interviews w/o recommendation letters

[etan4]

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How many of you guys have either received interviews or interview invites BEFORE all of your recommendation letters were received by the school? Whether you didn't have any letters yet, or just one or two, was this a factor in getting an interview or not? Thanks.

 

[Sprgrover]

I received interview invites after schools had received my LOR's. Not too many schools hand them out to applicants with incomplete files.

 

[ISU_Steve]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

 

[Yenta225]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

that was excellent. 🙂

 

[ISU_Steve]

I think someone should make that a sticky thread. A lot of people need to be reminded of the facts of dental school admissions and their responsibility as applicants.

 

[jay228]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

👍 👍

 

[hockeydentist]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

Ok mommy, thanks for putting us kids in our place! Get bent

 

[aggie-master]

Can we be admitted without even applying or interviewing? I really just want to show up for orientation.

 

[ISU_Steve]

I'm sorry, but is it too much to ask that all of the adults on this website- most of us (one would hope) at least somewhat functionally intelligent - could figure out very basic tasks on their own?

I don't think that's too much to ask, and if someone insists upon being insipid or just plain exhibit their gross lack of qualification to be placed in a position of great responsibility, then well, they need to be advised of this and action taken to make sure they realize this.

I apologize if I came across rather harshly, but I still feel that I was on target with what I said, even if it was not totally said in the most polite of manners. As I said, if you can't figure out the application, then maybe you don't deserve to be in the school. That's the whole purpose of an application- to weed out those who are most unsuited for what they are applying for. Just a little food for thought.....

 

[jr8047]

I'm sorry, but is it too much to ask that all of the adults on this website- most of us (one would hope) at least somewhat functionally intelligent - could figure out very basic tasks on their own?

I don't think that's too much to ask, and if someone insists upon being insipid or just plain exhibit their gross lack of qualification to be placed in a position of great responsibility, then well, they need to be advised of this and action taken to make sure they realize this.

I apologize if I came across rather harshly, but I still feel that I was on target with what I said, even if it was not totally said in the most polite of manners. As I said, if you can't figure out the application, then maybe you don't deserve to be in the school. That's the whole purpose of an application- to weed out those who are most unsuited for what they are applying for. Just a little food for thought.....

you're right. you are sorry. be nice...try.

 

[ISU_Steve]

Here's my answer (and by the way, I don't mean you in particular, just several others)

 

[beastly115]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

Reminds me of the "The school says biochem is a requirement but I haven't taken it. Can I get accepted without having to take it?" thread.

 

[etan4]

everyone misunderstood me completely: i WILL get my recommendation letters in; however, one of them will be late (OCT). My question was whether anyone received interview invites despite not having all of the recommendation letters in YET. I know of several who have had invites for an interview even though their recommendations weren't complete, on the assumption that the school will receive them before the interview. Please don't misunderstand that I want to completely avoid the LOR requirement - this is not the case. So settle down, some schools DO extend interview invites prior to the submission of all LORs.

 

[jenl81]

Time for me to vent some:

Why is it so hard for people to just do what is required of them to apply? Why is it that everyone is so eager to find a loophole to exempt them from this requirement or that?

Is it so hard to find two or three people to write a recommendation letter? If you can't find three people to say at least equivocal things about you, then perhaps you lack the maturity, intelligence or some other quality necessary for becoming a dentist and should seek other work.

Same goes for if you lack the self-confidence to be able to assert yourself in some meaningful manner, if you can't maintain a decent GPA, if you can't score at least competitively on the DAT- these things are requirements for a reason. That reason is simply to weed out as many of the spineless, the incompetent, the ethically challenged, the disorganized and academical disinclined as possible before they are put in a position to either harm patients or to detract from the education of those of us who know how to be organized, moral, ethical, work hard and earn our spot.

If you don't find the sympathy when it comes to your shortcomings from those of us who are busting our collective butts in order to gain admission, then perhaps it is time for a little introspection and reassessment of where the blame for your situation really belongs- not with the professors, not with your advisors, not with the "gunners" in the classes who shift the curve too far for in order you to achieve a high grade, not with your family, your friends, the other members on SDN- the only person who can answer for your shortcomings or failures in life is you. You know the requirements, you know the challenges, you know the standards. Now start acting like it.

Ok mommy, thanks for putting us kids in our place! Get bent

As a non-traditional applicant, it is sometimes difficult to fulfill the letter of recommendation requirements. Some schools, such as Columbia University require that one submit 3 letters from science professors. After undergrad I completed a non-science masters program and then worked for a year before deciding to apply to dental school. Thus, it can be tough to track down my science teachers from undergrad and meet the requirement for recommendations that some schools have. So anyways it is not always an issue of one being lazy!

 

[dentwannabe]

ISU STEVE..
i get what you're saying. but you know what, we need people like this to ask these type of questions.. it makes me feel better about myself (as pathetic as that may sound, you know its true..)

hah, but you remind me of this old lady that i used to work with at an oral surgery practice. she'd always put everyone down.

 

[hockeydentist]

Older applicants, who think they have a clue about dental school admissions!

 

[mccarth2]

Time for me to vent:

As someone who goes to a large university, I can sympathize with some of the other posters about LOR's. Almost all of my science courses have 200 students in them who are pre-health. So the same professors are writing several LOR at a time and do not treat it like it is a top priority. I just wish my school would get a pre-health committee so that I would not have to deal with the stresses of waiting for the letters and bothering the professors who are already overworked. It has taken my anatomy professor (from the College of Medicine) over 2 months to write my letter. He wrote to me about it last week saying it would be in soon. As of right now I have my fingers crossed and I can't think of anything I could have done differently to have gotten the letter in a more timely manner. I am not making excuses for myself, but LOR's are sometimes out of your control. Thanks for listening guys, you're the best!

 

[ISU_Steve]

Since most LOR's are simply "_________ is a good student and did well in my class. Signed, Dr. Whomever", I don't think it's impossible to get a letter from someone. It might take some time, require a little planning ahead, and perhaps require a great deal of effort. Like so much else in dental application processes, it requires a certain degree of dedication and organization- two things many young people lack.

DENTWANNABE, I agree....it makes me feel better about myself and my chances when I see how disorganized many people who are seeking admission are. But I don't see myself as putting everyone down- I post a fair number of positive things and congratulate people when they have done something right or have managed to achieve a milestone. It's when someone screws up and I call them on it that it gets noticed, simply because I don't coddle anyone- just as I don't expect to be treated with any less honesty than I treat anyone else with.

I'm not putting anyone down just to make them feel bad, just pointing out that if they want to get in, they are falling short of that standard. If you have a problem with being told to suck it up and act like an adult and do what is required of you- then perhaps you don't deserve to be a medical professional, or any job where people rely upon you and you aren't watched like a hawk for that matter.

On a related note, I do agree that putting some of the people on this forum down (and I mean this in the sense of putting someone down like you would a horse with a broken leg) would be merciful to the rest of us, it certainly would make this forum a much drier and more boring place to be. Don't you think?

As for non-traditional students, my comments weren't directed at you, but rather at the "traditional" students who haven't quite realized (or have just rather rudely been shown) that no one is going to hold their hand, do everything for them or even bat an eye if they fail in the real world.

 

[jay228]

Time for me to vent:

As someone who goes to a large university, I can sympathize with some of the other posters about LOR's. Almost all of my science courses have 200 students in them who are pre-health. So the same professors are writing several LOR at a time and do not treat it like it is a top priority. I just wish my school would get a pre-health committee so that I would not have to deal with the stresses of waiting for the letters and bothering the professors who are already overworked. It has taken my anatomy professor (from the College of Medicine) over 2 months to write my letter. He wrote to me about it last week saying it would be in soon. As of right now I have my fingers crossed and I can't think of anything I could have done differently to have gotten the letter in a more timely manner. I am not making excuses for myself, but LOR's are sometimes out of your control. Thanks for listening guys, you're the best!

I came from such a college. i was a letter short, I had a professor taht never even heard of me write me a placeholder letter just to complete my file.

"John Doe took my O Chem class. He got a B. I can neither recommend nor disrecommend him for admissions."

didn't hurt me one bit... not a single adcom even brought it up....

 

[1FutureDDS]

Hi, long time listener, first time caller....

What is the point of your worthless rant? Are you even in dental school yet?

And you had the nerve to add this thread to your signature....

 

[ISU_Steve]

I only put it there because people need to be made aware that they should suck it up and put forth the effort to complete their prereqs, maintain a good GPA, score well on the DAT, collect whatever LOR's they need, and basically jump through whatever hoops the schools and the AADSAS puts in their way in regards to obtaining their goal.

I'm just tired of people expecting to have their hand held and to be led around like a preschooler or to be coddled and reassured when they have screwed up. People need to realize life sucks, life is hard and you have to have culpability for your actions. End of story.

 

[mikester2]

Most school will need all recommendatoins. However, if they recieve say 3/4 LOR and everything is great. Then some may send a interview with the assumption that you will get that last one in. They would probably think "Hey, everything is great so far about this kid. Why force ourselves to reevaulate this kid when everything is fine and dandy. "

However, if you haven't sent any LOR yet, then you won't get any interview.

everyone misunderstood me completely: i WILL get my recommendation letters in; however, one of them will be late (OCT). My question was whether anyone received interview invites despite not having all of the recommendation letters in YET. I know of several who have had invites for an interview even though their recommendations weren't complete, on the assumption that the school will receive them before the interview. Please don't misunderstand that I want to completely avoid the LOR requirement - this is not the case. So settle down, some schools DO extend interview invites prior to the submission of all LORs.

 

[dreaming2k5]

... if you haven't sent any LOR yet, then you won't get any interview.

I got an invitation from UF sometimes last week. And my LORs weren't received by AADSAS until yesterday. I also got an invitation from Boston mid September, and at that time, I was still waiting for my professors to write the letters.

Let's see...
USC says they're reviewing my apps without LORs
NYU also says they're reviewing my apps without LORs
UPenn demands LORs.
Harvard demands LORs
Howard demands LORs AND 45 bux
Nova demands LORs, supplemental material, and 50 bux
UCSF demands secondary, and 60 bux.
Colorado rejected me already
UNC is ignoring me
Maryland is also ignoring me

That's all the schools I applied to. I'm really troubled by the fact that USC and NYU are reviewing my apps without LORs. I just hope they don't reject me like Colorado without seeing the LORs that I worked hard for...

and I worked harder for the LORs than anything else in my application - they are really the only shiny things in my whole application! *prays that everyone did say good things...*

 

[spamtoit]

To answer Etan4's original question, yes some schools do. I received invites from Temple and UMDNJ in early September even tho my committee letter went out directly to the schools late September. I've also received several invites around the same time that schools were receiving the letter so it would appear that some other schools reviewed my app beforehand.

And btw, my letter was late not because of any fault of mine but because "the letter writing process took longer than normal" is what I was told by my advisory committee. I met all their deadlines and my aadsas app was received by my schools early august. But like I said, schools only got my letter packet at the end of September/beginning of October. 😡

While I understand the ranting about people seemingly trying to get out of requirements, there are sometimes legitimate reasons for these questions. When I was getting the run around from my school about my letter being sent out in a few more weeks (several times over), I was beginning to wonder about this too.