UT Memphis. They had no clue. I went into his office in February of 2015 about seeing the committee for the cycle that would open in June, and he was confused as to why we weren't scheduling a committee letter so I could start dental school in fall 2015. He didn't even understand that that cycle for fall 2015 was closed. When he heard I was applying to start in fall 2016, he said I should come back and see him in August. I even went to a different committee member who was equally clueless. There was one person in the professional advising office who knew how dumb it was, but she retired out of the blue in the middle of my stint. So I just went to my professors individually, got letters, and got into dental school.
If anyone wonders why you didn't use the committee (nobody ever asked me at UT and they're the ones who know my committee personally), then you can explain that they wouldn't see you until August--which is irresponsible on their part given the changing application dynamics.
This might come across as a little ranty, but I almost did not get into dental school this cycle because, ironically, my application was late for a different reason. Even though I got all my letters in on time, my DAT was late because I kept delaying until I was ready. So my scores weren't reported until September. According to the dean of admissions at UT Memphis, they filled up all their regular interview dates by August this past cycle. (They don't do post-dec interviews.) I only got an interview because they added a few special dates for a handful of students they wanted to see, and I was lucky enough an interview on the last day and and get my only offer because of it.
The number of dental applicants keeps going up every year. August may not have been a late application a few years ago, but it's slowly getting to be that way. My app was complete on Sept 10. All my prereqs were done in 14 months with a 4.0, 23 AA, science and music degrees, average ECs... and I only got 1 interview out of 11. I'm not saying I would have been accepted to all those schools, but if I had hustled more and done my DAT in July, I think I would have gotten more than 1 interview.
One of the reasons I didn't hustle was because I assumed all the "early app" proselytizers were being alarmist. They're not. Don't let the date of your application be compromised by your committee. It's their job to help you get into school, and when they schedule meetings in August they're doing you a disservice in my opinion.
Ok, now I'm getting a little worried.
90% of schools do not fill up interview dates in August lol
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Lol only a couple schools (mostly Southern I think) do that. I got multiple interviews during the month of October for pre-Dec dates
A
akog
But 90% of dental schools are inundated by August. In my estimation, it's not worth putting yourself in that circus simply to get the committee letter over your individual professor letters.
F
fogorvostan
Do you know if they hold true to their deadlines? Like if they tell you will be done by August 10th (or whatever date), then it'll for sure be done by August 10th?
A
akog
That's about how it went for me. Fortunately I realized it soon enough to chose a class schedule that put me in closer contact with the professors I chose to write letters for me.
Look I know it seems strange to skip the committee. In fact, here's what the school (who accepted me) says right on their website:
"The Admissions Committee values letters of recommendation from the applicant's college professors or pre-professional committee (if one exists) above all others."
And yet nobody said anything about me not using the committee. And like @karanja I've never heard of anyone here on SDN reporting that they ran into trouble skipping the committee. On the other hand, you hear about dozens and dozens of people who regret not being early. It's about choosing the lesser of the two risks.
Advisors' and committee members' main job task is provide advice on the front end. They have little impetus to be involved later on when the acceptances and rejections get doled out, and as such they have little impetus for reviewing/improving their advice, *particularly* for the committee members. Very little performance review. It's a classic bureaucratic dynamic.
The first time I applied, I went through the committee. Not only were the advisors extremely unhelpful, none of them knew about "applying early" and kept assuring me it would be fine. I applied in August and wasn't accepted. This year, I bypassed the committee, got individual letters, applied early, and I was accepted.
I honestly don't think it's a big deal if you don't go through the committee. The schools I spoke with said it's basically easier for them to assess the applicant on 1 committee letter rather than 3 separate letters. What the committee does is basically summarize those letters. The only instance where I feel you'd have an edge by using a committee letter is if you have been consistently seeing the same advisor for a long period and they actually know you as a person. This way, they can write about things like how you overcame academic challenges.
Lastly, I don't see how dental schools can hold not using a CL over your head if it's not mentioned on their website. The typical applicant doesn't use sdn, and the only place I honestly saw the CL mentioned was on SDN. If the dental school mentions to use it on their website under application requirements and if your university has a well established committee who KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING use the CL. If not, go for the individual.
I honestly don't think it's a big deal if you don't go through the committee. The schools I spoke with said it's basically easier for them to assess the applicant on 1 committee letter rather than 3 separate letters. What the committee does is basically summarize those letters. The only instance where I feel you'd have an edge by using a committee letter is if you have been consistently seeing the same advisor for a long period and they actually know you as a person. This way, they can write about things like how you overcame academic challenges.
Lastly, I don't see how dental schools can hold not using a CL over your head if it's not mentioned on their website. The typical applicant doesn't use sdn, and the only place I honestly saw the CL mentioned was on SDN. If the dental school mentions to use it on their website under application requirements and if your university has a well established committee who KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING use the CL. If not, go for the individual.
Exactly. Each school has a committee with varying protocols. I was thankful enough to attend a university with an outstanding committee that basically forces pre-dents and pre-meds to start a file sophomore year. According to my school, 90% of students with a "highly enthusiastic" committee letter from their staff end up gaining an acceptance within 1 year. If your school is known to write strong letters, it's foolish to not go through with it. Then again, if you know your school has a weak committee with no track record or you think you won't get a strong letter, go with the individual letter route.
What if the following is true:
a) You have all your LORS, DAT, personal statement all ready to go, and the LORs are very strong on their own, and
b) Your school won't release them until August like the OP said, and
c) Your top choices in dental schools don't care whether it is individual or committee, but
d) Your school writes strong committee letters
Probably just better off sending in the individual letters. If the schools don't care then it's no big deal. I knew personally my committee letter (which involved interviews) would be stronger than just individual letters but if you're confident go ahead. Tons of people do it and the earlier you get things in the better. I'd say if they release the letters in June it's fine but August is cutting it close because you never know...they could have setbacks writing them, sending them out, etc.
On the application portal, there are 4 slots to put the name of the people that write the letter. Put their name and email and they will recieve instruction on submitting it online.
Thank you everyone for your responses to this thread.
I approached the head of my pre-health committee again after class today (He is my genetics professor) and asked him about the timeline and he reiterated that they would not send out the letters until Mid -August. He claimed that they were a part of the school's secondary application and thus would not be needed to apply early. I knew this wasn't correct so i went ahead and called the TMDAS and asked them about it and the lady was very adamant that they were a part of the primary application and it would be in my best interest to get them in as early as possible.
I then sent my committee an email explaining what i had learnt and she replied back telling me that i was wrong and they won't change their process but if i wanted to i could have the first slot and have my committee interview on May 17th. which for a Texas student is late and would make me wait for weeks to a month to even get the actual letter.
So i think i will go ahead and ask individual professors for letters instead.
I approached the head of my pre-health committee again after class today (He is my genetics professor) and asked him about the timeline and he reiterated that they would not send out the letters until Mid -August. He claimed that they were a part of the school's secondary application and thus would not be needed to apply early. I knew this wasn't correct so i went ahead and called the TMDAS and asked them about it and the lady was very adamant that they were a part of the primary application and it would be in my best interest to get them in as early as possible.
I then sent my committee an email explaining what i had learnt and she replied back telling me that i was wrong and they won't change their process but if i wanted to i could have the first slot and have my committee interview on May 17th. which for a Texas student is late and would make me wait for weeks to a month to even get the actual letter.
So i think i will go ahead and ask individual professors for letters instead.
That isn't late 🙄. Texas schools don't even start interviewing until august...
Well this is awkward...considering that my committee accepts 5 letters and I already have 5 recommendations written xD.
That's when they will interview the first student, and it is unlikely that i will be first. Also if that its the date they start interviews on i would still have to wait about 2 months, which would mean they would probably send it in by mid July, and then i will have to wait a few weeks for the application to process. Obviously you've been accepted to Texas school's so you know what you are talking about, but having your application completed in August is by no means "not late".
The choice is yours!!! Go nuts
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Let me clarify. I submitted my TMDSAS application mid august this cycle. After my application was done processing (mid september) I got an interview invite from Baylor 2 days later. I got interview invites from UTSD and UTHSCSA in early November,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to me and for providing your personal experience.
I talked to TMDAS a few weeks ago and the representative i was speaking to told me that even applying in mid July was considered relatively late. I'm glad that you provided your own application experience, but i wonder how competitive of an applicant you were? I haven't taken my DAT yet so i don't know if i will be a very competitive applicant, so i still do think that it would be better for me to apply really early. But your story makes me relax a little bit about getting everything in as early as possible, though obviously i will still try.
In your opinion is it better to wait for the committee letter? I think could get fairly strong individual letters.
I spoke with Dr. Galindo concerning what's considered "late" UTSD specifically doesn't even look at applications until July (not sure about baylor and UTHSCSA).
I wasn't that competitive stat wise. The earlier you apply the better, but I really think that only helps so much. If schools want to interview you they will, whether you submit in may or august. I personally got a committee letter, but honestly it really doesn't matter as long as the letters are strong you can get individuals.
Awesome, Thanks.
This is basically it. OP (and anyone else) : committee or not committee, as long as everything is in around August, then it's up to schools. Unless a school has a legitimate "recommended" deadline (Marquette, LSU, a couple others I think), then I really don't think you'd be penalized for having things in August. But if it comforts your nerves more if everything's early, then do individual letters. Everything here is anecdotal. The only times I've seen people get feedback of "if only you were earlier, we would have accepted you" were when people submitted AADSAS in like October or November
I'm the type of guy who would starting biting my fingernails and eventually eat all of my fingers from anxiety/nervousness if I see everyone else getting interviews in June/July and not me because a committee letter is holding me back.
Yeah- at that stage, it would be pointless to go into dentistry.
So yeah, my nerves will be more comforted using individual letters xD
Lol same and that's why my biggest regret about this cycle was discovering SDN 😉
So if I had to describe your anxiety in this cycle using an analogy, it would be accurate to say it was like dumping huge trucks of fuel (SDN) onto a fire (innate/baseline anxiety levels)?
Lol probably more like putting a hose in a pool that's part way filled
