Curious about admission

[ichoai]

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Hey everyone,

So this question is actually for a friend who does not have an account and wanted me to get an opinion from you knowledgable pre-dents. Beware, the nature of this question may annoy you.

He's applying this upcoming cycle and did well on his DAT but has a pretty low GPA (~3.0), he's got great extracurricular's and LoR's but the GPA might hold him back from acceptance. He has a very close family friend at a dental school (he asked me not to name it) who is the assistant dean. He claims that this family friend promised to "help him out" aka get him in. He wants to know (and to be honest, I wanna know too) if things actually work this way?

I know this is probably unethical, and depressing for many applicants who are better qualified, but it's better to know if these things happen because the world we live in isn't always fair, and as they say...connections are worth more than gold.

so basically, can an assistant dean really pull strings for someone who is competitive but has a low GPA?

 

[ILLchief]

dont see the point of this question... if he applies and gets into said school. then yes, an assistant dean can "pull strings"

if your friend wants to better his chances, then hes gonna have to improve his GPA (maybe a masters if he has graduated already). obviously he should apply to that school as well as many others to better his chances.

good luck.

 

[ichoai]

I wasn't asking about this particular dean's promise, or this particular applicant. I was asking generally about people who have connections and if this is actually a possibility? Or if the rules are sort of "impenetrable" creating a fairer environment.

 

[remowilson]

I think it is possible, but it unlikely happens. He is not the only one makes decision. There are other admission professors and they will ask why this student is accepted and others not.

 

[dieanotherday]

if the assistant dean in question is the one that interviews him then he would be able to tell people that the interview blew him away and they need to accept this student

however if the assistant dean could not arrange to interview him specifically i think it would look really questionable for him to put a good word in for someone he is supposed to be unbiased about and only consider the merits of this student and it would definitely look like nepotism

 

[Bottle]

We don't have to explain anything. If the applicant is excellent to average, there is a good chance that his relative can get him in. If his application is really bad, than it doesn't matter who your relative is, he will not get into dental school. I don't know how good is his DAT. if it's somewhere around 23+ I think there is a good chance that he will get in with little push from his relative. One more thing, it also depends on your relative. What kind of person is he/she? do they care about ethics and their reputation. How are they in their environment? sometimes an assistant can be as useless as student when it come to application, or they can also be the main determining factor in choosing between applicants.

Now, lets put this aside and talk about your friend. Tell him what he is trying to do is bad for him/her. I'm not trying to play the ethic cards on you guys, but trusting someone with such important thing (career&future life) is horrible. His/her relative can never gurantee what's going to happen, whether someone will disagree or stand up against the relative and threaten to ruin their reputation. When that happens, do you think your relative will sacrifice themselves for you?
Tell your friend to be smart and apply like a normal applicant. He/she should use their relative as a gurantee that your applicant will be 100% reviewed carefully, and not thrown away with the first glance of red flag. Thats the only thing your friend should look for from their relative.

 

[goonsquad]

It's not always what you know but who you know. I am sure that the assistant dean has some pull when it comes to this. I have a feeling this goes on more than people want to believe but if what your friend is telling you is true then I think he is definitely at an advantage over others.

 

[NMC2010]

They can definitely pull strings - but like someone else said, only to an extent. My sisters and I all went to the same undergrad school with a good reputation. It was the only place I even applied to, because my mom works there. I did have a good application, but my mom told me I could have been "brain-dead" and still be admitted, simply because she works there. This doesn't just apply to schools, but to nearly any job where you have a family member. If they're a good worker, they can put in the word for you to gain an open door. It isn't fair for others, but that's the reality of the world.

 

[Screwtape]

Does your friend do anything himself?

 

[thirstyscholar]

Yes. There are a handful of schools known for their "handshake deals."