I think we all know this but, man this process is RANDOM

[HaverfoodsDDS]

Who else feels like this cycle is unbelievably random in how people are chosen for interviews? By no means am I complaining, as to this point I have received 5 interviews at some very, very good schools (Michigan, Western , USC , UCSF, UCLA), but to be quite honest I'm baffled by how this whole process works.

I submitted everything on July 5th, and I was almost immediately rejected by Midwestern AZ and ASDOH, and have not heard a thing from neither any of the Ivy Leagues (maybe it was a longshot anyways) or many of the large private schools I applied to (NYU,BU,Temple, Tufts, UOP) even though I know they have granted many, many interviews already. I absolutely understand I'm not entitled to any interviews but I just find it strange that so many selective schools would give me a chance while so many of the "less selective" schools haven't given me any news whatsoever.

What makes things even more confusing to me is that one of my best friends that attends the same school as me and applied to ALL of the same schools as me received an almost completely different set of interview invites. We have very similar numbers (me 4.01/4.03 sGPA/oGPA, 21/22/17 AA/TS/PAT ; him 3.81/3.86 sGPA/oGPA, 23/23/23 AA/TS/PAT), but our interview invites are not similar at all.

Like I said above, I have received invites from UCLA,UCSF,USC, Western, and Michigan while he received interviews from UOP, Harvard, NYU, USC, Western, and BU.

I'm just wondering what anybody thinks about the variability of this whole application process and how truly random it can be.

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[BobbyBeavis]

Who else feels like this cycle is unbelievably random in how people are chosen for interviews? By no means am I complaining, as to this point I have received 5 interviews at some very, very good schools (Michigan, Western , USC , UCSF, UCLA), but to be quite honest I'm baffled by how this whole process works.

I submitted everything on July 5th, and I was almost immediately rejected by Midwestern AZ and ASDOH, and have not heard a thing from neither any of the Ivy Leagues (maybe it was a longshot anyways) or many of the large private schools I applied to (NYU,BU,Temple, Tufts, UOP) even though I know they have granted many, many interviews already. I absolutely understand I'm not entitled to any interviews but I just find it strange that so many selective schools would give me a chance while so many of the "less selective" schools haven't given me any news whatsoever.

What makes things even more confusing to me is that one of my best friends that attends the same school as me and applied to ALL of the same schools as me received an almost completely different set of interview invites. We have very similar numbers (me 4.01/4.03 sGPA/oGPA, 21/22/17 AA/TS/PAT ; him 3.81/3.86 sGPA/oGPA, 23/23/23 AA/TS/PAT), but our interview invites are not similar at all.

Like I said above, I have received invites from UCLA,UCSF,USC, Western, and Michigan while he received interviews from UOP, Harvard, NYU, USC, Western, and BU.

I'm just wondering what anybody thinks about the variability of this whole application process and how truly random it can be.

Are y'alls extra curriculars similar also? Perhaps some schools favored one personal statement over the others.

 

[sgv]

dude...he's the better applicant on paper...17 is sketchy for those nit-picky schools that are anal retentive about numbers

don't worry about those other schools that flat out rejected you...both you and the school knew you weren't coming

 

[HaverfoodsDDS]

dude...he's the better applicant on paper...17 is sketchy for those nit-picky schools that are anal retentive about numbers

don't worry about those other schools that flat out rejected you...both you and the school knew you weren't coming

LOL I know I PROBABLY wouldn't attend one those other schools, but it's still nice to rack up as many interviews as I can before Dec 2......until I get an acceptance I'll always be nervous.

Regarding him being the better applicant, I feel you and would agree 100% if I didn't receive interviews from UCLA, UCSF, and Michigan (arguably 3 out of top 10 schools) ..... I'm sure the 17 has a lot to do with it, but this whole thing just seems like a big crap shoot to me.

 

[stomatology]

HaverfoodsDDS, when I just read your name as HaverfordDDS.

Are y'alls extra curriculars similar also? Perhaps some schools favored one personal statement over the others.

+1--this is what I am also wondering.

 

[HaverfoodsDDS]

Are y'alls extra curriculars similar also? Perhaps some schools favored one personal statement over the others.

Our EC's are similar.....if anything his are probably better... We both are pretty well-rounded, but nothing too out of control.....Just typical stuff like shadowing, officers of clubs, volunteering, etc.....he's been in a lab for like 3 years and has a few presentations at conferences, Abstract, etc. I was in research for about a year and got the hell outta there as fast as I could without too much to show for it.....research just wasn't my thing.....

 

[HaverfoodsDDS]

HaverfoodsDDS, when I just read your name as HaverfordDDS.

LOL thanks, that was the idea.....

 

[sgv]

LOL I know I PROBABLY wouldn't attend one those other schools, but it's still nice to rack up as many interviews as I can before Dec 2......until I get an acceptance I'll always be nervous.

Regarding him being the better applicant, I feel you and would agree 100% if I didn't receive interviews from UCLA, UCSF, and Michigan (arguably 3 out of top 10 schools) ..... I'm sure the 17 has a lot to do with it, but this whole thing just seems like a big crap shoot to me.

make sure you don't confuse them with their med schools. med school prestige doesn't seep into their dental school. getting into their equivalent med school is both an achievement and a statistical anomaly. can't say the same with dental school. pretty obvious what i saying but good luck and good job

 

[HaverfoodsDDS]

HaverfoodsDDS, when I just read your name as HaverfordDDS.

http://tomhaverfoods.com/

If you're a parks and rec fan do yourself a favor and go here.....just keep clicking it goes on forever.

 

[stomatology]

http://tomhaverfoods.com/

If you're a parks and rec fan do yourself a favor and go here.....just keep clicking it goes on forever.

Funnily enough, I started watching Parks and Rec 2 days ago...love the show, thank you!

 

[sgv]

sorry for hijacking but i need to rant.

i think it sucks how you can bust your ass in undergrad and dental school but once you graduate, you're in equal footing in terms of career prospects with the guy who slacked off all throughout dental school. dentistry is so independent of hospitals and organized care that the only thing that sells are your personality and your hand skills...you can pretty much throw that resume away bc you're selfemployed

the same definitely aint true in medicine and the smarter and harder working guy or gal in school gets the reward with broader, vertical career prospects...#lifeaintfair

its like that time where tom's swag business got outcompeted by a business owner who doesn't give a **** about swag

 

[LFA20]

You should be mindful before posting threads like this. There are some people who don't even have interviews yet for god sake

 

[gn4]

sorry for hijacking but i need to rant.

i think it sucks how you can bust your ass in undergrad and dental school but once you graduate, you're in equal footing in terms of career prospects with the guy who slacked off all throughout dental school. dentistry is so independent of hospitals and organized care that the only thing that sells are your personality and your hand skills...you can pretty much throw that resume away bc you're selfemployed

the same definitely aint true in medicine and the smarter and harder working guy or gal in school gets the reward with broader, vertical career prospects...#lifeaintfair

its like that time where tom's swag business got outcompeted by a business owner who doesn't give a **** about swag

not necessarily true. The guy who slacks off in dental school doesn't have the chance to do a residency program like the guy who didn't slack off. Just as in med school, if Mr. 4.0 and ridiculous step 1 scores wants to do Family med, he's in the same boat as the guy who got straight C's in medschool

 

[wb1]

You should be mindful before posting threads like this. There are some people who don't even have interviews yet for god sake

+1, now we are speaking.

 

[lmr9y]

...I think the OP is just stating the entire process is random. Whether you have 4 interviews at different schools from a friend or no interviews at all with decent GPA and DATs. It's just difficult to say what exactly the admissions committee is looking for. You can shoot to be the perfect candidate for X school but still not receive an interview from them. I know a FL resident who's criteria matches that of UF and has def proven himself via a SMP but hasn't heard back yet. And can't figure out as to why. Whereas, another friend has done the same and she received an interview. Literally they both have the same stats (in undergrad GPA, grad GPA, and DAT- his is even slightly higher by a point!) and did the same SMP but one got an interview and one didn't. It's just hard to know what the admissions committee is looking for.

 

[Ionz]

Who else feels like this cycle is unbelievably random in how people are chosen for interviews? By no means am I complaining, as to this point I have received 5 interviews at some very, very good schools (Michigan, Western , USC , UCSF, UCLA), but to be quite honest I'm baffled by how this whole process works.

I submitted everything on July 5th, and I was almost immediately rejected by Midwestern AZ and ASDOH, and have not heard a thing from neither any of the Ivy Leagues (maybe it was a longshot anyways) or many of the large private schools I applied to (NYU,BU,Temple, Tufts, UOP) even though I know they have granted many, many interviews already. I absolutely understand I'm not entitled to any interviews but I just find it strange that so many selective schools would give me a chance while so many of the "less selective" schools haven't given me any news whatsoever.

What makes things even more confusing to me is that one of my best friends that attends the same school as me and applied to ALL of the same schools as me received an almost completely different set of interview invites. We have very similar numbers (me 4.01/4.03 sGPA/oGPA, 21/22/17 AA/TS/PAT ; him 3.81/3.86 sGPA/oGPA, 23/23/23 AA/TS/PAT), but our interview invites are not similar at all.

Like I said above, I have received invites from UCLA,UCSF,USC, Western, and Michigan while he received interviews from UOP, Harvard, NYU, USC, Western, and BU.

I'm just wondering what anybody thinks about the variability of this whole application process and how truly random it can be.

The randomness is part of the "fun". We are all neurotic pre-dentals who, by default, are extreme masochists. Just accept it and don't question the system

 

[El Dentistador]

The randomness is part of the "fun". We are all neurotic pre-dentals who, by default, are extreme masochists. Just accept it and don't question the system

Sounds like something the system would say

 

[doc toothache]

It hard to imagine that dss are able to have a diverse student body in sex, educationa/socio-economic background, age, race, college/university attended through a "random" process.