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[Meeza]

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Is it just me, or do others get a series of interviews and then absolutely nothing?

I got 3 in July (one from my state school, an in-state private institution, and a relatively competitive out of state). I am completely grateful and honored, but also feeling concerned. I interviewed on the first or second day the schools had to offer so I got the assumption in my head that maybe I was a competitive applicant.

Then, three months of silence from the other four schools I applied to. I'm really crushed and I don't know if there's anything I may have done, or if I simply wasn't good enough to stand out in a large pool of competitive applicants. I know Pitt and Michigan were stretches as state schools, but I felt my values and stats aligned well with Penn, and I put a lot off work into the supplemental (who has had me "under review" again since the beginning of September) and Tufts (who is also private and my stats fall above their averages but has had me as "complete" since 8/22).

I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but it was such a complete 180 and I don't know why.

 

[blenise]

Is it just me, or do others get a series of interviews and then absolutely nothing?

I got 3 in July (one from my state school, an in-state private institution, and a relatively competitive out of state). I am completely grateful and honored, but also feeling concerned. I interviewed on the first or second day the schools had to offer so I got the assumption in my head that maybe I was a competitive applicant.

Then, three months of silence from the other four schools I applied to. I'm really crushed and I don't know if there's anything I may have done, or if I simply wasn't good enough to stand out in a large pool of competitive applicants. I know Pitt and Michigan were stretches as state schools, but I felt my values and stats aligned well with Penn, and I put a lot off work into the supplemental (who has had me "under review" again since the beginning of September) and Tufts (who is also private and my stats fall above their averages but has had me as "complete" since 8/22).

I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but it was such a complete 180 and I don't know why.

I had a pretty similar experience too where I got two invites early on (from schools I didn't think I'd get noticed by) and then quite a while of silence. After some time, the frenzy picked up again. There's not much advice I can offer other than just trust the process. 3 interviews means your application is competitive with no overwhelming red flags. And schools are still extending invites and working to fill their class, so it just may take some time for them to come across your application. The timeline of this whole process seems to be pretty unpredictable. You're not wrong for feeling anxious, but at this point it's out of our control.


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[Faux]

i'd send an email of interest if you're still wanting a particular school or two. give them an update on what you've been doing.

 

[super frank]

I feel like there are many of us in the same boat. It seems like October has been relatively quiet for most of SDN. Luckily, in my rush of initial invites my tops were thrown in there. I am also waiting to hear back from Pitt and Penn (put a lot of work into their supplement as well).

Like @Faux suggested, try sending an update email. I sent one to any schools who I haven't heard from the other day and they added my new work/research experience to my file.

 

[Incis0r]

OP you're not alone. Same exact thing (surge of invites in the summer & then quiet now) happened to me. I haven't heard anything from 40% of my schools.

 

[Meeza]

i'd send an email of interest if you're still wanting a particular school or two. give them an update on what you've been doing.

I did email Michigan to try and "get my application noticed again" and ask a legitimate question. I inquired, "If our applications have been reviewed and the committee has decided not to select us for an interview, will we notified at that time, or after all invites have been extended?" And the response was that there is no way to know when applicants will be notified. If I emailed again with a letter of intent or update, would it seem to pushy? I know they have to be nearing the end of their invite extensions because they started early.

 

[Meeza]

I feel like there are many of us in the same boat. It seems like October has been relatively quiet for most of SDN. Luckily, in my rush of initial invites my tops were thrown in there. I am also waiting to hear back from Pitt and Penn (put a lot of work into their supplement as well).

Like @Faux suggested, try sending an update email. I sent one to any schools who I haven't heard from the other day and they added my new work/research experience to my file.

Thanks, this is helpful! I'm just nervous because the only new thing I have done is got a new serving job. I am also taking 3 graduate courses as an undergrad (plus 3 undergrad classes), but none of this feels significant enough. Although, we have to develop an experiment and write a grant proposal for one of the grad classes. I have worked at the same dental office for 2+ years, so maybe I can start shadowing elsewhere to update them?

 

[Meeza]

OP you're not alone. Same exact thing (surge of invites in the summer & then quiet now) happened to me. I haven't heard anything from 40% of my schools.

I mean it doesn't make me feel good that you're also feeling this lameness, but it's nice to know I'm not alone. Thank you!

 

[MaizeGoBlue]

I did email Michigan to try and "get my application noticed again" and ask a legitimate question. I inquired, "If our applications have been reviewed and the committee has decided not to select us for an interview, will we notified at that time, or after all invites have been extended?" And the response was that there is no way to know when applicants will be notified. If I emailed again with a letter of intent or update, would it seem to pushy? I know they have to be nearing the end of their invite extensions because they started early.

I'm an undergrad at UM, a michigan resident, a competitive applicant (4 other interviews), and I still haven't heard back... So sometimes things are just a bit random.

 

[Meeza]

I'm an undergrad at UM, a michigan resident, a competitive applicant (4 other interviews), and I still haven't heard back... So sometimes things are just a bit random.

That really is crazy to me. Have you attempted to reach out/ update them?

 

[toothdoctor123]

Some schools never bother to contact applicants they've rejected. Or you'll get a rejection letter from them next August, when you've already started classes at another dental school.

It's also possible they're holding your application because you're on the fence and they want to see how you compare to the rest of the applicant pool. They could be waiting to see how many deposits they get from accepted students in December before deciding who they want to offer February/March interviews.

Just because some schools want you doesn't mean the others should too. You're competing against other applicants for a limited number of spots, applicant pools are different for each school, and schools value different attributes in applicants. These decisions are made based on their overall impression of your application, not on stats alone.

 

[Likkriue]

Patience patience patience. Cycle doesn't end till next summer.

 

[JLT223]

Is it just me, or do others get a series of interviews and then absolutely nothing?

I got 3 in July (one from my state school, an in-state private institution, and a relatively competitive out of state). I am completely grateful and honored, but also feeling concerned. I interviewed on the first or second day the schools had to offer so I got the assumption in my head that maybe I was a competitive applicant.

Then, three months of silence from the other four schools I applied to. I'm really crushed and I don't know if there's anything I may have done, or if I simply wasn't good enough to stand out in a large pool of competitive applicants. I know Pitt and Michigan were stretches as state schools, but I felt my values and stats aligned well with Penn, and I put a lot off work into the supplemental (who has had me "under review" again since the beginning of September) and Tufts (who is also private and my stats fall above their averages but has had me as "complete" since 8/22).

I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but it was such a complete 180 and I don't know why.

This time last year I was in the same boat. I didn't receive most of my interviews until late October/early November. Hang in there.

 

[ncide]

There's sometimes a few thousand applicants for a 100 seats or so, and given that, many well-qualified applicants aren't selected out of the large pool. It can be matter of chance.

 

[MaizeGoBlue]

That really is crazy to me. Have you attempted to reach out/ update them?

Yep. They just sent me a standardized email saying they are reviewing my file.
What's ever crazier is I met with the admissions director in March to talk about my application and she said it was very impressive and more or less said I would be an early invite.

 

[xrjhizzzz]

I'm also desperately waiting for Penn. How you can count yourself as competitive for post-dec invites from Penn particularly?
I have no attempt to reach them because i have no significant update for my application.