Kiss my AADSAS :) - Please respond if you have had problems

[MCGHopeful]

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Hi all.

Alright....I have officially had it with the AADSAS "service". Personally, I believe it is simply a revenue stream for someone with high connections. To have to pay the outrageous AADSAS fees and then to pay supplemental fees to separate schools....that my friends is a royal ripoff. Then, I read how quite a few folks on this board are having to circumvent AADSAS to make sure that LORs get to the dental schools.

For whatever reason, AADSAS has problems with the LOR from my dentist. The first time, the status was marked as "incomplete". I called and they could not tell me why it was incomplete. So, I asked my dentist to submit yet another LOR. Luckily, within a week, the AADSAS status was marked as "received". I called to verify....finally, everything was good to go. I go out of town for Labor Day and check my status at schools....there it was. My LOR from my dentist was marked as "incomplete". I called to find out how it went from received to incomplete. I was told it would be 3 business days before they could tell me.

Now, I do not know about the rest of you, but after spending $675 for applying to 9 schools, that is a total and complete ripoff. Funny thing is that I tried to inquire about how many people actually work in the AADSAS office....they would not divulge that information. I bet you anything it is less than a handful of people. Someone is making a KILLING off of this stuff. Don't get me wrong, the people on the phone are "nice" to a certain extent. But, just not helpful.

So, I am beginning to question the business practices of AADSAS. If there are others feeling the same thing, please feel free to contact me via this thread or a PM. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and other agencies that protect consumers. I just dropped close to $700 and no one can give me a straight answer on why a simple LOR is marked as "incomplete".

 

[KOM]

Hi all.

Alright....I have officially had it with the AADSAS "service". Personally, I believe it is simply a revenue stream for someone with high connections. To have to pay the outrageous AADSAS fees and then to pay supplemental fees to separate schools....that my friends is a royal ripoff. Then, I read how quite a few folks on this board are having to circumvent AADSAS to make sure that LORs get to the dental schools.

For whatever reason, AADSAS has problems with the LOR from my dentist. The first time, the status was marked as "incomplete". I called and they could not tell me why it was incomplete. So, I asked my dentist to submit yet another LOR. Luckily, within a week, the AADSAS status was marked as "received". I called to verify....finally, everything was good to go. I go out of town for Labor Day and check my status at schools....there it was. My LOR from my dentist was marked as "incomplete". I called to find out how it went from received to incomplete. I was told it would be 3 business days before they could tell me.

Now, I do not know about the rest of you, but after spending $675 for applying to 9 schools, that is a total and complete ripoff. Funny thing is that I tried to inquire about how many people actually work in the AADSAS office....they would not divulge that information. I bet you anything it is less than a handful of people. Someone is making a KILLING off of this stuff. Don't get me wrong, the people on the phone are "nice" to a certain extent. But, just not helpful.

So, I am beginning to question the business practices of AADSAS. If there are others feeling the same thing, please feel free to contact me via this thread or a PM. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and other agencies that protect consumers. I just dropped close to $700 and no one can give me a straight answer on why a simple LOR is marked as "incomplete".

You're right. AADSAS is a rip-off.

I was wondering if medical school students have to pay the medical application service they subscribe to. I don't think they do.

So what if AADSAS came up with a few dumb templates that dental schools decided to use. Dental schools could easily create a standardized online application that could perform essentially the same function.

I talked with one AADSAS representative a few days ago after waiting for 45 minutes and he immediately put me on hold for another 15 minutes. I asked him one simple question and he said that the person that would know was currently out of the office. He then went on to say that he would call me back once he returned. Yeah, I was pretty naive to think he might.

Anyhow, I agree, with the money they're making they should be able to be staffed accordingly to handle the demand.

 

[busdent]

Agreed 100%

 

[PChemGrad]

You're right. AADSAS is a rip-off.

I was wondering if medical school students have to pay the medical application service they subscribe to. I don't think they do...

When you apply to Med school you do have to pay a application service. Whats nice about applying to Med school is it is though the same service as taking the MCAT so they take care of sending out your MCAT scores with your application. And the fees are only $30 per school after the first one.

 

[jorUW]

To the OP, I dont know if you got your LOR situation fixed, but i believe another poster on SDN said that their letters were "incomplete" b/c the person doing the letter needs to sign the seal of the envelope.

 

[MCGHopeful]

Hey jorUW.

Thanks for the reply. I wish that were the case. The only problem is that for the very first letter, I was in my dentist's office since I was dropping off the "matching form". So, he did everything while I was there....signed the letter, signed the envelope, etc. I saw it with my own eyes....yet, AADSAS can't verify anything why it was incomplete.

Now, I am going to create separate envelopes and have my dentist mail the schools directly. Which brings up the question again....why are we "forced" to use AADSAS? Besides, all the supplemental applications wind up being a repeat of the AADSAS forms. Just a crazy money making scheme that everyone should be aware and cautious of.

Alright...it is Friday afternoon and I need to leave work to get a drink and forget all of this junk

Best of luck to everyone and please post any additional remarks/problems others may have experienced.

 

[Fuji]

After waiting 3 weeks from the dates that I know the letters were sent, I called AADSAS to see why TWO of my recommenders' letters had not been received. When I asked them to verify that the letters were not lost, misplaced, or sitting around somewhere, the woman on the phone said in a haughty tone, "We don't lose letters! They are too important!"

Right. Because it's more likely that two different people, with 5 advanced degrees and a Nobel prize between them, would mistakenly send the letters to the wrong address. Or maybe the mail service independently lost two letters that just happened to be mine.

If any adventurous computer programmers want to start a new service to compete with AADSAS, I think I know where we could scrounge up some venture capital. We could make the whole process electronic, right down to the transcripts and the letters of recommendation. That way, the applicants wouldn't have to manually type in their classes and then waste time as the transcripts are "verified." Heck, our overhead would be so low (we would just need a few servers and a couple of patient receptionists to field calls from all the freaked out pre-dents) that we could cut all of the application costs in half and still rake in the dough!

 

[fancymylotus]

I was really scared about leaving it up to AADSAS to get everything out on time and properly,and also about them losing stuff, so I asked professors/dentists to make copies of each letter with copies of the form and so I have a set of LORs from each person all signed and sealed just in case....and when I sent each LOR out, I did it priority overnight so there was no way they could say they didnt get it. Definately worth the 110$,lol.

 

[MCGHopeful]

That is the ironic thing.....I have been doing professional software development for 12 years. You are absolutely correct in saying we would need minimal hardware to get started. No doubt you could charge half of what AADSAS charges, make a good profit, and cut down on all the many errors AADSAS causes....ultimately reducing the number of phone calls from Predents.

I have never understood why I have to manually enter every course I have taken when they have to "eyeball" my transcripts anyway. All this time everyone has been forced to use AADSAS in good faith, and they are, in a nutshell, taking total advantage of individuals with a dream of becoming a dentist. We pay WAY too much money to AADSAS to experience any delays or mistakes.

Case in point....I used UT's online application submission as well as MCG's. If there were any mistakes, it was my fault. And, both schools "received" my apps the day I submitted them. None of this crap of waiting a month for transcripts to be verified and waiting to be mailed out. Above all, each and every one of my LORs were received and accepted with NO problems. Same group of LORs that AADSAS received. Yet, my dentist's letter to AADSAS is "incomplete". Go figure....

 

[kdawg]

I had the same "incomplete" problem. I'm amazed that you actually got through to someone on the phone! I made two attempts, each waiting for about 30-60 minutes, with no live person answering. I gave that up and took the email route, and finally received a message over a week later.

The reason one of my letters was marked incomplete is that one of my professors neglected to hand-write his signature on the actual letter. So, I had to contact him again, have him send another letter with another matching form. Still waiting on status of that situation.

You may have the same problem or not. With such vague status descriptions, who knows what the actual problem is? Most likely, if it is marked incomplete there was some kind of issue with some minor detail and you'll have to have another letter sent, so prepare to do so if you haven't already. Make sure that your recommender knows the requirements so that the same mistake is not made twice.

I think that AADSAS needs to contact the applicant as soon as there is a problem, with a description of how to solve it. How are we supposed to know??

Good luck, hope that your application is not delayed because of it. If I can be more help, let me know.

 

[doc toothache]

Way to go Sherlock! You were able to deduce a heck of lot of information about your favorite AADSAS from contact with a staff member who couldn't tell you why your LOR was incomplete.

If dentistry is not in the cards, a hotshot programer may have found his calling by starting a "service" that will compete with AADSAS.

Before AADSAS came into existence, life was much simpler. One contacted 9 schools and requested a catalog and applications. Forms were filled out and returned with an application fee. A request was made from each institution attended for a copy of the transcripts to be sent to each of the 9 institutions. A request was also made to a favorite professor or HPAC for an LOR to be sent to 9 schools. Periodically, a call was made to each of the schools to check the status of the materials sent.

The $675 you spent is a lot of money, but it certainly pales in comparison to the 100K+ you are likely to spend for four years of dental school.

Keep your post handy for future reference. Five years from now, when your patients complain about the 2k you charged for endo, post build up and crown, you may want to refresh your memory on your post. They most certainly will demand to know why it take you 2 weeks to get a little old crown back from the lab. Be prepared to deal with that irate patient who will threaten to contact the better bussiness bureau, the state board of dental examiners, and "other agencies that protect the consumer".

Dentistry requires patience and understanding. Try a little dose of each.

 

[ObviousGuy]

whoa, doc. Chill out. His grievances are well understood. Is this how you will react to those patients you mentioned? All sarcastic and such?

"doc toothache, where the hell is my crown?"
"stop whining you insolate bastard"

My RX:

YOU need to pull that rebar out of your bowels.

 

[MCGHopeful]

you are right....I think ole Doc should re-read the post 🙂

My post had NOTHING to do with not having patience. I am simply questioning the fact all of us spend so much money having to use AADSAS and they are so slow. Then we are required to send yet even more money to dental schools filling out the same exact forms for the supplemental apps.

My point is that in any other business on the face of the earth, if you spent almost $700 bucks on a service, and that service did not perform well, you would be able to take your business elsewhere. We do not have that choice or luxury with AADSAS.

Or maybe, you just did not understand the basis of my point because your little mommie and daddy are shelling out your application fees! Or better yet, maybe you work for AADSAS and do not like people making honest posts about your crappy service. If that is the case, please get back to work!

Also, please chill....

 

[laelialudisia]

you are right....I think ole Doc should re-read the post 🙂

My post had NOTHING to do with not having patience. I am simply questioning the fact all of us spend so much money having to use AADSAS and they are so slow. Then we are required to send yet even more money to dental schools filling out the same exact forms for the supplemental apps.

My point is that in any other business on the face of the earth, if you spent almost $700 bucks on a service, and that service did not perform well, you would be able to take your business elsewhere. We do not have that choice or luxury with AADSAS.

Or maybe, you just did not understand the basis of my point because your little mommie and daddy are shelling out your application fees! Or better yet, maybe you work for AADSAS and do not like people making honest posts about your crappy service. If that is the case, please get back to work!

Also, please chill....

LOL!!!!

 

[Fariba]

No complaints, actually. I just thought the title of this thread was funny! 😀

 

[brad219]

I haven't read all these replies but I can agree that for the price they charge and because of the nature of their service, they are extremely lacking in terms of effeciency and don't have the customer service skills to back it up when you call them.

I'm having huge problems with my LORs--I've had one particular evaluator send her letter three times, the last one being certified mail to AADSAS. Still they have not "received" it. The only letter that they have received so far is one I submitted way before they started getting busy. I say at this point, if you're still submitting LOR's, give your evaluators enough postage and addressed envelopes so that they can mail your letters directly to the schools. You'll probably buy about 3 or 4 weeks of time this way.

 

[SummaryRuled]

one of my rec's still didnt post on aadsas.... i had to pay my university over 200 to send them to my schools.

 

[ltd3972]

I have resorted to bypassing AADSAS all together with one of my LORs since they havent recieved it yet. At this point, with any changes or updates, I would suggest going around AADSAS and directly to the schools. I have dropped $1200 on them and I have nothing to show for it except an extremely large minimum payment and no loans to cover it. Atleast I know that I am not the only one!

 

[itsall3324453!]

Hi all.

Alright....I have officially had it with the AADSAS "service". Personally, I believe it is simply a revenue stream for someone with high connections. To have to pay the outrageous AADSAS fees and then to pay supplemental fees to separate schools....that my friends is a royal ripoff. Then, I read how quite a few folks on this board are having to circumvent AADSAS to make sure that LORs get to the dental schools.

For whatever reason, AADSAS has problems with the LOR from my dentist. The first time, the status was marked as "incomplete". I called and they could not tell me why it was incomplete. So, I asked my dentist to submit yet another LOR. Luckily, within a week, the AADSAS status was marked as "received". I called to verify....finally, everything was good to go. I go out of town for Labor Day and check my status at schools....there it was. My LOR from my dentist was marked as "incomplete". I called to find out how it went from received to incomplete. I was told it would be 3 business days before they could tell me.

Now, I do not know about the rest of you, but after spending $675 for applying to 9 schools, that is a total and complete ripoff. Funny thing is that I tried to inquire about how many people actually work in the AADSAS office....they would not divulge that information. I bet you anything it is less than a handful of people. Someone is making a KILLING off of this stuff. Don't get me wrong, the people on the phone are "nice" to a certain extent. But, just not helpful.

So, I am beginning to question the business practices of AADSAS. If there are others feeling the same thing, please feel free to contact me via this thread or a PM. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and other agencies that protect consumers. I just dropped close to $700 and no one can give me a straight answer on why a simple LOR is marked as "incomplete".

hear hear! I had the same thing happen to me. I found out that the letters were incomplete due to the fact the the letters were not signed. I contacted my letter peeps and they promptly resent them. But it does seem kind of a scam in that the schools that have contacted me contacted me directly and they all want secondaries with a secondary fee in addition to the 500+ dollars I already shelled out. The most concerning of all is the secondary information is the same as the information on the AASDAS. 😡 😕
good luck

 

[doc toothache]

Let's see if we can retire this issue.

You have every right feeling that you have been royally ripped off and to be totally unhappy with the lack of service, etc.. Unfortunately this is the system and since we are not in Kansas, no amount of wishful thinking is going to change that reality. Threatening to call the "Better Business Bureau and other agencies that protect the consumers" borders on the impetuous. What could you possibly hope to achieve, expect that it may help to vent your frustrations?

You are right about AADSAS and their high connections. What with two deans, an associate dean, an assistant dean, and for good measure, a professor and an assistant professor. Why you might even know some of them since they may be affiliated with the schools you are applying to. They are members of the Board of directors of ADEA. The American Dental Education Association is the sponsor of AADSAS. If you feel strongly about the issues you raised about AADSAS, you may be better served by contacting at least a few of the 13 members of the Division of Application Service. Their e-mail addresses are listed on the ADEA website.

Today you are complaining about the cost associated with AADSAS. Come August, you may feel that tuition for dental education is exorbitant and you are not getting your money's worth of services. Today you are complaining about the AADSAS staff. Tomorrow, you may be complaining about your professors, instructurs and dental school staff. You might even get the notion that, at least in some cases, their position is indeed based on knowing someone in high place.

You were, however, wrong about my financial sources. I am not getting help from my little mommie and daddy. I am getting my handout from my Big Mama and Big Daddy.

(Judging from the language, it appears that one member of your fan club has watched an episode of the Sopranos too many.

Adversity if part of life. Deal with it sensibly and choose your battles wisely.